This is the first version of the 2024–25 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.
Undergraduate major: international studies (BA)
Undergraduate minor: international studies
The International Studies Program offers a multidisciplinary approach to international issues and global connections.
International Studies is one of the academic units in the Division of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.
The Center for Language and Culture Learning provides a wide variety of facilities and services to the Division of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (DWLLC), including a 24–computer Instructional Technology Center (ITC) and five All-In-One Studios/small group study rooms equipped with video production and editing software, a Computer Assisted Language Learning Lab with 25 computers integrated with Sanako software for language practice, and virtual reality hardware and development space.
The center provides spaces for quiet study as well as for group meetings. Departments, programs, and student organizations are welcome to host conversation hours, film nights, study groups, workshops, and more. Peer education services include peer tutoring programs in many of the languages taught in DWLLC, with both in-person and online availability, as well as the Directed Independent Language Study, through which faculty, staff, or students can be paired with a tutor to learn a language not taught in DWLLC. Tutors are trained to use the Three Ms for Effective Learning, including developing a growth mindset, using memory strategies to retain knowledge, and reflecting on learning gains.
International Studies Courses
IS:1000 Designing Your International Studies Major 1 s.h.
Importance of interdisciplinarity, global perspectives, and world language study for 21st-century liberal education; intentional planning of courses and other out-of-class experiences to prepare students for life and career after college.
IS:1101 Cultural Anthropology 3 s.h.
Comparative study of culture, social organization. GE: Social Sciences; Values and Culture. Same as ANTH:1101.
IS:2000 Introduction to International Studies 3 s.h.
Introduction to the interdisciplinary field of international studies; globalization, colonialism, inequality, and global challenges. GE: International and Global Issues.
IS:2009 World Travel: Cross-Cultural Skills for International Business, Education, and Service 3 s.h.
Cross-cultural skills and ethics for international business, education, and service.
IS:2013 Issues in International Studies 1-3 s.h.
Modules focusing on varied topics, taught by international studies faculty members.
IS:2020 World Events Today! 3 s.h.
Current events that introduce students to political and cultural developments throughout the world. GE: Diversity and Inclusion.
IS:2042 Intercultural Communication 3 s.h.
Culture defined as a system of taken-for-granted assumptions about the world that influence how people think and act; cultural differences that produce challenges and opportunities for understanding and communication; those differences from several theoretical perspectives; opportunities to examine culture and cultural differences in practical, experience-driven ways. Same as COMM:2042, SSW:2042.
IS:2115 Introduction to Human Rights 3 s.h.
Analysis and evaluation of the international human rights program; relationship between human rights and international law. Same as HRTS:2115.
IS:2122 World History: Feudal Age to Nuclear Age 3 s.h.
World history from the late 1400s to 1945; colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and industrialization as forces of global social and cultural transformation. Same as HIST:2122.
IS:2151 Global Migration in the Contemporary World 3 s.h.
Examination of social, economic, and cultural dimensions of global migration in the contemporary world from a transnational and anthropological perspective; primary focus is on Asian migration to the United States, but in comparison to other migration trajectories. Recommendations: an introductory course in cultural anthropology is useful, but not required. GE: Diversity and Inclusion. Same as ANTH:2151, GWSS:2151.
IS:2190 Love Rules: Law and the Family Across Cultures 3 s.h.
Recent debates over legalizing gay marriage remind us that the law is not an abstract concept, it is a social creation that emphasizes certain cultural norms over others, both powerful and changeable; family law outlines what one cultural vision of relationships—those between lovers, parent and child, and between kin—supposedly should look like in a given society, a vision always marked by gendered, racial, and sexual divisions of power; students consider what happens when legal norms intersect with diverse ways that people make families through topics including marriage, divorce, custody, and surrogacy across the world. Same as ANTH:2190, GWSS:2190.
IS:2248 The Invention of Writing: From Cuneiform to Computers 3 s.h.
Invention of writing as one of the most momentous events in the history of human civilizations; how the use of written sign systems, notations, maps, graphs, encryptions, and most recently, computer programs have consequences that reach deeply into all aspects of people's lives; how writing fascinates and delights, fosters reflexive thinking and facilitates development of complex societies, and gives rise to institutions of social power and control; students explore the invention of writing and its consequences in broad international and interdisciplinary context. Taught in English. Same as ANTH:2248, ASIA:2248, CL:2248, CLSA:2048, COMM:2248, GRMN:2248, HIST:2148, LING:2248, TRNS:2248, WLLC:2248.
IS:2400 Global Citizenship and the College Student 3 s.h.
An interdisciplinary and highly interactive course that aims to spark discussion and new understandings of the complex and contested concept of “global citizenship,” with focus given to the lived experiences of and relevancies for college-aged students.
IS:2500 Working Internationally 1 s.h.
Information on international job sectors; presentations by experts in the field; advice on what is required to work internationally.
IS:2560 Global Food Migrations 3 s.h.
Understanding how food influences and is influenced by social, political, and cultural factors. GE: International and Global Issues.
IS:2700 Introduction to Latin American Studies 3 s.h.
Cultures of Latin American countries with emphasis on cultural history and cultural production; interdisciplinary survey. Taught in English. GE: World Language and Cultural Exploration. Same as COMM:2800, LAS:2700, PORT:2700, SPAN:2700.
IS:2902 The Arts and Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination of emerging human rights issues in the arts from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:2902.
IS:2903 Technology and Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination of emerging human rights issues in technology from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:2903.
IS:2907 Literature and Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination in human rights in literature from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:2907.
IS:2908 Governance and Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination of emerging human rights related to governance issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:2908.
IS:2909 Human Rights Lab 1-3 s.h.
Discussion-based examination of emerging human rights issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:2909.
IS:2955 Human Rights and Islam 3 s.h.
Exploration of social forces, legal regimes, and cultural norms that have shaped discourse on human rights in a global context with reliance on a systems thinking framework; examination of intersections of rights, culture, society, and law in the last 2,000 years; consideration of interplay between institutional (formal) and societal (informal) powers that shape human rights norms; origins and evolution of discourse on rights across cultures and throughout history. GE: International and Global Issues. Same as RELS:2955.
IS:3010 Writing and Research for the World 3 s.h.
How to research and write on international and global topics in various genres; preparation for a local or international project which addresses international issues in a systematic way. Requirements: junior or higher standing.
IS:3011 Global Research: Strategies and Skills 1 s.h.
Skill development in international research; academic projects; work with research librarian; activity-based introduction to article, statistical, and governmental databases; research and popular materials; information discovery process (tools and search strategies); enhancement of critical thinking skills. Same as GHS:3011, ULIB:3011.
IS:3012 Service Learning in International Studies 3 s.h.
Internationally focused service learning in local communities.
IS:3020 Writing Projects in International Studies 0-3 s.h.
Writing project completed with the supervision of an approved faculty mentor.
IS:3116 Media and Global Cultures 3 s.h.
Communication as a vital component for any effort to create social change; necessary communication to reach out to target audiences—people and communities in need—from campaigns persuading communities to change knowledge, attitudes, and practices to aiding other development efforts in areas of health, education, rural development, or sustainable agricultural practices; importance of communication as an integral part to any effort aimed at creating large-scale social change. Same as JMC:3116.
IS:3142 Social Media for Social Change 3 s.h.
Individuals and groups use social media to organize, collaborate, and spread their messages to local and global audiences; students explore the myriad ways that people and organizations use social media as tools for civic engagement, activism, and political participation; drawing on a broad range of international and national cases, students examine unfolding social movements from early internet activism to the present. Same as JMC:3142.
IS:3190 Global Debt 3 s.h.
Economies as cultural systems that emphasize the role of worldviews and "meaning-making" in organizing economies; debt as a key mechanism in creation and maintenance of relationships; focus on how exchange, distribution, and obligation serve to shore up or sever various social institutions and links between debt, inequality, and power; debt in various forms, from a round of drinks to student loans, and from the U.S. mortgage crisis to development aid; diverse array of economies—from gift exchange to ceremonial destruction of wealth, and from Melanesia to Wall Street—to evaluate assumptions that undergird different systems of debt and credit. Requirements: introductory course in anthropology or international studies or gender, women's, and sexuality studies. Same as ANTH:3190, SJUS:3190.
IS:3198 Anthropology and Global Health Policy 3 s.h.
Global health has grown as an area of practice and study, with well-being and livelihoods of increasing numbers of people now deeply influenced by these ideas, practices, and policies; students engage with ways that global health programs have influenced experiences of health and illness by those who participate in these programs, critically analyzing how global health interacts with local dynamics of inequality, race, gender, and power. Same as ANTH:3199, GHS:3199.
IS:3200 Sustainable Development 3 s.h.
Overview of development theory and debate; increasing role of China and other new players in development funding and projects; development-oriented projects, career paths.
IS:3350 Transnational Feminism 3 s.h.
Exploration of feminist perspectives from the United States and outside of the United States; how geopolitics shapes understanding of familiar feminist issues (e.g., reproduction, cultural practices, sexualities, poverty); emphasis on global south regions and populations. Same as ANTH:3125, GWSS:3350.
IS:3550 Special Topics in International Studies 1-3 s.h.
Special topics related to international studies.
IS:3555 Understanding Health and Disease in Africa 3 s.h.
Cultural, historical, and political framework for the delivery of health care services in African nations. Recommendations: junior or higher standing. Same as GHS:3555, HIST:3755.
IS:3904 Business, Labor, and Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination of emerging human rights issues in labor and business from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:3904.
IS:3905 Topics in Human Rights 1-3 s.h.
Examination of emerging human rights issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Same as HRTS:3905.
IS:3910 Approaches to Advocacy: From Theory to Practice 3 s.h.
Examine the application of advocacy models to the practice of human rights advocacy. Students explore real-life human rights and humanitarian advocacy initiatives, learn to apply a variety of advocacy models, and critically analyze challenges faced by practitioners working in the field of human rights advocacy. Same as HRTS:3910.
IS:3990 Independent Study in International Studies arr.
Research on a topic of international significance. Requirements: international studies major.
IS:4131 Globalization and Culture 3 s.h.
How context for everyday experience has increasingly become globally determined (e.g., ever-increasing transnational migration of people, spread of American culture, growth of international corporations and trade, rise of international conflict and transnational activism); range of theoretical and critical readings on globalization; various phenomena and perspectives regarding topic; themes directly relevant to lives of modern youth; how globalization affects opportunities and risks, identities and relationships. Prerequisites: (2 of the following are required: (COMM:1112 or COMM:1170), (COMM:1117 or COMM:1130), (COMM:1168 or COMM:1174)) and (2 of the following are required: COMM:1305, COMM:1306, COMM:1816, COMM:1818, COMM:1819, COMM:1830, COMM:1840, COMM:1845, COMM:1898, COMM:2010, COMM:2011, COMM:2015, COMM:2020, COMM:2030, COMM:2040, COMM:2041, COMM:2042, COMM:2044, COMM:2045, COMM:2048, COMM:2050, COMM:2054, COMM:2057, COMM:2060, COMM:2064, COMM:2065, COMM:2069, COMM:2070, COMM:2072, COMM:2075, COMM:2076, COMM:2077, COMM:2078, COMM:2079, COMM:2080, COMM:2083, COMM:2085, COMM:2086, COMM:2088, COMM:2089, COMM:2090, COMM:2091, COMM:2248, COMM:2800, COMM:2813, COMM:2821, COMM:2828, COMM:2897, COMM:2899). Same as COMM:4131.