Concentration in Global Cultural Studies
The Major in Global Studies —
Concentration in Global Cultural Studies
The concentration in Global Cultural Studies focuses on the practical and theoretical issues arising from cross-cultural encounters around the world. Students will study these by both examining conventional cultural products (e.g., literature, film, visual art, new media) and investigating their broader political and social contexts. This concentration addresses compelling issues of cultural interchange for students interested in cultures for their own sake as well as in careers in NGOs and international business and law. This concentration is committed to interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary problems. Students may take courses in the language and literature disciplines as well as in anthropology, art history, film, history, music, religious studies, and women, gender, and sexuality studies.
General Requirements
One semester of language must be completed before declaring the major.
- Students must complete a minimum of 36 units in Global Studies, including at least three courses focused on a world area.
- Students must complete at least 24 units at the 300 level or above, including courses across a minimum of three academic disciplines.
- Students must complete at least 6 units at the 400 level, no more than 3 of which may be directed research or independent study.
- In addition to the 36 units, students must complete a four-semester sequence of courses in one modern language appropriate to their concentration.
These requirements may be fulfilled only with college-level course work undertaken during a student's undergraduate enrollment. Courses must be taken for a grade, and a student must receive a grade of C+ or higher in all courses.
This concentration requires 36 units of course work:
- 6 units of disciplinary introductions and methods course work (from two different disciplines; 100-200 level)
- 6 units of world area course work (any level)
- 24 units of advanced course work (at least one course must focus on gender, race, or class) (300-400 level)
Africa, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia and North America are considered world areas for the Global Cultural Studies concentration. A student must complete two courses in one of these world areas and one course in another world area.
Note: A single course may satisfy more than one of the distribution requirements (i.e., disciplinary; gender, race, class; or world area). Some of these requirements may be completed while abroad.
Disciplinary introductions and methods courses (choose two from this list,* for a total of 6 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 255 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| Anthro 160B | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| Art-Arch 111 | Introduction to Asian Art | 3 |
| Art-Arch 113 | History of Western Art, Architecture & Design | 3 |
| Art-Arch 215 | Introduction to Modern Art, Architecture and Design | 3 |
| Comp Lit 211 | World Literature | 3 |
| Econ 1011 | Introduction to Microeconomics | 3 |
| Econ 1021 | Introduction to Macroeconomics | 3 |
| Film 220 | Introduction to Film Studies | 3 |
| FYP 116 | Ampersand: Geographies of Globalization and Development | 3 |
| FYP 117 | Amp:Global Population on the Move: Language + Resettlement w/Legal, Healthcare + Educational Systems | 3 |
| GS 103B | First-Year Seminar: International Public Affairs | 3 |
| GS 127 | Migration in the Global World: Stories | 3 |
| GS 155 | First-Year Seminar: Mapping the World: Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| GS 207 | Crossing Borders: An Introduction to Institutions and Concepts in Global Studies | 3 |
| History 1500 | Silver, Slaves and the State: Globalization in the 18th Century | 3 |
| History 164 | Introduction to World History: The Second World War in World History | 3 |
| History 1640 | Health and Disease in World History | 3 |
| History 270 | Globalization and its Discontents | 3 |
| IPH 175 | First-Year Seminar: Seeing is Believing: Visuality, Power, and Truth | 3 |
| IPH 207C | Modern Political Thought: Text and Traditions | 3 |
| IPH 312 | Introduction to Digital Humanities | 3 |
| Ling 170D | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 |
| Introduction to Literature courses as appropriate (English, Comp Lit or foreign language) | 3 | |
| Music 1021 | Musics of the World | 3 |
| Phil 120F | Problems in Philosophy | 3 |
| Phil 131F | Present Moral Problems | 3 |
| Pol Sci 103B | International Politics | 3 |
| Pol Sci 106 | Introduction to Political Theory | 3 |
| SOC 2010 | The Roots of Ferguson: Understanding Racial Inequality in the Contemporary U.S. | 3 |
| WGSS 100B | Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| WGSS 206 | Sexuality and the State: Introduction to Sexuality Studies | 3 |
- *
Students may submit a request to add a course by following the instructions for the Petition Process.
World area courses:
Of the three required world area courses, one must be at the advanced level, and it will be counted toward the 24 credits of advanced work needed to complete the major. The other two courses may be taken at any level. Examples of lower-level courses that may be used to satisfy this requirement include the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFAS 162 | Contextualizing Problems in Contemporary Africa | 3 |
| AFAS 178 | First-Year Seminar: Imagining and Creating Africa: Youth, Culture, and Change | 3 |
| AFAS 209B | African Studies: An Introduction | 3 |
| AFAS 2230 | The African Diaspora: Black Internationalism Across Time and Space | 3 |
| AFAS 255 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| AMCS 250 | Topics in Asian American Studies: Intro to Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies | 3 |
| East Asia 227C | Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| GS 111 | First-Year Seminar: The Vietnam Wars | 3 |
| GS 140 | East Asia in the World | 3 |
| GS 229 | Modern European History: Migrations, Nation States, Identities | 3 |
| GS 244 | Introduction to European Studies | 3 |
| GS 280 | Sophomore Seminar: The Public Servant and Other Heroes: A History of Japan through Film | 3 |
| History 102C | Western Civilization II | 3 |
| History 102D | Introduction to Modern European History | 3 |
| History 2157 | First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Pakistan: History, Culture, Art | 3 |
| Japan 226C | Japanese Civilization | 3 |
| JIMES 208F | Introduction to Jewish Civilization: History and Identity | 3 |
| JIMES 210C | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| Korean 223C | Korean Civilization | 3 |
| LatAm 165D | Latin America: Nation, Ethnicity and Social Conflict | 3 |
Advanced courses: Choose eight courses from current, relevant, internationally focused course offerings in the following departments.* All courses must be approved by the student's Global Studies advisor in order to count for the major. Visit the concentration webpage and master course list for the full list of options.
- African and African-American Studies
- Anthropology
- Applied Linguistics
- Architecture
- Art History
- Children's Studies
- Classics
- Dance
- Drama
- Economics
- Film and Media Studies
- Global Studies
- History
- Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities
- Jewish, Islamic and Middle Eastern Cultures
- Languages and Literatures
- Latin American Studies
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Religious Studies
- Sociology
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- *
Students may submit a request to add a course by following the instructions for the Petition Process.
Additional Requirements and Information
Study Abroad
- We strongly encourage students to study abroad. For those who do not study abroad and receive credit toward the Global Studies General Requirements, an additional 3-unit course at the 300 or 400 level is required.
- We strongly prefer students to select a study abroad location and regional specialization consistent with their chosen language of study (e.g., if a student wishes to study in Latin America, they must satisfy their language requirement with either Portuguese or Spanish).
- Students may receive a maximum of 6 credits from a single semester, 12 credits from a year, or 3 credits from a summer term of study abroad.
- Students may apply no more than 12 total credits to the Global Studies major from study abroad, University College, summer school at other U.S. universities, or any combination thereof.
- To receive credit for a summer course completed at another institution, a student should fill out the Approval for Non-WashU Course Credit form with Arts & Sciences to take the course for "general credit" and then petition to have the course count toward their Global Studies major.
Latin Honors
- Students must confidently expect to graduate with an overall grade-point average of 3.65 or higher to qualify for Latin Honors.
- Students should enroll in GS 485 Preparation for Global Studies Honors Thesis during the fall of senior year and in GS 486 Global Studies Senior Honors Thesis during the spring of senior year (under the corresponding section number of the faculty member overseeing the student's thesis).
Language Requirement
- All Global Studies majors must satisfy a language requirement that entails the successful completion of four semesters of one modern language appropriate to their concentration. For some students, this may mean the first four semesters of a language; for others who place into advanced language classes — and with approval from Global Studies language faculty — this may include literature, culture, oral communication, and linguistic courses in the target language, once such students complete the basic language sequence.
- Students are encouraged to study more than one language at Washington University, but they must satisfy their Global Studies language requirement by demonstrating competence in at least one language through the fourth semester. Available modern languages include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Students should consult the course listings for details about the language sequences. (On the "A&S IQ" tab, click on "Courses," and then toggle "Area Requirement" to "LS Language & Cultural Diversity-Language" and click "Search" to see a list of available language courses.)
Special note for Spanish learners: The following Spanish courses are not part of the regular sequence that are permitted to count toward the four semesters of language: Span 223 Intermediate Spanish Conversation and Culture, Span 351 Business Spanish, Span 353 Medical Spanish, and Span 355 Spanish for the Social Sciences. Some students might find these courses valuable for other reasons. For questions about this, students should consult with their major advisor.
Students With Prior Language Experience
Native speakers of a modern language: Students must satisfy the four-semester Global Studies language requirement in another language appropriate to their concentration.
Heritage speakers who do not have a native level of fluency: Students must seek appropriate placement by the coordinator of the language program and complete the four-semester Global Studies language requirement.
Transfer students who have taken language courses: A transfer student may receive credit for the courses as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if a placement exam is taken upon arrival at Washington University in the given language and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.
Students who take a language course at another institution (whether in the United States or abroad): A student may receive credit for the course as part of the four-semester Global Studies language requirement only if (1) the credit is transferred back as Washington University credit; and (2) the student takes a placement exam in the given language upon their return to Washington University and the department/program determines that the student may progress to the next highest level of language instruction.