Global and International Studies Department

Hamline’s Global and International Studies program prepares students to become not only global thinkers but also global citizens, attuned to the multifaceted interconnections that shape our world. Majors are able to examine and analyze how people and systems are linked across the planet through technology, international and local organizations, transnational trade, cultural practices, and shared histories. By selecting from a wide array of courses in multiple disciplines, students in the major are able to tailor their studies to match their specific interests. While studying various global issues such as climate change, human rights, international relations, health equity or economic development, students also learn to use an interdisciplinary lens to analyze how a global phenomenon is manifested on a local level. As such, students complete three courses that focus on the history, politics, and/or socio-cultural aspects of a particular geographic area, and identify a language (other than English) to study and/or deploy in their work. Majors conduct self-designed off-campus research projects culminating in substantive capstone papers for presentation on campus and at national conferences. Other co-curricular opportunities for students include working with department faculty on collaborative research, internships, and studying off-campus and abroad. Post-graduation, our students have found fulfilling careers with government departments, non-profit and international organizations, UN agencies, corporations, law firms, academic institutions, and other employers who value their liberal arts skills and global expertise.

Faculty

Leila DeVriese, professor. MA 1996, University of Toronto; PhD 2002, Concordia University, Montreal; Post-Doctorate, 2004, McGill University. Transnational social movements, activism, globalization, human rights and women’s rights, international political economy, Middle East. She also teaches in the social justice program.

Kathryn Geurts, professor, chair. BA 1984 Sarah Lawrence College; MA 1991, PhD 1998, University of Pennsylvania. Cultural/medical/psychological/sensorial anthropology; African studies and disability studies; health and human rights; theory of ethnography; feminist theory. She also teaches in the public health sciences and social justice programs.

Programs

Global and International Studies Major (BA)