Download IS-140 Submission Form

General Education Submission Form
Electronic submissions are preferred.
A.
GE component for which course is being proposed:
B.
Submitted by
C.
Ideally, submissions should be discussed by the entire department prior to submittal.
Cynthia Toms
X Chair has reviewed and approved the course.
D.
Course being proposed (please attach syllabus):
GLOBAL STUDIES INTERDISCIPLINARY SEMINAR
E.
This course
Has not been modified, but is being submitted to check its suitability
Has had its syllabus rewritten to communicate the course’s contribution to
GE
Has had its contents modified to address the relevant GE issues
X Is a new course designed to fulfill the GE requirement
F.
This course is being submitted as
A Template. Applicable to courses with multiple sections which require only general
training in the discipline. The submission should come from the department chair and
should clearly identify what course content and what elements of the syllabus the
department has agreed will common to all sections. Upon approval by the GE
Committee, any course whose syllabus is determined by the department to meet the
specifications of the template is approved to satisfy this area requirement. A copy of
each syllabus should be forwarded to the GE Committee for record keeping purposes.
X An Individual Course. Applicable to courses requiring specialized training in the
discipline or are typically offered by a particular instructor. The course should be
resubmitted and reassessed in the event of a change in staffing or syllabus.
G.
Statement of rationale:
(Include a list of the area certification criteria (former called GE objectives) and GE Student
Learning Outcomes (if applicable). These certification criteria and GE SLOs are listed in the GE
Committee Combined document. After each certification criterion and GE SLO, list several course
activities (lectures, readings, assignments, etc.) that address it. If it is not completely obvious,
explain how the activities relate to the certification criterion or outcome. Please attach a copy of
the syllabus which has been annotated to identify the corresponding activities. Electronic
annotations are required. Please use the comment feature in Word to annotate electronic copies).
See below for Statement of rationale as well as corresponding syllabus.
Understanding Society (i.e., Sociology, Anthropology, Economics and Business, Political Science,
Communication Studies, Global Studies)
Courses develop students’ understanding of society, culture, economics, and/or politics. Students
should recognize the dynamic interplay among individuals, groups, institutions, cultural norms, and
public policy. Courses provide exposure to a breadth of literature regarding models or theories that
explain how we understand society. Students will reflect on how interpretive and objective theories
interact with their values, beliefs, and worldviews. Put differently, students will explore questions of
“what is?” and “why is it so?” to better inform their vision of “what ought to be.”
The course is designed to meet this goal through exploration of three primary questions:
How do theories of globalization explain cultural, economic, social, and
political forces associated with complex challenges facing individuals,
communities, and the earth?
How do cultural, economic, social, and political factors influence who we are
as a global society and what constitutes good collective action, demonstrating
Christian responsibility, in global context?
Interpretive Statement
Ideally, these should be lower division courses. Upper division offerings often require a prerequisite
foundation in terms of concepts, methodologies, and theoretical orientations. Upper division courses
can be appropriate provided the instructor makes clear that students lacking an introductory level
background in the discipline will not be disadvantaged. It is recommended that some course content
reflect cross-cultural and comparative perspectives.
This course is currently listed as introductory level to global studies. However, most students
enrolling will be returning from a study abroad experience. Consequently, it is lower division
course listing which introduces students the concepts and theories of globalization while utilizing a
comparative perspective between local and international contexts.
Certification Criteria
Students will be able to
1. identify foundational theories that offer explanations of social, political, economic, and/or
cultural phenomena;
2. apply foundational theories to analyze contemporary problems or controversies;
3.
make personal and social application of various theories—informed by a biblical perspective.
Student Learning Outcomes are designed to meet serving society requirements
as stated from handbook through Student Learning Outcomes and
Course assignments:
Westmont College Criteria: Students will apply appropriate foundational theories to
analyze social, political, economic, and/or cultural phenomena
Course Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will identify key theories of globalization as well as the specific
social, economic and political forces that shape a particular global issue of
their choosing, including micro-scale individual actors in systems, as well as
the multiplex forces shaping modern grand challenges
2. Students will apply appropriate foundational theories to analyze social,
political, economic, and/or cultural phenomena.
Understanding Society. Westmont College requires student to complete courses of
Common Inquiry, aimed at introducing students to a range of methodological
approaches that one might employ in the quest for knowledge. This course fulfills
the college’s Understanding Society Common Inquiry requirement through
exploration of the following questions:
How do theories of globalization explain cultural, economic, social, and
political forces associated with complex challenges facing individuals,
communities, and the earth?
How do cultural, economic, social, and political factors influence who we are
as a global society and what constitutes good collective action, demonstrating
Christian responsibility, in global context?
Globalization is more than internationalization and universalization. It isn’t
simply modernization or westernization. It is certainly isn’t just the liberalization
of markets. It involves the de-localization and diffusion of ideas, practices and
technologies. Sociologists often described globalization as “the intensification of
worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local
happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.”1
This involves a change in the way we understand geography and experience
localness. Consequently, it is of paramount importance that Westmont graduates
are offered an opportunity to understand global social, economic, cultural and
political processes from a multitude of perspectives that can be captured within
the field of global studies.
Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, students will study social phenomena,
analyzing and explaining a wide and varied range of human behavior and social
institutions and practices. For example, discussions concerning the interplay
between global equality, poverty and gender will draw on the discipline of
political science (liberalism, political realism, Marxism, constructivism,
postmodernism, feminism, transformationalism and eclecticism) as well sociology
(world systems theory) to come to an understand of how these social processes
are experienced by people living in US communities as well as those living in the
Global South. The invited speakers represent each of these realms and will be
asked to specifically addresses these theoretical aspects of the discussion in order
to build a full picture of globalization in the 21st Century.
Students should recognize the dynamic interplay among individuals, societal
infrastructure, and public policy. Students should also understand the processes of
1
Giddens, Anthony. The consequences of modernity. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. (p. 64)
the political economy, the nature of technology and innovation as social
phenomena, and the interaction of private enterprise and the public sector.
Through exposure to a breadth of literature regarding models or theories that
explain social phenomena, students will acquire basic competence to evaluate
these phenomena through observation, data collection, and quantitative and
qualitative analysis. Students should reflect on the applications of contemporary
technological advances and their impacts on personal relationships, research
methodologies, the inquiry process, and the accumulation and dissemination of
new knowledge. [College requirements for Understanding Society]
Course Assignments
Community-Based or Globally focused Research Project that assumes a
comparative methodology. (For honors thesis, you will need co-advisor from your
major). This is an individual discernment project and you will be asked to meet with the
instructor during the first few weeks and at least one more time during the semester to
ensure fit.
Possible Options:
o
o
Santa Barbara Food Security (in conjunction with the Food Bank)
World Vision Peru (working with Global Studies Fellow Scholar, Tito Paredes).
o Immigration in SB & in the region you visited during Study Abroad.
o Community-Based Research of student’s choosing in line with major
advisor or equivalent.
Local/Global Connection Profile (Due September 20.): In order to choose an issue and
gain perspective, you must consider its do cultural, economic, social, and political factors
both locally and in your region of interest. For one assignment, you are asked to
read/research/talk with an expert about a particular local-global challenge and write a
response paper analyzing the historical, economic, political, and cultural values that shape
the issue. Why was the organization founded – and why in this way – to address the
issue? How is the leadership structured and how effective do you perceive it to be? What
unique factors shape this issue in this community and how is it different from other
contexts you have experienced- or expect to conduct research in?
This paper should draw on formal knowledge found in course readings and other
academic resources, however, it is intended to gain perspective on the issue from a
local community member working to address this challenge or affected by it. 4-5
pages, 12 pt. font, TNR.
These assignments and designed for students to apply theories of globalization to
local communities and global challenges