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Adapt your Global Studies degree to fit your interests! You can enhance your studies by adding a Concentration, Research Specialization, Option or Minor. Look through the possibilities below to see what interests you, then run a Whatif Scenario on MyDegree (instructions are on the link) to see how your current courses contribute and what is required to progress. When you're ready, you can delcare Program Changes using this form.
Global Studies majors (either single or combined) may pursue a concentration (and only one) as part of their degree. A concentration consists of 3.0 credits, including 1.0 credit from required/core courses and 2.0 credits from elective courses. To graduate with any of these concentrations, students are required to achieve an average GPA of at least 7.0 (B-) in their major. All GS majors are eligible to apply beginning in Year 2 and must complete the appropriate steps for program selection to declare the concentration as part of their major. After your eligibility has been confirmed, the concentration will be added to your program.
From refugee flows, to ‘reverse development,’ to outright state failure, the consequences of contemporary armed conflict are profound and far-reaching. As an emerging interdisciplinary field, peace and conflict studies seeks to understand the complex and interconnected nature of contemporary conflict. It also seeks to find ways to prevent armed violence, mitigate its worst manifestations, and rebuild in its aftermath.
As one of three distinct concentrations within Global Studies, peace and conflict studies is embedded within wider debates around the dynamics of globalization. Acknowledging that both peace and conflict are profoundly impacted by complex cultural practices and understandings, and by uneven levels of socio-economic development, our course offerings – from “Peacebuilding in the Shadow of War,” to “Disarming Conflicts,” to “War, Memory, and Popular Culture” (among others) – aim to provide you with a deeper understanding of contemporary armed conflict and what can be done about it.
Global Studies is also the current institutional home of the Peace and Conflict Studies Association of Canada (PACS-Can), a national association of students, scholars and practitioners committed to the promotion of just and non-violent solutions to contemporary conflict.
What are the causes and responses to global inequality and poverty? The Global Studies development concentration answers this question by examining the history, theories, policies, and practices of development, especially with regard to the Global South. For many decades, countries and international organizations in the Global North were the main drivers of global development, but in the last few years actors in the Global South have also been emerging as important actors. Our interdisciplinary concentration will give you a greater understanding of the complex relations among the world’s powerful countries, multilateral organizations, governments in the Global South, and the world most vulnerable populations. Equipped with multiple perspectives, this program balances theory with practical case studies. It will be an ideal training ground if you wish to work with government, national or international NGOs, journalism, or policy development.
How do we, as humans, come to know ourselves as social and cultural beings? The Culture and Globalization concentration examines this question from a variety of analytical perspectives. Culture is not simply an “add-on” to an individual’s identity but is as vital as politics and economics to who and what we are. Culture shapes the kind of beings that we become and the social and political institutions that govern the world we inhabit.
The Culture and Globalization concentration explores not only what is common to human beings across the world, but also how communities differ from one another. However, each of us is embedded in many cultural communities. Indeed, our experiences are intersected by race, class, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, and citizenship.
What happens when communities’ visions of the world diverge and conflict? The propagation of global ideals such as secularism, democracy, free markets, and the liberal conception of human rights makes this question particularly important because not all communities subscribe to these ideals, or subscribe to them in the same way. The Culture and Globalization concentration encourages students to locate themselves personally and intellectually when engaging with these debates. This means analyzing how culture is intimately shaped by relations of power – relations that are embedded in our governmental institutions and in everyday life. For example, what does it mean to live in the contemporary moment in the shadow of imperialism and colonialism?
(drawn from any two of the following four courses)
If you like research, and are thinking of graduate school, then the Research Specialization may be right for you.
The Research Specialization focuses on engaged learning to improve your research skills and is intended to prepare students for advanced study and work opportunities. Emphasis is put on building key elements of the Global Studies program: rigorous academic work, volunteer and study experiences outside the country, and language study that allows for significant, respectful interactions with people whose working language is not English. Completion will result in a “Research Specialization” designation on student transcripts.
The Specialization is open to fourth-year honours Global Studies students who have already completed a minimum of 1.0 credit of 300-level Global Studies courses, and have earned at least a B average (8.0 GPA) in all their Global Studies courses. The requirements for the Research Specialization are as follows.
To declare the specialization, students must have:
To graduate, students must:
Note: Students registered in the Research Specialization have enrolment priority for the GS400 seminar. However, depending on availability, the seminar is open to non-Research Specialization students who have completed 1.0 credits at the 300 level and who have a minimum GPA of 8.00 in GS credits.
There are also many other ways to enhance your degree through Options and Minors at Laurier. Participate in our Social Entrepreneurship Option or look around and find the one that's right for you!
Contact Us:
Sandra Dalpe, Senior Administrative Assistant
E:
sdalpe@wlu.ca
T:
519.884.0710 x3968
Office Location: DAWB 5-120
Office Hours:
8:15 am - 4:15 pm
Ali Zaidi, Chair
E:
azaidi@wlu.ca
T:
519.884.0710 x3698
Office Location: DAWB 5-120A
Undergraduate Advisor: Dr. Joanne Benham Rennick gsadvisor@wlu.ca
Graduate Officer: Dr. Erich Foxtree RCGJadvisor@wlu.ca