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Mission Statement and Learning Outcomes

Our Mission Statement

What do we do here in Global Studies? Our mission statement comes out of a process of reflection amongst our faculty members, and tries to encapsulate in a few short words what we set out to achieve in our curriculum.

Mission statement:

The contemporary world is shaped by complex economic, political and cultural forces that connect diverse human societies with one another every more deeply. Yet these same forces may also lead to increasing cultural uniformity, inequality and violent conflict. In response to this situation peoples around the world express diverse desires for justice, diversity, prosperity and peace – in often-divergent visions of a shared future.

In Global Studies students engage questions about how economically and politically powerful groups influence the way we understand the world’s problems and what to do about them. We embrace students’ passion for building a better world, while also helping them develop critical thinking tools. These tools allow them to undertake world-building endeavours while also being aware of their own culturally and historically situated perspectives.

The program teaches academic and practical skills relevant to public, private and non-profit sectors. These skills include research, problem-solving and analysis, teamwork, and written and oral communication.  The training that Global Studies students acquire at Laurier enables them to pursue further study in a wide range of fields, and provides a stepping-stone to careers in Canada and abroad. ​

Learning Outcomes

Learn to be passionate, learn to question, learn to explore, and see the world behind the map. Discover how Global Studies provides a firm foundation for a wide set of careers and how it has the power to transform your life.

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of an undergraduate Global Studies degree, students should have a diverse array of knowledge, broadly conceived to include self-awareness and affect. They should be able to identify, explain and critically engage with:

  1. Multiple disciplinary perspectives and theoretical lenses by which to examine key local, national and global issues;
  2. Each of the three concentrations of the Global Studies curriculum, as well as a comprehensive set of key concepts, issues and analytical approaches in at least one of the concentrations;
  3. The key theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the historical and contemporary study of global issues;
  4. The important similarities and differences in cultural, social, and political life around the world, as well as the role of globalization in generating processes of encounter, exchange, hybridity and homogenization with respect to these spheres of life;
  5. Globally prevalent normative principles—such as equality, justice and peace— that have a key role in shaping global institutions, policies and social movements;
  6. The power-infused relationships between self and others, as well as the social, economic, political and religious influences that shape our own worldview and positionality within those relationships.

Upon completion of an undergraduate Global Studies degree, students should have a series of transferable research, critical thinking and communication skills. They should be able to:

  1. Convey complex ideas and positions in oral and written form using genres and approaches suitable to a variety of audiences;
  2. Present information and arguments in multiple media and settings, e.g. film, public speaking, and blogging;
  3. Employ appropriate methodological tools to conduct scholarly research into particular problems and questions in Global Studies;
  4. Use library and other research tools to locate, distinguish between, and assess different kinds of sources, including peer-reviewed journal literature and scholarly monographs, official documents of governments and other organizations, media reports, etc.;
  5. Collaborate in group settings, including abilities to identify common goals, share tasks, problem-solve, manage time efficiently, engage in leadership and facilitation;
  6. Apply practices of dialogue and critique in order to facilitate and participate in discussions across social and cultural difference;
  7. Engage with the world in potentially transformative kinds of social and political action, while displaying a mindfulness of the limits of one’s own knowledge and agency.