Global Studies

Requirements for the Major in Global Studies

Up to 14 courses, including the five courses that constitute the core curriculum; three courses focusing on cultures and places; three courses related to themes in global studies; and one senior seminar or appropriate independent study (Global Studies 491 or 492). Within the approved cultures/places and themes courses, students as of the Class of 2020 must complete one of the courses with a W2 designation. The senior seminar or senior project must be completed during the senior year as the capstone experience. Majors must complete a concentration within the major unless they have a double major or minor where elective coursework is international in anthropology, Chinese, East Asian studies, economics, environmental studies, French studies, German studies, government, history, Italian, Japanese, Latin American studies, Russian, or Spanish. 

Majors also must complete the equivalent of two courses beyond the introductory level in a modern foreign language. Students are encouraged to develop language skills relevant to their regional specialization. When appropriate to a major’s specialization, we will consider petitions for the two classes beyond introductory to be taken off-campus if the language in question is not offered adequately at Colby, for example Arabic or Quechua. At least one semester of foreign study is required, although under exceptional circumstances students with extensive overseas experience can petition the director and the advisory committee to be exempted. A student must receive a grade of C- or better for a course to count toward the major. No courses listed for the major may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.

Note: Students must have at least a 2.7 grade point average by the end of the sophomore year to be eligible for foreign study. Students who do not meet this minimum requirement will not be able to retain their global studies major.

Note to junior transfer students: The College requires that all students spend at least four semesters in residence at Colby. Therefore, to satisfy the semester-abroad requirement for the major, junior transfer students must either stay for a fifth semester or enroll in a summer study-abroad program for at least nine credits (unless the study-abroad requirement has been met in some other way).

Courses Composing the Core Curriculum

Anthropology 112, Economics 133 and 134, Government 131, and History 276.

Courses Approved to Fulfill the Cultures and Places Component

Note that (a) at least two courses must be drawn from the same regional grouping and one course from a different region and that (b) courses must be drawn from at least two disciplines.

Africa:

Anthropology

• 341 Culture, Mobility, Identity: Encounters in the African Diaspora
• 344 Black Radical Imaginations

English

• 366 Writing the Crisis: Post-Apartheid Literature in Focus

French Studies

• 237 Francophone African Cinema
• 238 Introduction to the Francophone World: Africa
• 361 Creolization, Culture, and Society in the Indian Ocean Islands
• 370 Corps, Espace, et Genre: Postcolonial Space in Francophone Africa
• 373 Writing of Place: Migration, Nationalism, and Memory
• 375 Narratives of Identities in Francophone African Literature
• 397 Francophone Ecocriticism and Postcolonial Theory in Dialogue

Global Studies

• 316 Religion and Social Change in Contemporary Africa

Government

• 255 Introduction to African Politics
• 336 Politics of Development in Africa
• 338 Field Study in African Development

History

• 266 Introduction to African History, 1800 to 1994
• 297 Children and Youth in African History
• 298A South Africa, Ambivalent Nation
• 397B Africa in New England, New England in Africa
• 398B South African Women’s Memoir

Asia:

Anthropology

• 326 Comparing Inequalities: Caste and Race
• 339 Asian Pacific Modernities

Art

• 174 East Asian Art and Architecture, 1300 to the Present
• 276 Zen and the Arts in Asia
• 377 Japanese Visual Culture
• 378 Chinese Visual Culture

Chinese

• 430 Contemporary Chinese Society
• 434 Docu-China: Advanced Readings in Chinese
• 435 Chinese Women from Mao to Market
• 453 Chinese Food and Culture and Its Changing Landscape
• 455 Talking About Contemporary China

East Asian Studies

• 120 Nature in East Asian Literature and Culture
• 143 Music and Culture in Modern China
• 150 Foundations in East Asian Studies
• 197C Contemporary US-Japan Relations
• 197C Contemporary Chinese Art
• 231 The Chinese Novel: Vignettes of Life in Imperial China
• 242 Development and Environmental in Contemporary China
• 252 Hell on Earth? Chinese Writers on Modern Chinese Society
• 253 Three Kingdoms in Chinese Literature
• 261 Japanese Language and Culture
• 263 Buddhism across East Asia
• 265 Chinese Philosophy
• 268 Politics of Satire and Humor in Modern China
• 277 Culture of Cuteness: Japanese Women
• 278 Language and Gender
• 280 Topics of Global Cinema: Korean
• 2XX Words from the Floating World: The Literature of Early Modern Japan
• 332 Masterpieces: Modern Japanese Novels
• 353 Globalization and the Rise of China
• 355 Aging and Public Policy in East Asia
• 397 Gods, Ghosts and Goblins: Japanese Mythology and Folklore
• 3XX History of Manga and Anime

Economics

• 279  Economic Rise and Future of China

French 

• 361 Creolization, Culture, and Society in the Indian Ocean

English

• 237 Postcolonial Pastoral: Ecology, Travel, and Writing

Government

• 256 Introduction to East Asian Politics
• 355 Winners and Losers in Chinese Politics
• 356 Winners and Losers in Japanese Politics

History

• 120 F Spotlight on History: Mao’s Red Guards
• 143 Maritime History of the World
• 197 History of Modern East Asia
• 250 History of Modern China: Everyday Life and Revolution
• 255 Histories of Southeast Asia: Slavery, Diasporas, and Revolutions
• 297D Revolutionary Culture in Contemporary China
• 298C Taikun to Trump: A History of East Asia and the West
• 351 Desiring Asia: Gender and Sexuality in East Asia
• 359 History of Chinese Feminism
• 377 Imperialism, Decolonization, and Modernity in Southeast Asia
• 397 Global History of Manga and Anime
• 398A Minorities in East Asia
• 398B Maine in Japan

Music

• 275 Cultured Tough Guys: Samurai Devotion, Music, Poetry, and Art
  

Philosophy

• 265 Chinese Philosophy
• 266 Buddhist Philosophy

 Religious Studies

• 111 Religions of India
• 117 A Passage to India: India and the Western Imagination
• 212 Religions of China, Japan, and Tibet
• 218 Global South Asia: Literature, Art, Environment
• 263 Buddhism across East Asia
• 265 Buddhism: An Introduction
• 319 Bollywood and Beyond: South Asian Religions through Film

Science, Technology, and Society

• 223 Asian Science and Society
• 242 Development and Environmental in Contemporary China (see EA 242)

Europe and Russia:

Art

• 257 Renaissance Art
• 278 19th Century European Art
• 398 Vienna 1900: Works from a Major Private Collection

French Studies

• 223 French Theater Workshop
• 232 French Cultural History I
• 233 France in Transition: Current Issues and Debates
• 239 Paris: Literary and Historical Topographies
• 252 Provocative Texts: A Critical Toolbox
• 256 Film for Thought: The Art of French Cinema
• 323 Holocaust in French Cinema
• 354 Parisian Encounters: Great Loves, Grand Passions
• 357 Illuminating Turns to Science in 19th-Century France
• 358 Passionate Discontent: The 19th-Century Epidemic
• 371 L’écriture de Soi
• 376 Shadows of the Past: Remembering Vichy France and the Shoah
• 377 Staging Justice: The Theater of Revolt
• 378 French Revolution and Human Rights
• 379 Race and Gender in Contemporary French Cinema and New Media
• 392 French Intellectuals and the Struggle for Social Change
• 397 Post-World War II France
• 397 Queering the Maghreb in Francophone Cinema
• 398 Time for Outrage: Disenfranchised Subjects, Political Struggles

German

• 198B Weimar Culture: Germany Between the World Wars (see HI398C)
• 231 Introduction to German Studies
• 234 German Culture through Film
• 236 ConTexts in German Culture
• 252 Mission Impossible: Multicultural German Literature and Film
• 263 Weird Fictions (in English)
• 297 Women’s Lit, Culture, Visual
• 297 Unheard of Events
• 297 Violence, Atrocity, and Trauma: Europe 1914-1945 (see HI397B)
• 297 Law and (Dis)Order
• 342 Contested Subjects in German Culture

Global Studies

• 245J Memory and Politics
• 398 Decolonizing Europe

Government

• 259 Introduction to European Politics
• 266 German Politics
• 297 Writers against the State: Reading the Political Novel in Prague
• 344 Post-Communist Transformations
• 354 The European Union
• 359 Political Ideologies and the New Illiberalism
• 362 Advanced International Relations in Salzburg

History

• 112 Mentalities, States, and Societies in Europe Since 1618
• 120 World Revolutions
• 120C Spotlight on History: The Holocaust and Genocide in Europe
• 224 Germany and Europe, 1871-1945
• 227 Russian History, 900-1905: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality
• 228 The Russian Empire: Soviet History and 20th-Century Revolutions
• 297J Europe and the Second World War
• 298C A Shrinking Island? Britain Since 1900
• 314 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Venice from Beginning to End
• 321 The First World War
• 322 Europe and the Second World War
• 327 Daily Life under Stalin
• 328 Daily Life under Putin
• 397B Violence, Atrocity, and Trauma: Europe 1914-45
• 398C Weimar Culture: Germany Between the World Wars

Italian

• 141 Introduction to Italian Literary Studies: Poets, Lovers, and Revolutionaries
• 153 Modern and Contemporary Italian Fiction in Translation in Verona
• 153 Modern and Contemporary Italian Fiction in Translation
• 242 Italian Ecopoetics: Beauty, Loss, Desire
• 255 Modern Classics Italian Style
• 262 Tales from the Margins: Topics in Italian Cultural Studies
• 297 Nature in Italian Literature and Film (in English)
• 346 Geographies of R/existence
• 356 Introduction to Dante’s Divine Comedy(in English)
• 373  Italian Food in Practice: A Hands-on Cultural History
• 375 Introduction to Italian Cinema
• 397 Zine! A Practical Introduction to Contemporary Poetry

Religious Studies

• 182 Jews, Judaism, and the Modern World
• 346 Jews of Germany, Past and Present

Russian

• 113 The Literature and Art of St. Petersburg
• 120 Reel Russian
• 222 Revolutionary Performances: Theater and the Energy of the Unspoken
• 231 Spectacle of Modernity: Russian Fiction before Cinema (in English)
• 232 Modern Russian Literature (in English)
• 237 Narrative and Self in the Russian Empire (in English)
• 237 Spectacle of Modernity: Russian Fiction before Cinema
• 237 Topics in 19th-Century Russian Literature (in English)
• 242 Ethnic Wars and Peace in (Post)-Soviet Cinema (in English)
• 242 Make Russia Great Again
• 242 Ethnic Wars and Peace in (Post-)Soviet Cinema (in English)
• 325 Conversation and Composition: Identity in 20th-Century Literature
• Conversation and Composition: Personal ID in 20th-Century Literature
• 346 Russian Poetry

Spanish

• 135 Introduction to Literary Analysis
• 234 Diversity and Racism in Contemporary Spain
• 236 Medical Spanish
• 266 Language of Spanish Cinema
• 269 Spanish Cultural Studies
• 298A Becoming Vulnerable in Early Modern Spain
• 2XX Cultures of Contemporary Spain
• 362 All about Almodóvar
• 364 Gender, Sex, and the Spanish Body
• 366 Queer Spain

Latin America:

Anthropology

• 231 Caribbean Cultures
• 236 Illegal Drugs, Law, and the State
• 242 Anthropology of Latin America: City Life
• 298 Pop Culture in Latin America
• 361 Militaries, Militarization, and War
• 365 Space, Place, and Belonging
• 397 Indigeneity and the Politics of Authenticity

Economics

• 214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America
• 297 Topics in Latin American Economic Policy (see GS397)

French Studies

•  236 Introduction to the Francophone World: The Americas
• 351 Minority Issues and Social Change in the Americas

Government

• 253 Introduction to Latin American Politics
• 264 Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America

Global Studies

• 214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America (see EC214)

Latin American Studies

• 173 History of Latin America, 1491 to 1900
• 174 Introduction to Latin American Studies
• 272 Mexican History: Justice, Rights, and Revolution
• 275 Strongmen and Populism in Modern Spain and Latin America
• 277 History of the Maya from 200 B.C.
• 297 The Cuban Revolution
• 297A Crime, Violence, and Security in Latin America
• 298 Popular Culture in Latin America
• 373 Religion and Unbelief in Modern Latin American History
• 378 U.S. in Latin America: Intervention, Influence, Integration
• 398A Cold War in Latin America

Spanish

• 135A Intro to Critical Analysis: Eco-Fiction and Eco-Thought
• 135B Intro to Critical Analysis: Indigenous Latin America
• 135E Intro to Critical Analysis: Spanish in the USA
• 237 Conquest and Resistance in the Americas
• 239 Latin America at the Movies
• 244 Bad Women and B-Films in Contemporary Latin America
• 254 Aqui Estamos: U.S. Latinx in the 20th and 21st Centuries
• 267 Family/History/Nation: Latina/o Genealogies
• 298 Latin American Theater
• 298A Dancing McOndo: Music and Literature from Latin America
• 298B Latinx and Chicana Feminism
• 2XX Race and Identity in Contemporary Latin America
• 346 Race, Rights, and Land in the Americas
• 348 The Afro-Americans: Race, Power, and Subjectivity
• 376 Narratives, Artifacts, Monuments Pre-Columbian
• 397 Struggle, Memory and Truth: Human Rights in Latin America
• 397A Mexican-U.S. Border Studies
• 398A Imaginary Lines: Immigration, Borders, Movement

The Middle East:

Art

• 126 Art and Architecture of the Islamic World, 1258-1914

French Studies

• 397/493J Queering the Maghreb in Francophone Cinema

Global Studies

• 226 Arab Spring
• 297 Syrian Conflict
• 298 Middle East, World Wars, and Regional Conflict
• 298A Religious Violence
• 397 Zionism and its Opponents
• 3XX The War on Terror: An Accounting

Government

• 251 Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation
• 252 Introduction to Politics of the Middle East
• 278 United States and the Middle East
• 358 Comparative Arab Politics

History

• 184 History of the Modern Middle East
• 285 Foundations of Islam
• 362 History of Egypt
• 381 Women and Gender in Islam
• 389 History of Iran

Religious Studies

• 182 Jews, Judaism, and the Modern World

Courses Approved to Fulfill the Theme Component

Courses must be drawn from at least two different disciplines.

Art

• 288 Global Photographies
• 323 The Destruction of Culture

Anthropology

• 211 Of Beasts, Pets, and Wildlife: What Animals Mean to Humans
• 236 Illegal Drugs, Law, and the State
• 244 Anthropology of Religion
• 246 Religion and Everyday Life in Muslim Societies
• 249 Courts, Trials, and the Pursuit of Justice
• 252 Language, Culture, Discourse
• 253 Goods, Gifts, and Globalizing Consumers
• 256 Land, Food, Culture, and Power
• 258 Anthropology, History, Memory
• 298 Pop Culture in Latin America
• 326 Comparing Caste and Race
• 341 Culture, Mobility, Identity
• 344 Black Radical imaginations
• 361 Militaries, Militarization, and War
• 363 Secrecy and Power
• 365 Space, Place, and Belonging
• 366 Technocultures
• 373 The Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality
• 374 Public Anthropology
• 397 Indigeneity and the Politics of Authenticity
• 398 Anthropology of Social Media

East Asian Studies

• 197C Contemporary US-Japan Relations
• 242 Development and Economic Issues in Contemporary China
• 278 Language and Gender
• 353 Globalization and Human Rights in China
• 355 Aging and Public Policy in East Asia

Economics

• 171 Global Financial Markets
• 214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America
• 279 Economic Rise and Future of China
• 297 Topics in Latin American Economic Policy (see GS397)
• 298 Economics of Developing Countries
• 318 Economics of Health and Consumer Behavior
• 335 Topics in Economic Development
• 343 Environment and Development
• 348 Economic Growth
• 378 International Trade

Education

• 228 Women, Children, Gender, and Human Rights
• 324 Elite Schooling in Global Context
• 398 Research Seminar on Global Citizenship Education
• 398A Education and Sustainable Development
• 398B Gender, Education, and Development

Environmental Studies

• 234 International Environmental Policy
• 265 Global Public Health
• 276 Global Change Ecology
• 346 Global Food Policy
• 364 Climate Change, Justice, and Health
• 366 The Environment and Human Health
• 368 Global Climate Policy

French Studies

• 297 Indigenous Resistance to Petrocapitalism (in English)
• 373 Writing of Place: Migration, Nationalism, and Memory
• 376 Shadows of the Past: Remembering Vichy France and the Shoah
• 379 Race and Gender in France
• 398 Time for Outrage: Disenfranchised Subject, Political Struggles

Global Studies

• 211 Human Rights and Social Justice in Global Perspective
• 224 Multimedia Storytelling in a Transnational World
• 226 Arab Spring
• 227 Visual Ways of Knowing
• 245 Memory and Politics
• 245J Memory and Politics
• 251 Global Displacement: Understanding Refugees and Refugee Policy
• 252 Language, Culture, Discourse
• 253 Goods, Gifts, and Globalizing Consumers
• 255 Global Health: Critical Perspectives on Health, Care, and Policy
• 297J Contemporary Immigration in the U.S.
• 297 Syrian Conflict
• 298 Middle East, World Wars, and Regional Conflict
• 298A Religious Violence
• 298B Oak Activist Research Lab on Mobility and Mutual Aid
• 298B The Bourgeoisie
• 316 Religion and Social Change in Contemporary Africa
• 352 Global Activism: From Socialist Internationalism to Today
• 397 Colonialism, Post-Colonialism, and Settler Culture
• 397 Zionism and its Opponents
• 398 History of the War on Terrorism 19886-Present
• 298B Global Inequality Internship and Research Group
• 398C Decolonizing Europe

Government

• 223 America and the World
• 231 U.S. Foreign Policy: The Cold War
• 236 International Law and Politics of Human Rights
• 238 Politics of War Crime Tribunals
• 251 Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation
• 252 Introduction to Politics of the Middle East
• 253 Intro Latin American Politics
• 255 Intro African Politics
• 256 Introduction to East Asian Politics
• 260 9-11: Origins, Event, Aftermath
• 263 Global Crisis of Democracy and Democracy Assistance
• 264 Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America
• 278 United States and the Middle East
• 332 International Organization
• 336 Politics of Development in Africa
• 338 Field Study in African Development
• 344 Post-Communist Transformations
• 354 The European Union
• 356 Winners and Losers in Japanese Politics
• 357 Political Economy of Regionalism
• 359 Political Ideologies and the New Illiberalism
• 361 Advanced International Relations Theory
• 362 Advanced International Relations in Salzburg

History

• 120 World Revolutions
• 120C Spotlight on History: The Holocaust and Genocide in Europe
• 141 Genocide and Globalization: 20th-Century World History
• 143 Maritime History of the World
• 162 History of the Atlantic World
• 226J Cities from Scratch: A Global History of New Towns
• 229 America’s Whitest State? Immigration in Maine, Yesterday and Today
• 245 Science, Race, and Gender
• 248 Nuclear Vision, Environmental Realities
• 297J Europe and the Second World War
• 298C Taikun to Trump: A History of East Asia and the West
• 321 The First World War
• 322 Europe and the Second World War
• 330 Global Histories of Food
• 331 Slavery and Capitalism
• 341 US as an Empire
• 346 Global Health History
• 356 Cultures and Identities of the British Empire
• 359 History of Chinese Feminism
• 381 Women and Gender in Islam
• 394 Ecological History
• 397 Culture Wars: The Global Cold War
• 398 Atlantic World and Beyond: New England in Global History
• 398C United States as Empire

Jan Plan

• 151 Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries
• 231 Economic Development in Conflict Zones

Latin American Studies

• 221 Crime, Violence, and Security in Latin America
• 272 Mexico: The History of Justice, Rights, and Revolution
• 378 U.S. in Latin America: Intervention, Influence, Integration
• 398 Cold War in Latin America

Music

• 252 Intro to World Music

Philosophy

• 311 Approaches to Global Justice

Science, Technology, and Society

• 223 Asian Science and Society
• 242 Development and Environmental in Contemporary China
• 297 Global Food, Health, and Society

Sociology

• 224 Sociology of Globalization
• 244 Urban Sociology in a Global Context
• 262 Comparative Perspective on Inequality
• 268 Social Policy and Inequality
• 297 Sociology of Immigration
• 298C Urban Sociology

Spanish

• 135B Intro to Critical Analysis: Indigenous Latin America
• 236 Medical Spanish
• 2XX Race and Identity in Contemporary Latin America
• 346 Race, Rights, and Land in the Americas
• 348 The Afro-Americas: Race, Power, and Subjectivity

Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies

• 225 Gender and Politicized Religion
• 343 Decolonize this Place
• 397 South Asian Feminisms

Courses Approved to Fulfill the Seminar Requirement

Anthropology

• 421 Anthropology of Creativity
• 464 Anthropology of Food

Chinese

• 435 Chinese Women from Mao to Market

East Asian Studies

• 493 Seminar: Advanced Research in East Asia

Economics

• 471 Seminar: Global Production
• 475 Seminar: Health and Economic Development

Environmental Studies

• 493 Environmental Policy Practicum (if topic is appropriate*)

French

• 493A Post-World War II France
• 493B Writing of Place: Migration
• 493C Minority Issues and Social Change in the Americas
• 493D Passionate Discontent: The 19th Century Epidemic
• 493D Parisian Encounters: Great Loves, Grand Passions
• 493E Creolization, Culture, and Society in the Indian Ocean
• 493G Ecocritism and Postcolonial Theory in Dialogue
• 493H French Revolution and Human Rights
• 493L Race and Gender in France
• 493M Staging Justice: Theater of Revolt
• 493N L’ecriture de soi

German

• 493 Ideologies and Identities

Global Studies

• 455 Intervention: The Ethics and Politics of Humanitarianism
• 457 Insurgent Mobility Lab: Migrants, Activists, the Balkan Route
• 498 Insurgent Mobility Lab II: Migrants, Activists, the Balkan Route

Government

• 423 National Security Decision Making
• 432 Seminar: U.S. Foreign Policy
• 451 Seminar: Political Violence
• 455 Seminar: Conflict and Crisis in Africa
• 456 Civil Society and Social Change in Latin America
• 457 Seminar: Germany and Europe

History

• 414 History of Fear in Europe, 1300-1900
• 421 Research Seminar: Debating the Nazi Past
• 438 Global Commodities: Trade, Networks, and Cultural Exchange

Latin American Studies

• 473 Historical Roots of Violence in Modern Latin America

Russian

• 425 Russian Literary and Artistic Works
• 425 Russian Short Prose
• 425 Culture and Politics
• 428 The 20th-Century Russian Novel

Spanish

• 493 Seminar: Queer Spain
• 497 Seminar: Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
• 498 Seminar: The Afro-Americas: Race, Power, and Subjectivity
• 498 Abia Yala: Indigenous Resistance, Revolution, and Decoloniality

Note: Students can petition the director of the program to count a seminar-style 200- or 300-level course toward the seminar requirement. In such cases, students also will be expected to enroll in Global Studies 491 or 492 (for two credits) to complete an original research paper. Approval of this option is at the discretion of the instructor and the advisory committee. Students may also pursue an approved four-credit independent research project (Global Studies 491 or 492) to fulfill the senior requirement.

Note: Some courses are listed under two or three categories; with the exception of counting courses toward the concentration or a second major (if students have a relevant double major or minor [see above]), no single course can be used to satisfy more than one requirement. A minor must have four freestanding courses not required for the major. Students may petition to include other courses if the course has a substantial international component and is approved by the director and advisory committee.

Honors in Global Studies

An honors program is available in which the student can pursue a yearlong independent research project that also fulfills the seminar requirement; successful completion of this project may entitle the student to graduate with “Honors in Global Studies.” To be eligible, a student must have a grade point average of 3.5 or better in the major at the time of graduation and should submit a statement of intent to the program director by May 1 of the junior year. Students will register for GS483 in the fall; the final deadline for submission of a completed honors thesis proposal is the first Friday in October. See the Global Studies Handbook (online) for further information about procedures, including midyear evaluation and deadline for completion of the thesis

Requirements for Concentrations

Majors are required to complete a concentration unless they have a double major or minor in anthropology, Chinese, East Asian studies, economics, French studies, German studies, government, history, Italian, Japanese, Latin American studies, Russian, or Spanish. (Note that managerial economics may not substitute for a concentration.) Students may propose an independent concentration. Concentrations should be declared by the spring of the sophomore year. Students may elect more than one concentration.

Concentrations Focusing on Cultures and Places
A concentration focusing on cultures and places requires completion of the following:

• Four courses dealing with a specific region or cultural grouping such as Francophone Africa. Courses appropriate to each region are listed above under the cultures and places component. At least two of those courses should be taken at Colby. At least one of the four courses must be drawn from the social sciences and at least one other from the humanities.
• A coordination of cultural specialization with study abroad.
• A coordination of the language requirement with foreign study where Colby offers an appropriate program.
• A seminar project or independent study in the senior year that addresses issues in the chosen area.

Thematic Concentrations
Four tracks have been established for thematic concentrations:

• International Relations/Foreign Policy
• International Economic Policy
• Development Studies
• Human Rights/Social Justice

Each track requires at least four courses designated as relevant to the respective field plus a seminar or an independent senior project relevant to the chosen specialization. Note that some of the courses appropriate for these concentrations are not designated as global studies courses. While they are relevant to their respective specialization, they do not count toward the requirements for the major or the grade point average in the major. These courses are designated by an asterisk (*).

International Relations/Foreign Policy

Students must take a relevant senior seminar (or senior paper) in addition to four of the courses listed below, in at least two different programs/departments. Introduction to American Government is strongly encouraged as an additional course.

Anthropology

• 236 Illegal Drugs, Law, and the State
• 361 Militaries, Militarization, and War

East Asian Studies

• 197C Contemporary US-Japan Relations

Environmental Studies

• 234 International Environmental Policy
• 368 Global Climate Policy

Global Studies

• 226 Arab Spring
• 245(J) Memory and Politics
• 297 Contemporary Immigration in the US
• 297 Syrian Conflict
• 297J Contemporary Immigration in the US
• 298A Religious Violence
• 298 Middle East, World Wars, and Regional Conflict
• 397 Zionism and its Opponents
• 398 History of the War on Terrorism 1986-Present
• 3XX The War on Terror: An Accounting

Government

• 223 America and the World
• 231 U.S. Foreign Policy: The Cold War
• 236 International Law and Politics of Human Rights
• 238 Politics of International War Crime Tribunals
• 251 Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation
• 256 Introduction to East Asian Politics
• 260 9-11: Origins, Event, Aftermath
• 263 Global Crisis of Democracy and Democracy Assistance
• 278 United States and the Middle East
• 332 International Organization
• 354 The European Union
• 357 Political Economy of Regionalism
• 361 Advanced International Relations Theory
• 362 Advanced International Relations in Salzburg

History

• 120C Spotlight on History: The Holocaust and Genocide in Europe
• 141 Genocide and Globalization: 20th-Century World History
• 143 Maritime History of the World
• 162 History of the Atlantic World
• 248 Nuclear Visions, Environmental Realities
• 297J Europe and the Second World War
• 298C Taikun to Trump: A History of East Asia and the West
• 321 First World War
• 322 Europe and the Second World War
• 331 Slavery and Capitalism
• 341 The United States as Empire
• 356 Cultures and Identities of British Empire
• 397 Culture Wars: The Global Cold War
• 398C United States as an Empire

Jan Plan

• 231 Economic Development in Conflict Zones

Latin American Studies

• 378 U.S. in Latin America: Intervention, Influence, Integration
• 398 Cold War in Latin America

International Economic Policy

Students must take a relevant senior seminar (or senior paper) and take four of the courses listed below; one must be outside of economics and two must be in economics.

Anthropology

• 256 Land, Food, Culture, and Power

Economics

• 171 Global Financial Markets
• 214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America
• 279 Economic Rise and Future of China
• 297 Topics in Latin American Economic Policy
• 318 Economics of Global Health
• 335 Topics in Economic Development
• 343 Environment and Development
• 348 Economic Growth
• 378 International Trade

Global Studies

• 253 Goods, Gifts, and Globalizing Consumers
• 298B The Bourgeoisie

Government

• 253 Introduction to Latin American Politics
• 332 International Organization
• 344 Post-Communist Transformations
• 354 The European Union
• 357 Political Economy of Regionalism

History

• 162 History of the Atlantic World
• 330 Global Histories of Food
• 331 Slavery and Capitalism
• 397 Culture Wars: The Global Cold War
• 398 Global Histories of Food
• 398 Atlantic World and Beyond: New England in Global History

Jan Plan

• 231 Economic Development in Conflict Zones

Sociology

• 224 Sociology of Globalization

Development Studies

Students must take a relevant senior seminar (or senior paper) and take four of the courses listed below, in at least two different departments/programs.

Anthropology

• 236 Illegal Drugs, Law, and State
• 256 Land, Food, Culture, and Power

East Asian Studies

• 242 Development and Economic Issues in Contemporary China

Economics

• 214 Economic Policy and Performance in Contemporary Latin America
• 279 Economic Rise and Future of China
• 297 Topics in Latin American Economic Policy
• 298 Economics of Developing Countries
• 318 Economics of Global Health
• 335 Topics in Economic Development
• 343 Environment and Development
• 378 International Trade

Education

• 228J Women, Children, Gender, and Human Rights
• 398A Education and Sustainable Development
• 398B Gender, Education, and Development

Environmental Studies

• 265 Global Public Health
• 276 Global Change Ecology

Global Studies

• 251 Global Displacement: Understanding Refugees and Refugee Policy
• 255 Global Health: Critical Perspectives on Health, Care, and Policy
• 298B The Bourgeoisie
• 352 Global Activism: From Socialist Internationalism to Today
• 398B Global Inequality Internship and Research Group

Government

• 252 Introduction to Politics of the Middle East
• 253 Introduction to Latin American Politics
• 255 Introduction to African Politics
• 263 Global Crisis of Democracy and Democracy Assistance
• 332 International Organization
• 336 Politics of Development in Africa
• 338 Field Study in African Development

History

• 330 Global Histories of Food
• 346 Global Health History
• 394 Ecological History

Jan Plan

• 151 Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries
• 231 Economic Development in Conflict Zones

Science, Technology, and Society

• 242 Development and Environmental in Contemporary China

Sociology

• 298B Sociology of Globalization
• 298C Urban Sociology

Spanish

• 135B Intro to Critical Analysis: Indigenous Latin America

Human Rights/Social Justice

Students must take a relevant senior seminar (or senior paper) and take four of the courses listed below, in at least two different programs/departments.

Anthropology

• 211 Of Beasts, Pets, and Wildlife: What Animals Mean to Humans
• 236 Illegal Drugs, Law, and the State
• 246 Religion and Everyday Life in Muslim Societies
• 249 Courts, Trials, and the Pursuit of Justice
• 256 Land, Food, Culture, and Power
• 298 Pop Culture in Latin America
• 326 Comparing Inequalities: Caste and Race
• 341 Culture, Mobility, Identity: Encounters in the African Diaspora
• 344 Black Radical Imaginations
• 361 Militaries, Militarization, and War
• 363 Secrecy and Power
• 365 Space, Place, and Belonging
• 366 Technoculture
• 373 Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality

Art

• 323 The Destruction of Culture

East Asian Studies

• 353 Globalization and Human Rights in China

Education

• 228 Women, Children, Gender, and Human Rights
• 398B Gender, Education, and Development

Environmental Studies

• 234 International Environmental Policy
• 265 Global Public Health
• 364 Climate Change, Justice, and Health
• 366 The Environment and Human Health

French Studies

• 297 Indigenous Resistance to Petrocapitalism (in English)
• 376 Shadows of the Past: Remembering Vichy France and the Shoah
• 379 Race and Gender in France
• 398 Time for Outrage! Disenfranchised Subjects, Political Struggles

Global Studies

• 211 Human Rights and Social Justice in Global Perspective
• 227 Visual Ways of Knowing
• 251 Global Displacement: Understanding Refugees and Refugee Policy
• 252 Language, Culture, Discourse
• 253 Cultural Perspectives on Global Economies
• 255 Global Health: Critical Perspectives on Health, Care, and Policy
• 297 Contemporary Immigration in the U.S.
• 316 Religion and Social Change in Contemporary Africa
• 352 Global Activism: From Socialist Internationalism to Today
• 397 Colonialism, Poet-colonialism, Settler Colonialism
• 397 Zionism and its Opponents

Government

• 236 International Law and Politics of Human Rights
• 238 Politics of International War Crimes Tribunals
• 251 Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation
• 263 Global Crisis of Democracy and Democracy Assistance
• 264 Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America
• 332 International Organization (if papers written on human rights)
• 356 Winners and Losers in Japanese Politics

History

• 120C Spotlight on History: The Holocaust and Genocide in Europe
• 141Genocide and Globalization: 20th-Century World History
• 229 America’s Whitest State? Immigration in Maine, Yesterday and Today
• 245 Science, Race and Gender
• 356 Cultures and Identities of British Empire
• 359 History of Chinese Feminismt

Latin American Studies

• 221 Crime, Violence, and Security in Latin America
• 272 Mexican History: Justice, Rights, and Revolution
• 378 U.S. in Latin America: Intervention, Influence, Integration

Philosophy

• 311 Philosophical Approaches to Global Justice

Sociology

• 262 Comparative Perspectives on Inequality
• 268 Social Policy and Inequality
• 297 Sociology of Immigration

Spanish

• 135B Intro to Critical Analysis: Indigenous Latin America
• 236 Medical Spanish
• 2XX Race and Identity in Contemporary Latin America
• 346 Race, Rights, and Land in the Americas
• 348 The Afro-Americas: Race, Power, and Subjectivity

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

• 225 Gender and Politicized Religion
• 343 Decolonize This Place
• 397 South Asian Feminisms