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  • Global Issues
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  • 102
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  • 3.0
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This course introduces students to the origins, current status, and future trends of major transnational issues confronting the global community.  Topics can include population trends, economic development and inequality, basic human needs (for food, water health care), human rights, international conflict and security concerns, and environmental problems.  The course also focuses on global governance, including the study of collective global responsibilties.

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College level English

  1. Introduction: identification and definition of global issues/problems and related concepts such as interdependence. 
  2. Study of a number of problems/issues, including, but not limited to, the suggested list below, organized by either themes or regions:
    1. The study of global population, which includes the evolution of population growth and predictions of the future, and demographic trends, and/or migration, as well as the concept of carrying capacity.
    2. The study of global governance, including, but not limited to, the study of global and regional IGOs (roles, background), the role of nation states, the role of NGOs, communities and individuals.  The focus is on various political actors’ policy powers and limits thereof and their role in addressing existing global problems/ issues.
    3. The study of economic development/ underdevelopment, including, but not limited to, economic growth, the global economy, global inequality and global poverty.
    4. Study of topic(s) related to human needs, including all or some of the following: a) food: including, but not limited to, the study of food shortages, and changes in food production over time;  b) water: including, but not limited to, the study of water access and availability, questions related to sanitation, and safety and conflict; c) health: including, but not limited to, global health problems such as pandemics and their prevention; and/or health care, including, but not limited to, availability and problems with provision of health care; d) energy: including, but not limited to, energy needs, consumption and conservation, renewable and nonrenewable resources.
    5. The study of environmental problems, including, but not limited to, problems related to deforestation, threats to biodiversity, climate change, the pollution of water, air and soil.
    6. The study of human rights, focusing on existing international law and on violations of human rights. Topics addressed might include, but are not limited to, the study of the status of women, the use of child soldiers, the status of refugees, human trafficking, and modern-day slavery.
    7. The study of current conflict and security related problems and global crime, including, but not limited to, current ethnic and sectarian conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the threat of terrorism, human- and drug-trafficking, and piracy.
    8. The study of technology, including, but not limited to, the benefits and problems of new technologies, problems related to access/ inequality of access, and cybersecurity.
  3. For all global issues/ problems, the focus on is analysis of causes of the problem and on approaches to solving it.

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At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to: 

  1. Identify major recurring and emerging global issues
  2. Examine and analyze one or more specific global problems of international or regional nature, and discuss approaches to its/their solution (from an international perspective)
  3. Analyze the interconnections between and among global issues
  4. Compare and evaluate the efficacy of national, regional, and international efforts to solve the problems associated with global issues

Exams.
Written reflections
Research paper(s).

  • Payne, Richard. Global Issues, Fourth edition. Pearson, 2013.
  • Seitz, John L and Hite, Kristen. Global Issues: An Introduction, 4th edition. Wiley, 2012.
  • Sernau, Scott. Global Problems, Third edition, Pearson, 2012.
  • Snarr, Michael T. and Snarr, D. Neil(eds.). Introducing Global Issues, Fifth edition. Rienner, 2012.
  • Jackson, Robert M., Ed. Global Issues (annual editions). McGraw- Hill/Dushkin, 2013.
  • (This is a yearly publication,the title and edition change each year.)
  • Harf, James E. and Mark Owen Lombardi (eds.). Clashing Views on Global Issues. 7th ed. McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2013.

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