Hello everyone. Shawn and I have been working this summer to update the textbook and are pleased to have sent off revisions for the third edition to the Press. Since the last edition in 2011, world events have once again reshaped what may be central to the field of international/global studies. Additionally, a number of you have given us feedback on the information contained in the chapters and we have tried to incorporate many of your suggestions.
Students have let us know that the overall structure of the text has worked well for them in face to face, hybrid, and online settings. Students with learning differences have found the text to be very approachable and we have tried to draw upon universal design principles in this next edition. We continue to believe that undergraduate students can make a difference in the world once they have access to accurate information and are encouraged to make connections between the local and the global.
In the upcoming edition, look for the following changes:
- All chapters have been updated in terms of statistics and references.
- Activities are more consistent. Each chapter now has three activities moving from analysis to reflection to personal connections.
- There are multiple new case studies including a coffee plantation in Nepal, three small island nations, Inuit and Australian Aboriginal health crises, and land acquisition around the globe by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China.
- Students are guided in resume writing exercises looking towards the future
- There are two new cases studies in the conclusion: Ai Wei Wei and Jacinda Ardern
- We provide new perspectives on both globalization and globalism and explore the new tensions between nationalism and populism.
- BREXIT is examined in several chapters.
- Demographic and political dimensions of the refugee crisis are examined as is what is sometimes termed “the politics of exhaustion,” as the world faces the movement of millions of people.
- We explore the role of human security as an approach lets us explore more interrelated security threats, be they terrorist movements, cyberthreats, or pandemics.
- ISIS, Afghanistan, North Korea, Russia, the rise of China, and the possibility of a Great Power War are explored.
- Current energy issues now include more on what happened in Fukushima, the costs of fracking, and the complicated decisions now facing individuals and nation states in terms of sustainable energy choices.
As we have done before, we will compile a set of teacher notes that may help you as you use the textbook. We also welcome references to articles, films, and blogs that may have inspired you or your students. Over the next few months, we will post some of the exercises to give you a sense of the changes. We are grateful for your support and hope you find the new edition as workable and engaging as the previous editions. The new edition will be available in September 2020.