Xenophobia and populism have been on the rise globally, from Brazil to the United States. Even European nations have not been immune to these trends, despite the continent’s painful history with the far right and fascism. Rick Steve’s has a new documentary, The Story of Fascism in Europe, which provides a concise study of this …
Category: Europe
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2020/01/rick-steves-the-story-of-fascism-in-europe/
Dec 15
The cost of education globally
Years ago I lectured in Germany at the University of Trier. While I was there these German students asked me about the cost of tuition at my school, a public institution in Oregon. At the time, my university had by far the lowest tuition rate in the state. But when I told my students what …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/12/the-cost-of-education-globally/
Oct 31
Death in Ice Valley
Every year on Halloween I cover a suitable topic, such as a haunted house in Hong Kong, or a mystery ship in Canada. This year I want to briefly mention “Death in Ice Valley” which is a joint production between the BBC World Service and NRK. This particular podcast examines the mystery that surrounds the Isdal …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/10/death-in-ice-valley/
Mar 08
Spring class at Portland State University
Image above: Map of Europe, National Library of Ireland, Flickr Commons For those of you who live in the Portland, Oregon area, I’m writing to recommend Dr. Evguenia Davidova’s spring class, “The European Union.” This is a thoughtfully designed face to face class with wonderful readings, as you can see from the book covers below; just …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/03/spring-class-at-portland-state-university/
Mar 05
France’s Yellow Vest Movement
I generally try not to simply repost articles on this blog, but Noelle Lenoir’s recent post, “France’s burning hate” does a good job placing France’s Yellow Vest movement into context. Her perspective is sympathetic to Macron. In this depiction, the Yellow Vest movement is an increasingly violent force, which hearkens back to the anti-Semitism and …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/03/frances-yellow-vest-movement/
Mar 01
Diet and Global Health
What is the single most important factor in shaping global health in the developed world? Interestingly, it does not appear to be access to the most technologically sophisticated medical technology. In the chapter on health in our textbook, I start by saying: “Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Guadalupe, Hong Kong, Israel, Malta, Martinique, Singapore, and the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/03/diet-and-global-health/
Dec 07
Blitzed: A book review
Norman Ohler’s Blitzed is a disturbing, engaging and insightful look into how drugs shaped the lives of both soldiers and leaders in Nazi Germany. At the same time that drug addicts were being sent to the concentration camps, military researchers in Germany were testing the effects of Pervitin -a brand name for methamphetamine- upon soldiers. When …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/12/blitzed-a-book-review/
Oct 25
Wylding Hall, a book review for Halloween
Every year I cover an appropriate international mystery for Halloween. For example, last year I talked about ghosts of Hong Kong and Macau. Earlier this month I talked about the ghost ship the Baltimore, which was found with only a single survivor, a woman, who soon vanished from Nova Scotia and was never seen again. This year …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/10/book-review-of-wylding-hall/
Oct 20
Northern Supernatural
Every Halloween I do a post on global folklore or an international mystery, from a haunted building in Hong Kong, to the mystery of the ghost ship Baltimore. This year I’m doing some additional posts on this theme, because I want to share a wonderful BBC podcast, the Supernatural North. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough travels to Norway …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/10/scandinavian-supernatural/
Jan 15
The Rise of Populism and Europe
I have a colleague who teaches a course on the rise of populism in Europe, which is an increasingly important topic. What is interesting to me is how quickly populist and nationalist movements have emerged and flourished in the region. Anne Applebaum had an article in the Atlantic on this topic titled “Polarization in Poland: …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/01/the-rise-of-populism-and-europe/
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Read a Sample from the Book
