teaching

International Studies versus Global Studies

June 24, 2017 / academia, Theory /
NASA image: NASA Identifier: sts040-73-037
NASA image: NASA Identifier: sts040-73-037

I’ve just done a peer review of an outstanding article on the field of International Studies, which again raised the question of the difference between International and Global Studies. Although I’ve touched on this topic before it is worth revisiting this issue, because the differences are significant. International Studies is a field that emerged within the parent discipline of International Relations within Political Science. The field developed because scholars were dissatisfied with the heavy focus on inter-state relations, as well as a stress on quantitative methodology. It’s important to note that the positivist approach that was so powerful in the United States (especially in the fifties and sixties) was never as influential in Canada and Europe. Still, within the United States, the field of International Studies still bears signs of its birth from Political Science. Those scholars who visit the International Studies Association conference for the first time are likely to be struck not only by its sheer size, but also by the dominance of traditional social science methodology. If you read the two major journals in the field –International Studies Review and International Studies Quarterly– they are dominated by International Relations scholarship from classical Political Science. Many articles focus on Realism, Constructivism and Liberalism in IR. …

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Kwame Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism, A Book Review

May 27, 2015 / teaching, Theory / , , ,
"Glass Globe" by suphakit73 at freedigitalphotos.net
“Glass Globe” by suphakit73 at freedigitalphotos.net

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism is an engaging, well-written examination of the idea of cosmopolitanism, which will lead students to think deeply about the meaning of global citizenship. At the core of the book is Appiah’s question, what obligations do humans have to each other? I used the book last year in my “Foundations of Global Studies Theory” class, and had the opportunity to read my student’s reflections on the work in their book reviews, which has shaped this review. Based on their feedback and the class discussion, I think that this book would be an excellent choice for an “Introduction to International and Global Studies” course.

Appiah’s work is deeply shaped by his own bi-cultural upbringing, with roots in both Ghana and England. One of his strengths as an author is the ability to make students see how these issues apply to their own lives by relating philosophical questions to his own experience. He also frequently uses case studies or thought experiments to make his point. In both my student’s book reviews and the class discussion my students tended to refer to these examples, which led them to remember his arguments. Appiah’s writing style was clear, jargon-free and accessible, another boon in my class where students were reading authors such as Marx and Chakrabarty. …

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A syllabus for a hybrid Modern Brazilian history class

June 24, 2017 / Latin America, teaching / , ,

This fall I will be teaching a modern Brazil class, which is cross-listed between International Studies and History. I’ve decided to offer the class as a hybrid, because there are so many great resources available on-line, and I believe that it makes for a more active class. I hope that this may give some ideas to those of you who may be considering teaching a similar course. If you are interested in Brazilian history, you can see my own book on military terror in Brazil here.

Shawn Smallman, 2014 …

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Eight mistakes teaching International and Global Studies

June 24, 2017 / teaching /
Geo Globe by Christian Fischer. Taken from Wikicommons.
Geo Globe by Christian Fischer. Taken from Wikicommons.

Every year I teach the “Introduction to International Studies” course at Portland State, and refine it based on what I’ve learned from previous classes. After nearly 20 years I’ve come to believe that there are a number of possible traps to be avoided in this course:

  1. Global Problems: It is tempting to teach the course by organizing it around major global “issues.” The challenge with this is that this approach emphasizes problems, which can lead to a depressing class for students. It’s hard to inspire students to study abroad, or to learn about global affairs, if they view the world as a dangerous and problematic place. Unless you want to have a bowl of antidepressants up at the front of the class, it’s important to focus as much on solutions as on problems. If you talk about language loss, also talk about language genesis, such as the creation of Sheng, or other urban languages in Africa. If you talk about global warming and sea level rise, also talk about the falling cost of solar energy. Of course, this approach can be ridiculous if taken too far. But without some balance, the class can become too bleak. …

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Maps and Politics

April 17, 2015 / teaching / ,

I’m teaching an “Introduction to International Studies” course this quarter, and I began by talking about colonialism

"World Map On Brick Wall" by Ohmega1982
“World Map On Brick Wall” by Ohmega1982

and its legacy. As part of this discussion, I talked about the psychological and educational legacies of the imperial period, including how it has shaped our modern world view. I then showed the class three different maps: a Mercator map, a Hobo-Dyer projection, and a map that had south at the top. After class a student shared a link with me, which showed an episode of West Wing, and a map of Africa with the U.S., India and China (amongst others) within it. Here was exactly the exercise I had done with the students, only with much more humor. Thanks to my student Colleen for sharing this, and Rollie Williams for his post, “We have been misled by an erroneous map of the world for 500 years.” Want to see even more maps? Look here.

 

Shawn Smallman, Portland State University

Hope and New Species

April 17, 2015 / environment, teaching / , , ,
"World Map" by xedos4 at freedigitalphotos.net
“World Map” by xedos4 at freedigitalphotos.net

I just attended an excellent conference on Global Studies pedagogy at St. Cloud State in Minnesota. One challenge that faculty in the field discussed is that that our courses can too quickly adopt a “global problems” approach. This encourages students to become overwhelmed by the scale of global issues, and to view the world as a problematic and dangerous place. This is unlikely to either lead them to want to dive deeper into Global Studies or to do Study Abroad. For this reason, it’s important to focus not only on issues but also solutions. When covering key global problems -such as environmental issues- I try to also include models, such as Curitiba’s urban planning, or Bogota’s amazing bus system. I also think that it’s good to not forget positive news, even when focusing on deforestation or ethnic conflict. Once students have a sense that there’s hope, they are more inclined to focus on environmental issues or conflict resolution. …

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Learning outcomes for International Studies majors at Portland State University

April 17, 2015 / teaching /

Our program recently revisited its learning outcomes for our students. I think that it’s important for our students to be familiar with these learning outcomes, so I hand it out with the syllabus at the start of every class. Shawn Smallman, Portland State University

Learning Outcomes for International Studies at Portland State University.

  Core Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of world cultures, politics, and economics, within the context of globalization, as well as developing the skills and attitudes to function as “global citizens.”

…

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Rubric for an Online Quiz

April 17, 2015 / teaching, Theory / ,

I am teaching a hybrid class, “Foundations of Global Studies Theory,” which has a weekly quiz on the readings. Every student is expected to write a two to three paragraph answer every week to a question like this: “What were the strengths and weaknesses’ of Adorno and Horkheimer’s article? One critique of critical theorists is that they can be “culture snobs,” who look down on forms of popular expression (music, television). Do you think that this is a fair critique based on this article? Is this article still relevant to contemporary society, or was its usefulness confined to its historical period?” I try to give every student feedback on their quiz response every week, but it’s challenging to do with 40 students in the class. To help with this issue, I’ve created this rubric, which I’ve found is very helpful:

 

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Seven reasons why online and hybrid classes are better (and more rigorous) than the traditional classroom

April 17, 2015 / academia, teaching /
"Girl Browsing The Internet" by Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net
“Girl Browsing The Internet” by Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net

I’ve been teaching hybrid classes this entire year, and I’m looking forward to also teaching my Modern Brazil class as a hybrid next year. In the long term, I will probably move to teaching mostly hybrid classes.  I’ve been struck by how different these classes are from traditional format classes, mostly in positive ways. But I too often hear some of my colleagues (whom I respect and like- it’s a great department) denounce the move towards hybrid and on-line classes with comments such as “There is no concern for quality!” Or “They want us to be a vocational school!” I’ve spent a lot of time patiently trying to describe the advantages of classes in this format, and how they can be just as transformative and creative as any other class. But I don’t think that I’ve had much success. I have two awards for teaching excellence, and wouldn’t teach this way if it wasn’t good for students. And now I’m tired of this. So here are seven reasons why hybrid and on-line classes are not just as good as other classes, they are better. And more rigorous. …

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Critiques of International Education

April 17, 2015 / academia /

This week I’ve been reading a series of critiques in the area of international education, and I’d like to take some time to review some of the better articles in this area. Susan Gillespie’s article, “The Practice of International Education in the Context of Globalization” A Critique” was published in 2002 by the Journal of Studies in International Education. Despite the passage of more than a decade, many of the points that Gillespie makes are worth considering in the current context. Her work begins echoing a point that Katz’s recent piece made, which was that the United States turned inward after the 9/11 attacks, which the was the opposite response to what happened after WWII and the start of the Cold War. Reading the article, one is reminded how much the United States moved to disengage from the world after 9/11, even as the nation fought two wars. Diane Feinstein proposed a moratorium on student visas, and only relented when reminded of the economic impact. Parents were afraid to allow their students to study abroad. But the focus of Gillespie’s critique was not this political and social trend. …

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