Global Cultures
The minor in Global Cultures helps students understand global systems and processes in different world regions.
Deeper understanding of global change and the interdependence of the United States with the rest of the world is important to students who wish to be well informed about the contemporary world and prepared for jobs that are affected by global dynamics.
A minor concentration in Global Cultures provides a useful complement to students majoring in a number of different areas in any of the four colleges on campus. Students wishing to study or work abroad, students working with populations from different parts of the world, and students simply wishing to expand their horizons to a more global scale, will all benefit from combining their area of study with the Global Cultures minor.
For information regarding the program, please contact:
Professor Jorge González del Pozo
Room 3016 CASL Building
313-583-6390
jorgegdp@umich.edu
Minor Requirements
Learn more about CASL Degree Requirements.
To fulfill a minor a student must complete 15 credit hours of coursework in the program as outlined below.
1. GLOC 301 -- Introduction to Global Cultures (included with this proposal-a new rubric “GLOC” will be requested).
GLOC 301 has been specifically designed to introduce students to the study of global culture issues. It focuses on the relations between globalization and culture at large, a field that encompasses notions as diverse as lifestyles, cross-cultural encounters, migration, global-local relations, music, media, movies, marketing, fashion, cuisine, and language.
2. COMM 430 -- International Communication
COMM 430 covers several aspects of the complex relationship between globalization and communication, including the ongoing tension between globalization and indigenization. It includes multiple contexts of communication, from popular culture to news to social media, and covers multiple regions of the world.
- Choose four (4) courses in at least two (2) of the following focus areas 1, 2, 3 or 4.*
- Courses listed under two (2) focus areas can fulfill requirements for only one area.
- Students can choose two (2) courses maximum from the list of culture courses in a foreign language. A three-credit study abroad course in a foreign language can also be used in this category.
- Courses included in the Global Cultures list taken to fulfill a major requirement may not count toward the minor in Global Cultures.
1. GLOBAL MEDIATED CULTURES
-- AAAS/ HUM/MHIS 388 -- West African Music: Tradition and Globalization
-- AAAS 387 -- Southern Africa
-- AAAS/HIST 345 -- West Africa Since 1800
-- ANTHR 320 -- Culture & International Business
-- ANTHR 372 -- Anthropology of Latin America
-- ANTHR 373 -- Anthropological Perspectives on the Middle East
-- ANTHR 374 -- Anthropology of Europe
-- ANTHR 425 -- Language and Society
-- ANTHR 440 -- Religion and Culture
-- COMM 366 -- Public Communication and Culture Studies
-- COMM 430 -- International Communication
-- COMM/WGST 455 -- Gender and Media Studies
-- COMM/WGST/ANTHR/SOC 481 -- Gender and Globalization
-- GEOG 302 -- Mapping Our World
-- HIST 321 -- Late Imperial China
-- HIST 322 -- Traditional China
-- HIST 323 -- History of Modern China
-- HIST 326 -- Modern Japan
-- HIST 336 -- The Contemporary World: 1945-present
-- HIST 3511 -- Modern Middle East (1918-1945)
-- HIST 362 -- European & International Economic History
-- HIST 381 -- Intellectual History of Modern Europe
-- HIST 337 – Islamic Movements in Middle East History
-- HIST 339 – Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century
-- HIST 341 – History, Literature, and 20th Century Iran
-- JASS 387 – National Cinema Course (subjects vary)
-- LING/ENGL 484/584 -- World Englishes
-- MCL 353 -- Italian Culture and Civilization
-- MCL/COMM/JASS 381 -- European Cinema
-- MCL/WGST 401/501 -- Images of Women in Germany: 1945-Present
2. GENDER AND MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN THE GLOBAL WORLD
-- ANTHR 320 -- Culture & International Business
-- ANTHR 372 -- Anthropology of Latin America
-- ANTHR 373 -- Anthropological Perspectives on the Middle East
-- ANTHR 374 -- Anthropology of Europe
-- ANTHR 425 -- Language and Society
-- ANTHR 440 -- Religion and Culture
-- ANTHR 455/WGST 4555 -- Immigrant Cultures and Gender
-- COML 355 -- Urban Voices: France and Italy
-- COMM 430 -- International Communication
-- COMM/WGST 455 -- Gender and Media Studies
-- COMM/WGST/ANTHR/SOC 481 -- Gender and Globalization
-- ENGL/WGST 445 -- 20th/21st Century Women Authors
-- GEOG 310 -- Economic Geography
-- GEOG 315 -- Political Geography
-- GLOC/MCL 325 -- Political Islam
-- HIST 321 -- Late Imperial China
-- HIST 322 -- Traditional China
-- HIST 323 -- History of Modern China
-- HIST 326 -- Modern Japan
-- HIST 336 -- The Contemporary World: 1945-present
-- HIST 337 – Islamic Movements in Middle East History
-- HIST 339 – Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century
-- HIST 341 – History, Literature, and 20th Century Iran
-- HIST 3511 -- Modern Middle East (1918-1945)
-- HIST 362 -- European & International Economic History
-- HIST 381 -- Intellectual History of Modern Europe
-- HUM/WGST/COML 433-533 -- Writing Women of the Renaissance, France and Italy
-- LIBS 364 -- The European Union
-- MCL/COMM/JASS 381 -- European Cinema
-- MCL/WGST 401/501 -- Images of Women in Germany: 1945-Present
-- POL 350 -- Politics of Developing Areas
-- POL 371 -- Problems in International Politics
-- POL 385 -- Middle East Politics
-- POL 473 -- International Security Affairs
-- SOC 402 -- Genocide
-- SOC 490G -- Contemporary Immigration
-- WGST/HIST 338 -- Women & Islam in the Middle-East
-- WGST 408 -- Gender, Power and International Development
3. MIGRATION AND DIASPORAS
-- AAAS 390G -- Global Migrations
-- AAAS 490G -- Arab Culture in Transnational Context
-- AAST 381 -- Introduction to Postcolonial Studies
-- ANTHR 455/WGST 4555 -- Immigrant Cultures and Gender
-- COML 355 -- Urban Voices: France and Italy
-- ENGL/WGST 445 -- 20th/21st Century Women Authors
-- GEOG 310 -- Economic Geography
-- GEOG 315 -- Political Geography
-- GERM 390 -- Minorities in Germany
-- GLOC/MCL 325 -- Political Islam
-- HIST 490F -- Middle Eastern Diasporas
-- LIBS 364 -- The European Union
-- MCL/COMM/JASS 381 -- European Cinema
-- MCL/COML 455-555 -- This American Life
-- POL 350 -- Politics of Developing Areas
-- POL 371 -- Problems in International Politics
-- POL 385 -- Middle East Politics
-- POL 473 -- International Security Affairs
-- SOC 402 -- Genocide
-- SOC 490G -- Contemporary Immigration
-- WGST 408 -- Gender, Power and International Development
4. AMERICAN STUDIES IN THE GLOBAL AGE
-- BA 400 -- Corporate Responsibility
-- COMM 306 – Comparative American Identities
-- COMM 366 - Public Communication and Culture Studies
-- COMP 327 - Advanced Expository Writing- Cross-cultural Writing
-- COMP 390 - Topics in Compositions (Topics vary)
-- COMP XXX – Postcolonial Theory (in preparation)
-- COMP 4XX – Cross-cultural Writing & Rhetoric (in preparation)
-- ENST/GEOG 300 -- Urban Geography
-- ENST/GEOG 320 -- Global Climate Change
-- ENST/ECON 351 -- Environmental Economics
-- ENST 436 -- Human Ecology
-- ENST 487 -- Comparative Environmental Policy
-- EXPS 410 -- Multiculturalism in School and Society
-- HIST 384 -- Immigration in America
-- HIST 3632 -- The US in the Middle East
-- IB 486 -- International Business
-- LING 383 -- American English
-- LING/ENGL 484/584 -- World Englishes
-- MCL/COML 455-555 -- This American Life
-- MKT 457 -- Global Marketing and Consumer Culture
-- SOC 460 -- America in Global Society
* Students who specialize in the study of a foreign language (upper-level) can choose two (2) courses from the list (see below) of culture courses in a foreign language.
ARBC 305 - Language of Business
ARBC 331 - Survey of Arabic Literature
ARBC 351 - Contemporary Arabic Literature
ARBC 332 - Arabic Cinema
ARBC 350 - Arabic Literature and Culture
FREN 305 - Language of Business
FREN 306 - Cult Intro to French Business
FREN 332 - French Cinema
FREN 336 - French Civilization of Past
FREN 337 - France in the 20th Century
FREN 338 - France of Today
FREN 339 - Francophone Lit and Civil
FREN 375 – Parisian Itineraries
FREN 490 B – Contemporary Socio-Cultural Issues
GER 305 - Language of Business
GER 306 - Culture of Business
GER 374 - The History of German Cinema
GER 376 - Contemporary German Cultures
GER 377 - German Culture & Civilization
GER 390 – Minorities in Germany
GER 490 - Topics in German Lit and Civ
SPAN 305 - Language of Business
SPAN 356 - Spanish Civilization and Cult
SPAN 357 - Latin American Civilization and Cult
SPAN 358 - Spain in the Twentieth Century
SPAN 450 - Hispanic Cinema
SPAN 465 - Contemporary Spanish Literature
Program Goals
Our mission is to help our students to be equipped to approach the global world. Our goal is to prepare students for a world that is increasingly diverse, international and interdependent by helping them understand global dynamics and cultures in different world regions.
1. Critical thinking: Students will be able to critically analyze academic texts, international news, maps, histories, and their own received ideologies and received wisdom for assumptions, political and cultural points of view, and stated and unstated biases.
2. Applying disciplinary contexts: Students will understand how to use historical background, geographical context, political systems, economic structures, and sociocultural milieu to better understand regional and global developments.
3. Connections: Students will begin to see the connections between world events and the multiple contexts that inform them, and learn that these seemingly disparate factors are interconnected and in flux.
4. Skills: Students develop core liberal arts skills: reading unfamiliar information and making sense of it; thinking critically about what they're reading; synthesizing material; coming to a conclusion about it; and articulating that conclusion verbally and in writing.
5. Global awareness: Students develop knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to live effectively in a world characterized by ethnic diversity, cultural pluralism and increasing interdependence.
6. Diversity: Students should gain an awareness of global diversity and learn to think about what the world, or specific issues, might look like from other points of view.