Understanding Global Cultures (FNDS 1205)
What is your place in the world? Not in terms of location, but in terms of the many realities that cross your path. Where are you in this big world?
This course offers you a unique opportunity to explore issues of vital concern to our global society. Through dialogue and interaction, you will understand yourself and others better by comparing and contrasting our cultures to different ones. Socio-cultural dynamics change from one place to another, we will consider globalization* in terms of places, communities, cultural practices, and ways of understanding the world—the ways people interact, and the social, cultural, and physical spaces where they dialogue.
By learning about others, you will understand better what many poets, thinkers, and philosophers have observed: there is more than one way to live in the world. Why do we often focus on the differences and not on the similarities? Your appreciation for other ways of being will grow in parallel to your cultural awareness of the diverse world around us.
*Globalization is the rapid and increasing worldwide integration and interdependence of societies and cultures. It is defined as involving a worldwide diffusion of practices, relations, and forms of social organization and the growth of global consciousness. (George Ritzer)
This course covers topics in the disciplines of International Studies, Global Cultures, and Modern and Classical Languages.
Who should take this course?
Anyone who wants to be an informed citizen of the world, anyone who cares about this globalized life!
More about this course
Course number: FNDS 1205
Number of Credits: 4
Search UM-Dearborn Class Schedule to find out more.
Dearborn Discovery Core requirements met: CCT (Creative and Critical Thinking)
Meet your faculty member: Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo, Professor of Spanish and Director of International Studies
One of the benefits of taking a Foundations course is gaining a faculty mentor that can support you throughout your college career. Get to know Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo, faculty member for Understanding Global Cultures.
Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo is a professor of Spanish at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he has worked since 2007 teaching Spanish Literature, Film, Culture and Language. He works closely with students and colleagues in order to enrich campus life and promote the best learning environment possible. He has been recognized with the university's distinguished teaching award in 2012, and with the university’s distinguished research award in 2020.
"I like cooking, I'm trying to learn how to play drums, and I could travel endlessly. Why don't you join me?"
Have questions about this course? Email Dr. Gonzalez del Pozo at [email protected].