Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Course Outcomes

1. Analyze in an informed way how geography, cultures, economics and history shape global events and issues.
2. Analyze how economic, political and environmental relationships evolve over time and across boundaries.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how one’s own cultural values impact one’s perceptions of the world.

Students will build on what they have learned in the course to engage in efforts to improve conditions around the world. 

In addition to a wide variety of readings from many different disciplines, the course will include lectures from faculty in different disciplines, films and videos, role plays, and final student projects with a focus on an issue or geographic region of each student's choosing.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Student mastery of skills, content and outcomes may be assessed by any combination of

the following:

1. written or oral examinations
2. participation in class discussion, exercises, small group activities or role plays
3. essays, research, journal assignments or interviews
4. performances or plays
5. oral or visual presentations
6. participation in organizing community or professional events
7. service learning activities

Course Content: Themes, Concepts, Issues

1. Introduce the concept and discipline of International Studies: theoretical framework and approach
2. Focus on a combination of themes from the following list:
   • Culture, Values, & Human Behavior (religion, philosophy, art, food, language)
   • Global Economic Systems (basic economic systems, international trade and business, development, health, migration patterns)
   • Political Systems & World Politics (basic political systems, regimes, war & conflict, group identity and politics, colonialism)
   • Global History (colonialism, migration issues and patterns, evolution of political systems)
   • Geography (world geography, physical geography, environmental issues, migration patterns, borders and boundaries, language issues)
   • Sustainability and the Environment (resource issues, food/water security, health, climate change, energy security and energy policy)
   • Human Rights & Equality (health, migration patterns, language issues, minority rights, women’s rights, economic inequality)
3. Utilize case studies from a variety of the following regions to explore the above themes:
   • Africa
   • Asia and Oceania
   • North America
   • Central/South America
   • Europe
   • The Middle East

Skills

• Identify countries, geographic features, populations, natural resources on a map
• Demonstrate awareness of fundamentals of Intercultural communication knowledge and sensitivity to how language reflects and shapes social construction of culture.
• Assess one’s own cultural biases & identify ethnocentric attitudes
• Analyze problems, situations, events, cultural phenomena from multiple perspectives
• Identify various artistic and religious traditions as reflections of cultural specificity
• Identify the variety of stakeholders whose interests impact understanding of and offer solutions to problems.
• Compare media systems and their role in shaping preconceived views of the world.
• Utilize diverse, sophisticated and nuanced sources to attain information about the world.
• Discuss political, economic, ideological discourses and one’s position within it.
• Articulate how various schools of thought interact with each other/ability to contextualize theories
• Read and assess college-level books, articles, chapters, etc.
• Identify historical precursors of current events.
• Articulate issues of diversity and inequality