INTRO TO INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Catalog description

This course is centered on the theme of "crossing borders." The main focus is on the U.S.-Mexican and the U.S.-Canadian borders, but comparative material will also be discussed on the immigrant experience in Western Europe, where a parallel anti-immigrant backlash is occurring. This will provide a contrast of how different "Western" nations (U.S., Canada, various European cases most likely including France, the Netherlands, and Spain or Italy) are dealing with an influx of "non-Western" immigrants. Throughout the semester we will consider the concept of "borders" - both geographical/political and psychological. In our increasingly globalized world, how has the significance of borders changed? We will explore questions of identity, citizenship, culture/culture wars, "the other," community and difference.