Wherever you are in the world, life in the 21st century is a global experience. Being able to learn, live, conduct business, and speak cross-culturally are skills that prove invaluable in every walk of life.

Why International & Global Studies at Sewanee?

International and global studies at Sewanee stretches far beyond the gates. Involving 50 faculty members from 15 departments across the college, including its own core IGS faculty, the program spans disciplinary and thematic boundaries. It's easy to see why IGS is one of the largest majors on campus.

The rapid pace and complex nature of our world requires dexterity to navigate. At Sewanee, you will study the ever-changing issues of political, economic, and cultural forces that characterize the world today. You'll work collaboratively and independently, focusing on topics and regions that will promote an enhanced understanding of distinct perspectives and their value. Here, exploring our interconnected world begins in the classroom.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: International & Global Studies MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Language assistant, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, A Coruña, Spain.
  • Analyst, Carlisle and Gallagher Consulting Group, Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Research assistant, Nexus Institute, Berlin, Germany.
  • Creative director, Playing in Traffic Records, Austin, Texas.
GRADUATE SCHOOL & PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: INTERNATIONAL & GLOBAL STUDIES MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and pre-professional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • M.A. in conflict studies, King's College London.
  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
  • M.A. in international relations, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  • M.A. in global development studies, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

A Sampling of Courses

Oil: The Fuel of Globalization
International and Global Studies

Using the tangible implications of globalization around the world as a uniting theme, this class serves as an introductory course for the international and global studies major, and, as such, explores oil as a primary player in global politics, global capitalism, and global culture and society. It also serves as an introductory course to GIS mapping techniques, allowing students to unite scientific and humanistic forms of knowledge production.

INGS 104
Globalization and Culture in the Americas
International and Global Studies

This course introduces students to the concepts of culture and globalization with an emphasis on exploring how cultural practices are shaped by border-crossing and other forms of cross-cultural exchange. The size of the Americas as a geographic region provides insight into the complexity of globalization outcomes that depend upon the diverse economic, social, cultural, and historical contexts in which cross-cultural exchange occurs.

INGS 105
Globalization, Popular Culture, and Politics in West Africa
International and Global Studies

This course explores the relationship between popular culture and politics in the context of globalization in West African societies. It focuses on how popular sport, music, dance, film, and other forms of popular culture and recreation inform and shape political action and participation. Long a meeting point of global and local currents, West Africa allows for examining how the creative mixing of local and foreign ideas and practices facilitates nationalism and democratic citizenship, enables hitherto marginal political players such as youth, and offers the possibility of transformation in the social politics of gender and generational relations.

INGS 207
Global Cities
International and Global Studies

This course reviews recent literature regarding the emergence of "global cities" as central nodes in the global network economy. Whether conceptualized as hubs for information technology circuits or as points of financial and cultural exchange and mediation, cities are being increasingly understood and analyzed in their own right, in a framework that foregrounds "the urban" as the primary unit of analysis (as opposed to the "national" or "international"). The city, as a central site of socio-spatial transformation, is thus envisioned to be a central feature of globalization. This course considers the literature on "global cities" as well as writings that use "the urban" as a lens for analyzing global processes.

INGS 302
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International & Global Studies

Programs of Study

Requirements for Major & Minor in International & Global Studies 

Meet some professors

Emmanuel Asiedu-Acquah
easiedua@sewanee.edu

Emmanuel Asiedu-Acquah has a B.A. in history and an M.Phil. in African studies from the University of Ghana, and an A.M. and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard. He works on modern West Africa with a particular interest in youth culture and popular politics, students and nationalism, and mass media and development in Ghana and the wider West African region. His teaching interests include globalization, early and modern Africa, West Africa, and 19th- and 20th-century international politics. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Fellowship for early-career faculty development (2017-2019). His research has been published in the Journal of Asian and African Studies and the Dictionary of African Biography (Oxford University Press). He is currently completing a book project tentatively titled “‘Scions of the People’: Student Activists and Popular Politics in Ghana,” which examines the local and transnational activism of students in Ghana from the 1950s to recent times.

Associate Professor of International and Global Studies
Nicholas Roberts
nerobert@sewanee.edu

Nicholas E. Roberts teaches classes on the Middle East, Islam, and imperialism in the History Department and the international and global studies program. He received a B.A. in religion from Carleton College, an M.A. in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies/History from New York University. His scholarly interests include the history of European imperialism in the Middle East, the history of Israel/Palestine, modern Islamic movements, and Arab nationalism in the Middle East. He has received several awards including a James D. Kennedy III fellowship from Sewanee and a Fulbright fellowship to conduct research in Israel.

Professor of History
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Contact

NICHOLAS E. ROBERTS

 

Professor of History and Director of International and Global Studies

 

Walsh-Ellett 213A, Ext. 1767

nerobert@sewanee.edu

News & Events

Poet Javier Zamora to Speak

Javier Zamora came to the U.S when he was 9 years old from El Salvador, escaping civil war. Today, he is a popular poet and Harvard fellow who writes about immigration and his experience crossing the border and life as an immigrant. He will recite his poetry in Sewanee on April 5th @ 4:30 PM at the Mary Sue Cushman Room at the Wick. This event is sponsored by the Writing House, Lecture's Committee, Community Engagement House, Spanish Department, English Department, International & Global Studies.

Necromancers, Nightmares, and Neo-Nazis

Film Studies, German Studies, IGS, and the University Lectures Committee invite you to a lecture: "Necromancers, Nightmares, and Neo-Nazis" by Dr. Kai Werbeck (UNC-Charlotte) on 21st-century German Horror Cinema and what it can tell us about the fears and anxieties of contemporary Germany. This event will take place on Tuesday, March 5 at 4:00 at Gailor Auditorium.

Connecting the Dots

Study Abroad
Engaged citizens solving global problems

At Sewanee, we pledge to offer each student an opportunity to study abroad. And at Sewanee, we keep our promises. Travel, learn, and cultivate your knowledge by communicating across cultures and acquiring a sensitivity to other ways of life. Apply social scientific methodologies to various frameworks. Learn to formulate solutions to global problems and apply those theories at home in a local context.

More about Study Abroad
Babson Center for Global Commerce
Sewanee grads are exactly what companies are looking for

The Babson Center for Global Commerce provides a co-curricular experience. As you engage with peers and take trips, you’ll learn about what companies are seeking. You’ll learn critical thinking and persuasive communication, all the gaining an understanding of the “go to work” experience.

Find out more
Sewanee Career Readiness
Unsure? You've come to the right place.

No matter where you are in your career exploration process, Sewanee Career Readiness can help. You’ll get assistance with cover letters, resumes, networking, and preparing for an interview. Likewise, if you just feel overwhelmed by this new experience called adulting, swing by the office and get a pep talk from Career Readiness.

Get to know us