Learning Goals

Using different disciplinary perspectives, students majoring in international and global studies will be exposed to the historical, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of a particular geographic region and to global processes and themes.

Central Components

• Advanced competency in a foreign language
• Broad exposure to the chosen region from multiple perspectives and disciplines
• Deep engagement in critical thinking about global questions
• Study abroad
• Capstone senior experience

Goals and Assessment

Foreign Language

Students must demonstrate competency in a language by the following:

• Meeting minimum language requirements for study abroad (usually the equivalent of two years of college courses, but for some languages the requirement is higher).
• Completing an upper-level language course at Middlebury.

Region of the World

Students must demonstrate knowledge of a region of the world by the following:

• Successfully completing multiple courses from a variety of disciplines that concentrate on a region.
• Successfully completing at least one semester of study abroad.

Global Understanding

Students must demonstrate ability to think critically about global issues by successfully completing multiple courses on global themes offered by a variety of departments/programs.

Interconnected Nature of the World

Students must demonstrate their understanding of the contemporary world by successfully completing the program’s introductory course. This course exposes students to an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the major contemporary issues facing the world.

Learning Objectives for IGST 101

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain core concepts, global structures, and institutions central to international and global studies—including sovereignty, nation-states, internationalism, transnationalism, empire, markets, governance, and globalization, as well as key international organizations (e.g., the League of Nations, United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)—and describe how these shape people’s lives across different historical and geographic contexts.
2. Analyze global political, economic, social, and cultural processes historically, tracing how contemporary global orders emerged through colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, migration, and resistance, and how these legacies continue to structure power and inequality.
3. Engage interdisciplinary approaches to global affairs, drawing on political theory, economics, history, anthropology, and cultural studies, and assessing how different disciplines produce knowledge, including their overlaps, differences, and limitations.
4. Practice critical thinking and theoretical evaluation, distinguishing between descriptive, normative, and critical approaches to global analysis, and evaluating how competing frameworks privilege certain forms of knowledge while marginalizing others.
5. Apply key IGST concepts to real-world global issues—such as development, migration, war, policing, climate change, and cultural globalization—connecting theory to lived experience, empirical evidence, and contemporary debates.