I chose to pursue my Global Studies Certificate on the Politics & Economy track in order to broaden the range of my education. I didn’t want to count my Communications courses towards a different track – I wanted to learn something new. Overall, the Global Studies Certificate Politics & Economy track has deepened my understanding of world politics and added depth to my undergraduate education.
Hailey Wattman
University of Pittsburgh
Global Studies Coursework
Coursework Descriptions
My Intro to Global Studies course was one of the best courses I took at Pitt. I wasn’t planning on getting the Global Studies Certificate before taking it, but decided soon into the course that I wanted to continue. We studied everything from globalization, to movement of business and politics, to tourism. We studied the benefits of globalization as well as the injustices that occur. It was a great comprehensive overview and introduction to studying the world.
One of the main themes that transcended through all of my classes was the fact that countries are linked so very closely. The politics of one country can have ripple effects that shape the politics of so many others.
Many of my courses that studied modern day politics discussed in detail the theme of climate change – this course specifically. I have become well versed in the way that politics and economics shapes this topic much more than at the individual level. I have attached a paper I wrote in my Intro to Global Studies course that outlines this topic: How Neoliberal Capitalism Affects the Climate
Overall, the courses I have taken have given me a very in-depth understanding of world politics in a historical context and also in present day. They have been some of my favorite and most informative classes at Pitt.
In this course, I was able to study many philosophers from around the globe and their take on government. We mainly focused on Locke and Hobbes take on the purpose of government as well as Cohen and Rousseau’s views on equality. This course was lecture style but also broken up into recitation sections where we could discuss intimately as a small group. I liked this format of class because I was able to intake and process information in the lecture and bring fresh ideas to my recitation.
This class was very different from the rest of the Global Studies courses I took – it really made me think of the why behind our governments. Why do we need a higher structure? Why are we incapable of governing ourselves? It is interesting to see how different countries globally seem to align with different philosophers when orchestrating government.
Below are two papers that I wrote for this class:
In this course, I studied the foundations of Socialism and Capitalism and compared the two. I was very interested in taking this class after returning from Cuba and seeing a Socialist/Nationalist government in person. We compared early works of Adam Smith, the “founder” of capitalism, as well as Karl Marx and his works surrounding Communism.
This course helped me understand the movement of political ideas around the world. It showed me how enlightenment thinkers in Europe shaped the politics of countries in the entire rest of the world. This movement of ideas is one of the biggest recurring themes I’ve seen throughout my Global Studies certificate. It was interesting to view how ideas permeated the rest of the world before the internet and social media.
All of the projects I did were individual, but the class was discussion style which helped me work collaboratively with others. Below you can find a paper I wrote about the difference in Smith’s and Marx’s take on Division of Labor.
In this course, we studied different speeches from the beginning to the end of the Cold War. This was very interesting, because not only did I learn the history of the Cold War, but I got to analyze how the world leaders at the time reacted to it. I got to see how leaders relayed what was happening to their people.
A big global issue that I was able to discuss in this class is the idea of “us” vs. “them” in terms of countries with different political systems. I really got to study in-depth how the United States particularly intervenes in other countries when it doesn’t like the political system in place. I knew a lot about U.S. intervention in Latin America from my Spanish classes, but learned through this class that it doesn’t stop there.
Something interesting that this class had us do was analyze movies that were released at the time of the Cold War and see how they used tactics to send a message about it. My final paper, regarding Red Dawn and it’s remake, can be read here: Red Dawn in the Context of the Cold War
This course, like my Socialism vs. Capitalism course, studied the history of political systems. It overviewed different enlightenment thinkers and showed how their works transcended throughout the rest of the world, shaping different political systems.
I was able to study in depth the Reconquista, or the “Reconquering” of Europe and what this meant for the rest of the world. I was interesting to study the faults of Spain – how they displaced other religions and exiled people to other parts of the world. I was particularly interesting to learn this in Spain and see how the Spanish people acknowledge the ugly parts of their history.
I also learned how the Iberian Peninsula’s rule changed and shaped different parts of the world – coinciding with this reoccurring theme of the transit of ideas. I was able to take this information back to my Spanish classes and have a greater knowledge of imperialism.
One of my favorite courses that I took over the duration of my Global Studies certificate was The European Union: Culture, History, and Institutions. I particularly loved this course because I took it while in Madrid, Spain and had a very passionate professor. Also, I was able to take this course soon after Brexit happened. I found that my education in the United States never covered the European Union, despite it being a very powerful governing body that affects the world globally.
I enjoyed this course because the European Union really outlines was peaceful and productive collaboration between countries looks like. I learned how the European Union is able to regulate things like health and safety in products sold in Europe, keeping flights cheap, access to education, and things like that. We so often are wary of too much regulation by government here in the United States, but the E.U. really demonstrates how this regulation can be a good thing.
Taking this class in Spain was great because Spain is a European Union country and I could see how these policies manifest. I also was able to study with other Europeans and hear their ideas on the EU. I was able to collaborate with international students.
Other Relevant Courses
Outside of the Global Studies Certificate, most of my education has been very global-minded. This has been one of my favorite things about attending Pitt. Naturally, being a Spanish major, a lot of my education revolved around the movement of people and ideas from Spain to Latin America, vice-versa, and all throughout the world.
One of the biggest global topics that I have covered throughout my Spanish major has been the topic of colonization. Despite being something that happened hundred of years ago, imperialism and colonization is something that shapes and changes the world we live in today. I feel much more in-tune with understanding movement and globalization today knowing the history of it. I have had the pleasure of having very educated, passionate Latin American teachers to educate me. In this course, I learned about Spanish literature and how it spread to the rest of the world.
In this course, I studied similar topics as the Spanish literature course, but from a more Latin American point of view. I also learned a lot about the indigenous people of Latin America – namely the Aztecs and Mayans. Below you can find a Spanish paper I wrote on the topics discussed in class.