THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

FACULTY SENATE

 

Senate Document Number    7611S

 

Date of Senate Approval      04/28/11

 

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

APC Document 60:                          IST: Change requirements for International Studies Concentration

 

Effective Date: Fall 2011

 

 

1. Delete:     On page 175-176, under INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES: CONCENTRATION IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (INTS)

 

              The International Studies program gives undergraduate students an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary world from different disciplinary perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach is designed to provide students with the broader range of ideas and skills necessary to analyze and respond to the diverse mix of cultural, economic, and political forces that shape the global community.

              The program is valuable for students with career aspirations in a number of fields, including law, journalism, business, public service, and teaching. It is of particular value to people interested in global inter-governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations and private religious and humanitarian service organizations.

The concentration in International Studies affords students an opportunity to gain an interdisciplinary understanding of some of the most important trends and forces which cut across national borders and regional boundaries. In addition to classroom work, students must engage in participatory activities and earn at least 6 credit hours from study abroad and/or experiential learning abroad.

 

Requirements for Concentration in International Studies

 

                                      I.      Required Courses for the major —at least 20 hours including: HIST 152; INTS 495; POLS 380; one course from ANTH 100, ECON 250, POLS 281; 3 hours from a course that produces original research on a topic related to international studies, as determined by the International Studies director, and 6 hours of modern foreign language at the 300-level or above. Individuals who demonstrate advanced foreign language proficiency as determined by the International Studies director are not required to take the 6 additional hours of modern foreign language. These students must replace the exempted hours with the same number of hours from courses approved by the International Studies director.

 

                                    II.      Critical components of the International Studies concentration are focused study on a specific area of international affairs and international experience. To gain a broader understanding of the contemporary world, students must complete 21 additional hours, with 15 hours from A., and 6 hours from B. Some courses may have prerequisites that are not part of the International Studies major. Appropriate courses may be substituted with the permission of the International Studies director.

 

A.   Areas of Emphasis: Students are expected to pursue a focused plan of study in international affairs by choosing at least 9 hours from one of the following emphasis areas. The additional 6 credit hours can be chosen from the remaining courses listed, or from other appropriate courses with a modern international focus, as determined by the International Studies director. Students seeking a double major may count only 6 credit hours from the first major toward the INTS concentration.

 

1.    Society and Culture in the Global Community: ANTH 325, ANTH 350, ANTH 361, ANTH 365, ARTH 360, INTS 325, INTS 345; LIT 355; MCOM 482; SOC 359; SOC 364

2.    International Law and Human Rights: INTS 350, INTS 354, PHIL 214, POLS 331, POLS 384, POLS 387, POLS 388, POLS 389, SOC 480

3.    Trade and Development: ECON 314, ECON 350, ECON 355, MGMT 398, POLS 363

B.   International experience represents a critical component of international studies. Thus students must select one of the following options for six credit hours:

1.    6 hours earned in a UNCA-approved study abroad experience. These credits must be earned in courses appropriate to the theme of International Studies and must be approved by the INTS director.

2.    6 credit hours from INTS 365 - International Experiential Learning Project

 

III.    Other concentration requirements - Major and computer competency is demonstrated through successful completion of 3 hours from a course that produces original research on a topic related to international studies. Oral competency is demonstrated through successful completion of INTS 495.

 

 

                Add:      On page 175, in place of deleted entry:

 

                The International Studies program provides students an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary world from different disciplinary perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach is designed to provide students with a broad range of ideas and skills to analyze and respond to the diverse and complex mix of cultural, economic, and political forces that shape the global community. The concentration in International Studies provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the changing dynamics and forces that transcend national and regional boundaries.

 

                                                Requirements for Concentration in International Studies

 

                                      I.      Required courses for the major— at least 25 hours including: INTS 495; one course from AFST 130, ANTH 100, ECON 250, ESI 101, HIST 152, IST 290, POLS 281 or RELS 280; and 3 hours from a course that produces original research on a topic related to international studies, as determined by the International Studies director. Students must also complete at least 18 hours of international studies related coursework from the courses listed below. The courses must be chosen from at least three disciplines, with at least 12 hours at the 300-level or above. Other appropriate courses with an international focus may be used with the approval of the International Studies director.

                                    II.      Other major requirements—students must select one of the following international experience options:

a.    6 hours earned in a UNC Asheville-approved study abroad experience. These credits can be from foreign language courses or other culture-based courses and must be approved by the International Studies director.

b.   6 hours from INTS 365 - International Experiential Learning Project.

                                  III.      Other concentration requirements–Major and computer competency is demonstrated through successful completion of 3 hours from a course that produces original research on a topic related to international studies as approved by the INTS director. Oral competency is demonstrated through successful completion of INTS 495.

 

                                                Electives for International Studies Concentration

 

ANTH        325       Culture and Mind (3)

ANTH        350       Body, Disability and Culture (3)                       

ANTH        361       Writing Gender (3)

ANTH        365       Death and Dying (3)

ARTH         360       Modern Art and Modernism (3)

ARTH         380       Art and Architecture in Asia (3)

ARTH         381       Art in Latin America (3)

ARTH         385       African Art (3)

ARTH         386       Arts of the African Diaspora (3)

ARTH         410       Modern Art of Brazil and Mexico (3)

ECON        314       Economic Growth and Development (3)

ECON        350       International Trade and Finance (3)              

ECON        355       Open Economy Macroeconomics (3)

ENVR         324       Environmental Ethics (3)

HWP          250       Health Parity: Domestic and Global Contexts (3)

HIST           311       Foreign Relations of the United States (3)

HIST           330       World War II (3)

HIST           350       Britain Since 1688 (3)

HIST           357       Women and Imperalism (3)

HIST           358       European Feminism (3)

HIST           362       The French Revolution: History and Historiography (3)

HIST           364       Europe: 1848-1918 (3)

HIST           367       Tsarist Russia (3)

HIST           368       20th-Century Russia (3)

HIST           380       Imperial China (3)

HIST           381       Revolutionary China (3)

HIST           383       Women in China (3)

HIST           384       History of Japan (3)

HIST           388       Introduction to Islam (RELS 388) (3)

HIST           389       The Modern Middle East (3)

INTS           325       Indigenous Rights and Social Justice (3)

INTS           345       Negotiating Peace: The Practice of Local and Global Peacebuilding (3)

INTS           350       Refugees, Gender and Human Rights (3)

INTS           354       The Nuclear Dilemma (3)

LIT              349       Studies in Contemporary Literature: Intro to Postcolonial Literature (3)

LIT              355       Modern Drama (3)

LIT              358       Black Literature (3)

MCOM     482       International Mass Communication (3)

MGMT      398       International Management (3)

MGMT      401       International Marketing (3)              

MMAS      342       History of New Media (3)

MMAS      344       History of Design (3)

MUSC       357       Jazz History (3)

MUSC       360       Music and the Human Organism (3)

PHIL           214       Philosophy of Human Rights (3)

POLS          331       Immigration and Refugee Law and Policy (3)

POLS          363       The Political Economy of Development (4)

POLS          380       Globalization and its Critics (4)

POLS          384       Liberal Universalism and its Critics (4)

POLS          387       International Organizations (4)

POLS          388       Human Rights and International Politics (3)

POLS          389       International Law (3)

RELS           381       Religions of South Asia (3)

RELS           386       Buddhism (3)

RELS           387       Judaism (3)

SOC            359       Women of Color and Feminism (3)

SOC            364       Population and the Environment: An International Perspective (3)

SOC            480       Sociology of Law (3)

 

 

Impact Statement:

There will be no added faculty resources needed for this change. The courses in the concentration are already being offered in the fall and spring. The impact is in streamlining the requirements for the concentration. By streamlining the overall requirements for the concentration, the total credit hour load for this concentration will be reduced from 47 to 31 credit hours.

 

Rationale:

These changes streamline and refocus the international studies concentration to respond to increased student interest and demand in the major, while simultaneously delivering the curriculum more effectively and efficiently.

 

The changes, in overview, are as follows:

 

1. Reducing the total credit hour load by refocusing the course offerings and including as electives courses that are currently being taught across campus that were not previously listed in the concentration.

 

2. Refocusing requirements in the concentration to respond to growing student interest in new areas of interdisciplinary study.

               

The new list of electives increases the level of interdisciplinarity of the INTS concentration. Students majoring in INTS will now have the opportunity to take courses with international content from sixteen different disciplines across the university curriculum, with fifty-eight courses from which to select six elective courses. The choices of elective courses cut across the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Students who are interested in focusing their electives in foreign languages and/or cultures can now have foreign language courses not used to satisfy the university foreign language requirement count toward elective hours in the INTS major. Students in this concentration are strongly encouraged to acquire international experience through UNC Asheville-approved study abroad opportunities. INTS 365 is available as an option for students who are unable to study abroad either because of economic reasons (e.g. first generation college students or students from difficult socio-economic backgrounds) or family circumstances (e.g. non-traditional students who have families and are unable to spend a semester away).

               

The overall outcome of these changes is to provide a curriculum that can be delivered more effectively and efficiently, while at the same time, providing significant new choices for students interested in majoring in the international studies concentration. Under this new curriculum, students should be able to complete the major in a timely manner, making this concentration in the interdisciplinary studies program more sustainable into the future.