International Studies Major

Major Requirements

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Students plan their fourteen-course major in consultation with their international studies advisor. All majors must complete the following:

1. Introduction. One of INTL 110 , INTL 111 , INTL 112 , INTL 113 , INTL 114 , INTL 115 
    
2. Language. Competency in a foreign language equivalent to six semesters of college work: examples are FREN 305 - Advanced Expression: Communication Tools  and FREN 306 - Introduction to Literary Analysis , GERM 305 - German Through the Media  and GERM 306, JAPA 306 - Third Year Japanese II , Portuguese through HISP 331 - Luso-Brazilian Voices: Conversations and Composition  , Russian through RUSS 204 - Intermediate Russian II  plus a semester immersion program abroad or its equivalent, or HISP 305 - Introduction to Hispanic Studies: Oral and Written Expression  and HISP 307 - Introduction to the Analysis of Hispanic Texts . Students may complete this competency requirement while abroad. Likewise, students may meet this requirement in a language not regularly offered at the College by demonstrating equivalent ability, as confirmed by the department chair with appropriate consultation. Students for whom English is a second language have met the language requirement.
   
   Students choosing Classics as the disciplinary focus of their International Studies major may satisfy the I.S. language requirement by passing five semesters of Greek or Latin, plus a sixth semester of advanced independent or equivalent language work. Students focusing on Hebrew or Arabic may combine work at Macalester with coursework and/or experience abroad or at neighbor institutions.
    
3. Study abroad. One semester of study abroad on a program chosen at least in part to support the individual major plan. International students at Macalester meet this requirement by completing a semester at Macalester.
    
4. Capstone. A capstone experience of either a senior seminar in international studies or, in select cases, an advanced independent project developed under appropriate supervision and with the approval of the department chair.
   
   In addition to these four requirements, at the center of the major plan the student must complete a twelve-course sequence with the following characteristics:
    
5. Disciplinary focus. To ensure rich knowledge of a specific mode of inquiry, five internationally focused courses drawn from a single disciplinary department including anthropology, biology, classics, economics, English, French, geography, geology, German studies, history, Japanese, philosophy, Hispanic studies, political science, religious studies, Russian, or sociology. One of these courses may be a non-introductory culture-neutral methods course. Courses acceptable for the International Studies major are listed below.
   
   Since literary studies is a single discipline, students may develop their five-course disciplinary focus from a blend of literature courses in several departments. For the same reason, students may also do this in film or media studies, drawing from several departments and abroad.
    
6. Intermediate courses. To ensure immersion in global and transnational issues, five international studies courses beyond the introduction. Students may take a second senior seminar as one of these five. At times international studies courses are cross-listed with other departments. Thus there can be up to a two-course overlap between the courses for E and F.
    
7. The remaining courses (usually two, unless there is an overlap between E and F) may be chosen from internationalist offerings across the campus or abroad, including the unchosen departments in E as well as from interdisciplinary programs including African studies, American studies (for non-U.S. students), Asian studies, media and cultural studies, Latin American studies, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; and in art, linguistics, music, psychology, and theater and dance.

Additional Notes:

1. Courses abroad. Courses taken during study abroad may count, when appropriate, toward the major; indeed students should tailor study abroad to contribute to the major plan.
2. Language courses. Courses taken to satisfy the language requirement may not be included in the fourteen-course major plan, except when the focus department under “E” is French, German, Japanese, Russian, or Hispanic studies. In these cases one advanced language course may be counted among the five disciplinary courses.
3. The major plan can include one internship.

 

Acceptable Courses for I.S. Major

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American Studies (some courses, focusing on the U.S., acceptable for non-U.S. students)

AMST 305 - Race, Sex and Work in the Global Economy 
AMST 315 - Topics in Transnational Studies 

Anthropology

ANTH 101 - General Anthropology 
ANTH 111 - Cultural Anthropology 
ANTH 239 - Medical Anthropology 
ANTH 241 - Anthropology of Death and Dying 
ANTH 246 - Refugees/Humanitarian Response 
ANTH 248 - Magic, Witchcraft and Religions 
ANTH 253 - Comparative Muslim Cultures 
ANTH 255 - Peoples and Cultures of Latin America 
ANTH 256 - Peoples and Cultures of South Asia 
ANTH 258 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa 
ANTH 259 - Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic 
ANTH 280 - Topics in Linguistic Anthropology 
ANTH 285 - Seminar in World Ethnography 
ANTH 358 - Anthropology of Violence 
ANTH 360 - Anthropology of Tourism 
ANTH 362 - Culture and Globalization 
ANTH 363 - Anthropology of Development 
ANTH 364 - Political Anthropology 
ANTH 365 - Environmental Anthropology 
ANTH 368 - Life Histories/Cultures/Selves 
ANTH 380 - Advanced Topics in Medical Anthropology 
ANTH 381 - Emerging Infectious Diseases 

Art (courses which focus on traditions outside the U.S.; studio courses do not count)

ART 160 - Art of the West I 
ART 161 - Art of the West II 
ART 170 - Art of the East I: China 
ART 171 - Art of the East II: Japan 
ART 252 - Gender, Sexualities, and Feminist Visual Culture 
ART 257 - Image in 20th Century China 
ART 259 - Nineteenth Century: From Neoclassicism through Symbolism 
ART 265 - Renaissance Art 
ART 278 - Baroque Art 
ART 328 - The Buddhist Body 

Asian Studies

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ASIA 274 - The Great Tradition in China before 1840 
ASIA 275 - The Rise of Modern China 
ASIA 276 - The Great Tradition in Japan before 1853 
ASIA 277 - The Rise of Modern Japan 
ASIA 378 - War Crimes and Memory in East Asia 

Biology (chosen in consultation with relevant Biology faculty)

BIOL 116 - Community and Global Health: Biological Paradigms 
BIOL 270 - Biodiversity and Evolution 
BIOL 285 - Ecology 
BIOL 357 - Immunology 
BIOL 473 - Research in Immunology 
BIOL 476 - Research in Biodiversity and Evolution  
BIOL 487 - Seminar in Immunology 

Chemistry

None

Chinese (most courses, other than language courses)

CHIN 149 - Shanghai, Global City: Urban Culture in China from the Opium Wars until the Present 
CHIN 255 - China on Screen 

Classics

 
 
 
 
CLAS 129 - Greek Myths 
CLAS 135 - India and Rome 
CLAS 145 - Pagans, Christians and Jews in Classical Antiquity: Cultures in Conflict 
CLAS 160 - Intro to Ancient/Medieval Art 

Computer Science

None

Economics

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ECON 422 - International Macroeconomics and Finance 
ECON 424 - Effects of International Competition 
ECON 426 - International Economic Development 

Educational Studies

EDUC 370 - Education and the Challenge of Globalization 

English (all courses in British and/or world literature, but not U.S.-focused or creative writing courses.
English courses on “neutral” or thematic subjects (such as love or justice) are evaluated case by case.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ENGL 410 - Comparative Studies 

Environmental Studies (courses focused on international and/or transnational issues)

 
 
 
 
 
ENVI 368 - Sustainable Development and Global Future 

French

 
 
 
 
 
FREN 411 - Challenges of Modernity/Lit 
FREN 412 - Text and Identity 
FREN 413 - Studies in Theory 
FREN 414 - Studies in Genre 
FREN 415 - Literary Periods and Movements 
FREN 416 - French Interdisciplinary Studies 

Geography

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GEOG 375 - Rural Landscapes and Livelihoods 
GEOG 488 - Seminar : when offered as Comparative Environment and Development Studies

Geology

 
 
GEOL 165 - History/Evolution of Earth 
 
GEOL 303 - Surface/Groundwater Hydrology 

German Studies (most courses, other than language courses)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GERM 365 - Kafka: Gods, Animals, and Other Species of Modernity 
GERM 366 - Literature and Film 

Hispanic Studies (most courses, other than language courses)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HISP 442 - Nation and Identity in the Hispanic World 
HISP 443 - The Reality of Contemporary Spain: Challenges and Dilemmas 
HISP 446 - Constructions of a Female Killer 

History

 
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
HIST 350 - Race, Gender, and Science 
HIST 352 - Modern Britain 
HIST 364 - Germany from 1871 to Present 
HIST 366 - Europe in the Age of Upheaval and Revolution 
HIST 376 - Public History 
HIST 379 - The Study of History 
HIST 381 - Transnational Latin Americas 

Interdisciplinary Studies

INTD 411 - Sr Seminar in Community and Global Health 

International Studies

All courses

Japanese

 
 
 
 
JAPA 254 - Japanese Film and Animation: From the Salaryman to the Shojo 
 
JAPA 488 - Translating Japanese: Theory and Practice 

Latin American Studies

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LATI 446 - Constructions of a Female Killer 

Linguistics

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LING 309 - Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics 
LING 335 - Analyzing Japanese Language 
LING 400 - Field Methods in Linguistics 
LING 435 - History of the Spanish Language 
LING 436 - Spanish Dialectology 
LING 488 - Translating Japanese: Theory and Practice 

Mathematics

None

Media and Cultural Studies (and other non U.S.-focused courses as they emerge)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MCST 376 - Critical Social Theory and the Media 

Music

 
 
 
 
MUSI 342 - Medieval to Mozart 
MUSI 343 - Western Music of the 19th Century 

Neuroscience

None

Philosophy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PHIL 300 - 20th Century Continental Philosophy 

Physics

None

Political Science

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
POLI 321 - International Security 
POLI 322 - Advanced International Theory 
POLI 323 - Humanitarianism in World Politics 
POLI 340 - Fascism 
POLI 341 - Comparative Social Movements 
POLI 363 - Paradigms of Global Citizenship 

Psychology

PSYC 379 - Cultural Psychology 

Religious Studies

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RELI 348 - Contemporary Christian Thought and Practice 
RELI 359 - Religion and Revolution: Case Studies 

Russian Studies

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RUSS 364 - Culture and Revolution 
RUSS 366 - Nabokov 
RUSS 367 - Dostoevsky and Gogol 

Sociology

 
 
 
SOCI 290 - Colonialism, Modernity, and Identities in the Middle East 
SOCI 370 - Political Sociology 

Theatre and Dance

 
 

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

 
 
 
WGSS 300 - Advanced Feminist/Queer Theories and Methodologies 
WGSS 305 - Race, Sex and Work in the Global Economy 

These departments offer some courses, focusing on the United States, acceptable for use on the International Studies major plan: American Studies, Psychology, and Urban Studies.

These departments typically do not offer courses that count toward the major: Chemistry, Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science, Neuroscience, Physical Education, and Physics/Astronomy.