CHSS Launches New Global MA

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-04-17T17:23:38Z

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Visit <a href="globalaffairs.gmu.edu">globalaffairs.gmu.edu</a>.

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This fall, students at George Mason University will have the opportunity to earn a master of arts in global affairs. The MA in global affairs is an interdisciplinary degree based in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, but students in the program take courses in other academic units across the university. Designed to cultivate advanced perspectives across a broad range of international and global issues, the new program will position its graduates for success in a rapidly growing international community. “In the past, graduate students have either become experts in a particular world region, like the Middle East or South Asia, or they have become experts in a particular disciplinary approach, such as comparative politics or developmental economics,” says program director T. Mills Kelly, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History and Associate Dean. “The increasing complexity of globalization means that these older approaches aren't really sufficient for some students. For this reason, we've built the Global Affairs MA on an interdisciplinary foundation that prepares our graduates for this complexity.” Building upon Mason’s commitment to global education, the global affairs MA gives students an opportunity to further explore globalization and choose from a variety of courses en route to the required 30 credit hours. Students will study a wide range of topics, including business, economy, health, environment, culture, peaces studies and more, depending on their personal interests and career plans. “Whether students want to work in the United States or abroad, the MA in global affairs will position them to step into responsible and exciting careers at an advanced level,” said Kelly. A central course in this curriculum is a two-week study abroad seminar. Each year, this seminar is taught in one or more locations, including Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. “Rather than just teaching our graduate students about the world, we are taking them into the world,” Kelly said. The culminating course in the core curriculum is the capstone seminar, in which students pursue original research on a topic of their choice. Highly-qualified undergraduates may apply to the accelerated master’s degree in global affairs and obtain both a BA and MA degree in five years of full time study. Undergraduate students, regardless of major, who have excellent academic credentials may apply to the MA in global affairs as they near completion of 90 credits in their undergraduate program. George Mason expects the new MA program to grow rapidly in the next several years. The BA in global affairs, launched just a few years ago, is one of the university’s most popular programs. Students in both global affairs programs are able to take advantage of Mason’s location in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the hub of globalization. They have access to the cultural, political, academic and employment resources of America’s most global city. In working toward the 30 credit-hours (18 required and 12 elective credit hours), global affairs MA students will be connected directly with Mason’s distinguished faculty—a group that is internationally recognized for its commitment to research. “Graduates of this program will be very well-positioned for employment in a variety of contexts in a marketplace that is increasingly globalized,” Kelly said. “They will be better global citizens because they will understand the forces that are shaping our world now and will shape that world in the future.”

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2009-04-17T17:23:38Z

“Graduates of this program will be very well-positioned for employment in a variety of contexts in a marketplace that is increasingly globalized,” Kelly said. “They will be better global citizens because they will understand the forces that are shaping our world now and will shape that world in the future.”

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Published Students will have an opportunity to study abroad, and pursue a course of study tailored to their personal career plans.

This fall, students at George Mason University will have the opportunity to earn a master of arts in global affairs. Building on Mason’s commitment to global education, the MA in global affairs gives students an opportunity to further explore globalization and choose from courses from a variety of disciplines.

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CHSS Launches New Global MA

2009-08-13T13:10:43Z

Catherine Ferraro

2008-12-16T17:15:52Z

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Although English is the only language spoken in the majority of homes in the United States, almost 20 percent of the population five years and older speaks another language at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. What are these languages and who speaks them? Is this similar to or different from other countries and other historical periods? How do multilinguals use the different languages they know? How is their language related to their identities? <div class="textRight"><img src="http://gazette.gmu.edu/images/jleeman.jpg.jpeg" alt="Jennifer Leeman" width="153" height="200" /></div> <h4>Jennifer Leeman</h4> Students enrolled in Jennifer Leeman's class, FRLN 385 - Multilingualism, Identity and Power, attempt to answer these questions by studying multilingualism from the perspective of sociolinguistics. Beginning with an introduction to multilingualism around the world, the course covers the history, demographics, politics and ideologies of multilingualism in the United States. It also compares multilingualism in the United States and Canada. This courses is popular with majors in foreign languages (Spanish or French), global affairs, and Latin American studies. It is of relevance to other majors and especially heritage speakers. "I wanted to teach this class because there has been a recent increase in people's awareness of multilingualism, but very little sound information available," says Leeman, associate professor of Spanish. "In addition, language disciplines often focus on non-English languages outside the United States. I wanted to develop a class that would educate students about multilingualism in the United States. I also felt that it was important to offer a class that would promote connections among people who specialize in different languages and regions." Although the primary focus of the class is on multilingualism in the United States, students also discuss and look at <ul> <li>Fundamental sociolinguistic concepts</li> <li>Linguistic phenomena associated with multilingual societies</li> <li>Issues related to individual and societal multilingualism, including how a person who speaks multiple languages chooses among them and the differences between areas where the people speak various languages</li> <li>The different attitudes and policies regarding multilingualism in different societies and at different historical moments</li> <li>The relationship of language to cultural ethnoracial and national identities and categories, official and unofficial language policies, and contemporary representations of different languages and the speakers of those languages in public discourse and mass media</li> </ul> The class requires students to research demographics, history and sociolinguistics of various languages and the speakers of those languages in the United States and Virginia; perform hands-on analysis of linguistic data and critical examination of artifacts such as advertisements, letters to the editor, cartoons and public space; and complete several reflective assignments about their own experiences with multilingualism. For their semester project, students researched the most commonly spoken languages in Virginia by analyzing data from the U.S. Census, studying the history of the ethnolinguistic groups that speak those languages and visiting local communities where those languages are spoken. On Nov. 19, students presented their research to the Mason community at an open house called Multilingualism in Virginia. The last part of the class focuses on educational policy related to multilingualism, including bilingual education and foreign language teaching. "I really enjoy teaching this class because I learn so much from my students about their different language backgrounds and experiences with multilingualism," says Leeman. "My goal is to engage the students to think critically about multilingualism and to question their own assumptions about language, something many of them had never thought about before."

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2008-12-16T17:15:52Z

I wanted to develop a class that would educate students about multilingualism in the United States. I also felt that it was important to offer a class that would promote connections among people who specialize in different languages and regions.

Jennifer Leeman

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Although English is the only language spoken in the majority of homes in the United States, almost 20 percent of the population five years and older speaks another language at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But what are these languages and who speaks them? Is this similar to or different from other countries and other historical periods? How do multilinguals use the different languages they know, and how is their language use related to their identities?

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New Course Encourages Students to Think Critically about Language

2009-05-09T21:03:57Z

Emma Epstein News

2008-03-10T12:46:14Z

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“In many ancient religious texts, fallen angels were bound in chains and buried beneath a desert known only as Desolation. This could be the place.” These lines are from the first pages of Luis Alberto Urrea’s The Devil’s Highway, this year’s Text and Community selection. The “highway” Urea refers to in the title of the nonfiction work is a stretch of desert that 26 Mexican men journeyed through while crossing the border from Mexico to Arizona. As the book tragically depicts, only twelve of the men survived the ordeal. The Text and Community Program is an annual semester-long project co-sponsored by George Mason’s English Department and the Mason Project on Immigration. Numerous events are planned throughout the spring semester, including a discussion forum sponsored by the Democracy Project, a film festival sponsored by the Mason Project on Immigration, a brown-bag lunch series focusing on immigration research by Mason faculty, and a student essay contest hosted by the English Department. The project will culminate with a visit from the author on Wednesday, April 9. About forty professors from multiple disciplines have confirmed that they plan to use the text in their syllabi as part of the Text and Community Program. While English courses will examine The Devil’s Highway as an exemplary work of nonfiction, the book also offers a powerful examination of U.S. and Mexican border activities and immigration policies. One of the program organizers, Debra Shutika (English), predicts widespread involvement in this spring’s Text and Community activities because of the political bent of the book and the focus on immigration as a campaign issue in the upcoming elections. “This type of book does offer the possibility of wider participation from the university community, which was my hope when the text was proposed,” she said. “I also think timing here is a factor—immigration is a relevant and important issue right now.” Shutika said that although the semester’s programs will expand the focus of the immigration debate beyond the U.S.-Mexico border, the area will feature heavily in discussion because the majority of immigrants entering the United States are from the Americas and the major anti-immigrant movements affect Latinos most profoundly. Shutika said that the events will create opportunities for participants to explore issues such as immigrant assimilation, community change, and nativist responses to immigration. While all students can find personal relevance in this semester’s program, the discussions surrounding the text will particularly hit home for the approximately one third of Mason’s student body who are members of minority groups, many of whom are first or second generation immigrants. “Most of our events include dialogues of some type, and in those forums students will be encouraged to share their stories,” Shutika said. “Text and Community offers an opportunity for students to look at their life stories in the context of the immigration debate.” *Some content in this article appeared in a different format in the Mason Gazette.

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2008-03-10T12:46:14Z

Text and Community offers an opportunity for students to look at their life stories in the context of the immigration debate.

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The Text and Community Program is an annual semester-long project co-sponsored by George Mason’s English Department and the Mason Project on Immigration. While English courses will examine The Devil’s Highway as an exemplary work of nonfiction, the book also offers a powerful examination of U.S. and Mexican border activities and immigration policies.

Text and Community to Encourage Discussion on Immigration

2008-09-02T20:01:05Z