Global Studies is the academic study of globalization, the processes and interactions that have converted the world into a single interdependent whole. This perspective is holistic not just because it is interdisciplinary, but because it challenges the “national frame” upon which traditional academic disciplines have been built. That traditional framework is focused on national economies, politics and societies, and globalization is seen as merely the creation of more “bridges” between them. In Global Studies, the starting point is not any national entity but the processes and interactions that have integrated human life on a global scale. Global Studies is built on the acknowledgement that political power, economic influence, and cultural norms are not determined solely within nation states but are also influenced by actors such as international organizations, multinational corporations, transnational and subnational groups, and non-governmental organizations.
As an academic field in the liberal arts, Global Studies seeks to educate citizens with a global, holistic and cosmopolitan perspective on the problems faced by the world today, from social inequality and women’s rights to terrorism and climate change. Even when these problems are experienced locally or nationally, they have a global dimension and require global solutions. In this context, majoring in Global Studies really means becoming a “global citizen” for the global century ahead.