Global Village

Learn how to take your place as a citizen of today's world -- a world in which we are all connected, no matter how distant we may be in space. Through courses in world literature, global affairs, composition, and global history, explore the diverse cultures, traditions, and values that enrich and challenge us in our friendships and in our work lives each day. Meet other people who share your fascination with the splendid diversity of the human experience.

This special sequence of Mason Topics lasts for one year. Both semesters of your freshman year, you will enroll with the same group of students in one pair of linked general education courses that focus on Global Village. The rest of your schedule will be open to you to plan according to your other interests.

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2008

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

English 101: Composition (3 credits)

Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution 101: Conflict and Our World (3 credits)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)

History 125: Introduction to World History (3 credits)

Develop your critical reading and analytical writing skills as you analyze the major features of the principal existing civilizations of our world, both as they were originally formed and as they have been altered during the past two to four centuries by key global processes, including the "forces of modernity."

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Western Civilization (3 credits) or Social and Behavioral Science (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2009)

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2007

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

First Semester (Fall 2007)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)
History 125: Introduction to World History (3 credits)

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Western Civilization (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2008)

English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts (3 credits)
Sociology 120: Globalization and Society (3 credits)

Survey a wide range of global topics, such as previous important periods of globalization, international organizations and the law, transnational corporations and the global economy, immigration and refugees, world environmental concerns, world culture, war and peace, the paradoxical presence of nationalism and fundamentalism in a global world, and the anti-globalization movment. Explore some of the ways that creative writers have imagined relationships between the individual and changing cultural traditions through poetry, fiction, and drama.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Literature (3 credits) and Global Understanding (3 credits) for all students.

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2006

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

First Semester (Fall 2006)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)
Global Affairs 101: Introduction to Global Affairs (3 credits)

Develop your critical reading and analytical writing skills as you survey a wide range of global topics, such as previous important periods of globalization, international organizations and the law, transnational corporations and the global economy, immigration and refugees, world environmental concerns, world culture, war and peace, the paradoxical presence of nationalism and fundamentalism in a global world, and the anti-globalization movment.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Global Understanding (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2007)

English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts (3 credits)
History 125: Introduction to World History (3 credits)

Analyze the major features of the principal existing civilizations of our world, both as they were originally formed and as they have been altered during the past two to four centuries by key global processes including the "forces of modernity." Explore some of the ways that creative writers have imagined relationships between the individual and changing cultural traditions through poetry, fiction, and drama.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Literature (3 credits) for all students and Western Civilization (3 credits).

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2005

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

First Semester (Fall 2005)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)
History 100: History of Western Civilization (3 credits)

Explore the origins of a civilization that has had a global impact as you develop your critical reading and analytical writing skills. Trace the history of western civilization from its ancient Mediterranean origins through the medieval and modern development of Europe to the contemporary world.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Western Civilization (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2006)

English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts (3 credits)
Religion 100: The Human Relgious Experience (3 credits)

Examine important religious traditions in the contemporary world as different ways of embodying religious expression. Discover how religion functions in human society by studying religious experience, myth and ritual, teachings and scripture. As you read and discuss poetry, fiction, and drama that world religions have inspired, you will look more deeply at the artistic and ethical aspects of religion.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Literature (3 credits) and Religious Studies (3 credits) for all students.

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2004

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

First Semester (Fall 2004)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)
History 100: History of Western Civilization (3 credits)

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Western Civilization (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2005)

English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts (3 credits)
Religion 211: Religions of the Near (Middle) East (3 credits)

Gain a cross-cultural and historical perspective on three great religions that were born in the middle east region--Judaism, Christianity and Islam--as you read and discuss poetry, fiction, and drama that they inspired.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Global Understanding (3 credits) for all students. BA students in the college of Arts and Sciences also fill their Philosophy or Religious Studies requirement.

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2003

These classes satisfy university-wide General Education requirements for all students.

First Semester (Fall 2003)

English 101: Composition (3 credits)
History 100: History of Western Civilization (3 credits)

Second Semester (Spring 2004)

English 201: Reading and Writing about Texts (3 credits)
Geography 103: Human Geography (3 credits)

Read and discuss poetry, fiction, and drama from around the globe as you learn more about major human-geographic regions and the role that geographic differences play in our interpretation of the current world scene.

Proposed Sequence of Courses Starting Fall 2002

First Semester (Fall 2002)

English 101: Composition
History 100: Western Civilization

Explore the origins of a civilization that has had a global impact as you develop your critical reading and analytical writing skills.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) and Western Civilization (3 credits) for all students.

Second Semester (Spring 2003)

English 201: Reading Texts
Geography 101: Major World Regions

Read and interpret poetry, fiction, and drama from around the globe, as you learn more about the world's principle human-geographic regions and the role that geographic differences play in our interpretation of the current world scene.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Literature (3 credits) for all students. BA students in the College of Arts and Sciences also fulfill Non-Western Culture (3 credits) and Social Sciences (3 credits).

Third Semester (Fall 2003)

English 202: Texts and Contexts
Hist 130: History of the Modern Global System

Examine the processes that have shaped the modern world as you study literary texts within the framework of culture and history. Beginning in 1500, we will trace developments that reorganized peoples, reshaped cultures, and generated new economies in the interaction between Western and non-Western societies. Learn about the global networks resulting from mercantile expansion, the industrial revolution, imperialism, nationalism, and their legacies in the postcolonial period. Builds on reading and writing skills taught in English 201.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Global Understanding (3 credits) for all students. BA students in the College of Arts and Sciences also fulfull Literature (3 credits).

Fourth Semester (Spring 2004)

English 302: Advanced Composition

In this capstone experience, you will draw on what you have learned in your previous linked courses as you gain intensive practice in writing and analyzing such expository forms as the essay, article, proposal, and technical or scientific reports. Emphasis will be placed on research related to your major field.

General Education Requirements Fulfilled: Written Communication (3 credits) for all students.