Programs: International Studies

International Studies | International Studies: Courses | International Studies: Minor

While in years past the acquisition of knowledge about and understanding of other countries and cultures was necessary principally for diplomats, the events of the twentieth century have made this important for everyone because, whether we recognize it or not, we are all affected by events outside our national boundaries.

The International Studies Program was created to prepare students to be knowledgeable and concerned participants in the global community. It strives to enable them to understand, grapple with, and hopefully help solve the difficult challenges this community faces. In addition to this primary imperative, the INS major at Nazareth helps achieve, in a programmatic way, the college's goal of internationalizing the curriculum.

As with other liberal studies majors, the INS major is not intended primarily as career preparation but rather to acquire knowledge, develop intellectual skills and explore ethical values.

The INS major is a highly structured interdisciplinary program leading to a B.A. degree and is designed to achieve three academic goals. The first and second are to educate students in the theoretical, substantive, and ethical dimensions of both the methods through which nations interact and the problems that affect the world as a single unit. The third goal is to begin to develop in each student a recognition and understanding of cultures outside Anglo-America.

In addition to an introductory course and a senior seminar, students majoring in International Studies take courses in anthropology, international economics and politics, and the humanities. Students also take at least 12 hours of intermediate level courses in a foreign language. (Though it is not a requirement of the INS major, students are strongly encouraged to go abroad to study, taking advantage of the opportunity to examine another society by personal observation and experience.)

INS Program Director: Dr. Sharon Murphy, Golisano Academic Center, Room 457, 389-2659, (smurphy3@naz.edu).