Spring 2019 Newsletter from the Institute for Global Studies
Dear friends,
I am pleased to announce that the Institute for Global Studies has been designated a National Resource Center in international studies by the US Department of Education. As you read the spring newsletter, you will get a good sense of why we deserve this designation.
The stories that follow only begin to capture the expansiveness of our activities. The faculty spotlight on Professor Stuart McLean highlights the ways in which IGS has incorporated the humanities into our core curriculum. This sets global studies at UMN apart from similar programs at our peer institutions.
Sofia Logan, a recent graduate, is a product of this curriculum, pursuing the study of ethnomusicology and history through a global studies lens. Her studies have taken her to multiple sites abroad, deepening her engagement with music and dance. Experiential learning is a requirement for all global studies majors, whether through learning abroad or through internships—or increasingly both.
Anishaa Kamesh is the first recipient of the Arvonne Fraser Fellowship to support internships in human rights organizations. IGS is fortunate to house the Human Rights Program, an international leader in human rights education. It is one of ten centers and programs located in IGS that contribute to our ability to serve as a National Resource Center.
Warm regards,
Evelyn Davidheiser, Director
According to undergraduate Anishaa Kamesh, child trafficking is “not what you see in Taken, or what you see on Law and Order.” As one of the first recipients of the Fraser Human Rights Undergraduate Fellowships, she is following in Arvonne Fraser’s footsteps by fighting to end child trafficking—in the US and abroad. Read “The Fraser Legacy: Fighting for Human Rights”.
How can the social sciences learn from the humanities? Global studies and anthropology professor Stuart McLean bridges the gap between the two in his book Fictionalizing Anthropology. McLean argues that art is entwined with human culture, and because of this, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary. Read “The Engagement of Imagination”.
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from different cultures, specifically non-western culture. Sofia Logan has studied in Ecuador, Cuba, India, and Brazil. All four times, she’s managed to pursue her passion for ethnomusicology, the crossroad of music and culture. Read “A Degree Abroad: Four Trips, Four Years”.
