Course mission
Preparing students to understand the challenges of the 21st Century, and to lead for a more prosperous, equitable and peaceful world.
course description
In the last several centuries, few people in the world have escaped the dynamic forces of globalization--the long-distance production systems and movement of goods, the post-Columbian conquests, imperialism, the impact of political instability and natural disasters on food system networks. Consider Indian Ocean trade routes in the 15th century that facilitated trade between East Africa and China or the impact of European colonialism on Indigenous communities in the rainforests, far from European metropoles. Globalization--the rapid and long distance connectedness of our lives--has been with us for a long time, and is inescapable today. Globalization can be a force for good and bring prosperity to millions; it can also lead to the growth of devastating diseases, refugee movements, transnational terrorism movements, climate disaster and economic dislocation. The globalized nature of some of the world’s more challenging crises have galvanized multilateral (multinational) responses from activists, alliances of armies, scientists, medical and relief teams that marshal resources, expertise and political leverage across borders.
Global Leadership focuses on topics that are global in nature and threaten international security. We begin with the assumption that human rights are universal; their denial anywhere is a concern everywhere. We proceed by examining the state of the world (from a human development perspective) and our findings about poverty, disparity and the absence of full rights will serve as a beacon, guiding our work through the year. There are no foregone conclusions about how to arrive at remedies. Through collaboration, research and design, students will debate solutions and consider the political constraints of global intervention (consider: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a violent and destructive dictator; the international force that removed him left in its wake a new landscape of violence and destruction).
The Global Leadership course is designed to engage students in global work and to prepare them to nurture a global system that promotes peace and prosperity, and works against suffering and dehumanization. Students will examine the following strands of globalized work:
Each unit contains a simulation and case study from around the world, such as: critically evaluating international development projects in Haiti and Kenya; Negotiating a dam building project on the Mekong River; Assessing the utility of training girls in negotiation skills so they can improve their chances of enrolling in school in Zambia; designing humanitarian interventions to interrupt ethnic violence against the Rohingya in Burma and to end civil conflict in Yemen. We’ll collaborate in groups to design a data-driven HIV/AIDS program in a developing country.
Throughout the course students will develop a leadership practice and learn leadership skills, like negotiation, norm modeling, and collaboration. Students will become more comfortable: utilizing data to inform project design and assessment, presenting and advocating for their findings, and listening so they may reflect and shift their thinking and beliefs.
Global Leadership focuses on topics that are global in nature and threaten international security. We begin with the assumption that human rights are universal; their denial anywhere is a concern everywhere. We proceed by examining the state of the world (from a human development perspective) and our findings about poverty, disparity and the absence of full rights will serve as a beacon, guiding our work through the year. There are no foregone conclusions about how to arrive at remedies. Through collaboration, research and design, students will debate solutions and consider the political constraints of global intervention (consider: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a violent and destructive dictator; the international force that removed him left in its wake a new landscape of violence and destruction).
The Global Leadership course is designed to engage students in global work and to prepare them to nurture a global system that promotes peace and prosperity, and works against suffering and dehumanization. Students will examine the following strands of globalized work:
- Community development
- Democracy promotion
- Health and Human Rights
- Humanitarian Intervention
- Gender equity and reproductive rights
- Migration and refugees
Each unit contains a simulation and case study from around the world, such as: critically evaluating international development projects in Haiti and Kenya; Negotiating a dam building project on the Mekong River; Assessing the utility of training girls in negotiation skills so they can improve their chances of enrolling in school in Zambia; designing humanitarian interventions to interrupt ethnic violence against the Rohingya in Burma and to end civil conflict in Yemen. We’ll collaborate in groups to design a data-driven HIV/AIDS program in a developing country.
Throughout the course students will develop a leadership practice and learn leadership skills, like negotiation, norm modeling, and collaboration. Students will become more comfortable: utilizing data to inform project design and assessment, presenting and advocating for their findings, and listening so they may reflect and shift their thinking and beliefs.