Assignment 1: Reflexive Statement (20%)
Who Are You and Why Are You Here?
The point of this exercise is to acknowledge the inherent biases and unique insights you will carry with you when you undertake research or policy work. Acknowledging your inherent orientation to research from your positionality should be a source of strength, but will also help you understand that your contribution to knowledge through research is always contextual. This should help you be prepared to answer possible questions about how your positionality and subsequent statement is likely to impact the types of research foci you may undertake in the future.
Assignment 2: Visual Representation of a Global Studies Topic (Poster) (25%)
The aim of this assignment is to construct a research or policy solutions poster. This poster will focus on any issue/challenge/topic that you wish to focus on.
Assignment 3: Final Essay (30%)
Essays should be 2,000 words in length and need to clearly answer the question “What is Global Studies to you?”
In this essay you are expected to draw from the course readings and lectures, as well as from Global 102 and any other Global Studies courses that you have taken to answer the question. You must include a single sentence thesis statement, and then justify or support this thesis statement throughout the remainder of the essay.
Assignment 4: Podcast (group assignment) (25%)
The aim of this assignment is to have you interactively present your topic area/interest, questions and possible solutions through a lively (recorded) group discussion. This podcast should support your topic area. Podcasts are now also a very popular way of presenting research to public audiences that allows non-academic audiences to be drawn into research projects. This is particularly important for global studies research which should always aim to have a high level of public engagement built into the project. It should be a research approach to a specific global challenge/issue/research topic that was covered through lectures and guest lectures during the course or that is featured in one of your posters.