GI5078 - Global Encounters: Engaging Critical Issues Affecting Global Communities at Home and Abroad (2023/24)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2023/24 | ||||||||
| Module title | Global Encounters: Engaging Critical Issues Affecting Global Communities at Home and Abroad | ||||||||
| Module level | Intermediate (05) | ||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 15 | ||||||||
| School | School of Social Sciences and Professions | ||||||||
| Total study hours | 150 | ||||||||
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| Running in 2023/24(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) | No instances running in the year |
Module summary
Globalization is a complicated phenomenon influenced by politics, culture, law, and society. Advances in technology, communication, transportation, and trade have empowered globalization and will continue to fuel its growth creating a more closely interconnected world. The realities of globalization however, manifest regionally and locally in a symbiotic, dialectical relationship. The goal of the module is to examine that latter relationship using the lens of four major areas of contention and challenge in the global community. Students will be invited to engage these at the macro and the micro level, talking about how the entire human community is impacted or potentially impacted, and drawing on their own subjective and personal communal experiences of these to discuss and think about the effects in their home environments (wherever these might be on the globe)
The module is unique in that it focuses on giving students enrolled at London Metropolitan University the opportunity to work with students at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, engaging in an in-depth study and analysis of the four focused contemporary global and international issues. Students will exist in a ‘third space’ working together as partners, co-taught synchronously by an academic from each institution.
Students’ collaborative work will focus on creating projects focused on their collective ideas for potential solutions and ameliorative measures for those challenges that take into consideration global as well as local consequences.
We believe that the interpersonal relationships that the students will develop in the context of the module will equip them with a familiarity with alternative communicative styles and practices of other cultures and a better understanding of their own, essential assets for becoming a “global citizen.” Their interactions with one another will surface human cultural similarities and differences, thereby increasing students’ cultural awareness, competency, and self-confidence, and will reinforce the university’s goal of helping students to become global citizens.
English will the core official language of the course, however, every opportunity for students to engage in alternative languages in their collaborative work will be facilitated and encouraged.
Prior learning requirements
No pre- or co- requisites. This module is available for Study Abroad students
Syllabus
A key motivator of this module is to empower students to make critical decisions, engage in reflective practice, and to consider their role as a global citizen. (LO 1-4)
The syllabus for this module will therefore include the following contemporary issues:
1. Being an effective student in a ‘third space’ (LO 2-4)
2. The Interface Between the Human and the Non-Human Environment (LO 1-4)
3. The Global Distribution of Goods and Resources (LO 1-4)
4. The Global Effect and Impacts of Technology (LO 1-4)
5. Human Rights in the Global System: Concepts, Implementations, and Impacts (LO 1-4)
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Since the essence of this module is collaboration, it is imperative that students from both groups attend all class sessions and participate in discussions and activities both in class and online with their counterparts from the other country as well as with their local colleagues. Assignments and activities will often have to be completed collaboratively in between the formal weekly face to face online sessions. As a result, adherence to deadlines is crucial so that posting and collaborative work must be completed in a timely manner.
As suggested, Blended Learning will be the sole method of delivery and all teaching will take place online. The Weblearn site will present a ‘resource’ of information relative to content and current issues as well as a tool for formative assignments and feedback. Lectures will be supported by additional materials online which will enable students to fully engage with the module, including online tasks, PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, discussion tools, full reading lists, audio-visual /documentary material, and links to first-hand documents and websites.
Teaching consists of a weekly lecture followed by a seminar/workshop. Lectures will be interactive, involving a combination of taught lectures, videos and group work. Seminars/workshops will combine a variety of methods including discussion based on pre-set questions and discussion of the groups’ activities and research.
Questions for class discussion will be available from the beginning of the module to allow students to prepare and reflect, supported by a list of resources students can use to explore the topics covered in greater depth.
Reflective learning will be encouraged throughout in activities, discussions, lectures, and through assessments. Students will be expected to work together as partners, in co-created spaces, between and during classes, learning from each other and building on their studies
Due to the unique nature of this module it will last ten weeks, rather than the traditional twelve.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module you will be able to:
1. Assess and take an informed overview of selected contemporary international issues, including a critical analysis of their causes, and the implications.
2. Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in speech (the ability to work under pressure in seminars, where students must demonstrate the ability to respond to questions orally and also work as a team) and in writing (for example, writing using commonly accepted standards of definition, analysis, grammatical prose, and documentation).
3. Enhance your capacity to work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organization, and time-management, as well as co-operating with other students to achieve common goals.
4. Use research skills, including the ability to synthesize and analyze arguments and exercise critical judgement from a variety of resources.
Assessment strategy
Students will be given weekly tasks which are designed to enable students to work together as practitioners, seeking solutions to real-world problems. This will contribute to a portfolio of written work which will form the final submitted work.
Initial submissions will count as formative pieces of work to enable students to build skills for the later summative work. This will reinforce the value of collaborative work and peer feedback to reflect the social dimension of learning and its importance in developing skills for life.
Indeed, the continuous assessment is designed to enable students to use a range of learning methods and employability skills, including: independent research; reading a wide range of primary and secondary sources; communicating ideas verbally in class; and working as a team in a ‘third space’. Throughout students will be expected to reflect on what they have learnt and make use of constructive feedback.