Global Studies

Global Studies at San Jose State University is an interdisciplinary program that looks at the world holistically. The tremendous international migration of people, movement of goods, technology transfers, and mixing of cultures makes it important to study the world as a human community in ways we haven't considered in the past. Places are connected in all kinds of ways, and these connections change lives in distant places. Doctors trained in Cuba treat patients in sub-Saharan Africa. Toys made in Indonesia fill the shelves in WalMart stores in California. Soap operas made in Mexico are popular in the U.S. and those made in the U.S. are very popular in Japan. Health and education programs are contributing to lower infant mortality and increasing literacy in many poor nations. On the other hand, factories moving from one country to another seeking cheaper labor mean thousands of workers lose their jobs when factories move. Diseases travel around the world at startling speed while others are close to eradication for the first time. SJSU's Global Studies program brings together faculty that share an interest in these processes and problems.