Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Puritan John Winthrop, and countless political leaders echoing him since, claim America is “a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us.” The critical thinking course I developed as a Stanford Global Studies EPIC fellow this year asked students to explore the cultural constructs of race and gender in America in juxtaposition to constructions around the globe. How is gender understood, and how is it that we are both at the forefront of a worldwide women’s rights movement and behind other countries when it comes to equitable pay and government representation? (According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2016, America ranks sixty-sixth in equitable pay.) How is the experiment of the American “melting pot” one that fosters both success and distress in our nation of immigrants? What is it about America’s global image that draws so many documented and undocumented immigrants, while we simultaneously struggle with deep-seated, insidious racial tension? These contradictions were the focus of our reading, thinking, and learning. I harnessed classroom diversity to foster conversations around these topics using Lacuna - Stanford’s free, open-source, digital annotation software. Students drew upon insights mined from their own hyphenated identities (Muslim-immigrant-students, Mexican-first-generation-college-students, international students, etc.). Students gained a better understanding of how America serves as a case study that is both role model and cautionary tale. In a world where nationalism is on the rise and alternative facts circulate more freely than global citizens, it’s more important than ever to make sure students see our interconnectedness.