Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This workshop explores innovative multidisciplinary course designs that give students direct access to the global landscape in a growing American metropolitan area, foregrounding two programs: a media production lab “21st Century Global Atlanta” and a project-based course, “Career Design for Global Citizenship.” These team-taught campus-wide programs connect students of diverse fields and academic levels to global communities, organizations, and professionals, and provide hands-on opportunities to facilitate critical global studies across disciplines and communities. “21st Century Global Atlanta” seeks to document the story of Atlanta as a global city, by connecting with the individuals and communities that are transforming the city into a global metropolis, including heritage and immigrant communities, foreign-born professionals, and thought leaders engaged in the global conversation. By engaging in media production, storytelling, and culture creation; students increase access to global citizenship locally and nationally. Similarly, “Career Design for Global Citizenship” takes a culture-oriented approach to understanding the role of transcultural humanities in the world of work, helping students articulate their own future role as global citizens in their career. Workshop participants will learn strategies for designing globally-oriented curriculum in a local environment. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the global organizations, resources, and networks in their community in order to brainstorm how they can effectively connect with these networks. They will also brainstorm models that engage their own students in these communities. Lastly, we will encourage some critical reflection on the challenges of initiating and sustaining a multi-unit, multidisciplinary, community-engaged, and project-based initiative.