Aug 13 2010
b) Global Citizenship
The global context
The term ‘Global Village’ is now commonplace, and the (to some ears) ugly term ‘glocalisation’ is also fast catching on. We live in a time of transnational flows and local cultural complexity, of internationalisation and globalisation, of rapidly changing technological possibilities, and of stark environmental concerns. These are challenging and exciting times for sure!
Global Citizenship as part of the Manchester Experience
The University of Manchester is by no means alone in increasingly see ‘global citizenship’, ‘internationalisation at home’, ‘internationalisation via study abroad’, and ‘intercultural awareness’ as key aspects of the student experience.
Intercultural Awareness and the LTE Group
The intercultural experience and expertise of the LTE team – and Diane, Richard and Susan in particular – is playing a role in this agenda, primarily at undergraduate level through the following course units:
- Computer-mediated intercultural communication - an established Level 1, 20-credit course unit delivered with partner institutions in Bulgaria, Germany, Slovenia and Uruguay;
- Going Global: Intercultural communication for international experience – a Level 2, 10- course still in development which will be taken through elearning mode by Manchester students during their study abroad under the auspices of schemes such a ERASMUS;
- Becoming Global – a Level 1, 10-credit course still in development (as funded by the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning (CEEBL)) which will be taken by Manchester students by elearning whilst they are still in Manchester.
Becoming Global in more detail
This predominately elearning course unit is underpinned by the following understanding of Global Citizenship:
For us, Global Citizenship involves the necessary awareness, attitudes, understandings, and behaviours (including skills and strategies) for engaging critically, openly and flexibly with the key (and often challenging) issues of our time. Such engagement should include consideration of multiple perspectives and attention to the particular positions adopted (by self and others) towards such issues; further, such engagement should be undertaken at local, national and international levels, in an ethically- and culturally-aware manner, with respect for equity and diversity present in our world, and with a concern for environmental sustainability.
The course unit has the following three components:
Component 1 (approx 20%) - where students are introduced to the key ideas regarding intercultural awareness, multiple perspectives and positioning;
Component 2 (approx 30%) - where students choose to explore three out of eight case studies each addressing a different global issue. Case studies on the course unit will include:
- a VSO participant and Manchester academic reflecting on issues of inequalities in digital access in the developing world.
- a plant geneticist reflecting on how his work contributes to sustainable usage of the world’s resources;
- a cultural historian reviewing the tensions between cultural heritage and globalisation.
The case studies will be presented in a variety of media. This Youttube video gives some sense of what students can expect (the video relates to the above digital access case study).
Component 3 (approx 50%) – where students choose one global issue with which to engage in a project, picking up on the kind of issues, perspectives and positioning covered in the earlier components. They might, for example, explore perspectives on recycling, as reflected by local politicians / in local council policy and possible implications of that policy for countries where waste is recycled.
Assessment
Students will produce: i) an online presentation, using a variety of media, of the key issue explored in a project they undertake around a key global issue; and ii) critical reflections of their learning during the course unit and the project experience in particular.