Teaching Global Studies to All Undergraduates: A Required First-Year Course

Global studies is an area that is foundational for a twenty-first century college degree. At Elon University, all first-year students take an interdisciplinary course called "The Global Experience" (GST 110) to set the tone for a globally-engaged liberal arts education. Personal and social responsibilities, which are goals of Elon's core curriculum, provide the context for the course. Students analyze and evaluate the relationships that both connect and obstruct human interaction in an increasingly connected, technological, and rapidly changing world. In this article we explain the opportunities and challenges of delivering a course that has proved its flexibility and durability over many years.