Putting a Global Twist on the Freshman Experience
The Global Engagement Learning Community (LC) puts a global twist on the freshman experience at St. Edward's and life in Austin. We bring our diverse and thriving city into the classroom and extend the university experience into Austin and beyond. "Connecting the Global with the Local" is our motto.
In this LC, you'll explore a variety of cultural and political topics in global contexts through your academic work and social engagement. Our range of seminars and extracurricular activities across the city offer students many opportunities to study and tackle diverse social issues first-hand. Whether it be by studying a foreign film, sampling global cuisine, or taking in an art exhibit in downtown Austin, students in this LC will learn how a global perspective can help us tackle problems at the local level and vice-versa.
Fall 2022 classes
Below is a list of classes available for the fall 2022 semester.
Quick Facts
Capacity: 80
Founded: 2017
BTS, K-pop, and Globalization of Culture
BTS, K-pop, and Globalization of Culture
Faculty member teaching this course: Jooyoun Lee
This course will examine how various facets of globalization shape the dynamics of popular culture by focusing on the BTS phenomenon and the rise of K-pop. We will explore how Western and non-Western cultures interact and intermingle. Students will learn how popular culture operates at the intersection of gender, race, and nationalism in the rapidly globalizing world and explore how the process of making and breaking down boundaries is taking place.
Woke Wardrobe: Ethnical Fashion in the International Garment Industry
Woke Wardrobe: Ethnical Fashion in the International Garment Industry
Faculty member teaching this course; Angela Ju
Although fashion is often considered to be frivolous, its social and environmental consequences are undeniable. Much of the world’s clothing is made by migrant workers in sweatshops in the developing world, and in-depth analysis puts the fashion industry within the top five largest polluting industries in the world, making is detrimental to environmental sustainability and public health. In this class, we will discover ethical alternatives to “fast fashion” in the international garment industry.
Cloak and Dagger: the World of Spies in Fact and Fiction
Cloak and Dagger: the World of Spies in Fact and Fiction
Faculty member teaching this course: William Nichols
Strategic intelligence is among the most widely romanticized and exaggerated elements of U.S. foreign policy. It is also among the least understood with fears arising when government officials in a democracy operate “in the shadows.” In this course we look at how the intelligence community has developed over the past century and how it has impacted U.S. foreign relations. In doing so, we will discuss the various roles intelligence officers play, examine some of the more significant covert operations conducted by the CIA, compare the portrayals of intelligence in popular culture to IRL, and finally, delve into some of the ethical and moral dilemmas associated with espionage.
Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Islamic Spain
Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Islamic Spain
Faculty member teaching this course:Imran Khan
This course will introduce students to history of Islamic Spain and how the Umayyad Caliphate and later Muslim dynasties impacted the cultural and intellectual landscape of the Iberian Peninsula. The course will also look at contributions of Muslims, Jews, and Christians to Spanish society under Muslim rule.
Signature Events
Students in the Global Engagement LC learn about other cultures — on campus and in Austin — through cultural food cooking demonstrations, trips to museums and viewing international films.