Perspectives 2: Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
NOTE: Students who started taking classes at Northwestern in Spring 2023 or earlier are not required to complete the US or Global perspectives (see the prior degree requirements). The information below pertains to students who start at Northwestern after Spring 2023.
The global perspective addresses the geographic and environmental conditions, historical and present social and political structures, linguistic and cultural formations of groups and individuals primarily outside the United States, focusing on the interaction among cultures.
Learning Objectives
In courses satisfying this perspective students will:
- Engage with scholarship describing the historical and contemporary structures, processes, human-environment relationships, and practices that shape global intercultural relations among groups, cultural traditions, and/or nations, focusing primarily on those outside the United States.
- Explore the social, political, environmental, and cultural bases of these groups, traditions, and/or nations, and how they constitute themselves and are constituted by others.
- Generate the knowledge and develop the skills necessary to grapple with key issues. The following list of possible issues is not intended to be exhaustive but illustrative: appropriation, art, borders, colonialism, diaspora, diplomacy, education, empire, the environment, ethnicity, exploration, health, indigeneity, immigration, migration, nationality, refugees, cultural reception, sustainability, statelessness, travel, and war.
- Analyze how these and other terms intersect and overlap, with attention to the dynamism and variety of experiences and expressions.
choosing courses
Note that a perspective course may simultaneously count for any other requirement in which it is approved (such as foundational discipline, major, or the advanced expression requirement).
Approved Courses
| Subject | Number | Title |
| ANTHRO | 211-0 | Culture and Society1 |
| ANTHRO | 215-0 | Study of Culture Through Language1 |
| ANTHRO | 238-0 | Food in Culture and Society1 |
| ANTHRO | 326-0 | Archaeologies of Sustainability and Collapse (with ENVR_POL 385)1 |
| ANTHRO | 329-0 | Archaeology and Nationalism (with HUM 329-0)2 |
| ANTHRO | 383-0 | Environmental Anthropology (with ENVR_POL 383-0)1 |
| ART_HIST | 220-0 | Introduction to African Art2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 222-0 | Introduction to Art of the African Diaspora2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 232-0 | Introduction to the History of Architecture: 1400 to Present2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 235-0 | Introduction to Latin American Art2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 240-0 | Introduction to Asian Art2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 255-0 | Introduction to Modernism2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 340-1 | Baroque Art: Italy & Spain 1600-18002, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 342-0 | Eighteenth-Century European Art2, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 350-1 | 19th Century Art 1: 1800-18482, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 350-2 | 19th Century Art 2: 1848-19002, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 360-1 | 20th Century Art 12, 4 |
| ART_HIST | 386-0 | Art of Africa2, 4 |
| ASIAN_LC | 300-0 | Advanced Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture4 |
| ASIAN_LC | 375-0 | South Asian Societies4 |
| ASIAN_LC | 390-0 | Advanced Topics in Asian Languages and Cultures4 |
| ASIAN_LC | 392-0 | Advanced Studies in Asian Film, Media, and Visual Culture4 |
| ASIAN_LC | 393-0 | Asian Environmental Humanities4 |
| BLK_ST | 213-0 | History of the Black World2 |
| BLK_ST | 275-0 | Africans and African Americans4 |
| COMP_LIT | 207-0 | Introduction to Critical Theory (with PHIL 220-0)3 |
| ENGLISH | 265-0 | Introduction to Postcolonial Literature4 |
| ENGLISH | 281-0 | Topics in Postcolonial Comparative Literatures4 |
| ENGLISH | 287-0 | Topics in Global Literature4 |
| ENGLISH | 365-0 | Studies in Postcolonial Literature4 |
| ENGLISH | 369-0 | Studies in African Literature4 |
| ENVR_POL | 337-0 | Hazard, Disaster and Society (with GBL_HLTH 337-0)1 |
| ENVR_POL | 338-0 | Environmental Justice (with GBL_HLTH 338-0)1 |
| ENVR_POL | 340-0 | Global Environments and World History (with HISTORY 376-0) 1,2 |
| ENVR_POL | 370-0 | Climate Change Law and Policy |
| ENVR_POL | 383-0 | Environmental Anthropology (with ANTHRO 383-0)1 |
| ENVR_POL | 385-0 | Archaeologies of Sustainability and Collapse (with ANTHRO 326-0)1 |
| FRENCH | 211-0 | Reading Cultures in French4 |
| FRENCH | 271-0 | Introducing the Novel4 |
| FRENCH | 355-0 | Topics in Modern and Contemporary French Literature and Culture4 |
| FRENCH | 365-0 | The Maghreb and the Middle East (taught in French)4 |
| FRENCH | 386-0 | Gender and Writing4 |
| FRENCH | 395-0 | Advanced Studies in Culture and Thought4 |
| GBL_HLTH | 201-0 | Introduction to Global Health1 |
| GBL_HLTH | 302-0 | Global Bioethics3 |
| GBL_HLTH | 306-0 | Biomedicine and Culture1 |
| GBL_HLTH | 309-0 | Biomedicine and World History (with HISTORY 379-0)1,2 |
| GBL_HLTH | 321-0 | War and Public Health1 |
| GBL_HLTH | 323-0 | Global Health From Policy to Practice1 |
| GBL_HLTH | 324-0 | Volunteerism and the Ethics of Help3 |
| GBL_HLTH | 325-0 | History of Reproductive Health2 |
| GBL_HLTH | 337-0 | Hazard, Disaster and Society (with ENVR_POL 337-0)1 |
| GBL_HLTH | 338-0 | Environmental Justice (with ENVR_POL 338-0)1 |
| GNDR_ST | 233-0 | Gender, Politics and Philosophy (with PHIL 221-0)3 |
| GNDR_ST | 341-0 | Transnational Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality |
| GERMAN | 224-0 | Contemporary Germany |
| GERMAN | 224-SA | Contemporary Germany |
| GERMAN | 234-1 | Jews and Germans: An Intercultural History I3,4 |
| GERMAN | 234-2 | Jews and Germans: An Intercultural History II4 |
| GERMAN | 248-0 | Learning Diversity: Germany and Global Migration |
| GERMAN | 303-0 | Speaking as Discovery |
| GERMAN | 328-0 | Prague: City of Cultures, City of Conflict (with SLAVIC 328-0)4 |
| GERMAN | 335-0 | Minority Voices in Germany (taught in German)4 |
| GERMAN | 337-0 | Science and Culture in Germany2 |
| GERMAN | 349-0 | History of the Holocaust (with HISTORY 349-0)2 |
| HISTORY | 201-1 | Europe in the Medieval and Early Modern World2 |
| HISTORY | 201-2 | Europe in the Modern World2 |
| HISTORY | 203-1 | Jewish History 750-14922 |
| HISTORY | 220-0 | History of the Future2 |
| HISTORY | 248-0 | Global Legal History (with LEGAL_ST 248-0)1,2 |
| HISTORY | 249-0 | The End of Citizenship1,2 |
| HISTORY | 250-1 | Global History I2 |
| HISTORY | 250-2 | Global History II2 |
| HISTORY | 251-0 | The Politics of Disaster: A Global Environmental History1,2 |
| HISTORY | 253-0 | A Global History of Prisons and Camps2,3 |
| HISTORY | 254-0 | Global Entrepreneurs1,2 |
| HISTORY | 255-1 | African Civilizations1,2 |
| HISTORY | 255-3 | Modern Africa2 |
| HISTORY | 260-2 | History of Latin America1,2 |
| HISTORY | 275-1 | History of Early Modern Science and Medicine2 |
| HISTORY | 275-2 | History of Modern Science and Medicine2 |
| HISTORY | 284-2 | Early Modern Japan2 |
| HISTORY | 286-0 | World War II in Asia2 |
| HISTORY | 340-0 | Gender, War, and Revolution in the 20th Century2 |
| HISTORY | 349-0 | History of the Holocaust (with GERMAN 349-0)2 |
| HISTORY | 351-0 | Europe in the Age of Total War2,3 |
| HISTORY | 352-0 | Global History of Death and Dying2,3 |
| HISTORY | 353-0 | History of Capitalism1,2 |
| HISTORY | 354-0 | History of Socialism1,2 |
| HISTORY | 366-0 | Latin America in the Independence Era: American Indians and Nations2 |
| HISTORY | 367-0 | History of Mexico1,2 |
| HISTORY | 370-0 | Music and Nation in Latin America1,2 |
| HISTORY | 376-0 | Global Environments and World History (with ENVR_POL 340-0) 1,2 |
| HISTORY | 379-0 | Biomedicine and World History (with GBL_HLTH 309-0)1,2 |
| HISTORY | 381-1 | Modern China: The Transition to Modern Times, 1600-19122 |
| HISTORY | 381-2 | Modern China: The Twentieth Century2 |
| HISTORY | 381-3 | China in Reform2 |
| HISTORY | 382-0 | The Modern Japanese City2 |
| HISTORY | 385-1 | History of Modern South Asia, ca 1500-18002 |
| HISTORY | 385-2 | History of Modern South Asia, ca 1750-present2 |
| HISTORY | 386-2 | History of Modern Southeast Asia Until 19452 |
| HISTORY | 386-3 | Southeast Asia: Decolonization & Independence1,2 |
| HUM | 329-0 | Archaeology and Nationalism (with ANTHRO 329-0)2 |
| INTL_ST | 383-1 | Elliott Scholars Program: Foundation Topics in Global Affairs1 |
| INTL_ST | 393-SA | Development in the Global Context: Participation, Power, and Social Change (variable credit course; 1 unit can count towards a Foundational Discipline)1 |
| ISEN | 230-0 | Climate Change and Sustainability: Ethical Dimensions (with PHIL 270-0)3 |
| ISEN | 375-0 | Issues in Environmental Philosophy (with PHIL 375-0)3 |
| ITALIAN | 251-0 | Introduction to Italian Cinema4 |
| ITALIAN | 277-0 | Global Neorealism4 |
| ITALIAN | 377-0 | Gender and Sexuality in Italian Culture4 |
| LEGAL_ST | 248-0 | Global Legal History (with HISTORY 248-0)1,2 |
| LEGAL_ST | 356-0 | Constitutional Challenges in Comparative Perspective (with POLI_SCI 356-0)1 |
| MENA | 200-0 | Making the Modern Middle East: Culture, Politics, History |
| PERF_ST | 308-0 | Contemporary Middle Eastern Performance4 |
| PHIL | 220-0 | Introduction to Critical Theory (with COMP_LIT 207-0)3 |
| PHIL | 221-0 | Gender, Politics and Philosophy (with GNDR_ST 233-0)3 |
| PHIL | 222-0 | Introduction to Africana Philosophy3 |
| PHIL | 270-0 | Climate Change and Sustainability: Economic and Ethical Dimensions (with ISEN 230-0)3 |
| PHIL | 375-0 | Issues in Environmental Philosophy (with ISEN 375-0)3 |
| POLI_SCI | 240-0 | Introduction to International Relations1 |
| POLI_SCI | 250-0 | Introduction to Comparative Politics1 |
| POLI_SCI | 304-0 | Human Rights Between East and West3 |
| POLI_SCI | 341-0 | International Political Economy1 |
| POLI_SCI | 343-0 | Politics of International Law1 |
| POLI_SCI | 347-0 | Ethics in International Relations3 |
| POLI_SCI | 350-0 | Social Movements1 |
| POLI_SCI | 351-0 | Politics of the Middle East1 |
| POLI_SCI | 352-0 | Global Development (with SOCIOL 317-0)1 |
| POLI_SCI | 354-0 | Politics of Southeast Asia1 |
| POLI_SCI | 356-0 | Constitutional Challenges in Comparative Perspective (with LEGAL_ST 356-0)1 |
| POLI_SCI | 359-0 | Politics of Africa1 |
| POLI_SCI | 362-0 | Politics of Europe1 |
| POLI_SCI | 374-0 | Politics of Capitalism1 |
| POLI_SCI | 376-0 | Civil Wars1 |
| POLI_SCI | 377-0 | Drugs and Politics1 |
| POLI_SCI | 383-0 | War and Change in International Politics1 |
| POLI_SCI | 384-0 | International Responses to Mass Atrocities1 |
| PORT | 380-0 | Contemporary Brazil: Literature and Film4 |
| PSYCH | 317-0 | The Holocaust: Psychological Themes & Perspectives1 |
| RELIGION | 295-0 | Ahimsa: Nonviolence in South Asia and Beyond3 |
| RELIGION | 312-0 | Buddhism and Gender3 |
| RELIGION | 351-0 | Islamic Law2,3 |
| RELIGION | 360-0 | African American Religions2,3 |
| SLAVIC | 218-0 | Introduction to Polish Literature4 |
| SLAVIC | 250-SA | Balkan Civilizations2 |
| SLAVIC | 318-0 | Polish Cinema4 |
| SLAVIC | 328-0 | Prague: City of Cultures, City of Conflict (with GERMAN 328-0)4 |
| SOCIOL | 305-0 | Population Dynamics1 |
| SOCIOL | 317-0 | Global Development (with POLI_SCI 352-0)1 |
| SPANISH | 204-0 | Advanced Spanish II: Artivism in Times of Political Change4 |
| SPANISH | 223-0 | Cervantes (taught in English)4 |
| SPANISH | 231-0 | New Latin American Narrative4 |
| SPANISH | 260-0 | Literature in Latin America before 18884 |
| SPANISH | 261-0 | Literature in Latin America since 18884 |
| SPANISH | 340-0 | Colonial Latin American Literature (taught in Spanish)4 |
| SPANISH | 346-0 | Testimonial Narrative in Latin America (taught in Spanish)4 |
| SPANISH | 349-0 | Critical Thought in Latin America3 |
| SPANISH | 350-0 | Visual Culture in Latina/o America and Spain (taught in Spanish)4 |
| SPANISH | 362-0 | Citizenship and Urban Violence in Latin America4 |
1Also FD-Social and Behavioral Sciences
2Also FD-Historical Studies
3Also FD-Ethical and Evaluative Thinking
4Also FD-Literature and Arts