The Center for Global Studies

The Penn State University Center for Global Studies is dedicated to collaborating with the many excellent international initiatives in the University, forging new connections between areas of the university and the community in order to creatively address and advance global issues.

Support for faculty and students whose work advances global perspectives is one of the primary goals of the Center for Global Studies. Through workshops, symposia, and grants, the CGS hopes to foster cross-disciplinary dialogues that creatively address global issues. In addition, the CGS invites visiting scholars to participate in these discussions. The CGS has chosen four central research themes which, while broadly designed to elicit a wide range of participation, focus on dynamic global interactions: Global Frontiers, Global Media, Global Rights, and Global Technology. Activities related to these research themes will be conducted through colloquia led by faculty from across university disciplines.

Part of the mission of the Center for Global Studies is to partner with schools in Pennsylvania in order to in order to develop ways to enhance global perspectives in K-12 classrooms. The CGS will provide annual funding for K-12 teachers to incorporate and expand the presence of global studies in their curricula.

The Center for Global Studies focuses on three world languages: Arabic, Turkish, and Portuguese. While Arabic and Portuguese are currently offered at Penn State, the CGS plans to both help expand course offerings in these areas and work more broadly on the pedagogical methods and standards associated with teaching Less Commonly Taught Languages. Through a collaboration with CALPER (The Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research), for instance, the CGS is involved in the creation and assessment of Pennsylvania Arabic standards. The Turkish language, not presently offered at Penn State, will be added with Title VI support to increase our capacity in less commonly taught languages and to support the University goal of promoting diversity in the range of languages studied.