Preparation

Identify globally-focused resources to include in your syllabus – news outlets, media, academic journals, etc. Use databases that provide an international view of your course topics. Consult the professionals in IUI Libraries if you are unfamiliar with these types of sources. Identify globally-focused organizations that are local, national, or outside of the US. The Office of International Affairs may be able to recommend some. Consult with colleagues with knowledge of resources outside of the U.S. including students, staff, colleagues, and international visitors. This might take couple of hours of your time.

Implementation

Bringing some global or comparative context into a course need not be a daunting task; it could even be done very “lightly” by simply adding a globally focused assignment. (Comparative here means comparing some aspect of the subject area content of your course to that of other countries or regions.)

Is this strategy good for small or large classes? Both? Global perspectives can be added to your course simply by assigning media or journal articles on your topic from non-US sources. It could be something as simple as asking, how is a particular topic or event you are discussing in class being covered in other countries? This could be a prompt for an in-class or online discussion or even an assignment for a paper.

Assessment

Instructors can use the same criteria they are using to assess current assignments (e.g., papers, online discussions) that are not globally focused. I just include the globally focused requirements (use of international sources, bringing in non-US examples, etc.) in the assignment and rubric.

Additional Considerations