About Global Issues Colloquiums
Take a tour of some of the world’s hottest issues! For over a decade, Truman State University’s Global Issues Colloquium has been helping the Truman community understand many of the most challenging questions, conflicted responses and hopeful developments facing various governments and societies.
What’s happening in the Ukraine? Ask David Robinson. How does resource management work in Africa? Ask Robert Hitchcock. What about national health care in Canada or France?How did the current government in North Korea develop? Where on this planet is energy being used most efficiently, and what can we learn from global “best practices”? What exactly is “medical tourism,” and should Americans really travel to India for hip replacement surgery? What do we mean by “surveillance culture” and how much of it do we find acceptable? What should we know about Islam? These questions and more are addressed by various professional speakers, with expertise in topics that range from politics to health to culture.
The colloquiums first developed over a dozen years ago as relatively informal attempts to broaden conversations about such matters. More recently, Global Issues Colloquiums have found a niche within the structure of the International Studies Program. Charged with “sustaining and enhancing an atmosphere in which global thinking becomes habitual,” the colloquiums aim to help the broader community understand the “strengths, beauties, and core humanity of other cultures.”
In the digital age, we are so be-whirled with possible ways to be globally aware that sometimes we need help in finding a foothold. Last semester, the Global Issues administrators posted lists of online readings which interested people might look through before or after a colloquium. Starting with the Spring 2015 Semester, we are also seeking broader input on topics for future colloquiums. And for the first time, we offered college credit to students who (a) read in advance of each colloquium, (b) attended with questions prepared, and (c) reflected in writing, on their reactions to the issues discussed.
The Global Issues Colloquium meets monthly, on Thursdays, for about two hours. Topics change from semester to semester and everyone is welcome. Upcoming and past colloquiums will be posted on this site, and if you are committed to attending four colloquiums in a given semester, sign up for IDSM 400 to earn one credit hour.
See Global Issues Colloquium Sample Study Syllabus for more details.
To stay informed about upcoming Global Issues events and other sociocultural awareness occasions across Truman, kindly join the Truman Inclusiveness Project Facebook page.
Videos of Past Colloquiums (available in Pickler Memorial Library)
Most sessions are recorded, edited for classroom time and usage, then catalogued for check-out in Pickler’s Media Library. Search the library’s catalog with the keywords, “global issues” to access more videos. See below for a few.
- Twitter as a Communication Tool in Crisis Situations
- Towards the open source economy
- Learning from Latin American Social Movements
- A New Ukraine