"TEACHING TABLES II:" Going Global: Integrating by Theme in Upper Level Classes

Abstract

Upper-level classes, including those in general education, can profit from focusing on semester-long themes. In classes that include a wide array of majors, instructors may seek to choose subjects that have a general appeal as well as potential avenues for individual development.
Last year I took globalization as a general theme for my English 302 courses, a subject fitting for our diverse student body. The topic was sufficiently broad not to exclude anyone outright. And each student was required to choose a country by the third week to write about the entire semester.
As such, we had a thematic class ââ¬Åcommonsââ¬Â to ground class discussions about the definition of globalization and different disciplinary applications, whether cultural, political, or economic. Students were required to summarize and review a number of breaking periodical articles about their country. Discussion groups were arranged around regional interests. Student peer reviews were sometimes assigned so as to facilitate the sharing of common themes. At times, the global connections of students within the class became a fruitful topic of discussion.
All major writing assignments followed specific guidelines, but each had to treat a certain facet of the country of choice. The final assignment asked students to integrate research they had done during the semester into an imaginary ââ¬Åcompositeââ¬Â profile of a person living in their country who was constructed from sources used during the semester