Understanding the World's Shifting Landscape
A concern for the world has marked Brandeis University from the beginning. In its first decade, scholars in flight from the ravages of war and Holocaust in Europe found a home at the fledgling university and helped to shape an academic culture that was cosmopolitan, tolerant and deeply intellectual. That spirit continues in the 21st century at Brandeis, where the hallmarks of global scholarship and engagement reflect a commitment to diverse perspectives, to the development of mutually beneficial partnerships and to skepticism about conventional wisdom.
Today, Brandeis students think about, experience and act in the world through a rich array of courses taking them to every corner of the globe. Some students immerse themselves in regional culture, history and politics through area-studies programs. Others explore the world — past, present and future — through modes of inquiry such as history, economics, literature and philosophy. And still others tackle problems and ideas on the broadest scale by majoring in international and global studies.
Along the way, Brandeis students make connections. How will global climate change affect the social structures of low-lying coastal communities? How do ancient battles over faith relate to modern ethnic conflicts? What happens when there is a gap between international human rights norms and local customs and practices? Brandeis faculty members point the way toward addressing these questions through texts and experience.
Change is the order of the day. Brandeis faculty members are constantly reshaping courses and experiences to bring new tools and ideas to bear on a rapidly shifting global landscape. What makes Brandeis global is the acknowledgment of a choice to be a part of a global world, to create global citizens and to concern itself with events on the other side of the globe — because everything that happens in this world affects every one of the people in it, no matter how vast the world may seem.