The Department of Global Studies provides a distinct approach to understanding our contemporary world by combining language-based area studies of Brazil, China, Japan, India, and Russia with European and International Studies and a global perspective. As an academic field, Global Studies was born only in the late 1990s and its exponential growth and importance soared in the 2000s. Its main elements all find their root cause in the insight that contemporary global conditions cannot be studied in ways reserved for states and their interaction only. Taking a holistic approach, Global Studies takes history, cultural studies and anthropology just as seriously as political science, sociology and economics.
In step with this approach, we do not understand nations and regions as cultural containers, but as globally connected. Likewise, disciplines are not understood as knowledge containers, but as connected ways of addressing similar questions.
Students at the Department of Global Studies grow to become critical and self-confident citizens of the contemporary global world. Graduates from Global Studies are well prepared to work in research, in teaching, for public institutions and ministries as well as within the private sector, where global competencies, even in small and medium-sized enterprises, are demanded increasingly.
The goal of Brazilian Studies within Global Studies at AU is to apply knowledge about Brazil and the Portuguese language to real world problems and international issues. Beyond obtaining proficiency in the 5th most spoken language in the world, Brazilian Studies prepares students to think critically and articulate persuasively on a range of subjects, including migration, urbanization, economics, government and environment that include Brazil but are not limited to it. The program provides students with important conceptual tools from the social sciences and cultural studies and is applied, and project-centered.
In a time of increasing uncertainties, the future of Europe and European integration has become an ever more crucial issue. At present, Europeans are discussing how to cope with a long list of challenges: Brexit, the aftereffects of the financial crisis, the refugee crisis, challenge of populism, border issues, rising austerity and the impacts of climate change. The master’s programme in European Studies at Aarhus University equips students with tools and theories to analyse the current situation in Europe, including the many challenges that Europeans are facing and the potentials for transnational solutions. At European Studies, we focus on the cultural, social and political processes shaping Europe; we examine the character and the role of EU institutions; we look at Europe in a global perspective, and not least, we ask the question of who the ‘Europeans’ really are.
With a Master’s degree in European Studies, you will be are qualified to analyse and work in European institutions, national state administrations, in international organizations and in multinational corporations. The staff at European Studies have wide-ranging expertise within EU policies and institutions, European politics, identity building, gender, intercultural relations, border issues and migration and memory and heritage issues in Europe.
This program is offered in English/Danish.
In the India and South Asia studies programme, students will acquire extensive knowledge of South Asia, its social, cultural, political, and economic life, and the varied—and changing—patterns of everyday life in the region. Although the focus is on India, the programme also touches on regional similarities and social and political conditions in countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Students learn to speak, read, and write in Hindi, South Asia’s most widely spoken language. No prior knowledge of Hindi is required.
Small class sizes allow for concentrated teacher–student and student–student engagement. Teaching takes both a theoretical and applied approach, making use of lectures, classroom discussion, practical exercises, study group activities, and student presentations. Students also spend a semester in India, where they receive advanced immersion training in Hindi, enhance their cultural competency, and gain first-hand familiarity with India. Faculty at the India and South Asia program have research expertise in the sociocultural, political, and medical anthropology of the region, Hindi literary traditions, and the modern history of the region.
International Studies provides students with knowledge of key concepts, theories and methods for the study of global phenomena. The structure of the programme includes a semester each studying global society, international political economy, modern global history, global thought, international project management, and global politics. Students spend their third semester engaged in either a work placement or an international exchange. Students dedicate the last semester writing a thesis based on a topic of their interest or on a topic negotiated with their work placement organisation. All the core courses provide the students with transferrable knowledge that they can then use during their work placements and in their future careers.
Five full time academic staff across two faculties teach International Studies. Our research interests span the following disciplines: political science, history and history of ideas, political economy and anthropology.
We study and teach on China within the academic tradition of language-based area studies. Our main concern is with Chinese society, culture and history in contemporary and twentieth century Chinese society with a particular research focus on Chinese socialization, migration, cultural production and language acquisition. A comprehensive study program - BA, MA, PhD - in China Studies with numerous possibilities of specializations and study opportunities in China is offered. The China Studies section closely cooperates in interdisciplinary research and teaching with the different sections of the Department of Global Studies. We are also engaged in many outreach activities such as further education and giving media interviews.
Want to know more? Do not hesitate to look up our individual profiles or contact us!
Russian studies offers extensive language, cultural and social training in an important area of Eurasia stretching from Central Europe and the Balkans to Russia’s Far East and the Pacific Ocean. More than 350 million people live here, with the majority using a Slavic language either as a first or second language. Russia’s vast natural resources and increasingly confident foreign policy both engage with and challenge the Eastern European countries. In recent years, the area between the EU and Russia has been caught between identities as the EU’s ‘eastern neighbourhood’ and Russia’s own geopolitical vision.
Our internationally outstanding researchers are experts on Central Europe, the Balkans and Russia. These researchers along with experienced language teachers will guide you as a student; you will learn Russian and spend a semester abroad at our partner universities in St. Petersburg. You will study the region as a disciplinary whole: gaining expertise in culture, society, politics and history and acquiring important skills contributing towards future employability.
Despite losing its economic leading position in Asia, Japan continues to fascinate people around the globe. Japan Studies at Aarhus University aims to understand contemporary issues through multiple disciplines – specifically, history, sociology, and political science. The program’s language-based approach places a high emphasis on Japanese proficiency, which serves as a central tool in the analyses of the various disciplines. Furthermore, the program offers a unique opportunity to study and experience Japan firsthand at one of the numerous partner universities in Japan.
Japan Studies at Aarhus University will provide you with essential skills, which will not only enable you to experience Japan and interact with its culture and people. You will also have the opportunity to acquire important analytical and communication skills valued beyond the field of Japanese Studies – both within the public and the private sector.
