critical thinking in global studies

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1 What Is Global Studies?

Professor Manfred B. Steger, Director, Globalism Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Published: 11 December 2018
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This chapter provides an overview of the emerging field of global studies by introducing readers to its growing institutional significance in global higher education. Drawing on influential arguments of major thinkers in global studies to their own framework, the chapter discuss the “four pillars of global studies”: globalization, transdisciplinarity, space and time, and critical thinking. Having presented the new field’s conceptual and thematic framework, this chapter closes by considering its capacity for self-criticism. After all, the critical thinking framing of global studies creates a special obligation for all scholars working in the field to listen to and take seriously internal and external criticisms with the intention of correcting existing shortcomings, illuminating blind spots, and avoiding theoretical pitfalls and dead ends.

Although scholars within the field of global studies (GS) debate over how to define the term, most agree that it has emerged in the twenty-first century as a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary field of inquiry dedicated to the exploration of the many dimensions of globalization and other transnational phenomena. Perhaps the most important keyword of our time, “globalization” remains a contested and open-ended concept, especially with respect to its normative implications. Although the phenomenon has been extensively studied in sociology, economics, anthropology, geography, history, political science, and other fields, it falls outside the established disciplinary framework. After all, “globalization” is only of secondary concern in these traditional fields organized around different master concepts: “society” in sociology, “resources” and “scarcity” in economics, “culture” in anthropology, “space” in geography, “the past” in history, “power” and “governance” in political science, and so on. By contrast, GS has placed the keyword without a firm disciplinary home at the core of its intellectual enterprise. The rise of GS, therefore, not only represents a clear sign of the proper recognition of new kinds of social interdependence and enhanced forms of mobility but also demonstrates that the nineteenth-century realities that gave birth to the conventional disciplinary architecture are no longer ours ( Jameson 1998 : xi). At the same time, however, GS is not hermetic, for it welcomes various approaches and methods that contribute to a transnational analysis of the world as a single interactive system.

The field of GS is sometimes compared to the disciplines of international relations (IR) and international studies (IS). Still, their differences clearly outweigh their similarities. Mainstream IR considers the state as the principal mover of world politics and thus the central unit of analysis. This means that the actions of states—especially with regard to security issues—are foregrounded at the expense of other crucial areas, such as economics and culture. By contrast, GS researchers consider the state as but one actor in today’s fluid web of material and ideational interdependencies that includes proliferating non-state entities, nongovernmental organizations, transnational social movements, and other social and political forces “beyond the state.” 1 This multicentric and multidimensional understanding of our globalizing world makes GS a porous field with strong “applied” interests in public policy. GS scholars frequently seize upon issues that are often excluded from IR—for example, issues connected to gender, poverty, global media, public health, migration, and ecology. This problem-centered focus of GS encourages the forging of strong links among the worlds of academia, political organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and social movements.

Most important, GS both embraces and exudes a certain mentalité , which I have called the “global imaginary” ( Steger 2008 ; Steger and James 2013 ). It refers to a sense of the social whole that frames our age as one shaped by the intensifying forces of globalization. Giving its objective and subjective aspects equal consideration, GS suggests that enhanced interconnectivity does not merely happen in the world “out there” but also operates through our consciousness “in here.” To recognize the significance of global consciousness, however, does not support premature proclamations of the “death of the nation-state.” Conventional national and local frameworks have retained significant power as well as reconfigured those central functions. Although the nation-state is not dying, globalization has forced it to accommodate an incipient and slowly evolving architecture of “global governance.” Hence, it is not surprising that GS researchers show great interest in transnational educational initiatives centered on the promotion of “global citizenship” and other “embedded” cosmopolitan visions that link the local to the global and vice versa.

In the roughly two decades of its existence, GS has attracted scores of unorthodox faculty and unconventional students who share its sincere commitment to studying transnational processes, interactions, and flows from multiple and transdisciplinary perspectives. Still, there are large sections of the academic community that have either not heard of GS at all or are still unclear about its scope and methods. So what, exactly, is GS and what does it entail? Responding to these persistent demands for clarification, this chapter seeks to provide a general overview of the main contours and central features of GS. 2 Although scores of globalization scholars still quarrel over what themes and approaches their field should or should not encompass, it would be a mistake to close one’s eyes to existing agreements and common approaches that have become substantial enough to identify four central “pillars” or “framings” of GS: globalization, transdisciplinarity, space and time, and critical thinking. But before presenting the new field’s conceptual and thematic framework in more detail, let us start by considering some important institutional developments that have aided its rapid growth.

The Institutional Growth of Global Studies

Creating a special academic context for the study of globalization, GS has become gradually institutionalized in the academy. Yet, GS does not view itself as just another cog in the disciplinary machine of contemporary higher education. Despite today’s trendy talk about “globalizing knowledge” and “systematic internationalization”—which is often more about the neoliberal reinvention of the academy as “big business” than about creating new spaces of epistemological diversity—the traditional Western academic framework of knowledge specialization has survived largely intact into the twenty-first century. Often forced to make compromises and find less than desirable accommodations with the dominant academic order, GS challenges a fractured, Eurocentric mindset that encourages the division of knowledge into sharply demarcated areas populated by disciplinary “insiders.” Although it seeks to blaze new trails of social inquiry, GS is not afraid of presenting itself as a fluid and porous intellectual terrain rather than a novel, well-defined item on the dominant disciplinary menu. To use Fredric Jameson’s (1998: xvi) felicitous term, the new field inhabits an academic “space of tension” framed by multiple disagreements and agreements in which the very problematic of globalization itself is being continuously produced and contested.

The educational imperative to grasp the complex spatial and social dynamics of globalization animates the transdisciplinary efforts of GS to reorder human knowledge and create innovate learning environments. Relying on conceptual and analytic perspectives that are not anchored in a single discipline, the new field expands innovative interdisciplinary approaches pioneered in the 1970s and 1980s, such as world-systems analysis, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, environmental and sustainability studies, and women’s studies. The power of the rising global imaginary and its affiliated new ideologies of “market globalism,” justice globalism, and religious globalisms goes a long way in explaining why GS programs, departments, research institutes, and professional organizations have sprung up in major universities throughout the world, including in the Global South ( Steger 2013 ). Recognizing this trend, many existing IS programs have been renamed “global studies.” Demand for courses and undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in GS has dramatically risen. Increasingly, we see the inclusion of the terms “global” or “globalization” in course titles, textbooks, academic job postings, and extracurricular activities. Universities and colleges in the United States have supported the creation of new GS initiatives that are often funded by major government institutions and philanthropists. For example, Northwestern University recently announced a donation of $100 million—the largest single gift in its history—from the sister of the prominent investor Warren Buffett for the establishment of the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Studies.

Drawing on thematic and methodological resources from the social sciences and humanities, GS now encompasses approximately 300 undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States alone. 3 Some pioneering universities, such as the University of California, Santa Barbara or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, house programs that serve nearly 1,000 GS undergraduate majors. The Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University–Newark and RMIT University’s (Melbourne, Australia) School of Global, Urban, and Social Studies accommodate hundreds of master’s and doctoral students. In 2015, the University of California, Santa Barbara launched the first doctoral program in GS at a tier 1 research university in the United States. In addition to the creation of these successful degree-granting programs, there has been a phenomenal growth of scholarly literature on globalization. New journals, book series, textbooks, academic conferences, and professional associations such as the international Global Studies Consortium or the Global Studies Association have embraced the novel umbrella designation of “global studies.”

Clearly, the fledgling field and its associated global imaginary have come a long way in a relatively short period of time. However, its success also depended to a significant extent on the redirection of funding by US government and philanthropic organizations from established IS and area studies programs to the newcomer “global studies.” Indeed, this reorientation toward GS occurred in the ideological context of the rise of “neoliberalism,” an economistic doctrine at the core of a comprehensive worldview I have called “market globalism” ( Steger and Roy 2010 ). As Isaac Kamola’s (2010) pioneering work on the subject has demonstrated, starting in the mid-1990s, a number of important funders announced plans to replace “area” structures with a “global” framework. For example, the Social Science Research Council recommended defunding “discrete and separated area committees” that were reluctant to support scholars interested in “global” developments and policy-relevant “global issues.” When conventional area studies experts realized that traditional sources of funding were quickly drying up, many joined the newly emerging GS cohort of scholars centered on the study of “globalization.” Major universities, too, reduced the level of support for area studies teaching and research programs while developing new investment schemes and strategic plans that provided for the creation of new “global studies” or “global affairs” programs and centers. Major professional organizations such as the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and the American Association of Colleges and Universities eagerly joined these instrumental efforts to synchronize the initiatives of “globalizing the curriculum” and “recalibrating college learning” to the shifting economic landscape of the “new global century” ( Kamola 2010 ).

Convinced that GS programs will earn a more prominent place within the quickly changing twenty-first-century landscape of higher education characterized by shrinking budgets and new modes of instruction, a growing number of academics—loosely referred to in this chapter as “global studies scholars”—have begun to synthesize various common theoretical perspectives and problem-oriented approaches. Their efforts have contributed to the necessary mapping exercise without falling prey to the fetish of disciplinary boundary making. Building on these efforts, I contend in this chapter that it is now possible to present GS as a reasonably holistic transdisciplinary project dedicated to exploring processes of globalization with the aim of engaging the complex global problems the world is facing in the twenty-first century ( McCarty 2014 ). To this purpose, the next four sections of this chapter offer a general overview of the four major conceptual framings that give coherence to the field.

The First Pillar of Global Studies: Globalization

Globalization is the principal subject of GS and thus constitutes the first pillar of the emerging field. At the same time, the global also serves as the conceptual framework through which GS scholars investigate the contemporary and historical dynamics of thickening interdependence. The birth and rising fortunes of GS are inextricably linked to the emergence of globalization as a prominent theme in late twentieth-century public discourse. But the buzzword was not invented ex nihilo during the neoliberal Roaring Nineties as shorthand for the liberalization and worldwide integration of markets. In fact, it had been used as early as the 1930s in academic fields as varied as education and psychology, society and culture, politics and IR, and economics and business ( Steger and James 2015 ). At the same time, the powerful ideological and political dynamics of the 1990s served as crucial catalysts for the cross-fertilization of public and academic discourses on the subject. These raging globalization debates of the past decades attest to enormous interest in the academic study of globalization as a multidimensional phenomenon.

Attempts to develop objective, quantifiable assessments of the causes, contents, and consequences of globalization have become a key issue for contemporary social science research and social policy. Researchers have sought to develop empirical measures of globalization based on various indicators. These efforts led to the rapid proliferation of major globalization indices such as the KOF Index of Globalization. 4 Today, readers interested in globalization can select among thousands and thousands of pertinent books, articles, and encyclopedia entries. In our digital age, these writings can be tracked down with unprecedented speed and precision through new technologies such as the search engine Ngram, Google’s mammoth database collated from more than 5 million digitized books available free to the public for online searches. In 2015, the exceptionally rich Factiva database listed 355,838 publications referencing the term “globalization.” The Expanded Academic ASAP database produced 7,737 results with “globalization” in the title, including 5,976 journal articles, 1,404 magazine articles, and 355 news items. The ISI Web of Knowledge listed a total of 8,970 references with “globalization,” the EBSCO Host Database yielded 17,188 results, and the Proquest Newspaper Database showed 25,856 articles.

Despite continuing disagreements regarding how to define globalization, GS scholars have put forward various definitions and collected them in comprehensive classification tables ( Al-Rodhan and Stoudmann 2006 ). One major obstacle in the way of producing useful definitions of globalization is that the term has been variously used in both academic literature and the popular press to describe a process, a condition, a system, a force, and an age. Given that these concepts have very different meanings, their indiscriminate usage is often obscure and invites confusion. For example, a sloppy conflation of process and condition encourages circular definitions that explain little. The familiar truism that globalization (the process) leads to more globalization (the condition) does not allow us to draw meaningful analytical distinctions between causes and effects. Hence, we ought to adopt the term globality to signify a social condition characterized by extremely tight global economic, political, cultural, and environmental interconnections across national borders and civilizational boundaries. The term globalization , by contrast, applies not to a condition but a multidimensional set of social processes pushing toward globality.

GS scholars exploring the dynamics of globalization are particularly keen on pursuing research questions related to themes of social change, which connect the human and natural sciences. How does globalization proceed? What is driving it? Is it one cause or a combination of factors? Is globalization a continuation of modernity or is it a radical break? Does it create new forms of inequality and hierarchy or is it lifting millions of people out of poverty? Is it producing cultural homogeneity or diversity? What is the role of new technologies in accelerating and intensifying global processes? Note that the conceptualization of globalization as a dynamic process rather than as a static condition also highlights the fact that it is an uneven process: People living in various parts of the world are affected very differently by the transformation of social structures and cultural zones.

The principal voices in the academic globalization debates can be divided into four distinct intellectual camps: globalizers, rejectionists, skeptics, and modifiers. Most GS scholars fall into the category of globalizers , who argue that globalization is a profoundly transformative set of social processes that is moving human societies toward unprecedented levels of interconnectivity ( Held and McGrew 2002 ; Mittelman 2000 ; Scholte 2005 ). While committed to a big picture approach, globalizers nonetheless tend to focus their research efforts on one of the principal dimensions of globalization: economics, politics, culture, or ecology. By contrast, rejectionists contend that most of the accounts offered by globalizers are incorrect, imprecise, or exaggerated. Arguing that such generalizations often amount to little more than “globaloney,” they dismiss the utility of globalization for scientific academic discourse ( Veseth 2010 ). Their contention that just about everything that can be linked to some transnational process is often cited as evidence for globalization and its growing influence. The third camp in the contemporary globalization debates consists of skeptics who acknowledge some forms and manifestations of globalization while also emphasizing its limited nature ( Hirst et al. 2009 ; Rugman 2001 ). Usually focusing on the economic aspects of the phenomenon, skeptics claim that the world economy is not truly global but, rather, a regional dynamic centered on Europe, East Asia, Australia, and North America. The fourth camp in these academic debates consists of modifiers who acknowledge the power of globalization but dispute its novelty and thus the innovate character of social theories focused on the phenomenon. They seek to modify and assimilate globalization theories to traditional approaches in IS, world-systems theory, or other related fields, claiming that a new conceptual paradigm is unwarranted ( Wallerstein 2004 ).

In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that neither modifiers nor rejectionists have offered convincing arguments for their respective views. Although objections to the overuse of the term have forced the participants in the globalization debates to hone their analytic skills, the wholesale rejection of globalization as a “vacuous concept” has often served as a convenient excuse to avoid dealing with the actual phenomenon itself. Rather than constructing overly ambitious “grand narratives” of globalization, many GS researchers in the globalizers and skeptics camps have instead wisely opted for more modest approaches that employ mixed methodologies designed to provide explanations of particular manifestations of the process.

The Second Pillar of Global Studies: Transdisciplinarity

The profound changes affecting social life in the global age require examinations of the growing forms of complexity and reflexivity ( Giddens 1990 ). This means that the global dynamics of interconnectivity can no longer be approached from a single academic discipline or area of knowledge. Emphasizing the analysis of global complexity and reflexivity commits GS scholars to the development of more comprehensive explanations of globalization, which highlight the complex intersection between a multiplicity of driving forces, embracing economic, technological, cultural, and political change ( Held et al. 1999 ). Hence, the conceptual frameworks of influential GS researchers explore these growing forms of interdependence through “domains,” “dimensions,” “networks,” “flows,” “fluids,” and “hybrids”—the key terms behind their transdisciplinary attempts to globalize the social science research imagination ( Castells 2010 ; Kenway and Fahey 2008 ; Urry 2003 ). Recognizing the importance of increasing complexity for their systematic inquiries, they consciously embrace transdisciplinarity in their efforts to understand the shifting dynamics of interconnectedness. Thus, their exploration of complex forms of global interdependence not only combats knowledge fragmentation and scientific reductionism but also facilitates an understanding of the “big picture,” which is indispensable for stimulating the political commitment needed to tackle the pressing global problems of our time. Multidimensional processes of globalization and their associated global challenges, such as climate change, pandemics, terrorism, digital technologies, marketization, migration, urbanization, and human rights, represent examples of transnational issues that both cut across and reach beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries.

Although university administrators in the United States and elsewhere have warmed up to interdisciplinarity, most instructional activities in today’s institutions of higher education still occur within an overarching framework of the disciplinary divisions. The same holds true for academic research in the social sciences and humanities, where scholars continue to produce specialized problems to which solutions can be found primarily within their own disciplinary orientations. 5 Critical of this tendency to compartmentalize the complexity of social existence into discrete spheres of activity, GS has evolved as a self-consciously transdisciplinary field committed to the engagement and integration of multiple knowledge systems and research methodologies. Typically hailing from traditional disciplinary backgrounds, faculty members are often attracted to GS because they are deeply critical of the entrenched conventions of disciplinary specialization inherent in the Eurocentric academic framework. Appreciative of a more flexible intellectual environment that allows for the bundling of otherwise disparate conceptual fields and geographical areas into a single object of study, GS scholars seek to overcome such forms of disciplinary “silo thinking.”

The concept of “transdisciplinarity” is configured around the Latin prefix “trans” (“across” or “beyond”). It signifies the systemic and holistic integration of diverse forms of knowledge by cutting across and through existing disciplinary boundaries and paradigms in ways that reach beyond each individual discipline. If interdisciplinarity can be characterized by the mixing of disciplinary perspectives involving little or moderate integration, then transdisciplinarity should be thought of as a deep fusion of disciplinary knowledge that produces new understandings capable of transforming or restructuring existing disciplinary paradigms ( Alvargonzalez 2011 ; Repko 2012 ). But the transdisciplinary imperative to challenge, go beyond, transgress, and unify separate orientations does not ignore the importance of attracting scholars with specific disciplinary backgrounds. Moreover, transdisciplinarians put complex real-world problems at the heart of their intellectual efforts. The formulation of possible resolutions of these problems requires the deep integration of a broad range of perspectives from multiple disciplinary backgrounds ( Pohl 2010 : 69; Pohl and Hadorn 2008 : 112).

Yet, full transdisciplinarity—understood as activities that transcend, recombine, and integrate separate disciplinary paradigms—remains an elusive goal for most academics. This includes GS scholars associated with currently existing academic programs in the field. Some have achieved a high degree of transdisciplinary integration, whereas others rely more on multi- and interdisciplinary activities that benefit students and faculty alike. For GS, the task is to expand its foothold in the dominant academic landscape while at the same time continuing its work against the prevailing disciplinary order. To satisfy these seemingly contradictory imperatives, GS has retained its ambition to project globalization across the conventional disciplinary matrix while at the same time accepting with equal determination the pragmatic task of finding some accommodation within the very disciplinary structure it seeks to transform. Such necessary attempts to reconcile these diverging impulses force scholars to play at least one, and preferably more, of three distinct roles—depending on the concrete institutional opportunities and constraints they encounter in their academic home environment.

First, GS scholars often assume the role of intrepid mavericks willing to establish GS as a separate discipline—as a first but necessary step toward the more holistic goal of comprehensive integration. To be sure, mavericks possess a certain spirit of adventure that makes it easier for them to leave their original disciplinary setting behind to cover new ground. But being a maverick also carries the considerable risk of failure. Second, a number of GS scholars have embraced the role of radical insurgents seeking to globalize established disciplines from within. This means working toward the goal of carving out a GS dimension or status for specific disciplines such as political science or sociology. Finally, some GS faculty have slipped into the role of tireless nomads traveling perpetually across and beyond disciplines in order to reconfigure existing and new knowledge around concrete globalization research questions and projects. The nomadic role, in particular, demands that academics familiarize themselves with vast literatures on pertinent subjects that are usually studied in isolation from each other. Indeed, one of the most formidable intellectual challenges lies in the integration and synthesis of multiple strands of knowledge in a way that does justice to the complexity and fluidity of our globalizing world.

The Third Pillar of Global Studies: Space and Time

The development of GS has been crucially framed by new conceptions of space and time. After all, globalization manifests in volatile dynamics of spatial integration and differentiation. These give rise to new temporal frameworks dominated by notions of instantaneity and simultaneity, which assume ever-greater significance in academic investigations into globalization. Thus deeply resonating with spatio-temporal meanings, the keyword unites two semantic parts: “global” and “ization.” The primary emphasis is on “global,” which reflects people’s growing awareness of the increasing significance of global-scale phenomena such as global economic institutions, transnational corporations, global civil society, the World Wide Web, global climate change, and so on. Indeed, the principal reason the term was coined in the first place had to do with people’s recognition of intensifying spatio-temporal dynamics. Globalization processes create incessantly new geographies and complex spatial arrangements. This is especially true for the latest spatial frontier in human history: cyberspace. The dynamics of digital connectivity have shown themselves to be quite capable of pushing human interaction deep into the “virtual reality” of a world in which geography is no longer a factor.

Several GS pioneers developed approaches to globalization that put matters of time and space at the very core of their research projects. Consider, for example, Roland Robertson’s (1992: 6–7) snappy definition of globalization as “the compression of the world into a single place.” It underpinned his efforts to develop a spatially sophisticated concept of “glocalization” capable of counteracting the relative inattention paid to spatiality in the social sciences. Commenting on the remarkable fluidity of spatial scales in a globalizing world, Robertson focused on those complex and uneven processes “in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding” ( Robertson 2005 ). Similarly, Arjun Appadurai (1996: 188) developed subtle insights into what he called the “global production of locality”—a new spatial dynamic that was occurring more frequently in “a world that has become deterritorialized, diasporic, and transnational.” Or consider David Harvey’s (1989: 137, 265, 270–273) influential inquiry into the spatial origins of contemporary cultural change centered on the uneven geographic development of capitalism. His innovative account generated new concepts such as “time–space compression” or “the implosion of space and time,” which affirmed the centrality of spatio-temporal changes at the heart of neoliberal globalization and its associated postmodern cultural sensibilities.

GS scholars have explored a number of crucial spatio-temporal themes, such as the ongoing debate concerning whether globalization represents the consequence of modernity or a postmodern break, the changing role of the nation-state, the changing relationship between territory and sovereignty, the growing significance of global cities, the increasing fluidity of spatial scales, new periodization efforts around time and space, and the emergence of global history as a transdisciplinary endeavor. Let us consider, for example, the crucial dynamics of “deterritorialization.” “Territoriality” refers to the use of territory for political, social, and economic ends. In modernity, the term has been associated with a largely successful strategy for establishing the exclusive jurisdiction implied by state “sovereignty” ( Agnew 2009 : 6). State control of bounded “national” terrain promised citizens living on the “inside” the benefits of relative security and unity in exchange for their exclusive loyalty and allegiance to the nation-state. By the second half of the twentieth century, social existence in such relatively fixed spatial containers had gone on for such a long time that it struck most people as the universal mode of communal life in the world. However, the latest wave of globalization gathering momentum in the 1980s and 1990s exposed the artificiality of territoriality as a social construct and its historical role as a specific human technique for managing space and time in the interests of modern state power.

The impact of globalization on conventional forms of territoriality and the related changing nature of the “international system” have raised major questions concerning the significance of the nation-state and the relevance of conventional notions of “territory” and “sovereignty” in analyzing the new spatial practices associated with globalization. This new spatial agenda also involves an important subset of issues pertaining to the proliferation and growing impact of non-state actors; the emergence of a “global civil society” no longer confined within the borders of the territorial state; the prospects for global governance understood as the norms and institutions that define and mediate relations between citizens, societies, markets, and states on a global scale; and the pluralization and hybridization of individual and collective identities. Various commentators have pointed to a growing gap between global space, where new problems arise, and national space, which proves increasingly inadequate for managing these transnational issues ( Castells 2008 ; Thakur and Weiss 2011 ). These mounting spatial incompatibilities combine with the increasing power of neoliberalism and the absence of effective institutions of global governance to produce interrelated crises of state legitimacy and economic equity that undermine democratic politics.

Although there is virtual agreement among GS scholars that today’s respatialization dynamics are profound and accelerating, there remain significant differences between a small band of thinkers comfortable with advancing an extreme thesis of “absolute” deterritorialization and a much larger group holding more moderate, “relativist” views. Absolutist views rose to prominence during the 1990s when spectacular neoliberal market reforms diminished the role of the state in the economy. Politics anchored in conventional forms of territoriality was seen as losing out to the transnational practices of global capitalism in which the state’s survival in diminished form depended on its satisfactory performance of its new role as a handmaiden to global free-market forces ( Ohmae 1996 ).

While acknowledging the growing significance of deterritorialization dynamics in a globalizing world, relativists argued for the continued relevance of sub-global territorial units, albeit in reconfigured forms. The increasing inability of nation-states to manage the globalization processes forced them to change into what Manuel Castells (2008: 88) calls the “network state,” characterized by shared sovereignty and responsibility, flexibility of procedures of governance, and greater diversity in the relationships between governments and citizens in terms of time and space. Similarly, Saskia Sassen (2007) and Neil Brenner (1999) suggest that globalization involves not only the growth of supraterritoriality but also crucial processes and practices of “down-scaling” that occur deep inside the local, national, and regional. Perhaps the most critical of these spatial restructuring processes facilitated by states involves the localization of the control and command centers of global capitalism in “global cities” that assume great significance as pivotal places of spatial dispersal and global integration located at the intersection of multiple global circuits and flows involving migrants, ideas, commodities, and money ( Sassen 2001 ).

As our discussion of the third pillar of GS has shown, the field owes much to the efforts of innovative human geographers and urban studies experts to develop new theoretical approaches that help us understand the changing spatial dynamics of our time. But GS is equally indebted to the intellectual initiatives of sociologists and historians willing to rethink the conceptual frameworks governing the temporal record of human activity. The emergent field of global history, for example, is based on the central premise that processes of globalization require more systematic historical treatments and, therefore, that the study of globalization deserves a more prominent place on the agenda of historical research ( Clarence-Smith, Pomeranz, and Vries 2006 ; Hopkins 2002 ; Mazlish 2006 ; Mazlish and Iriye 2005 ). Parting with narratives centered on the development of nations or Eurocentric “world histories,” global historians investigate the emergence of our globalized world as the result of exchanges, flows, and interactions involving many different cultures and societies—past and present. Recognizing the historical role of powerful drivers of globalization, many GS scholars have integrated historical schemes in their study of intensifying human interactions across geographical, conceptual, and disciplinary boundaries.

The Fourth Pillar of Global Studies: Critical Thinking

Few GS scholars would object to the proposition that their field is significantly framed by “critical thinking.” After all, GS constitutes an academic space of tension that generates critical investigations into our age as one shaped by the intensifying forces of globalization. Going beyond the purely cognitive understanding of “critical thinking” as “balanced reasoning” propagated by leading Anglo-American educators during the second half of the twentieth century, this fourth pillar reflects the field’s receptivity to the activity of social criticism that problematizes unequal power relations and engages in ongoing social struggles to bring about a more just global society.

Advancing various critical perspectives, GS scholars from throughout the world draw on different currents and methods of “critical theory”—an umbrella term for modes of thought committed to the reduction of exploitation, commodification, violence, and alienation. Such a “critical global studies” (CGS) calls for methodological skepticism regarding positivistic dogmas and “objective facts”; the recognition that some facts are socially constructed and serve particular power interests; the public contestation of uncritical mainstream stories spun by corporate media; the decolonization of the Western imagination; and an understanding of the global as a multipolar dynamic reflecting the concerns of the marginalized Global South even more than those of the privileged North. Taking sides with the interest of social justice, CGS thinkers exercise what William Robinson (2005: 14) calls a “preferential option for the subordinate majority of global society.”

There is much empirical evidence to suggest that dominant neoliberal modes of globalization have produced growing disparities in wealth and well-being within and among societies. They have also led to an acceleration of ecological degradation, new forms of militarism and digitized surveillance, previously unthinkable levels of inequality, and a chilling advance of consumerism and cultural commodification. The negative consequences of such a corporate-led “globalization-from-above” became subject to democratic contestation in the 1990s and impacted the evolution of critical theory in at least two major ways. First, they created fertile conditions for the emergence of powerful social movements advocating a people-led “globalization-from-below.” These transnational activist networks, in turn, served as catalysts for the proliferation of new critical theories developing within the novel framework of globalization.

Many CGS thinkers were inspired by local forms of social resistance to neoliberalism, such as the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico; the 1995 strikes in France and other areas of Europe; and the powerful series of protests in major cities throughout the world following in the wake of the iconic 1999 anti-World Trade Organization demonstration in Seattle. Critical intellectuals interacted with the participants of these alter-globalization movements at these large-scale protest events or at the massive meetings of the newly founded World Social Forum in the 2000s. They developed and advanced their critiques of market globalism in tandem with constructive visions for alternative global futures. Because the struggles over the meanings and manifestations of globalization occurred in interlinked local settings throughout the world, they signified a significant alteration in the geography of critical thinking. As French sociologist Razmig Keucheyan (2013: 3) has emphasized, the academic center of gravity of these new forms of critical thinking was shifting from the traditional centers of learning located in Old Europe to the top universities of the New World. The United States, in particular, served as a powerful economic magnet for job-seeking academics from throughout the world while also posing as the obvious hegemonic target of their criticisms.

Indeed, during the past quarter century, America has managed to attract a large number of talented postcolonial critical theorists to its highly reputed and well-paying universities and colleges. A significant number of these politically progressive recruits, in turn, promptly put their newly acquired positions of academic privilege into the service of their socially engaged ideologies, which resulted in a vastly more effective production and worldwide dissemination of their critical publications. Moreover, the global struggle against neoliberalism that heated up in the 1990s and 2000s also contributed significantly to the heightened international exposure of cutting-edge critical theorists located in the vast terrains of Asia, Latin America, and Africa. In particular, the permanent digital communication revolution centered on the World Wide Web and the new social media made it easier for these voices of the Global South to be heard in the dominant North. In fact, the “globalization of critical thinking” culminated in the formation of a “world republic of critical theories” ( Keucheyan 2013 : 21, 73). Although this global community of critical thinkers is far from homogeneous in its perspectives and continues to be subjected to considerable geographic and social inequalities, it has had a profound influence on the evolution of GS.

Still, we need to be careful not to exaggerate the extent to which such CGS perspectives pervade the field. Our discussion of the developing links between the global justice movement and CGS scholars should not seduce us into assuming that all academics affiliated with GS programs support radical or even moderate socially engaged perspectives on what constitutes their field and what it should accomplish. After all, global thinking is not inherently “critical” in the socially engaged use of the term. An informal perusal of influential globalization literature produced during the past fifteen years suggests that nearly all authors express some appreciation for critical thinking understood as a cognitive ability to “see multiple sides of an issue” (in this case, the issue is “globalization”). But only approximately two-thirds of well-published globalization scholars take their understanding of “critical” beyond the social-scientific ideal of “balanced objectivity” and “value-free research” and thus challenge in writing the dominant social arrangements of our time and/or promote emancipatory social change ( Steger 2009 ). This locates the remaining one-third of globalization authors within a conceptual framework that transnational sociologist William Robinson (2005: 12) has provocatively characterized as “noncritical globalization studies.” Obviously, GS scholars relegated to this category would object to Robinson’s classification on the basis of their differing understanding of what “critical thinking” entails.

CGS scholars seek to produce globalization theory that is useful to emancipatory global social movements, and this is what animates their “global activist thinking.” Most of them could be characterized as “rooted cosmopolitans” who remain embedded in local environments while at the same time cultivating a global consciousness as a result of their vastly enhanced contacts to like-minded academics and social organizations across national borders. Stimulated by the vitality of emergent global civil society, CGS scholar–activists have thought of new ways of making their intellectual activities in the ivory tower relevant to the happenings in the global public sphere. These novel permutations of global activist thinking manifested themselves in the educational project of cultivating what is increasingly referred to as “global citizenship.” The teaching of these new civic values in GS has also been linked to the production of emancipatory knowledge that can be used directly in the ongoing struggle of the global justice movement against the dominant forces of globalization-from-above.

Concluding Remarks: Critiques of Global Studies

Having presented the new field’s conceptual and thematic framework, we might want to close this chapter by considering GS’s capacity for self-criticism. The critical thinking framing of GS creates a special obligation for all scholars working in the field to listen to and take seriously internal and external criticisms with the intention of correcting existing shortcomings, illuminating blind spots, and avoiding theoretical pitfalls and dead ends. As is the case for any newcomer bold enough to enter today’s crowded and competitive arena of academia, GS, too, has been subjected to a wide range of criticisms ranging from constructive interventions to ferocious attacks.

One influential criticism concerns the limited scope and status of “actual global studies as it is researched and taught at universities around the world” ( Pieterse 2013 : 504). For such critics, the crux of the problem lies with the field’s intellectual immaturity and lack of focus. They allege that currently existing GS programs and conferences are still relatively rare and haphazard; they resemble “scaffolding without a roof.” Finally, they bemoan the supposed dearth of intellectual innovators willing and able to provide necessary “programmatic perspectives on global studies” framed by those that are “multicentered and multilevel thinking,” and, therefore, capable of “adding value” to the field ( Pieterse 2013 : 505).

Such criticism resonates with the often shocking discrepancy between the rich conceptual promise of the field and the poor design and execution of “actual global studies as it is researched and taught at universities around the world.” There is some truth to complaints that a good number of GS programs lack focus and specificity, which makes the field appear to be a rather nebulous study of “everything global.” Like most of the other interdisciplinary efforts originating in the 1990s, GS programs sometimes invite the impression of a rather confusing combination of wildly different approaches reifying the global level of analysis. Another troubling development in recent years has been the use of “global studies” as a convenient catchphrase by academic entrepreneurs eager to cash in on its popularity with students. Thus, a desirable label has become attached to a growing number of conventional area studies curricula, IS offerings, and diplomacy and foreign affairs programs—primarily for the purpose of boosting their market appeal without having to make substantive changes to the traditional teaching and research agenda attached to such programs. Although some of these programs have in fact become more global over time, in other cases these instrumental appropriations of the GS label have not only caused much damage to the existing GS “brand” but also cast an ominous shadow on the future of the field.

Despite its obvious insights, however, Pieterse’s (2013) account of “actually existing global studies” strikes this writer as unbalanced and somewhat exaggerated. Much of the available empirical data show that there are promising pedagogical and research efforts underway in the field. These initiatives suggest that the instructive pessimism of the critics must be matched by cautious optimism. To be sure, an empirically based examination of the field shows GS as a project that is still very much in the making. Yet, the field’s tender age and relative inexperience should not deter globalization scholars from acknowledging the field’s considerable intellectual achievements and growing institutional infrastructure. GS “as it actually exists” has come a long way from its rather modest and eclectic origins in the 1990s. The regular meetings of the Global Studies Associations (United Kingdom and North America) and the annual convention of the Global Studies Consortium provide ample networking opportunities for globalization scholars from throughout the world. Moreover, GS scholars are developing serious initiatives to recenter the social sciences toward global systemic dynamics and incorporate multilevel analyses. They are rethinking existing analytical frameworks that expand critical reflexivity and methodologies unafraid of mixing various research strategies.

Another important criticism of GS comes from postcolonial thinkers located both within and without the field of GS. As Robert Young (2003) explains, postcolonial theory is a related set of perspectives and principles that involves a conceptual reorientation toward the perspectives of knowledges developed outside the West—in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. By seeking to insert alternative knowledges into the dominant power structures of the West as well as the non-West, postcolonial theorists attempt to “change the way people think, the way they behave, to produce a more just and equitable relation between the different people of the world” (p. 7). Emphasizing the connection between theory and practice, postcolonial intellectuals consider themselves critical thinkers challenging the alleged superiority of Western cultures, racism and other forms of ethnic bias, economic inequality separating the Global North from the South, and the persistence of “Orientalism”—a discriminatory, Europe-derived mindset so brilliantly dissected by late postcolonial theorist Edward Said (1979) .

A number of postcolonial and indigenous theorists have examined the connections between globalization and postcolonialism (Krishna 2009) . While most have expressed both their appreciation and their affinity for much of what GS stands for, they have also offered incisive critiques of what they view as the field’s troubling geographic, ethnic, and epistemic location within the hegemonic Western framework. The noted ethnic studies scholar Ramón Grosfoguel (2005: 284) , for example, offers a clear and comprehensive summary of such postcolonial concerns: “Globalization studies, with a few exceptions, have not derived the epistemological and theoretical implications of the epistemic critique coming from subaltern locations in the colonial divide and . . . continue to produce a knowledge from the Western man ‘point zero’ god’s-eye view.”

Such postcolonial criticisms of GS provide an invaluable service by highlighting some remaining conceptual parochialisms behind its allegedly “global” theoretical and practical concerns. Indeed, their intervention suggests that GS thinkers have not paid enough attention to the postcolonial imperative of contesting the dominant Western ways of seeing and knowing. Thus, they force scholars working in the field to confront crucial questions that are often relegated to the margins of intellectual inquiry. Is critical theory sufficiently global to represent the diverse voices of the multitude and speak to the diverse experiences of disempowered people throughout the world? What sort of new and innovative ideas have been produced by public intellectuals who do not necessarily travel along the theoretical and geographical paths frequented by Western critical thinkers? Are there pressing issues and promising intellectual approaches that have been neglected in CGS? These questions also relate to the central role of the English language in GS. With English expanding its status as the academic lingua franca, thinkers embedded in Western universities still hold the monopoly on the production of critical theories. Important contributions from the Global South in languages other than English often fall through the cracks or only register in translated form on the radar of the supposedly “global” academic publishing network years after their original publication.

As noted in the previous discussion of the fourth pillar of GS, however, it is essential to acknowledge the progress that has been made in GS to expand its “space of tension” by welcoming and incorporating Global South perspectives. As early as 2005, for example, a quarter of the contributions featured in Appelbaum and Robinson’s (2005) Critical Globalization Studies anthology came from authors located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since then, pertinent criticisms from within that demanded the inclusion of multiple voices and perspectives from throughout the world have proliferated. Consider, for example, Eve Darian-Smith’s (2015) recent critique of taken-for-granted assumptions on the part of Western scholars to speak for others in the Global South. Moreover, scores of public intellectuals hailing from the Global South have not only produced influential studies on globalization but also stood in solidarity with movement activists struggling against the forces of globalization-from-above. 6 As demonstrated by the diversity of views and perspectives represented in this volume, many GS scholars are paying attention to these important postcolonial interventions. Still, there is still plenty of room for further improvement.

Let me end this chapter with a bit of speculation about the future of GS. Perhaps its most pressing task for the next decade is to keep chipping away at the disciplinary walls that still divide the academic landscape Animated by an ethical imperative to globalize knowledge, such transdisciplinary efforts have the potential to reconfigure our discipline-oriented academic infrastructure around issues of global public responsibility ( Kennedy 2015 : xv). This integrative endeavor must be undertaken steadily and tirelessly—but also carefully and with the proper understanding that diverse and multiple forms of knowledge are sorely needed to educate a global public. The necessary appreciation for the interplay between specialists and generalists must contain a proper respect for the crucial contributions of the conventional disciplines to our growing understanding of globalization. But the time has come to take the next step.

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What is Global Studies: Careers, Skills, and Trends

Industry Advice Political Science & Security

For individuals hoping to work and make a difference on a global level, an advanced degree in global studies is a great way to obtain the skills and hands-on experience they need to succeed. But what exactly is global studies, and what does working in the field entail?

Below, Northeastern University associate teaching professor, Fiona Creed, PhD, provides some clarity into the careers, skills, and trends that define the industry.

Understanding Global Studies

Global studies, international relations , and international business are three key disciplines in this area of work. They are intrinsically linked to one another, which can sometimes cause confusion when trying to understand what scope of work aligns with each unique sector. However, Creed explains that these three disciplines have some very distinct differences that set them apart:

Global Studies

“Global studies… refers to globalization in all its forms— including political, biological, digital, cultural, and economic issues,” she says. “It is an interdisciplinary exploration of a set of global issues through a more comprehensive lens, and delves into people, goods, ideas, and even diseases moving around the world. Global studies is [also] generally more complicated [than international relations, for example].”

International Relations

“International relations involves policymakers working on issues such as war and peace, and economic development,” she says. “In this field, there is a strong focus on diplomacy .” She also explains that the work completed by those in the global studies sector often “informs our debates in international relations.”

International Business

“International business examines how for-profit corporations trade goods and services,” she says. “In part, this involves cross-cultural communication. Practitioners need to navigate the nuances of political and cultural sensitivities.”

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Careers in Global Studies

Despite the differences in the focus and goals of these three disciplines, each presents meaningful career opportunities for those who can master the skills required. What’s more, i ncreased political, social, and economic globalization is also expanding the various career options for adept professionals in this field.

“The career opportunities in global studies are so wide and varied,” Creed says. “Graduates from Northeastern’s programs, for example, have gone on to work for the United Nations , the Foreign Service, the Red Cross, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Some have set up their own NGOs or consulting firms. Others have gone on to become international business consultants, conflict resolution consultants, or international development advisors.”

Because there are such diverse work opportunities, Creed says job satisfaction in the field is enormous. “In a world where there is so much complexity and bad news associated with international relations and how countries interact with each other, global studies professionals working in international organizations or NGOs feel that they can truly make a difference.”

Unique Career Paths for Global Studies Professionals

One of the benefits of pursuing a career in global studies is the opportunity for individuals to find a cause or issue that they are passionate about, and leverage their personal experiences and knowledge in this field to make a positive difference.

Creed recalls one recent graduate of the Northeastern’s Master of Science in Global Studies program , for example, who discovered that children in remote areas of the world were dying from venomous snake bites and that their deaths were highly preventable. To address this problem, he recruited paramedic specialists from across the globe and co-founded a nonprofit with the purpose of bringing together a global network of doctors to train people in remote areas to provide emergency medical care.

This isn’t the only instance Creed has seen in which her students have gone on to translate their education into personalized work in the global studies field. “One Kenyan student…lost many family members to neglected infectious disease that could have been treated if they had the right support,” she says. “She is [now] channeling her research efforts brilliantly.”

Although these are just two examples of the powerful difference global studies professionals can make with their work, it is very common that individuals in this field will have the opportunity to work on initiatives with serious implications.

“Diplomats, scientists, engineers, and lawyers may represent a company or a country at an international treaty conference,” Creed provides as another example. “To navigate this, they need to understand the different cultures and negotiating styles of each delegate [and] learn how to identify commonalities and shared interests that can help them come to a consensus.”

Emerging Trends in Global Studies

The priorities and needs of our international society continue to shift and change over time. As the work of global studies professionals ties so closely to the various needs of people, countries, and organizations across the globe, it is important that they stay on top of these changing trends.

Creed explains that the particular set of trends shaping the industry has the potential to make a powerful and lasting impact:

“Globalization affects businesses enormously…Technological advances are having significant consequences on shaping policies and socio-economic environments. Employers need practitioners who can analyze not only how these changes impact how government works but how this impacts those in the private and nonprofit sectors. So many organizations like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are becoming aware that no amount of training in computer science or artificial intelligence can compare when working in a complicated and counterintuitive global environment. Someone may have a phenomenal idea, but if they don’t understand the political implications of the deal, it’s not going to go anywhere, so having this global knowledge is critical.”

Understanding and embracing the changing trends of the industry is only half the battle when beginning a career in global studies, however. Often, it’s just as important to obtain the correct sets of skills and abilities needed to excel in this work.

Top Skills for Working in Global Studies

Critical thinking. Global studies professionals need to be able to look at the “big picture” and how it affects specific countries and communities. “Practitioners need to have a big vision as well as the ability to dive into small details and be able to apply both to solve problems,” Creed says.

Problem-solving skills. Global challenges are highly complex, and often have serious implications for people’s lives. Professionals in the field need the ability to look at a variety of problems and come up with convincing arguments and clever solutions.

Research and writing skills. The ability to back up research and write policy briefs and research papers convincingly using this data is critical for those working in global studies-related careers. “Your manager isn’t likely to want to read a 30-page report,” Creed explains. “They’re more likely to expect to read a two-page policy brief over coffee, so you need to be able to get across a critical issue succinctly. That’s one of the toughest challenges, particularly when there is so much to say.”

Public speaking and communication skills. “Global studies professionals constantly need to communicate their ideas, and be comfortable both operating by themselves and jumping in to be part of a team,” Creed says.

High tolerance for ambiguity. “When operating within an international organization or in a conflict zone, there can be a lot of ambiguity,” Creed says. “So professionals need to have an element of resilience.”

Finding Success in a Global Studies Career

Even for those who possess these abilities and traits, finding a job in this demanding field is not always easy.

“Those who are looking to pursue a career in international relations or global studies should be aware that it can be quite competitive,” Creed says. “The candidate pool has widened massively, with many candidates applying at the U.N. and other international organizations.”

While her caution may sound daunting, she assures prospective students that they can develop the qualities they need in order to make their mark in this field. “People often enter global studies to make the world a better place,” she says. “These are individuals with a social conscience who have resolved to make a difference. They tend to be very determined people with great focus, and can improve their skills to effect change.”

Creed explains that perhaps one of the most direct ways to prepare to excel in this competitive field is to earn an advanced degree.

Earning a Global Studies Degree

Northeastern University’s Master of Science in Global Studies program is designed to provide students with the skills and training necessary to analyze, research, and evaluate a topic of interest in a global location. Through the pursuit of this degree, students will gain foundational knowledge in:

Globalization, global politics, and economics
Global literacy, culture, and community
Peace and conflict

The program also offers concentrations in areas such as diplomacy, international economics, and global health .

“Students gain exposure to the diverse field of global studies and issues facing the international community of today,” Creed says. “Overall, the program curriculum focuses on the themes of transition and development in the global world.”

Alongside tailored specializations and courses led by industry professionals, graduates of the master’s in global studies program also have the chance to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world scenarios. Through Northeastern’s experiential learning opportunities, students are able to gain relevant experience in the unique area of global studies work they wish to pursue after graduation.

Even for those in the program who don’t have a clear idea of what sector of the industry they’d like to work in, however, an interest in the global society and a desire to implement change in the world is often enough to start them on the path toward a successful career in global studies.

“You don’t need to have a definitive sense of a career path before entering the program,” she adds. “You simply need to have a passion for how the world works, and then we work together to develop career objectives as you go through the program. It’s a brilliant space that is constantly evolving.”

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Global Studies

Global Studies Major

Human Rights
Global Studies MA

Requirements & Policies & Forms

Global Studies Requirements and Policies

GS Student Progress Checksheet
Declare Global Studies

The Global Studies major requires students to choose a concentration and a geographic region in which to become an expert. It connects this regional specialization to language training. Global Studies majors will choose one of three concentrations: (1) Global Development; (2) Global Peace and Conflict; or (3) Global Societies and Cultures. This will allow students to focus their studies on a specific aspect of the “global.” At the same time, those pursuing this major will choose one of five regions (Asia, Africa, Europe/Russia, The Americas or the Middle East) in which to specialize, both in terms of content and language. In doing so, students have an opportunity to become an expert in a specific region, especially as it relates to larger questions that arise from global interaction. In addition, the major requires training in critical thinking–that is how to study a particular problem in a consistent and rigorous way. Students will work with faculty and the Global Studies advisors to devise a program that best captures their interests and allows them to reach their intellectual and professional potentials.

Student Learning Goals

Students who complete the major in Global Studies will:

Acquire historical and geographical knowledge, and develop language skills;
Develop strong interdisciplinary training, gaining control over key concepts in the social sciences and/or the humanities (see below);
Apply an interdisciplinary approach to the study of contemporary global issues;
Demonstrate analytical skills, as well as those in critical reading and writing, through research.
Synthesize the ways in which local circumstances influence global events, and vice-versa.

Global Studies Concentrations

Global Peace & Conflict This concentration considers the relationship between peace and conflict, both among and within societies. It explores the ways in which conflict arises around the globe, and considers ways in which existing conflicts can be identified, studied, and (potentially) resolved. Students who pursue the peace and conflict concentration consider power relationships between states and supranational institutions. They explore the ways in which justice is defined in a variety of settings and how to apply such principles of justice in resolving difficult conflicts in order to achieve peaceful outcomes.

Major Requirements

Lower Division: 5 courses

GLOBAL 10A: Introduction to Global Studies. This must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to declaring the major. A grade of C- does not satisfy this requirement. Note: This requirement may be repeated only once to achieve a grade of C or better.
GLOBAL 10B: Critical Issues in Global Studies.
ECON 1 or 2: Introduction to Economics, Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy
GLOBAL 45 (IAS 45): Survey of World History. This must be completed with a grade of B- or better on the first attempt prior to declaring the major. An AP score of 5 on the World History exam will satisfy this requirement.
STAT 2, C8, 20, 21 or W21: Intro to Statistics, Foundations of Data Science, Intro to Probability and Statistics, Intro to Probability and Statistics for Business. An AP score of 3 on the Statistics exam will satisfy the STAT 2 requirement.

Foreign Language: Global Studies majors must demonstrate proficiency in a modern language other than English by the last semester of their senior year. This language must be connected, in either the past or the present, to the student’s geographic region of specialization. Proficiency is equivalent to the ability achieved in four college-level semesters (or two years). Language courses taken in high school do not satisfy this requirement. See below for details on how to fulfill the foreign language requirement.

Upper Division: 1. Core Courses: (FOUR courses)

Concentration Course: Global Studies 100D OR 100P or 100S: This course provides an introduction to one of the three concentration fields and exposes students to the relevant theoretical, historical, and contemporary literature for that concentration.
Disciplinary Courses: Choose TWO courses from the same disciplinary area for your concentration. These should be selected from the Disciplinary Course List (Appendices A1-A3 of the Requirements & Policies handbook). The courses wherever possible should speak to each other about a particular problem or approach in which you are interested.
Critical Thinking Class/Methodology. We strongly suggest that you take GLOBAL 102 (IAS 102) in your sophomore or very early in your junior year. This class provides a foundation for how to engage and understand a variety of sources and issues within the field of global studies. Students and faculty alike report improved student learning as a result of taking this class early in one’s college career. Other approved courses can be found in Appendix C of the Requirements & Policies handbook.

2. Geographic Focus: (FOUR courses)

This is where students will be able to study more deeply about a particular world region than they can in other contexts. These courses should provide students with substantive knowledge of the cultural, political, economic, and historical trajectories of the regions being studied. As a result, students MUST select courses from the following two areas:

Global Studies 110E (Europe and Russia), 110K (Africa, North and Sub-Saharan), 110L (the Americas) 110M (Middle East and North Africa), or 110Q (Asia). Students must enroll in one of these classes, which provide a broad overview of a particular region in its modern global context. It must match the rest of the student’s geographic focus.
THREE courses that focus on the same region, which can be selected from Appendices B1-B3 of the Requirements & Policies handbook. These courses should also be able to converse with one another about a specific area of interest.

The student’s language training MUST match up with the particular world region on which the student has decided to focus. Example: Students studying Chinese will have to focus on Asia.

How to Declare

Declaring: Declarations are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year during the spring, summer and fall semesters.

To be eligible to declare students must:

Have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Have completed GLOBAL 10A or GLOBAL C10A with a grade of C or better (C- does not satisfy this requirement).

Note: GLOBAL 10A or GLOBAL C10A may be repeated only once to achieve a grade of C or better.

Have completed GLOBAL 45 (IAS 45) with a grade of B- or better on the first attempt
Have completed one additional lower division non-language requirement (see below)
Have completed a Major Declaration Workshop.
Not be in their final semester of undergraduate work.

Additionally, students are encouraged – but not required – to complete two semesters of college-level foreign language or the equivalent before applying to the major.

When you are ready to declare, click here

More Information

Global studies major map, how to declare a major, meet with an advisor.

What is Critical in Critical Global Studies?

The Critical Global Studies Institute (CGSI) has been based at Sogang University since 2016. Like its counterparts at institutions elsewhere, it was established in part to rescue the humanities and social sciences from the nation, offering a global outlook on humans, society, and the environment. How different is “Critical Global Studies” from other “global studies” approaches? What difference does the adjective “critical” make to global studies? What is critical in “Critical Global Studies”? Critical Global Studies at Sogang University starts from the position that “globalization from below” is the alternative outlook to both “globalization from above” and anti-global nationalism. The perspective of globalization from below reflects the materiality of globalization, that it is already a part of our everyday life irrespective of our wishes and moral demands. Capital, technology, labor and culture are leaping over national borders, moving and circulating with speed. And problems related to the environment, human rights, and other critical concerns are emerging as issues demanding actions on a global scale, as shown by nuclear catastrophes in Chernobyl and Fukushima, global warming, yellow sandstorms of polluted particles in China, and other disasters. The everyday life of ordinary people in the 21st century is rooted in a transnational matrix in which solutions to the problems above cannot be found within the nation-state framework. This reflection leads us to the idea that a return to the nation-state system and nationalism is an anachronistic way of thinking that ignores the realities of the current era of globalization. Critical global studies is derived from the consideration that the national paradigm, be it leftist or right-wing populist, cannot be an alternative to globalization from above imposed by global capital and the institutions that facilitate its power. The question is not the replacement of the global by the national, but the transformation of globalization from above into globalization from below.

Street art, India. Artist: C215 (Christian Guemy)

From the perspective of globalization from below, it is our position that “critical” global studies is a reasonable and even desirable political, cultural, academic and ethical orientation in dealing with global inequalities. Critical global studies rejects both the humanities of empire that erases differences and the diversity of human experience in the name of universality, and the humanities of the nation that essentializes ethnicities, nations and races in the name of particularity. Visions of the humanities must transcend artificial boundary formations regarding humans—such as nation, class, gender, race, culture, civilization, and religion—and ultimately be open to humankind . In this way “critical” global studies is a project of recovering the original vision of the humanities. Through its theoretical and practical outlook, CGSI has the ultimate mission of presenting the alternative to both the rising tide of nationalist anti-globalization and hegemonic globalization (“from above”), in the form of globalization from below.

Critical global studies rejects both the humanities of empire that erases differences and the diversity of human experience in the name of universality, and the humanities of the nation that essentializes ethnicities, nations and races in the name of particularity.

More specifically, CGSI’s vision for encountering the realities of 21 st century life rooted in a transnational matrix can be summarized in four “trans-” keywords. They are elucidated in what follows: Transnational connotes CGSI’s efforts to liberate our imagination from the fetish of the nation-state and cultivate cultural transfers crossing nation-state borders. The transnational approach tries to analyze not only interconnectedness in history, but also how this interconnectedness generates meaning in different contexts. Of course, it is not just about going beyond national boundaries. Multi-directional transfers and plural interconnectedness between different “historically constituted formations” or communicative spaces, including nation-states, cultures, regions, linguistic communities, generational groups, and gender boundaries, are scrutinized under the banner of “transnational.” Therefore, by “transnational” we intend not only an analytical label for the scope of study but also connections to the experiences of historical actors. Our target is methodological nationalism at the level of epistemology. Methodological nationalism works not only in the realm of nation-states, but also in regional hegemony, requiring a critical transregional perspective as well. Various discourses of “European Union,” “East Asian community,” “Central Asia,” and other regionalisms transcend national borders. However, it is doubtful whether they are free from methodological nationalism in the domain of epistemology. Nation is inflated into a regional unit with the essentialist thinking intact. Thus regionalism contributes to justifying the hierarchical co-figuration of East and West and encouraging both the Orientalism and Occidentalism immanent to geo-positivism. The transregional approach would help us to deconstruct Orientalism and Occidentalism and cultivate the democratization of scholarship by de-essentializing the hierarchical division of East and West.

Western powers and Japan prepare to dismember China after the Boxer Rebellion

Through a transdisciplinary approach we try to move beyond interdisciplinary modes of inquiry. The archaeology of knowledge has proven that modern academic disciplines are the offspring of the nation-state and nationalism, which have been nourished through the strict divisions between academic disciplines. National history, national literature, national art and other nation-bound disciplines have kept their academic authenticity because the existential mode of the academic silo does not allow challenges from outside of the silo. Unfortunately, interdisciplinary inquiry proved not to be enough to defy the academic hegemony of national disciplines because it did not shatter the premise of disciplinary borders. The transdisciplinary approach tries to establish theoretical and practical groundwork for research with the explicit aim of crossing the borders of knowledge and ideas, and yet moving beyond interdisciplinary modes of inquiry. Finally, CGSI is transinstitutional in its attempts to establish networks that surpass the boundaries of educational and research institutions to create and expand transcultural and transdisciplinary collaborations. CGSI established the Flying University of Transnational Humanities (FUTH) with an aim to resist, challenge, and overcome the rigid academic institutions imprisoned within the boundary of the nation-state. The academic goals of FUTH are to formulate a responsible and meaningful intellectual foundation for critical transnational studies by creating a worldwide on- and off-line network for collaboration among educators, researchers, and graduate students. Learning from the Polish experience of Uniwersytet Latający (“Flying University”), FUTH tries to accommodate the anti-institutional humanities as a counter-hegemony against the ideological hegemony of the modern nation-state, and develop epistemological conventions to support it.

The transregional approach would help us to deconstruct Orientalism and Occidentalism and cultivate the democratization of scholarship by de-essentializing the hierarchical division of East and West.

CGSI’s ultimate mission in incorporating these four “trans” concepts is to develop global ethics and epistemology, sharpen critical insight into multicultural and glocal lives, and promote the responsibilities and practices required of global citizens.

Women in The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. World War 2 era Japanese propaganda poster.

The focal point of CGSI’s research activities, based on this pedagogical foundation, is “transnational memory.” On the premise that globalization is a cognitive construction as much as a material reality, we assume that memory epitomizes the interplay of globalization between material reality and perceived reality. More specifically, transnational memory as a research project of CGSI pays attention to East Asia as a memory space. Despite the claims to irreversible progress that accompany almost every change of political regime, East Asia as an entangled memory space keeps reverting to the strictures of the past. Recognition of this leads us to the idea of “memory regime change” because memory of the past functions as a long-term cultural hegemony, unceasingly nullifying political progress. As seen in history, any strategy aimed at political change that leaves the memory regime intact has already proven itself a failure.

The project of transnational memory seeks to conduct, from a transitional perspective, critical investigations of multifarious layers and aspects of memory regimes such as official memory, managed by each nation-state, or vernacular memory as reproduced in the everyday lives of ordinary people. In particular, it pays attention to the problem that the “nationalization of people,” a process occurring in the realm of memory, widely regulates people’s ordinary, quotidian experiences. By scrutinizing the production, organization, distribution, and consumption pattern of collective memory, the project proposes that those concerned about memory regime changes in East Asia, whether they be historians, literary theoreticians, or film critics, should realize, albeit belatedly, that they all are “memory activists.” The four “trans-” orientations at CGSI may help these memory activists go beyond their conventional and professional confines and come together around the platform of transnational memory in East Asia.

Editor's note: This essay, part of a global-e series titled 'Global Studies in East Asia', was presented at the symposium “Global Studies in Japan and East Asia” held on November 12-13, 2016 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Graduate Program in Global Studies at Sophia University. David L. Wank, a sociologist and faculty member in the program, is guest editor of the series.

methodology

global studies

Jie-Hyun Lim is Professor of History and head of the Critical Global Studies Institute, Sogang University, South Korea.

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Cultivating students' critical consciousness through global citizenship education: Six pedagogical priorities

Published: 11 August 2023

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Emiliano Bosio 1 &
Yusef Waghid 2

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This article conceptualizes Global Citizenship Education (GCE) as a liberating and dynamic journey of consciousness-mobilization that supports students' critical thinking about how they can contribute to social justice. The authors’ conceptualization of GCE for critical consciousness is entrenched in the work of Paulo Freire. It is political because it is meant to shape the learner into an emancipated, ethical, and critical global citizen. As such, GCE for critical consciousness is based on six pedagogical priorities: praxis, reflexive dialogue, decolonialism, ecocritical views, caring ethics, and empowering humanity. These six priorities are not meant to be comprehensive; they are aimed at boosting debate on the key levers needed to place GCE on a plausible critical, ethical, and sustainable path. Hence, those priorities explicitly challenge and move beyond Western-European-centric and neoliberal GCE conceptions. The article ends with a call for further academic action to (re)construct the momentum needed to push for their implementation.

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The Educator in Global Citizenship Education: Centering Context and Enabling Being

Global citizenship education in practice: A transformative approach to global learning in Zanzibar

Cathryn MacCallum, Safia Mkubwa, … Nicola Shone

Global South university educators’ perceptions of global citizenship education: Reflective dialogue, social change, and critical awareness

Emiliano Bosio

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Bosio, E., Waghid, Y. Cultivating students' critical consciousness through global citizenship education: Six pedagogical priorities. Prospects (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-023-09652-x

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PMC10672018

Critical Thinking, Intelligence, and Unsubstantiated Beliefs: An Integrative Review

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A review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. For instance, critical thinking can more completely account for many everyday outcomes, such as how thinkers reject false conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, psychological misconceptions, and other unsubstantiated claims. Deficiencies in the components of critical thinking (in specific reasoning skills, dispositions, and relevant knowledge) contribute to unsubstantiated belief endorsement in ways that go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. Specifically, people who endorse unsubstantiated claims less tend to show better critical thinking skills, possess more relevant knowledge, and are more disposed to think critically. They tend to be more scientifically skeptical and possess a more rational–analytic cognitive style, while those who accept unsubstantiated claims more tend to be more cynical and adopt a more intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These findings suggest that for a fuller understanding of unsubstantiated beliefs, researchers and instructors should also assess specific reasoning skills, relevant knowledge, and dispositions which go beyond what intelligence tests test.

1. Introduction

Why do some people believe implausible claims, such as the QAnon conspiracy theory, that a cabal of liberals is kidnapping and trafficking many thousands of children each year, despite the lack of any credible supporting evidence? Are believers less intelligent than non-believers? Do they lack knowledge of such matters? Are they more gullible or less skeptical than non-believers? Or, more generally, are they failing to think critically?

Understanding the factors contributing to acceptance of unsubstantiated claims is important, not only to the development of theories of intelligence and critical thinking but also because many unsubstantiated beliefs are false, and some are even dangerous. Endorsing them can have a negative impact on an individual and society at large. For example, false beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic, such as believing that 5G cell towers induced the spread of the COVID-19 virus, led some British citizens to set fire to 5G towers ( Jolley and Paterson 2020 ). Other believers in COVID-19 conspiracy theories endangered their own and their children’s lives when they refused to socially distance and be vaccinated with highly effective vaccines, despite the admonitions of scientific experts ( Bierwiaczonek et al. 2020 ). Further endangering the population at large, those who believe the false conspiracy theory that human-caused global warming is a hoax likely fail to respond adaptively to this serious global threat ( van der Linden 2015 ). Parents, who uncritically accept pseudoscientific claims, such as the false belief that facilitated communication is an effective treatment for childhood autism, may forego more effective treatments ( Lilienfeld 2007 ). Moreover, people in various parts of the world still persecute other people whom they believe are witches possessing supernatural powers. Likewise, many people still believe in demonic possession, which has been associated with mental disorders ( Nie and Olson 2016 ). Compounding the problems created by these various unsubstantiated beliefs, numerous studies now show that when someone accepts one of these types of unfounded claims, they tend to accept others as well; see Bensley et al. ( 2022 ) for a review.

Studying the factors that contribute to unfounded beliefs is important not only because of their real-world consequences but also because this can facilitate a better understanding of unfounded beliefs and how they are related to critical thinking and intelligence. This article focuses on important ways in which critical thinking and intelligence differ, especially in terms of how a comprehensive model of CT differs from the view of intelligence as general cognitive ability. I argue that this model of CT more fully accounts for how people can accurately decide if a claim is unsubstantiated than can views of intelligence, emphasizing general cognitive ability. In addition to general cognitive ability, thinking critically about unsubstantiated claims involves deployment of specific reasoning skills, dispositions related to CT, and specific knowledge, which go beyond the contribution of general cognitive ability.

Accordingly, this article begins with an examination of the constructs of critical thinking and intelligence. Then, it discusses theories proposing that to understand thinking in the real world requires going beyond general cognitive ability. Specifically, the focus is on factors related to critical thinking, such as specific reasoning skills, dispositions, metacognition, and relevant knowledge. I review research showing that that this alternative multidimensional view of CT can better account for individual differences in the tendency to endorse multiple types of unsubstantiated claims than can general cognitive ability alone.

2. Defining Critical Thinking and Intelligence

Critical thinking is an almost universally valued educational objective in the US and in many other countries which seek to improve it. In contrast, intelligence, although much valued, has often been viewed as a more stable characteristic and less amenable to improvement through specific short-term interventions, such as traditional instruction or more recently through practice on computer-implemented training programs. According to Wechsler’s influential definition, intelligence is a person’s “aggregate or global capacity to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment” ( Wechsler 1944, p. 3 ).

Consistent with this definition, intelligence has long been associated with general cognitive or intellectual ability and the potential to learn and reason well. Intelligence (IQ) tests measure general cognitive abilities, such as knowledge of words, memory skills, analogical reasoning, speed of processing, and the ability to solve verbal and spatial problems. General intelligence or “g” is a composite of these abilities statistically derived from various cognitive subtests on IQ tests which are positively intercorrelated. There is considerable overlap between g and the concept of fluid intelligence (Gf) in the prominent Cattell–Horn–Carroll model ( McGrew 2009 ), which refers to “the ability to solve novel problems, the solution of which does not depend on previously acquired skills and knowledge,” and crystalized intelligence (Gc), which refers to experience, existing skills, and general knowledge ( Conway and Kovacs 2018, pp. 50–51 ). Although g or general intelligence is based on a higher order factor, inclusive of fluid and crystallized intelligence, it is technically not the same as general cognitive ability, a commonly used, related term. However, in this article, I use “general cognitive ability” and “cognitive ability” because they are the imprecise terms frequently used in the research reviewed.

Although IQ scores have been found to predict performance in basic real-world domains, such as academic performance and job success ( Gottfredson 2004 ), an enduring question for intelligence researchers has been whether g and intelligence tests predict the ability to adapt well in other real-world situations, which concerns the second part of Wechsler’s definition. So, in addition to the search for the underlying structure of intelligence, researchers have been perennially concerned with how general abilities associated with intelligence can be applied to help a person adapt to real-world situations. The issue is largely a question of how cognitive ability and intelligence can help people solve real-world problems and cope adaptively and succeed in dealing with various environmental demands ( Sternberg 2019 ).

Based on broad conceptual definitions of intelligence and critical thinking, both intelligence and CT should aid adaptive functioning in the real world, presumably because they both involve rational approaches. Their common association with rationality gives each term a positive connotation. However, complicating the definition of each of these is the fact that rationality also continues to have a variety of meanings. In this article, in agreement with Stanovich et al. ( 2018 ), rationality is defined in the normative sense, used in cognitive science, as the distance between a person’s response and some normative standard of optimal behavior. As such, degree of rationality falls on a continuous scale, not a categorical one.

Despite disagreements surrounding the conceptual definitions of intelligence, critical thinking, and rationality, a commonality in these terms is they are value-laden and normative. In the case of intelligence, people are judged based on norms from standardized intelligence tests, especially in academic settings. Although scores on CT tests seldom are, nor could be, used to judge individuals in this way, the normative and value-laden basis of CT is apparent in people’s informal judgements. They often judge others who have made poor decisions to be irrational or to have failed to think critically.

This value-laden aspect of CT is also apparent in formal definitions of CT. Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) defined critical thinking as “the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed.” The positive conception of CT as helping a person adapt well to one’s environment is clearly implied in “desirable outcome”.

Robert Ennis ( 1987 ) has offered a simpler, yet useful definition of critical thinking that also has normative implications. According to Ennis, “critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” ( Ennis 1987, p. 102 ). This definition implies that CT helps people know what to believe (a goal of epistemic rationality) and how to act (a goal of instrumental rationality). This is conveyed by associating “critical thinking” with the positive terms, “reasonable” and “reflective”. Dictionaries commonly define “reasonable” as “rational”, “logical”, “intelligent”, and “good”, all terms with positive connotations.

For critical thinkers, being reasonable involves using logical rules, standards of evidence, and other criteria that must be met for a product of thinking to be considered good. Critical thinkers use these to evaluate how strongly reasons or evidence supports one claim versus another, drawing conclusions which are supported by the highest quality evidence ( Bensley 2018 ). If no high-quality evidence is available for consideration, it would be unreasonable to draw a strong conclusion. Unfortunately, people’s beliefs are too often based on acceptance of unsubstantiated claims. This is a failure of CT, but is it also a failure of intelligence?

3. Does Critical Thinking “Go Beyond” What Is Meant by Intelligence?

Despite the conceptual overlap in intelligence and CT at a general level, one way that CT can be distinguished from the common view of intelligence as general cognitive ability is in terms of what each can account for. Although intelligence tests, especially measures of general cognitive ability, have reliably predicted academic and job performance, they may not be sufficient to predict other everyday outcomes for which CT measures have made successful predictions and have added to the variance accounted for in performance. For instance, replicating a study by Butler ( 2012 ), Butler et al. ( 2017 ) obtained a negative correlation ( r = −0.33) between scores on the Halpern Critical Thinking Appraisal (HCTA) and a measure of 134 negative, real-world outcomes, not expected to befall critical thinkers, such as engaging in unprotected sex or posting a message on social media which the person regretted. They found that higher HCTA scores not only predicted better life decisions, but also predicted better performance beyond a measure of general cognitive ability. These results suggest that CT can account for real-world outcomes and goes beyond general cognitive ability to account for additional variance.

Some theorists maintain that standardized intelligence tests do not capture the variety of abilities that people need to adapt well in the real world. For example, Gardner ( 1999 ), has proposed that additional forms of intelligence are needed, such as spatial, musical, and interpersonal intelligences in addition to linguistic and logical–mathematical intelligences, more typically associated with general cognitive ability and academic success. In other theorizing, Sternberg ( 1988 ) has proposed three additional types of intelligence: analytical, practical, and creative intelligence, to more fully capture the variety of intelligent abilities on which people differ. Critical thinking is considered part of analytical skills which involve evaluating the quality and applicability of ideas, products, and options ( Sternberg 2022 ). Regarding adaptive intelligence, Sternberg ( 2019 ) has emphasized how adaptive aspects of intelligence are needed to solve real-world problems both at the individual and species levels. According to Sternberg, core components of intelligence have evolved in humans, but intelligence takes different forms in different cultures, with each culture valuing its own skills for adaptation. Thus, the construct of intelligence must go beyond core cognitive ability to encompass the specific abilities needed for adaptive behavior in specific cultures and settings.

Two other theories propose that other components be added to intelligent and rational thinking. Ackerman ( 2022 ) has emphasized the importance of acquiring domain-specific knowledge for engaging in intelligent functioning in the wide variety of tasks found in everyday life. Ackerman has argued that declarative, procedural, and tacit knowledge, as well as non-ability variables, are needed to better predict job performance and performance of other everyday activities. Taking another approach, Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) have proposed that critical thinking is essentially the adaptive application of intelligence for solving real-world problems. Elsewhere, Butler and Halpern ( 2019 ) have argued that dispositions such as open-mindedness are another aspect of CT and that domain-specific knowledge and specific CT skills are needed to solve real-world problems.

Examples are readily available for how CT goes beyond what IQ tests test to include specific rules for reasoning and relevant knowledge needed to execute real-world tasks. Take the example of scientific reasoning, which can be viewed as a specialized form of CT. Drawing a well-reasoned inductive conclusion about a theory or analyzing the quality of a research study both require that a thinker possess relevant specialized knowledge related to the question and specific reasoning skills for reasoning about scientific methodology. In contrast, IQ tests are deliberately designed to be nonspecialized in assessing Gc, broadly sampling vocabulary and general knowledge in order to be fair and unbiased ( Stanovich 2009 ). Specialized knowledge and reasoning skills are also needed in non-academic domains. Jurors must possess specialized knowledge to understand expert, forensic testimony and specific reasoning skills to interpret the law and make well-reasoned judgments about a defendant’s guilt or innocence.

Besides lacking specific reasoning skills and domain-relevant knowledge, people may fail to think critically because they are not disposed to use their reasoning skills to examine such claims and want to preserve their favored beliefs. Critical thinking dispositions are attitudes or traits that make it more likely that a person will think critically. Theorists have proposed numerous CT dispositions (e.g., Bensley 2018 ; Butler and Halpern 2019 ; Dwyer 2017 ; Ennis 1987 ). Some commonly identified CT dispositions especially relevant to this discussion are open-mindedness, skepticism, intellectual engagement, and the tendency to take a reflective, rational–analytic approach. Critical thinking dispositions are clearly value-laden and prescriptive. A good thinker should be open-minded, skeptical, reflective, intellectually engaged, and value a rational–analytic approach to inquiry. Conversely, corresponding negative dispositions, such as “close-mindedness” and “gullibility”, could obstruct CT.

Without the appropriate disposition, individuals will not use their reasoning skills to think critically about questions. For example, the brilliant mystery writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was trained as a physician and created the hyper-reasonable detective Sherlock Holmes, was not disposed to think critically about some unsubstantiated claims. Conan Doyle was no doubt highly intelligent in cognitive ability terms, but he was not sufficiently skeptical (disposed to think critically) about spiritualism. He believed that he was talking to his dearly departed son though a medium, despite the warnings of his magician friend, Harry Houdini, who told him that mediums used trickery in their seances. Perhaps influenced by his Irish father’s belief in the “wee folk”, Conan Doyle also believed that fairies inhabited the English countryside, based on children’s photos, despite the advice of experts who said the photos could be faked. Nevertheless, he was skeptical of a new theory of tuberculosis proposed by Koch when he reported on it, despite his wife suffering from the disease. So, in professional capacities, Conan Doyle used his CT skills, but in certain other domains for which he was motivated to accept unsubstantiated claims, he failed to think critically, insufficiently disposed to skeptically challenge certain implausible claims.

This example makes two important points. Conan Doyle’s superior intelligence was not enough for him to reject implausible claims about the world. In general, motivated reasoning can lead people, even those considered highly intelligent, to accept claims with no good evidentiary support. The second important point is that we would not be able to adequately explain cases like this one, considering only the person’s intelligence or even their reasoning skills, without also considering the person’s disposition. General cognitive ability alone is not sufficient, and CT dispositions should also be considered.

Supporting this conclusion, Stanovich and West ( 1997 ) examined the influence of dispositions beyond the contribution of cognitive ability on a CT task. They gave college students an argument evaluation test in which participants first rated their agreement with several claims about real social and political issues made by a fictitious person. Then, they gave them evidence against each claim and finally asked them to rate the quality of a counterargument made by the same fictitious person. Participants’ ratings of the counterarguments were compared to the median ratings of expert judges on the quality of the rebuttals. Stanovich and West also administered a new measure of rational disposition called the Actively Open-minded Thinking (AOT) scale and the SAT as a proxy for cognitive ability. The AOT was a composite of items from several other scales that would be expected to measure CT disposition. They found that both SAT and AOT scores were significant predictors of higher argument analysis scores. Even after partialing out cognitive ability, actively open-minded thinking was significant. These results suggest that general cognitive ability alone was not sufficient to account for thinking critically about real-world issues and that CT disposition was needed to go beyond it.

Further examining the roles of CT dispositions and cognitive ability on reasoning, Stanovich and West ( 2008 ) studied myside bias, a bias in reasoning closely related to one-sided thinking and confirmation bias. A critical thinker would be expected to not show myside bias and instead fairly evaluate evidence on all sides of a question. Stanovich and West ( 2007 ) found that college students often showed myside bias when asked their opinions about real-world policy issues, such as those concerning the health risks of smoking and drinking alcohol. For example, compared to non-smokers, smokers judged the health risks of smoking to be lower. When they divided participants into higher versus lower cognitive ability groups based on SAT scores, the two groups showed little difference on myside bias. Moreover, on the hazards of drinking issue, participants who drank less had higher scores on the CT disposition measure.

Other research supports the need for both reasoning ability and CT disposition in predicting outcomes in the real world. Ren et al. ( 2020 ) found that CT disposition, as measured by a Chinese critical thinking disposition inventory, and a CT skill measure together contributed a significant amount of the variance in predicting academic performance beyond the contribution of cognitive ability alone, as measured by a test of fluid intelligence. Further supporting the claim that CT requires both cognitive ability and CT disposition, Ku and Ho ( 2010 ) found that a CT disposition measure significantly predicted scores on a CT test beyond the significant contribution of verbal intelligence in high school and college students from Hong Kong.

The contribution of dispositions to thinking is related to another way that CT goes beyond the application of general cognitive ability, i.e., by way of the motivation for reasoning. Assuming that all reasoning is motivated ( Kunda 1990 ), then CT is motivated, too, which is implicit within the Halpern and Dunn ( 2021 ) and Ennis ( 1987 ) definitions. Critical thinking is motivated in the sense of being purposeful and directed towards the goal of arriving at an accurate conclusion. For instance, corresponding to pursuit of the goal of accurate reasoning, the CT disposition of “truth-seeking” guides a person towards reaching the CT goal of arriving at an accurate conclusion.

Also, according to Kunda ( 1990 ), a second type of motivated reasoning can lead to faulty conclusions, often by directing a person towards the goal of maintaining favored beliefs and preconceptions, as in illusory correlation, belief perseverance, and confirmation bias. Corresponding to this second type, negative dispositions, such as close-mindedness and self-serving motives, can incline thinkers towards faulty conclusions. This is especially relevant in the present discussion because poorer reasoning, thinking errors, and the inappropriate use of heuristics are related to the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, all of which are CT failures. The term “thinking errors” is a generic term referring to logical fallacies, informal reasoning fallacies, argumentation errors, and inappropriate uses of cognitive heuristics ( Bensley 2018 ). Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts, commonly used to simplify judgment tasks and reduce mental effort. Yet, when used inappropriately, heuristics often result in biased judgments.

Stanovich ( 2009 ) has argued that IQ tests do not test people’s use of heuristics, but heuristics have been found to be negatively correlated with CT performance ( West et al. 2008 ). In this same study, they found that college students’ cognitive ability, as measured by performance on the SAT, was not correlated with thinking biases associated with use of heuristics. Although Stanovich and West ( 2008 ) found that susceptibility to biases, such as the conjunction fallacy, framing effect, base-rate neglect, affect bias, and myside bias were all uncorrelated with cognitive ability (using SAT as a proxy), other types of thinking errors were correlated with SAT.

Likewise, two types of knowledge are related to the two forms of motivated reasoning. For instance, inaccurate knowledge, such as misconceptions, can derail reasoning from moving towards a correct conclusion, as in when a person reasons from false premises. In contrast, reasoning from accurate knowledge is more likely to produce an accurate conclusion. Taking into account inaccurate knowledge and thinking errors is important to understanding the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims because these are also related to negative dispositions, such as close-mindedness and cynicism, none of which are measured by intelligence tests.

Critical thinking questions are often situated in real-world examples or in simulations of them which are designed to detect thinking errors and bias. As described in Halpern and Butler ( 2018 ), an item like one on the “Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment” (HCTA) provides respondents with a mock newspaper story about research showing that first-graders who attended preschool were better able to learn how to read. Then the question asks if preschool should be made mandatory. A correct response to this item requires recognizing that correlation does not imply causation, that is, avoiding a common reasoning error people make in thinking about research implications in everyday life. Another CT skills test, “Analyzing Psychological Statements” (APS) assesses the ability to recognize thinking errors and apply argumentation skills and psychology to evaluate psychology-related examples and simulations of real-life situations ( Bensley 2021 ). For instance, besides identifying thinking errors in brief samples of thinking, questions ask respondents to distinguish arguments from non-arguments, find assumptions in arguments, evaluate kinds of evidence, and draw a conclusion from a brief psychological argument. An important implication of the studies just reviewed is that efforts to understand CT can be further informed by assessing thinking errors and biases, which, as the next discussion shows, are related to individual differences in thinking dispositions and cognitive style.

4. Dual-Process Theory Measures and Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Dual-process theory (DPT) and measures associated with it have been widely used in the study of the endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs, especially as they relate to cognitive style. According to a cognitive style version of DPT, people have two modes of processing, a fast intuitive–experiential (I-E) style of processing and a slower, reflective, rational–analytic (R-A) style of processing. The intuitive cognitive style is associated with reliance on hunches, feelings, personal experience, and cognitive heuristics which simplify processing, while the R-A cognitive style is a reflective, rational–analytic style associated with more elaborate and effortful processing ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Epstein 2008 ). As such, the rational–analytic cognitive style is consistent with CT dispositions, such as those promoting the effortful analysis of evidence, objective truth, and logical consistency. In fact, CT is sometimes referred to as “critical-analytic” thinking ( Byrnes and Dunbar 2014 ) and has been associated with analytical intelligence Sternberg ( 1988 ) and with rational thinking, as discussed before.

People use both modes of processing, but they show individual differences in which mode they tend to rely upon, although the intuitive–experiential mode is the default ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Morgan 2016 ; Pacini and Epstein 1999 ), and they accept unsubstantiated claims differentially based on their predominate cognitive style ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Epstein 2008 ). Specifically, individuals who rely more on an I-E cognitive style tend to endorse unsubstantiated claims more strongly, while individuals who rely more on a R-A cognitive style tend to endorse those claims less. Note, however, that other theorists view the two processes and cognitive styles somewhat differently, (e.g., Kahneman 2011 ; Stanovich et al. 2018 ).

Researchers have often assessed the contribution of these two cognitive styles to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, using variants of three measures: the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) of Frederick ( 2005 ), the Rational–Experiential Inventory of Epstein and his colleagues ( Pacini and Epstein 1999 ), and the related Need for Cognition scale of Cacioppo and Petty ( 1982 ). The CRT is a performance-based test which asks participants to solve problems that appear to require simple mathematical calculations, but which actually require more reflection. People typically do poorly on the CRT, which is thought to indicate reliance on an intuitive cognitive style, while better performance is thought to indicate reliance on the slower, more deliberate, and reflective cognitive style. The positive correlation of the CRT with numeracy scores suggests it also has a cognitive skill component ( Patel et al. 2019 ). The Rational–Experiential Inventory (REI) of Pacini and Epstein ( 1999 ) contains one scale designed to measure an intuitive–experiential cognitive style and a second scale intended to measure a rational–analytic (R-A) style. The R-A scale was adapted from the Need for Cognition (NFC) scale of Cacioppo and Petty ( 1982 ), another scale associated with rational–analytic thinking and expected to be negatively correlated with unsubstantiated beliefs. The NFC was found to be related to open-mindedness and intellectual engagement, two CT dispositions ( Cacioppo et al. 1996 ).

The cognitive styles associated with DPT also relate to CT dispositions. Thinking critically requires that individuals be disposed to use their reasoning skills to reject unsubstantiated claims ( Bensley 2018 ) and that they be inclined to take a rational–analytic approach rather than relying on their intuitions and feelings. For instance, Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) found that students who endorsed more psychological misconceptions adopted a more intuitive cognitive style, were less disposed to take a rational–scientific approach to psychology, and scored lower on a psychological critical thinking skills test. Further supporting this connection, West et al. ( 2008 ) found that participants who tended to use cognitive heuristics more, thought to be related to intuitive processing and bias, scored lower on a critical thinking measure. As the Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) results suggest, in addition to assessing reasoning skills and dispositions, comprehensive CT assessment research should assess knowledge and unsubstantiated beliefs because these are related to failures of critical thinking.

5. Assessing Critical Thinking and Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Assessing endorsement of unsubstantiated claims provides another way to assess CT outcomes related to everyday thinking, which goes beyond what intelligence tests test ( Bensley and Lilienfeld 2020 ). From the perspective of the multi-dimensional model of CT, endorsement of unsubstantiated claims could result from deficiencies in a person’s CT reasoning skills, a lack of relevant knowledge, and in the engagement of inappropriate dispositions. Suppose an individual endorses an unsubstantiated claim, such as believing the conspiracy theory that human-caused global warming is a hoax. The person may lack the specific reasoning skills needed to critically evaluate the conspiracy. Lantian et al. ( 2020 ) found that scores on a CT skills test were negatively correlated with conspiracy theory beliefs. The person also must possess relevant scientific knowledge, such as knowing the facts that each year humans pump about 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which traps heat in the atmosphere. Or, the person may not be scientifically skeptical or too cynical or mistrustful of scientists or governmental officials.

Although endorsing unsubstantiated beliefs is clearly a failure of CT, problems arise in deciding which ones are unsubstantiated, especially when considering conspiracy theories. Typically, the claims which critical thinkers should reject as unsubstantiated are those which are not supported by objective evidence. But of the many conspiracies proposed, few are vigorously examined. Moreover, some conspiracy theories which authorities might initially deny turn out to be real, such as the MK-Ultra theory that the CIA was secretly conducting mind-control research on American citizens.

A way out of this quagmire is to define unsubstantiated beliefs on a continuum which depends on the quality of evidence. This has led to the definition of unsubstantiated claims as assertions which have not been supported by high-quality evidence ( Bensley 2023 ). Those which are supported have the kind of evidentiary support that critical thinkers are expected to value in drawing reasonable conclusions. Instead of insisting that a claim must be demonstrably false to be rejected, we adopt a more tentative acceptance or rejection of claims, based on how much good evidence supports them. Many claims are unsubstantiated because they have not yet been carefully examined and so totally lack support or they may be supported only by low quality evidence such as personal experience, anecdotes, or non-scientific authority. Other claims are more clearly unsubstantiated because they contradict the findings of high-quality research. A critical thinker should be highly skeptical of these.

Psychological misconceptions are one type of claim that can be more clearly unsubstantiated. Psychological misconceptions are commonsense psychological claims (folk theories) about the mind, brain, and behavior that are contradicted by the bulk of high-quality scientific research. Author developed the Test of Psychological Knowledge and Misconceptions (TOPKAM), a 40-item, forced-choice measure with each item posing a statement of a psychological misconception and the other response option stating the evidence-based alternative ( Bensley et al. 2014 ). They found that higher scores on the APS, the argument analysis test applying psychological concepts to analyze real-world examples, were associated with more correct answers on the TOPKAM. Other studies have found positive correlations between CT skills tests and other measures of psychological misconceptions ( McCutcheon et al. 1992 ; Kowalski and Taylor 2004 ). Bensley et al. ( 2014 ) also found that higher correct TOPKAM scores were positively correlated with scores on the Inventory of Thinking Dispositions in Psychology (ITDP) of Bensley ( 2021 ), a measure of the disposition to take a rational and scientific approach to psychology but were negatively correlated with an intuitive cognitive style.

Bensley et al. ( 2021 ) conducted a multidimensional study, assessing beginner psychology students starting a CT course on their endorsement of psychological misconceptions, recognition of thinking errors, CT dispositions, and metacognition, before and after CT instruction. Two classes received explicit instruction involving considerable practice in argument analysis and scientific reasoning skills, with one class receiving CT instruction focused more on recognizing psychological misconceptions and a second class focused more on recognizing various thinking errors. Bensley et al. assessed both classes before and after instruction on the TOPKAM and on the Test of Thinking Errors, a test of the ability to recognize in real-world examples 17 different types of thinking errors, such as confirmation bias, inappropriate use of the availability and representativeness heuristics, reasoning from ignorance/possibility, gambler’s fallacy, and hasty generalization ( Bensley et al. 2021 ). Correct TOPKAM and TOTE scores were positively correlated, and after CT instruction both were positively correlated with the APS, the CT test of argument analysis skills.

Bensley et al. found that after explicit instruction of CT skills, students improved significantly on both the TOPKAM and TOTE, but those focusing on recognizing misconceptions improved the most. Also, those students who improved the most on the TOTE scored higher on the REI rational–analytic scale and on the ITDP, while those improving the most on the TOTE scored higher on the ITDP. The students receiving explicit CT skill instruction in recognizing misconceptions also significantly improved the accuracy of their metacognitive monitoring in estimating their TOPKAM scores after instruction.

Given that before instruction neither class differed in GPA nor on the SAT, a proxy for general cognitive ability, CT instruction provided a good accounting for the improvement in recognition of thinking errors and misconceptions without recourse to intelligence. However, SAT scores were positively correlated with both TOTE scores and APS scores, suggesting that cognitive ability contributed to CT skill performance. These results replicated the earlier findings of Bensley and Spero ( 2014 ) showing that explicit CT instruction improved performance on both CT skills tests and metacognitive monitoring accuracy while controlling for SAT, which was positively correlated with the CT skills test performance.

Taken together, these findings suggest that cognitive ability contributes to performance on CT tasks but that CT instruction goes beyond it to further improve performance. As the results of Bensley et al. ( 2021 ) show, and as discussed next, thinking errors and bias from heuristics are CT failures that should also be assessed because they are related to endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs and cognitive style.

6. Dual-Processing Theory and Research on Unsubstantiated Beliefs

Consistent with DPT, numerous other studies have obtained significant positive correlations between intuitive cognitive style and paranormal belief, often using the REI intuitive–experiential scale and the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) of Tobacyk ( 2004 ) (e.g., Genovese 2005 ; Irwin and Young 2002 ; Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Pennycook et al. 2015 ; Rogers et al. 2018 ; Saher and Lindeman 2005 ). Studies have also found positive correlations between superstitious belief and intuitive cognitive style (e.g., Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Maqsood et al. 2018 ). REI intuitive–experiential thinking style was also positively correlated with belief in complementary and alternative medicine ( Lindeman 2011 ), conspiracy theory belief ( Alper et al. 2020 ), and with endorsement of psychological misconceptions ( Bensley et al. 2014 ; Bensley et al. 2022 ).

Additional evidence for DPT has been found when REI R-A and NFC scores were negatively correlated with scores on measures of unsubstantiated beliefs, but studies correlating them with measures of paranormal belief and conspiracy theory belief have shown mixed results. Supporting a relationship, REI rational–analytic and NFC scores significantly and negatively predicted paranormal belief ( Lobato et al. 2014 ; Pennycook et al. 2012 ). Other studies have also obtained a negative correlation between NFC and paranormal belief ( Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Rogers et al. 2018 ; Stahl and van Prooijen 2018 ), but both Genovese ( 2005 ) and Pennycook et al. ( 2015 ) found that NFC was not significantly correlated with paranormal belief. Swami et al. ( 2014 ) found that although REI R-A scores were negatively correlated with conspiracy theory belief, NFC scores were not.

Researchers often refer to people who are doubtful of paranormal and other unfounded claims as “skeptics” and so have tested whether measures related to skepticism are associated with less endorsement of unsubstantiated claims. They typically view skepticism as a stance towards unsubstantiated claims taken by rational people who reject them, (e.g., Lindeman and Aarnio 2006 ; Stahl and van Prooijen 2018 ), rather than as a disposition inclining a person to think critically about unsubstantiated beliefs ( Bensley 2018 ).

Fasce and Pico ( 2019 ) conducted one of the few studies using a measure related to skeptical disposition, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS) of Sosu ( 2013 ), in relation to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims. They found that scores on the CTDS were negatively correlated with scores on the RPBS but not significantly correlated with either a measure of pseudoscience or of conspiracy theory belief. However, the CRT was negatively correlated with both RPBS and the pseudoscience measure. Because Fasce and Pico ( 2019 ) did not examine correlations with the Reflective Skepticism subscale of the CTDS, its contribution apart from full-scale CTDS was not found.

To more directly test skepticism as a disposition, we recently assessed college students on how well three new measures predicted endorsement of psychological misconceptions, paranormal claims, and conspiracy theories ( Bensley et al. 2022 ). The dispositional measures included a measure of general skeptical attitude; a second measure, the Scientific Skepticism Scale (SSS), which focused more on waiting to accept claims until high-quality scientific evidence supported them; and a third measure, the Cynicism Scale (CS), which focused on doubting the sincerity of the motives of scientists and people in general. We found that although the general skepticism scale did not predict any of the unsubstantiated belief measures, SSS scores were a significant negative predictor of both paranormal belief and conspiracy theory belief. REI R-A scores were a less consistent negative predictor, while REI I-E scores were more consistent positive predictors, and surprisingly CS scores were the most consistent positive predictors of the unsubstantiated beliefs.

Researchers commonly assume that people who accept implausible, unsubstantiated claims are gullible or not sufficiently skeptical. For instance, van Prooijen ( 2019 ) has argued that conspiracy theory believers are more gullible (less skeptical) than non-believers and tend to accept unsubstantiated claims more than less gullible people. van Prooijen ( 2019 ) reviewed several studies supporting the claim that people who are more gullible tend to endorse conspiracy theories more. However, he did not report any studies in which a gullible disposition was directly measured.

Recently, we directly tested the gullibility hypothesis in relation to scientific skepticism ( Bensley et al. 2023 ) using the Gullibility Scale of Teunisse et al. ( 2019 ) on which people skeptical of the paranormal had been shown to have lower scores. We found that Gullibility Scale and the Cynicism Scale scores were positively correlated, and both were significant positive predictors of unsubstantiated beliefs, in general, consistent with an intuitive–experiential cognitive style. In contrast, we found that scores on the Cognitive Reflection Test, the Scientific Skepticism Scale, and the REI rational–analytic scale were all positively intercorrelated and significant negative predictors of unsubstantiated beliefs, in general, consistent with a rational–analytic/reflective cognitive style. Scientific skepticism scores negatively predicted general endorsement of unsubstantiated claims beyond the REI R-A scale, but neither the CTDS nor the CTDS Reflective Skepticism subscale were significant. These results replicated findings from the Bensley et al. ( 2023 ) study and supported an elaborated dual-process model of unsubstantiated belief. The SSS was not only a substantial negative predictor, it was also negatively correlated with the Gullibility Scale, as expected.

These results suggest that both CT-related dispositions and CT skills are related to endorsement of unsubstantiated beliefs. However, a measure of general cognitive ability or intelligence must be examined along with measures of CT and unsubstantiated beliefs to determine if CT goes beyond intelligence to predict unsubstantiated beliefs. In one of the few studies that also included a measure of cognitive ability, Stahl and van Prooijen ( 2018 ) found that dispositional characteristics helped account for acceptance of conspiracies and paranormal belief beyond cognitive ability. Using the Importance of Rationality Scale (IRS), a rational–analytic scale designed to measure skepticism towards unsubstantiated beliefs, Stahl and van Prooijen ( 2018 ) found that the IRS was negatively correlated with paranormal belief and belief in conspiracy theories. In separate hierarchical regressions, cognitive ability was the strongest negative predictor of both paranormal belief and of conspiracy belief, but IRS scores in combination with cognitive ability negatively predicted endorsement of paranormal belief but did not significantly predict conspiracy theory belief. These results provided partial support that that a measure of rational–analytic cognitive style related to skeptical disposition added to the variance accounted for beyond cognitive ability in negatively predicting unsubstantiated belief.

In another study that included a measure of cognitive ability, Cavojova et al. ( 2019 ) examined how CT-related dispositions and the Scientific Reasoning Scale (SRS) were related to a measure of paranormal, pseudoscientific, and conspiracy theory beliefs. The SRS of Drummond and Fischhoff ( 2017 ) likely measures CT skill in that it measures the ability to evaluate scientific research and evidence. As expected, the unsubstantiated belief measure was negatively correlated with the SRS and a cognitive ability measure, similar to Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Unsubstantiated beliefs were positively correlated with dogmatism (the opposite of open-mindedness) but not with REI rational–analytic cognitive style. The SRS was a significant negative predictor of both unsubstantiated belief and susceptibility to bias beyond the contribution of cognitive ability, but neither dogmatism nor analytic thinking were significant predictors. Nevertheless, this study provides some support that a measure related to CT reasoning skill accounts for variance in unsubstantiated belief beyond cognitive ability.

The failure of this study to show a correlation between rational–analytic cognitive style and unsubstantiated beliefs, when some other studies have found significant correlations with it and related measures, has implications for the multidimensional assessment of unsubstantiated beliefs. One implication is that the REI rational–analytic scale may not be a strong predictor of unsubstantiated beliefs. In fact, we have recently found that the Scientific Skepticism Scale was a stronger negative predictor ( Bensley et al. 2022 ; Bensley et al. 2023 ), which also suggests that other measures related to rational–analytic thinking styles should be examined. This could help triangulate the contribution of self-report cognitive style measures to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims, recognizing that the use of self-report measures has a checkered history in psychological research. A second implication is that once again, measures of critical thinking skill and cognitive ability were negative predictors of unsubstantiated belief and so they, too, should be included in future assessments of unsubstantiated beliefs.

7. Discussion

This review provided different lines of evidence supporting the claim that CT goes beyond cognitive ability in accounting for certain real-world outcomes. Participants who think critically reported fewer problems in everyday functioning, not expected to befall critical thinkers. People who endorsed unsubstantiated claims less showed better CT skills, more accurate domain-specific knowledge, less susceptibility to thinking errors and bias, and were more disposed to think critically. More specifically, they tended to be more scientifically skeptical and adopt a more rational–analytic cognitive style. In contrast, those who endorsed them more tended to be more cynical and adopt an intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These characteristics go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. In some studies, the CT measures accounted for additional variance beyond the variance contributed by general cognitive ability.

That is not to say that measures of general cognitive ability are not useful. As noted by Gottfredson ( 2004 ), “g” is a highly successful predictor of academic and job performance. More is known about g and Gf than about many other psychological constructs. On average, g is closely related to Gf, which is highly correlated with working memory ( r = 0.70) and can be as high as r = 0.77 ( r 2 = 0.60) based on a correlated two-factor model ( Gignac 2014 ). Because modern working memory theory is, itself, a powerful theory ( Chai et al. 2018 ), this lends construct validity to the fluid intelligence construct. Although cognitive scientists have clearly made progress in understanding the executive processes underlying intelligence, they have not yet identified the specific cognitive components of intelligence ( Sternberg 2022 ). Moreover, theorists have acknowledged that intelligence must also include components beyond g, including domain-specific knowledge ( Ackerman 2022 ; Conway and Kovacs 2018 ) which are not yet clearly understood,

This review also pointed to limitations in the research that should be addressed. So far, not only have few studies of unsubstantiated beliefs included measures of intelligence, but they have also often used proxies for intelligence test scores, such as SAT scores. Future studies, besides using more and better measures of intelligence, could benefit from inclusion of more specifically focused measures, such as measures of Gf and Gc. Also, more research should be carried out to develop additional high-quality measures of CT, including ones that assess specific reasoning skills and knowledge relevant to thinking about a subject, which could help resolve perennial questions about the domain-general versus domain-specific nature of intelligence and CT. Overall, the results of this review encourage taking a multidimensional approach to investigating the complex constructs of intelligence, CT, and unsubstantiated belief. Supporting these recommendations were results of studies in which the improvement accrued from explicit CT skill instruction could be more fully understood when CT skills, relevant knowledge, CT dispositions, metacognitive monitoring accuracy, and a proxy for intelligence were used.

8. Conclusions

Critical thinking, broadly conceived, offers ways to understand real-world outcomes of thinking beyond what general cognitive ability can provide and intelligence tests test. A multi-dimensional view of CT which includes specific reasoning and metacognitive skills, CT dispositions, and relevant knowledge can add to our understanding of why some people endorse unsubstantiated claims more than others do, going beyond what intelligence tests test. Although general cognitive ability and domain-general knowledge often contribute to performance on CT tasks, thinking critically about real-world questions also involves applying rules, criteria, and knowledge which are specific to the question under consideration, as well as the appropriate dispositions and cognitive styles for deploying these.

Despite the advantages of taking this multidimensional approach to CT in helping us to more fully understand everyday thinking and irrationality, it presents challenges for researchers and instructors. It implies the need to assess and instruct multidimensionally, including not only measures of reasoning skills but also addressing thinking errors and biases, dispositions, the knowledge relevant to a task, and the accuracy of metacognitive judgments. As noted by Dwyer ( 2023 ), adopting a more complex conceptualization of CT beyond just skills is needed, but it presents challenges for those seeking to improve students’ CT. Nevertheless, the research reviewed suggests that taking this multidimensional approach to CT can enhance our understanding of the endorsement of unsubstantiated claims beyond what standardized intelligence tests contribute. More research is needed to resolve remaining controversies and to develop evidence-based applications of the findings.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This research involved no new testing of participants and hence did not require Institutional Review Board approval.

Informed Consent Statement

This research involved no new testing of participants and hence did not require an Informed Consent Statement.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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In Lund debate, panelists chart different paths to climate justice

By jonathan miller global cornell.

The years Rachel Bezner Kerr has spent reviewing the scientific literature on climate change has helped her understand how urgent the problem is – and “how interconnected it is with other social, economic and political problems.”

Rather than despair at those connections, she said, we can “see the climate change crisis as an opportunity to get multiple benefits from redesigning and changing the very nature of how we organize our societies.”

Bezner Kerr, Institute for African Development director and professor of global development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will moderate this year’s Lund Critical Debate from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Getting to Climate Justice: A Global Approach will be held on April 11, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Schwartz Auditorium in Rockefeller Hall. The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed by eCornell .

Kate Aronoff

Joshua Busby

The panelists – journalist Kate Aronoff and security expert Joshua Busby – look at climate justice issues through different lenses, Bezner Kerr said. They will join her for a wide-ranging conversation on how global efforts to respond to climate change can promote greater equity and make life better for the most vulnerable individuals, groups and nations.

Aronoff is a staff writer at The New Republic and the author of “Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet and How We Fight Back” (2021). Her writing focuses on the economic and political drivers of climate change and how civil society can influence the climate agenda.

A proponent of the Green New Deal, she decries the close relationship between the U.S. government and the fossil fuel industry and criticizes international processes that claim to address climate change while leaving the structures that produce it intact. She has called out rich nations for setting double standards in global climate negotiations and not doing their share to cut emissions or fund needed programs.

Busby is professor of public affairs in the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. His research focuses on the connections between climate change, global health, transnational advocacy movements and U.S. foreign policy. Busby served as senior adviser for climate at the U.S. Department of Defense from 2021 to 2023.

In his latest book, “States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security” (2022), Busby argues that climate change is most likely to trigger conflict and humanitarian emergencies in countries that have weak state capacity, political institutions that exclude minorities and other disadvantaged groups and foreign assistance that is blocked or delivered unevenly.

Like climate change itself, climate justice must be tackled at multiple levels, said Bezner Kerr, coordinating lead author for the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report chapter on climate change impacts and adaptation of food systems. Some issues, she said, such as migration, may be best handled by international bodies. Others, like housing and transportation, require local action. Governments, multilateral agencies, civil society and universities must all play a part.

Bezner Kerr agrees with the IPCC’s conclusion that inclusive policymaking processes are more likely to address the needs of the most vulnerable populations. She said she looks forward to hearing the panelists’ proposals and hopes “people walk away from the conversation feeling like there is hope – that there are good ideas out there and that we can’t give up.”

The Einaudi Center’s annual Lund Critical Debate gathers experts in international affairs to deliberate on pressing issues in world news and public policy. The series is made possible through the generosity of Judith Lund Biggs ’57.

Jonathan Miller is a freelance writer for Global Cornell.

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UMass Amherst Launches New Hub for Critical Tech and Global Studies

With the guiding principle of “Beyond Borders, Bits and Biases,” UMass Amherst recently launched the Global Technology for Social Justice (GloTech) Lab to explore tech innovation, design and activism beyond Silicon Valley in favor of comparative analysis and trust network-building across institutions, disciplines, countries and regions.

Founded with the help of a UMass Large-Scale Integrative Research Award (LIRA), and home to interdisciplinary projects and research-network grants supported by Luminate , the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the National Science Foundation , GloTech charts out a globally minded and community-driven approach to critical tech studies.

The lab will host its first public event, “ GloTech Lab presents Meet the Funders ,” on Friday, March 29 from 1-3 p.m. in Room N345 of the Integrative Learning Center and via Zoom . Christine Leuenberger of the National Science Foundation, Molly Laas of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Media and Democracy Program and Catalina Vallejo of SSRC’s Just Tech Program will discuss the challenges and opportunities for sustainable research funding for global and critical tech studies. Researchers and graduate students will hear about relevant research grants and fellowship funding opportunities. More information is available by emailing [email protected] .

GloTech’s official launch event April 18-19 will feature a workshop entitled “Empowering Election Integrity in the Global Majority.” The event will bring together 50 academics, civil-society leaders and journalists monitoring global elections around the world including Brazil, India, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States. The primary objective of the event is to reflect on opportunities of building transnational solidarities in the tech+democracy space, with a special focus on South-to-South knowledge exchange spaces .

GloTech’s inaugural director is Jonathan Corpus Ong , an associate professor of global digital media at UMass Amherst and an Andrew Carnegie Fellow . The lab’s leadership team includes research lead Burcu Baykurt , assistant professor of urban futures and communication; community lead Seyram Avle , associate professor of global digital media; public communications lead Weiai “Wayne” Xu , associate professor of communication; postdoctoral researcher of race and digital politics Jane Pyo ; and strategic partnerships lead Martha Fuentes-Bautista , senior lecturer of communication. They are supported by an expert team of senior and graduate fellows spanning a range of disciplines, from communication and computer science to journalism and public policy.

Those interested in learning more can sign up for GloTech’s newsletter and follow the lab on Instagram .

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Business Analyst Career Guide: What You Should Know

Companies and organizations across all industries rely on knowledgeable business analysts to help them make informed business decisions. If you are interested in a career path that allows you to put your critical thinking and analytical skills to use, then working as a business analyst could be an ideal fit. As modern businesses continue to evolve and collect more data than ever, the need for business analysts to derive valuable insights from that data will continue to increase by 10% (more detail below).

The University of Minnesota's certificate in business analysis is a great starting point for those interested in a business analyst career. This fully online program can be completed in as little as three months and provides the foundation you need to identify key business metrics, confidently analyze financial data, and develop actionable insights to drive business growth.

Still wondering whether a career in a business analyst role is right for you? With a better understanding of the key responsibilities of a business analyst, as well as the skills required and growth opportunities available, you can more confidently decide if this is the path best suited to your professional goals.

Core Responsibilities of a Business Analyst

What exactly is a business analyst, and what do these professionals do as part of their daily work? Specifically, a business analyst is a professional who helps a business, company, or organization make data-driven decisions.

The exact roles of somebody in this position can vary significantly, depending on the given industry and company by which an analyst is employed. However, some of the most common business analyst responsibilities include:

making sense of large amounts of data (including data visualization) using any number of data analysis techniques and business analyst tools.
identifying problems and issues within a business and proposing solutions.
communicating results and findings to others within a business.
forecasting potential outcomes of business decisions.
aligning business activities and decisions with the overall company goals and mission.
collaborating with developers and other team members.

Business analysts also tend to be responsible for leading and spearheading special projects within a company, especially during periods of transition or change. During these times, business analysts have a particularly important responsibility to carry out responsible change management while effectively collaborating with and coaching other team members.

Skill Set Required for Business Analysts

To execute common business analyst responsibilities, these professionals must possess several technical and soft skills as well. On the technical side of things, business analysts need to be proficient in various different tools and programs employed in data analysis (such as PowerBI or SAS). Proficiency in database software would serve business analysts well in this type of role.

Other skills business analysts should have include:

Mind mapping
SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis
PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental) analysis
Wireframing to communicate vision for a product
Use of a customer relationship management system

In addition to hard skills, business analysts must possess some soft skills that are crucial to success on the job. For example, business analysts need strong cross-functional team collaboration skills, meaning they should be able to work independently while remaining team players. Likewise, solid problem-solving skills go a long way in this line of work, as business analysts are constantly identifying problems and brainstorming ways to solve them for the sake of the business.

Last but not least, effective communication and people skills come in handy. Whether presenting findings to higher-ups or being able to "translate" complex jargon into novice terms, verbal and written communication are a must in the business analyst field.

Industries and Sectors Hiring Business Analysts

Businesses across all industries require skilled and knowledgeable business analysts. To make sense of increasing quantities of data and use it to make sound business decisions, companies are turning to strategic business planning professionals and business analysts.

This is perhaps particularly true in industries where data collection has seen an increase in recent years. Examples of these include manufacturing and transportation. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 35 percent of business analysts or management analysts work in professional, scientific, and technical services. From there, the most common industries hiring these professionals include:

Government (17 percent)
Finance and insurance (12 percent)
Management of companies and enterprises (4 percent)

It is worth noting, too, that an estimated 14 percent of business analysts are self-employed, meaning they may work as independent contractors for any number of private clients.

Career Path and Growth Opportunities

So, how do you get started working as a business analyst, and what does the typical progression look like in this career? In most cases, businesses prefer hiring candidates with at least a bachelor's degree in business or a related field. From there, having additional credentials (such as a certificate in business analysis) could help you stand out from other job applicants while potentially qualifying you for more jobs in the field.

According to the BLS, the median business/management analyst salary in 2022 was $95,290 per year , with the highest 10 percent of earners in this field making more than $167,650. Meanwhile, the demand for these professionals continues to rise, with the projected job outlook expected to grow by 10 percent between 2022 and 2032 alone. That's much faster than the national average for all occupations.

Impact of Technology on Business Analysis

There's no denying the role evolving technology plays in the business analyst profession. In many ways, innovations in technology and software are making the job of the business analyst easier in the sense that data can be more readily processed, analyzed, interpreted, and even visualized. At the same time, however, the role of the business analyst has become progressively complex with these new advancements as the ability to collect more and more data has risen. Today, business analysts are expected to work with a greater volume of data than ever before—so knowing how to use the latest software and tools to process and analyze data is a must.

Networking and Professional Development

Even with the necessary credentials and skills, aspiring business analysts also need to be committed to networking and professional development if they seek success in this career path. As is the case in numerous industries, encountering opportunities for growth and advancement in business analysis is very much about who you know. Going out of your way to build professional connections could help improve career prospects down the road.

The same applies to ongoing professional development. To stay ahead of the latest advancements and innovations in this dynamic field, business analysts need to be proactive about learning new skills and staying on top of change. With this in mind, a lifelong commitment to learning and growing is a must if you want to find success as a business analyst.

Learn More, Today

Working as a business analyst could be a rewarding career path for those who enjoy making sense of vast sets of data while making a real difference when it comes to strategic business planning and business process optimization.

Whether you are looking to develop business analyst skills or in need of formal business analyst certificate to take your career to the next level, the University of Minnesota's Business Analysis Certificate could help you achieve your goals. With courses developed in alignment with the Guide to Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK™), we are proud to be an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) with the IIBA®.

To learn more about our online business analysis certificate, reach out to our team. If you're ready to get the ball rolling, you can also enroll today.

Additional Sources

Business Analyst Career Path: What's the Trajectory? (Forage)
Business Analyst Career Explained (Villanova University)
What Does a Business Analyst Do? An Overview of Roles and Responsibilities (Indeed)

20 Educational Paths to Jump-Start Your Entrepreneur Career

Seven Reasons to Get a BA Certificate

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What Is Global Studies?
After all, the critical thinking framing of global studies creates a special obligation for all scholars working in the field to listen to and take seriously internal and external criticisms with the intention of correcting existing shortcomings, illuminating blind spots, and avoiding theoretical pitfalls and dead ends. ...
What is Global Studies: Careers, Skills, and Trends
Critical thinking. Global studies professionals need to be able to look at the "big picture" and how it affects specific countries and communities. "Practitioners need to have a big vision as well as the ability to dive into small details and be able to apply both to solve problems," Creed says.
GLOBAL 102
Critical Thinking in Global Studies GLOBAL 102 Critical Thinking in Global Studies Required prerequisite: Class #: 23840 Units/Credit: 4 Time/Location: Tu 2:00-5:00pm - 174 Barrows Final Exam Group: 2 - Monday, 5/11/2020 - 11:30am-2:30pm Instructor: Peter Bartu This course, required for students in the Global Studies major, will teach students to identify and evaluate arguments, […]
Reflections on "Critical Thinking" in Global Studies
Reflections on "Critical Thinking" in Global Studies. January 2016. ProtoSociology 33:19-40. DOI: 10.5840/protosociology2016332. Authors: Manfred B. Steger. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Global Studies < University of California, Berkeley
Critical Thinking In Global Studies: Read Less [-] GLOBAL H102 Honors Methodology and Theory 4 Units. Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Required prerequisite for all students intending to enroll in GLOBAL H195. Course provides an introduction to interdisciplinary research strategies for the collection, interpretation, and analysis ...
PDF GLOBAL STUDIES
Take a methodology class such as GLOBAL 102: Critical Thinking in Global Studies. See Appendix C of the Global Studies Handbook for a complete methodology course list. Complete lower division prerequisites and declare the major. Review major guidelines for study abroad and look into programs in Global and International Studies.
What Is Global Studies?
What is Global Studies, and how does it relate to globalization? Responding to this frequently asked question, Manfred B. Steger and Amentahru Wahlrab provide. ... transdisciplinarity, space and time, and critical thinking. The book, with instructive appendix materials, will appeal to readers seeking a deeper understanding of Global Studies ...
Global Studies Major
GLOBAL 10B: Critical Issues in Global Studies. ECON 1 or 2: Introduction to Economics, Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy; ... Critical Thinking Class/Methodology. We strongly suggest that you take GLOBAL 102 (IAS 102) in your sophomore or very early in your junior year. This class provides a foundation for how to engage and ...
(PDF) What is global studies?
After all, the critical thinking framing of global studies creates a special obligation for all scholars working in the field to listen to and take seriously internal and external criticisms with ...
What is global studies?: Theory and practice
Global Studies offers critical transdisciplinary curriculums that embrace the sciences and humanities, adding unique global perspectives that in very substantive ways help counter the spread of ...
PDF Global Studies (GLOBAL)
GLOBAL 102 Critical Thinking In Global Studies 4 Units Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 This course, required for students in the Global Studies major, will teach students to identify and evaluate arguments, explain conflicting evidence, course. 4 Units. More [+]
Global Studies
Summary. A review of introductory international relations, international studies, and global studies textbooks reveals that each field defines itself differently: one in terms of its central focus on the diplomatic and strategic relations of states, the second more broadly by including transnational transactions of all kinds, and the third focusing on globalization as both an object of ...
Bridging critical thinking and transformative learning: The role of
In recent decades, approaches to critical thinking have generally taken a practical turn, pivoting away from more abstract accounts - such as emphasizing the logical relations that hold between statements (Ennis, 1964) - and moving toward an emphasis on belief and action.According to the definition that Robert Ennis (2018) has been advocating for the last few decades, critical thinking is ...
What is Critical in Critical Global Studies?
The Critical Global Studies Institute (CGSI) has been based at Sogang University since 2016. Like its counterparts at institutions elsewhere, it was established in part to rescue the humanities and social sciences from the nation, offering a global outlook on humans, society, and the environment.
PDF Global Perspectives and Research (GPR)
dispositions relating to critical thinking and enquiry. It provides students with the opportunity to place their personal perspectives in a global context, finding new inspiration and challenges for their studies, and in so doing equips them with the skills required to make a success of their subsequent studies at university.
Does College Teach Critical Thinking? A Meta-Analysis
The actual effects of college on global critical thinking remain unclear. First, there is disagreement about the magnitude of critical thinking gains over the course of college. ... The sample of studies measuring critical thinking skills included approximately 16,185 longitudinal participants 2 and 9,392 cross-sectional participants. The ...
What Is Global Studies? Theory & Practice
Linking the influential arguments of major thinkers in Global Studies to their own framework, the authors discuss the "Four Pillars of Global Studies": globalization, transdisciplinarity, space and time, and critical thinking. The book, with instructive appendix materials, will appeal to readers seeking a deeper understanding of Global Studies ...
The Critical Global Citizen
(University C, Global Studies) Clinical placements in a culturally diverse location also allow the students to meet the competency standards for the registered nurse in the areas of culture, health, professional communication , legal and ethical practice, critical thinking and teamwork and leadership. (University R, Nursing )
Field studies: inspiring critical-thinking global citizens
We report exemplar field studies, our lessons learned, practical guidance, and links between students' field-study experiences and their development as global citizens. We regard the field study as a promising practice that can suit most any school if educators consider the diverse characteristics and needs of their learning communities.
Improving Social Studies Students' Critical Thinking
The ability to think critically along with an awareness of local and global issues have been identified as important competencies that could benefit students as they journey through life in the 21st century (Voogt and Roblin 2012).Social studies, as a subject discipline, could serve as a conducive environment for the development of such competencies because it not only aims to equip students ...
The assessment of students' creative and critical thinking skills in
studies have focused on the assessment of critical thinking. Studies often report low to moderate gains of higher education for critical thinking despite the importance given to this skill in the general discourse (Bok, 2006 [3]; Arum and Roksa, 2011 [4]; Sadler, 2016 [5]; Huber and Kuncel, 2016 [6]
Global critical thinking survey: The results
According to a survey by the Times Education Supplement, 85% of teachers worldwide feel their students don't have the critical thinking skills they need when they start university. The ability to think clearly and rationally and engage in independent and reflective thinking, empowers students to form their own opinions and make better choices.
Cultivating students' critical consciousness through global citizenship
This article conceptualizes Global Citizenship Education (GCE) as a liberating and dynamic journey of consciousness-mobilization that supports students' critical thinking about how they can contribute to social justice. The authors' conceptualization of GCE for critical consciousness is entrenched in the work of Paulo Freire. It is political because it is meant to shape the learner into an ...
Critical Thinking, Intelligence, and Unsubstantiated Beliefs: An
A review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. ... those who believe the false conspiracy theory that human-caused global warming is a hoax likely fail to respond adaptively to this serious global ... numerous studies now show ...
In Lund debate, panelists chart different paths to climate justice
The Einaudi Center's annual Lund Critical Debate gathers experts in international affairs to deliberate on pressing issues in world news and public policy. The series is made possible through the generosity of Judith Lund Biggs '57. Jonathan Miller is a freelance writer for Global Cornell.
UMass Amherst Launches New Hub for Critical Tech and Global Studies
GloTech's official launch event April 18-19 will feature a workshop entitled "Empowering Election Integrity in the Global Majority." The event will bring together 50 academics, civil-society leaders and journalists monitoring global elections around the world including Brazil, India, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States.
PAHO drives evidence-generation on the burden of influenza through
Aligned with global strategies, the analyses aimed to generate data for vaccination impact studies, feed potential cost-effectiveness analyses and enhance national pandemic readiness. Objectives included producing national and regional estimates of respiratory hospitalizations and mortality associated with COVID-19 and updating influenza ...
Business Analysts Help Make Data-Driven Decisions
If you are interested in a career path that allows you to put your critical thinking and analytical skills to use, then working as a business analyst could be an ideal fit. As modern businesses continue to evolve and collect more data than ever, the need for business analysts to derive valuable insights from that data will continue to increase ...