1.10: How to Approach Global Studies

Learning Objectives

• Learn how to approach global studies through multiple disciplines

Does one need to be a Global Studies major to be in a Global Studies class? Not at all! Indeed, the wonderful feature about Global Studies courses is that students in any major can take them. Global Studies has its roots in several disciplines, most notably economics and business, political science and international relations, history, sociology and cultural anthropology, and educational psychology. This gives the field a wide perspective. Yet Global Studies is not limited to just its origins in these fields. Scholars, researchers, students, and even casual readers from all corners of the world can become involved. For example, if globalization is about growing interconnectivity, both at the global dimension and in the local context, those in the environmental sciences, biology, and medicine are also part of this Global Studies discourse. To illustrate, environmental scientists and biologists are interested in the effect of human behavior on ecosystems and on the biosphere. Whereas, medical researchers care deeply about the global effects of subjects such as disease. We can see this connection to Global Studies with the recent spread of COVID-19 (covered in Chapter 9). By March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, or an epidemic that has extended its reach across numerous nations or continents. This distinction of whether COVID-19 was a pandemic or an epidemic goes back to the previous discussion of transnational versus global and highlights why it matters for research and analysis.

We can borrow Choi and Pak’s (2006) discussion from health research to explain how Global Studies can involve many different disciplines, not only concurrently, where researchers study the same phenomenon, but also collectively, where the research may be collaborative. Choi and Pak offer three approaches to understanding global research, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. These three terms are helpful as they describe varying levels of involvement that may occur on the same continuum. First, Global Studies is inherently multidisciplinary. This is when professors incorporate multiple perspectives, concepts, frameworks, and methodological approaches to study complex global phenomena. We can say that a multidisciplinary approach is additive, where different disciplines are brought together to answer a research question. Second, Global Studies is interdisciplinary. This is when researchers align connections across disciplines to create a unified and cohesive field of study. We can say that an interdisciplinary approach is interactive, where elements of various disciplines are combined to answer a research question. Finally, Global Studies is transdisciplinary. This is when scholars embed a perspective, concept, framework, or methodological approach from one discipline into another. We can say that a transdisciplinary approach is holistic, where conventional boundaries between disciplines are removed to answer a research question.

These approaches to Global Studies can help us when reading about various global issues, problems, and challenges. For example, in Chapter 8, we delve into global food disruption and hunger and ask, why in a connected world, do some people still go hungry? As the world economy is now valued at over $100 trillion, this is an excellent question to ask. Maybe the best approach is to understand global hunger through a multidisciplinary perspective where different disciplines are incorporated. Thus, we may look at the economics of global food distribution based on market principles, such as supply and demand. We could then add an analysis of the geopolitics between countries, as allies tend to favor each other in trade. Finally, we could add in a sociological perspective as societies tastes in food shift over time. Thus, each dimension of globalization is seen as additive. A multidisciplinary approach could best be understood as 1+1+1=3.

In keeping with the theme of global hunger, an interdisciplinary approach would align connections across disciplines to provide a more cohesive response. For example, we would combine the political and economic dimensions to discuss the political-economy of global hunger. Political economy focuses on the interaction between the state and the market and the institutions that are produced by this interaction. Given that the discussion of hunger is at the global level, we can refer to this as International Political Economy (IPE) (Friedan, Lake, and Broz, 2017). An interdisciplinary approach could be best expressed as 2x2=4. We are not simply adding in new disciplines, we are creating a new frame of reference to examine the problem. 

Finally, a transdisciplinary approach would embed a perspective, concept, framework, or methodological tool. This is a holistic approach, where conventional boundaries between disciplines are removed to create a more unified approach or even a new field of studies. Continuing our example, we could refer to this new field as global hunger studies, which would have its own discourse and measurements. For example, the International Food Policy Research Institute has created a Global Hunger Index (GHI), where they try to measure and track hunger at all levels. A transdisciplinary approach is understood as (2x2)+1=5. The equation is getting more complex, has more moving parts, and can help us come to a conclusion that may be markedly different if we had only simply added in other viewpoints, or continued to use their established measurements. The GHI was developed as a transdisciplinary tool and has been effective in informing global policymakers. It is subdivided into three parts. The first part examines inadequate food supply as an important indicator of hunger. The second component involves child mortality, which is measured by looking at the death rate of children under the age of five. The third part includes two overlapping dimensions: wasting and stunting. Taken together this data can help policymakers decide where best to direct their resources. The topic of global hunger is further discussed in Chapter 8.

Figure 1.4.1: The Global Hunger Index created by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The index measures and tracks hunger at all levels. (Source: Global Hunger Index by International Food Policy Research Institute is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND-4.0)

Notice that the summation increases with each approach. This is because each approach deepens the analysis. A multidisciplinary approach, that is additive, should be the initial step, where the incorporation of various perspectives will provide a comprehensive overview. This then should be accompanied by an interdisciplinary study, where various disciplines interact to provide a stronger framework from which to analyze the topic. The final step then is the transdisciplinary approach, where a holistic, unified approach would provide the deepest analysis. In creating a new subfield, students and scholars can begin to specialize in the subject, bringing new research and expertise to global problems. Table 1.4.1 below summarizes the three approaches to Global Studies.

Table 1.4.1: Approaching Global Studies

Approach to Global Studies	Action	Effect	Example
Multidiscplinary	Incorporate	Additive	1+1+1=3
Interdisciplinary	Align	Interactive	2x2=4
Transdisciplinary	Embed	Holistic	(2x2)+1=5

Another good example is the concept of intersectionality, or how various systems of inequality can converge to create distinct and intertwined outcomes. These systems include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, and disability. Global Studies scholars recognize the importance of intersectionality when it comes to the discussions of the processes and impacts of globalization. Thus, intersectionality can be researched from a multidisciplinary perspective, where scholars seek to incorporate perspectives and experiences from each system. This would include bringing together scholars, researchers and practitioners from various disciplines, such as sociology, gender studies, political science, law, and social justice to explore the relationships between the fields, with an eye towards collaboration.

The term intersectionality was introduced and developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor law at the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Crenshaw contended that the analysis of multiple systems of oppression was necessary to understand how members of any group are affected by their simultane­ous positions of disadvantage and privilege. Crenshaw had criticized a series of legal cases where judges were treating Black women solely as women or solely as Black. These legal practices consistently overlooked the unique challenges faced by Black women as a distinct group. Intersectionality theory became mainstream in the late 2010s with the Women's March, where demonstrators marching for social justice recognized the additional barriers that women of color faced. Crenshaw's work is a good example of intersectionality as interdisciplinary as the effect of being both Black and a woman is interactive, meaning that any potential disadvantages could be greater than if the person was solely Black or solely a woman.

Ritzer and Dean (2022) contend that at some level, all people in the world could in theory be seen as being enmeshed in a "matrix of oppression". A person's gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, social class, and the region of the world (Global North or South) where they live in could disadvantage them. The authors refer to these as "vectors of oppression" and use them to explain how discrimination can vary from one location to another. A matrix of oppression could be considered a transdisciplinary approach, where a new methodological tool is employed to better understand the effects and impacts of intersectionality. Indeed, a new scholarship, that of intersectionality studies has begun evolving. A good example is the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at the Columbia School of Law, which "serve(s) as a global focal point for the development, articulation, and application of intersectionality as both a theoretical framework and a cogent practice in law, human rights, and social justice advocacy."

Another good example of intersectionality theory that allows researchers to understand the disadvantages of particular groups of people throughout the world is that of refugees, or people that flee a country for fear of persecution. While refugees all share the same experience of having fled their country, not all refugees are treated the same. Being a refugee from Syria is different from being a refugee from Ukraine. Syrians are from the Middle East, whereas Ukrainians are from Eastern Europe. While both groups have escaped conflict, the plight of Ukrainian refugees is often framed more in humanitarian language in comparison to Syrian refugees, who are framed more in securitization language, where they are described as being potential national security threats (el-Nawawy and Elmasry, 2024). Additionally, women refugees from both Syria and Ukraine faced challenges not encountered by their male counterparts. Women refugees often face more pressure to secure their families' basic needs and well-being. This makes it harder for refugee women to integrate socially and economically. The flexibility of intersectionality theories and frameworks, whether through multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary approach, makes it quite useful in Global Studies.

Global Studies is not about “the globe” as a monolith, but about uncovering the interconnected patchwork of flows, infrastructures, cultures, and policies that transcend borders. Through nuanced, underexamined examples such as —Nagoro’s life-size dolls, oceanic seaweed blooms, edible insects, fiber-optic arteries, artisanal pottery in Mali—we confront how globalization is plural, embodied, and deeply uneven.

For students stepping into Global Studies, the invitation is to see the unseen: to question what is omitted by mainstream narratives, to document how small-scale actors and local ecologies both shape and are shaped by global systems. Global Studies becomes a kind of deciphering practice—decoding the hidden wires, the quiet resistances, and the everyday globalities that animate our connected yet unequal world.