The Global Commerce major explores the globalized nature of modern commerce—the exchange of goods, services, information, and currency, both for-profit and non-profit. The major provides an interdisciplinary examination of globalization and its relationship to markets, exchange, and organizational cultures.
Language study at least to the intermediate level is fundamental to the Global Commerce major. When students declare the GC major, they must identify their language of study to ensure that they will be in a position to use their developing language skills as they progress through the major. In addition to this language facility, throughout their GC major experience, students develop sophisticated analytical skills in assessing and engaging in a globalized society.
To that end, the major is built around 8 courses required of all majors: 5 “Commerce Core” courses that are unique to Denison as well as ECON 101 - Introductory Macroeconomics, ECON 102 - Introductory Microeconomics, and MATH 120 - Elements of Statistics. In the introductory GC 101 - Commerce and Society, students explore the relationships between commerce and society in different times and places, through a variety of humanities and social science lenses. In GC 200 - Global Focus Proposal for Global Commerce, sophomore majors design a “Global Focus” that will allow them to develop a deep understanding of a particular geographic area by studying its culture, history, social and political context, and language(s). The goal of this global focus is not to make the GC major a specialist in one region of the world but, rather, to develop their capacity to adapt to working in any global region by knowing what kinds of information are required to operate effectively in an unfamiliar society.
GC 200 - Global Focus Proposal for Global Commerce is paired with GC 201 - Elements of Commerce, which exposes students to a core of applied skills related to the areas of commerce, business, global organizations, and entrepreneurship (i.e., skills related to multiple workplace environments) and fosters students’ understanding of how the liberal arts underpin and support these skills. Junior majors take GC 301 - Global Financial Markets, in which they examine the dynamics of global markets, market regulation, and financial institutions. GC 401 - Global Commerce Senior Seminar, the senior capstone course, requires students to articulate and apply their accumulated knowledge from their Global Commerce major experiences, both inside and outside the classroom, in part by producing a final semester-long, team-based assignment in which they create a team plan, collect and analyze data, and craft a proposal for a global commerce-related initiative. In addition to working with experienced and dedicated Denison faculty, these courses offer GC majors opportunities to interact with visiting speakers, including alumni and Columbus-area professionals, in conversations about the dynamics and challenges of globalized commerce.
In combination with our robust GC co-curricular program, these courses offer GC majors opportunities to interact with visiting speakers, including alumni and Columbus-area professionals, in conversations about the dynamics and challenges of globalized commerce.
Learning goals for the Global Commerce major include the development of an advanced understanding of the complex ways in which the economy and trade are connected to culture, social movements, and other global factors; immersion in the study of a particular geographic area—or the connections between multiple regions for the transregional option—emphasizing the study of culture, history, social context, and language; building well-developed cultural fluency skills, including intermediate-level facility with at least one foreign language; the development of a sound understanding of the elements of commerce, including familiarity with basic aspects of financial accounting, spreadsheet proficiency, business language and etiquette, and business ethics; the development of student creativity and autonomy in creating a meaningful and coherent global focus or transregional option; the integration of a significant off-campus experience with the curricular study of commerce and cultural context; and the development of a supportive and engaged student cohort in the major.