Global Minds. Debating global justice in a critical and interdisciplinary way.

This course offers a critical introduction to global challenges and debates on global justice from different scientific disciplines. It focuses on the interaction between science and society and allows students from different scientific backgrounds to reflect critically and ethically on the international and global dimensions of their own discipline and work field.

The course promotes critical reflection on and critical engagement with global challenges and an ethical relationship to difference, complexity and power asymmetries. It does so by addressing unequal power relations in historical and contemporary processes of globalization, highlighting multiple scientific and societal perspectives, with special attention to perspectives from the global South.

The four selected themes are covered by lecturers from different faculties and disciplines. Thematic modules start with an introductory lecture, followed by group work. The aim is to set-up group discussions and portfolio-assignments around each of the respective modules.

Students are expected to participate in an active way. Individually as well as in group, they will be encouraged to reflect on their discipline and their personal position towards the themes discussed. This includes a preliminary task before each response class (e.g. watch a documentary, listen to a podcast, read a text) and post a topic on the discussion forum. During the two weeks after the response class students work in groups on a specific case. The final output for each theme can vary (e.g. blogpost, interview, video, …)

Themes 2022-23

Themes and lectures in academic year 2022-2023 are:

Climate change & environmental justice – Pascal Boeckx (FBW), Amaury Frankl (FWE)
Global health & reproductive justice – Ines Keygnaert (FGE), Bruno Levecke (FDI)
Transnationalism, migration & mobility justice – Ine Lietaert (FPPW), Ellen Desmet (FRE)
Markets, commons & economic justice – Bart Defloor (FEB), Eric Vanhaute (FLW)

For whom?

This course is a Ghent University Elective Course and can be taken by any student at Ghent University from the third bachelor onwards. The course can be taken as an elective in your study program or with a separate credit contract. This course is taught in English, which makes it possible for exchange students to take up this course.

This course explicitly aims to bring together insights from diverse disciplines and to profit from these insights as learning opportunities. Consequently, we take into account background and previous studies when dividing the students into groups.

Program 2022-23

Classes take place in the second semester, on Tuesdays from 17h to 20 h (campus UFO, Technicum 1. -3.1, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent)

Introduction

Eric Vanhaute (FLW)

Tuesday 14/02/2022: response lecture

Climate change & environmental justice

Pascal Boeckx (FBW), Amaury Frankl (FWE)

Tuesday 21/02/2022: response lecture
Tuesday 28/02/2022: guided group work
Friday 10/03/2022: deadline group work

Global health & reproductive justice

Ines Keygnaert (FGE), Bruno Levecke (FDI)

Tuesday 14/03/2022: response lecture
Tuesday 21/03/2022: guided group work
Friday 31/03/2022: deadline group work

Transnationalism, migration & mobility justice

Ine Lietaert (FPPW), Ellen Desmet (FRE)

Tuesday 18/04/2022: response lecture
Tuesday 25/04/2022: guided group work
Friday 5/05/2022: deadline group work

Markets, commons & economic justice

Bart Defloor (FEB), Eric Vanhaute (FLW)

Tuesday 2/05/2022: response lecture
Tuesday 9/05/2022: guided group work
Friday 19/05/2022: deadline group work

Contact

Eric Vanhaute, lecturer-in-charge

Leen Van Gijsel, tutor

Please send all questions to leen.vangijsel@ugent.be.