By Mike Specht
Staff Writer
St. Bonaventure students will now be able to study the world in a new way. The International Studies department has recently created a minor, just in time for registration.
Guy Imhoff, director of the international studies committee, believes the minor will attract students who are interested in studying the world, but who don’t plan on becoming experts on foreign studies.
“It’s for people who don’t have the time for the full major,” Imhoff said. “For students who have an interest in internalization, globalization, but not studying it in-depth like a major.”
Imhoff believes minoring in international studies will also appeal to students who major in political science or history, among others.
“Students in language, political science or history who are interested in an international aspect could minor,” he said. “Even those in sociology could use international studies to study topics like world health or anything related to the world.”
The international studies minor consists of 21 credit hours, and unlike the major, it does not require a thesis.
Students also choose a specific area of the world they want to study, including Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Trans-Atlantic. All students are required to take Introduction to International Studies (IS 101), as well as a language class pertaining to the area of study and three additional classes about that region of the world.
The international study minor, although available to students now, is not yet in the catalog for the spring semester.
Emily Manchester, a freshman Spanish major, recently added an international studies minor, with a concentration in Latin America. Manchester said she believes the courses will be useful in the future.
“The classes that I’m in are interesting, particularly Modern Languages 300,” Manchester said. “It’s about communication in between cultures and interacting with different people and different cultures.”
Manchester believes the minor will aid her in future career goals. She hopes to one day work with immigrants and help them assimilate into American culture.
Imhoff said declaring a minor is highly beneficial to students.
“It’s important to have minors, in order to satisfy an interest, and (it) allows students to extend their studies from a major,” Imhoff said.
