Leiden University College: Liberal Arts and Sciences (Global Challenges)

Whether your interests are in questions of international justice, world politics, diversity and integration, health and the environment, climate change and alternative energy strategies, or decision-making processes and human security, there is a major at LUC for you!Human Diversity: Culture, History and SocietyToday, globalization makes us all aware of how closely we are connected to, and often dependent upon, the actions of people who are far distant from us. Human migration and economic liberalization have transformed local communities, bringing the seemingly “distant” into close proximity. Given these developments, how can we devise ways to share resources and negotiate conflicts— without succumbing to fear, xenophobia, racism, or violence? How can we understand the origins and consequences of human differences, be they defined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or any number of other factors?The Human Diversity:Culture, History, Society major draws insights from the humanities and social sciences in order to help you address the global challenge of living together in peace and equitably in socially diverse communities.International JusticeHome to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and, The Hague is the perfect backdrop to explore conceptions of justice in our global society. Justice issues related to human rights, peace, security and the environment present legal and policy challenges for governmental and non-governmental actors, international institutions, and civil society that extend beyond national borders and single disciplines. In this major, students learn to look beyond the “law in the books” by placing laws and norms in context, and by analyzing how they operate in practice through comparative and interdisciplinary approaches.World PoliticsIn the World Politics major we examine interactions between states and between sates and non-state actors, including multinational corporations, nongovernmental organisations, civil societies, diasporas and armed groups. We start from the assumption that political inter-group conflict is a key driver of these interactions, which can escalate into armed conflicts, or could be managed, resolved and transformed into better cooperation.The major is organised into four tracks, each of which contains courses examining a different aspect of World Politics:International Relations and Diplomacy focuses on the political interactions between states and examines how governments pursue their interests using the key tools of statecraft, including diplomacy, trade, and war;Globalization and Transnational Politics explores social movements and other non-state actors that transcend borders, cooperating with the state system or challenging it;Peace and Conflict Studies examines in more detail inter-group conflicts of various types, why they emerge and escalate, and how they can be resolved;International History studies aspects of the human past that transcend any single nation-state, empire or politically-bound territory.Earth, Energy and SustainabilityAt the start of the 20th century there were fewer than 2 billion people. Now at 7 billion, Earth’s population is on target to reach 8 billion by 2027. How has this dramatic increase in human population impacted Earth’s life support systems and natural resources? What is sustainability? How do we achieve a sustainable society? These are very big questions and very complex topics to cover. The Earth, Energy and Sustainability major operates at the forefront of the field of environmental sciences, with a balance between understanding key concepts within a classroom setting, and applying the gained knowledge in real-life situations. This major is focused on Ecosystem, Earth systems and Resource Management.Global Public HealthDespite tremendous advances in the past decades in medicine, education, and food production, public health remains a major global concern. Global Public Health is an ideal major for students interested in health problems attributed to social and cultural inequality, health care access, migration and demographic change, epidemics, natural disasters and environmental change. The goal of the Global Public Health major at LUC is for you to develop a theoretical and applied understanding of the causes and risk factors associated with public health problems, ranging from community to global scales.Governance, Economics and DevelopmentWrenching poverty, global inequality, violent political and ethnic strife, deadlocked unresponsive or even collapsing governments, growing dissatisfaction with democracy and missed opportunities forinnovation – these are merely some of the challenges of governance and development with which our programme aims to teach students to critically engage. The Governance, Economics, and Development major brings together knowledge from multiple disciplines to train you to begin your own journey to understanding the origins, challenges in alleviating, and possible solutions to these challenges.