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Fall 2002, Volume 44, Number 4
Global Vision

by Janet Zink

Globalization has been a buzz word for years, but it was the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States that turned what was a hum into a scream. Never has it been more apparent that Americans need to carefully consider how they interact with the rest of the world. The Internet, international corporations and the constant movement of people have blurred the lines between countries, creating interdependence in everything from economics to entertainment. Whether or not this is good or bad is a subject for heated debate. But globalization is here, even if the word isn't in most dictionaries.

"Sept. 11 was a wake up call to a lot of people who were not particularly tuned into things international," says JoAnn McCarthy, dean of International Studies at USF. "Those of us who have been making a career out of this have been talking about it since the late 70s."

Americans typically only speak English and don't know much about other cultures, McCarthy says, an ignorance borne out of a full sense of security that made a larger world view seem unnecessary.

We can afford to be ignorant no more, say USF experts.

"The tragedies of Sept. 11 ended forever what one scholar called 'the splendid isolation of the United States,' " said USF political science professor Mohsen Milani at a conference organized by the USF Globalization Research Center on the anniversary of the attacks. "They demonstrated that we need to pay attention to what happens in the furthest corners of the globe, because what happens there can have a huge impact on the entire world."

As a major research university with nearly 40,000 students, USF has long been a player on the international stage. All three of the university's missions - teaching, research and service - extend far beyond the borders of the United States.

USF faculty members have led archaeological digs in Israel, provided training for health care workers caring for HIV patients in the Caribbean, analyzed the waters of Antarctica, observed elections in Nicaragua and helped policy-makers in Costa Rica examine the costs and benefits of eco-tourism.

USF anthropologists are studying the impact of post traumatic stress disorder on victims of a volcanic eruption in Nicaragua, and a USF Fulbright scholar brought Internet access to the remote highlands of Borneo in East Malaysia.

Faculty in the colleges of Public Health and Medicine are helping physicians and administrators in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan develop a primary care and public health workforce. Last year, USF medical faculty established the Centers for Health and HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART) to help India build an infrastructure to fight AIDS. India ranks second worldwide, following South Africa, in the number of HIV and AIDS cases.

"We are committed to these partnerships because we believe it is vitally important for U.S. health professionals to be involved in humanitarian, international health projects," says Dr. Robert Daugherty, vice president for health sciences. "The health of our neighbors abroad is inextricably linked to America's interests in security and economic development."

USF also serves as a launching pad for people from around the world to become familiar with the United States and for USF students to learn more about other cultures.

The university hosts more than 2,500 students and 200 faculty members from other countries. About 600 of USF's international students are from India, while 200 come from China and a growing number come from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The rainforest in Monteverde, Costa Rica attracts more then 50,000 visitors each year. USF's Globalization Research Institute is working to develop a model for ecotourism that won't harm the environment or resident's quality of life.

Through the Study Abroad Office in the International Affairs Center, USF annually sends between 300 and 400 students to participate in programs in locales as close by as Mexico City and as far away as Moscow. Programs cover everything from business to fine arts.

In the wake of Sept. 11, many of these activities have either come into focus or changed dramatically.

The research and education agenda of the Globalization Research Network, which includes USF's GRC, is but one example of the impact September 11 has had on higher education.

The GRN, established in June 2001 with a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is a joint effort of four universities - USF, the University of California-Los Angeles, George Washington University and the University of Hawaii. The universities combine resources to advance research, promote education and help shape public policy on globalization.

Each university focuses on specific regions and issues, such as health, water, development, conflict management, global finance and investment, and information technology.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the GRN added another category to its agenda: Security.

"Security it not a problem unique to the United States," says Mark Amen, director of the USF Globalization Research Center. "It is a problem that goes far beyond terrorism. People feel insecure because they can't meet the needs of every day life. They also feel insecure about the security of the information systems they use and about their vulnerability to infectious diseases. The basis for insecurity is wide-ranging - from having no food or housing to feeling that others might attack you. Some people feel insecure because they believe they are under surveillance, that they don't have freedom to express their religious views, or that they cannot move freely throughout the world. The sources of insecurity differ across the globe."

With that in mind, the GRC hosted the "Globalization and Security Symposium" on Sept. 11, 2002.

Speaker topics included the political role of religion on global civilization, cyber attacks, biochemical threat detection, environmental programs and the politics of international security, and health and global security, specifically as it relates to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

All of the speakers expressed the need to use globalization as a force for positive change.

"Globalization cannot be a process that just benefits the west," said Religious Studies professor

Darrel Fasching in his conference presentation. "It needs to benefit everyone."
Understanding how to make globalization benefit everyone requires sensitivity to the unique views of non-U.S. cultures, the USF experts agree.

And that doesn't necessarily mean understanding every other culture. Seeing one new perspective can often go a long way toward opening a whole world of new perspectives.

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