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Global Currents Blog

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  • Exploring Global Studies through a Global South Lens: CGS Fall 2025 Event Roundup

    by Shoutao WuDec 17, 2025 10:45 am

    In the Fall 2025 semester, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Center for Global Studies (CGS) focused its programming lens on the Global South, hosting nine lectures that collectively engaged various global challenges across broad geographical contexts, and diverse fields and scholarship.

  • Center for Global Studies Highlights Climate Leadership in Multinational Student Competition

    by Dr. Leon LiebenbergDec 8, 2025 3:15 pm

    Urbana, Illinois – The Center for Global Studies (CGS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign proudly celebrated the achievements of students from around the world during the 5th annual Reimagine Our Future sustainability competition held on December 6, 2025. CGS has supported the competition since its inception, advancing its mission to foster global perspectives on sustainability, climate resilience, and interdisciplinary innovation. 

  • Bringing Them Home: CGS Affiliate Dr. Scott Althaus Helps Recover WWII Airmen Lost for Decades

    by Associated PressMay 27, 2025 12:15 pm

    This Memorial Day, CGS recognizes the contributions of faculty affiliate Dr. Scott Althaus and his involvement with Project Recover, which helps bring home World War II service members.

  • International and Area Studies Library joins 2025 Global Press Archive Area Studies Initiative with CGS support

    by Lily DenehyDec 16, 2024 11:30 am

    Recently, the International and Area Studies Library (IASL) at the University of Illinois pooled US Department of Education, Title VI National Resource Center funding from the Center for Global Studies, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center to make important historical newspapers available Open Access through the Global Press Archives' 2025 Area Studies Initiative.

  • Professor Manfred Steger's recent visit culminated with his talk "Globalization at a Crossroads: Deglobalization or Reglobalization?”

    by Lily DenehyNov 11, 2024 12:30 pm

    The Center for Global Studies hosted prominent globalization scholar Professor Manfred Steger (Professor and Chair, Sociology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa), co-sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study. On Monday, October 7th, Professor Steger gave a talk titled “Globalization at a Crossroads: Deglobalization or Reglobalization?” making a case that the world is in an era of reglobalization fueled by exponentially increasing “disembodied globalization.” 

  • International Studies Research Lab hosts 12 fellows from across U.S.

    by Lily DenehyOct 14, 2024 11:45 am

    The Center for Global Studies ran the International Studies Research Lab (ISRL) this summer, making its first full in-person session since the Covid-19 pandemic. This blog post summarizes the lab, its purpose, and highlights three of the eleven projects developed through the ISRL.

  • CGS Hosted Dr. Eve Darian-Smith for Recent Talk, “World on Fire: Anti-Democracy and Anti- Environmentalism”

    by Elizabeth WorkmanMar 25, 2024 10:45 am

    The Center for Global Studies hosted Professor Eve Darian-Smith (Professor and Chair, Global and International Studies at the University of California, Irvine) as part of the MillerComm 2024 Lecture Series sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study on March 4th, 2023. This blog post summarizes the talk and provides further information on learning more about the topics discussed.

  • Students from Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Austria, Britain, and Ukraine Competed in the Finals of Reimagine Our Future hosted at UIUC on December 2

    by Liebenberg Leon: Lavey WarrenJan 29, 2024 11:30 am

  • Education 2.0 in Egypt: Research & Documentation Project

    by Elizabeth WorkmanOct 24, 2023 11:45 am

    Recent years have witnessed significant educational reforms in Egypt through the Education 2.0 initiative (often abbreviated EDU 2.0) that looks to expand skills-based learning and digital learning methods. University of Illinois Professor of Education Linda Herrera has worked with Dr. Tarek Shawki, Minister of Education and Technical Education (2017-2022) to not just chronicle the monumental educational reform, but also create an archive of primary source materials about this transformation that intends to benefit students, instructors, researchers, and stakeholders in the education sector.

  • Globalizing Curricula: The 2023 International Studies Research Lab

    by Workman, ElizabethSep 18, 2023 4:30 pm