The constantly changing relations around the world create a daunting task for the international studies department.

According to Anthony Mughan, director of international studies, a new minor – Globalization Studies – is being established to help students understand the shrinking global community and to examine the integration of the United States in the world.

The large scope of globalization studies will require students to take an array of classes from various departments on campus, Mughan said.

Once implemented, the minor will require 25 credit hours of courses ranging from international economic relations to contemporary religious movements in global context.

The minor itself is made up of cultural dimensions and economic, environmental, and political dimensions. Students can choose 10 credits from both dimensions, but an introduction to globalization is required for the minor.

Mughan said the minor is diverse and will provide students with an opportunity to apply education to the current world news.

“The purpose of a university is to broaden horizons,” Mughan said. “This is one of the ways we try to do that.”

Summer quarter is expected to be the first time the minor is offered, Mughan said.

Mughan said the department is faced with the difficult job of molding the program around a continuously shifting globe.

“We are constantly trying to make the international studies degree more international,” Mughan said.

The Sept. 11 attacks required quick response from universities across the nation. Alam Payind, international studies administrator and professor, said Ohio State offered many educational opportunities.

Teach-ins about the Islam religion started being held monthly in the Ohio Union, as well as the development of new course offerings aimed at educating students about the Middle East and its people, Payind said.

Sept. 11 also created a need for an entirely new course of study.

One such course was International Studies 501, “Terror and Terrorism.”

“It’s a better teaching environment because you’re teaching something the students want to learn about,” said David Lewis, the class professor.

The goal of the class is to provide students with more in-depth analysis of current events, he said.

“We want them to be able to take in current events more critically, and understand the world in a more responsible way,” Lewis said.