Since 1989, and arguably since 1949, significant challenges and opportunities facing the United States have emanated from the non-Western world. The American economy is increasingly driven by the rhythms of global trade. Currently, many of our most important political, economic, and military challenges stem from our relationships with the peoples of Asia and the Muslim world. American environmental and public-health concerns are increasingly affected by conditions in other parts of the world, including Latin America and Africa. To a considerable degree, these challenges and opportunities are rooted in a process of cultural, economic, and political integration known as globalization.

Students take three additional courses of their choosing in the art, music, history, politics, and literature of selected non-Western cultures. The concentration is designed to bring concentrators together in the spring of their sophomore year to grapple with the economic, cultural, and intellectual issues posed by globalization in the present day.