At the core of current debates surrounding global citizenship are questions about which communities we belong to, what values we ought to uphold, how we should exercise our political and civic rights, and to whom we are responsible and why. But what does it mean to be a “global citizen” or a citizen of a global era? How does it affect the everyday lives of individuals, organizations, and governments?

Ethics, Leadership, & Global Citizenship

The goals of this Focus Program cluster are for participants to develop a critical yet actionable understanding of the concept of “citizenship”—its historical origins, ethical implications, and contemporary global challenges—for both individuals and institutions and to develop the crucial tools of moral dialogue necessary for lifelong engagement as thoughtful citizens and ethical leaders.

Bringing together a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the cluster will address a key set of questions: What sorts of meaningful democratic participation are possible in a world of globalized capital and economic power? How are the rights and responsibilities of citizens changing? How are forces of cosmopolitanism impacting local, regional, and national identities? How do concepts of democratic citizenship inform and shape the conflicts between national, regional, and global forms of governance? Students will analyze these questions through the lenses of the current immigration debate, refugee law and policy, programs of corporate responsibility, and the rise of new forms of global governance.

This Focus cluster seeks to build a sustainable community of students engaged in ethical inquiry, and participants will have access to supplemental civic engagement and research opportunities offered through the Kenan Institute for Ethics. During the fall semester, there will be a Focus field trip to New York to observe meetings of the United Nations and engage in discussions with Duke alumni currently working with UN agencies. In addition, students will be welcomed into the Institute’s student community, which presents opportunities to interact with other engaged students, use the Institute’s communal spaces, and stay abreast of additional Institute programs, including DukeEngage Dublin and the Faculty/Student Bhutanese Refugee Research Program in Durham and Nepal.

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Visit the Trinity College website to learn more about Focus programs in general.