COURSES
Click one of the class name below to jump to each section!
Global learning foundations courses are part of the University Core Curriculum (UCC). With Interdisciplinary in content, these courses deal are instilled with essential questions and complex issues, that are best understood and addressed through multiple disciplinary perspectives.
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These courses set the stage for students to make interdisciplinary connections throughout their university career.
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Discipline-specific global learning courses are embedded into every undergraduate academic program. These particular courses provide students with a global view of their discipline of study, as a required course or elective.
SYG 2000
Among the three areas of emphasis in FIU’s Medallion Program is the concept of global perspective, defined as “the ability to conduct a multi-perspective analysis of local, global, international, and intercultural problems.” Professor Connie Viamonte’s SYG 2000 Intro to Sociology was the course that best embodied this concept and helped me realize concrete ways to apply it to my medical pursuits.
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Until my arrival at FIU, my years in a private parochial school were sheltered ones, for sure! Like-minded individuals surrounded me and made up most of my peer group so far, and I was truly excited to be part of the “real world” at FIU. Once in college, I was exposed to all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds, and professor Viamonte’s class helped expand my new world view even more. I learned about the sociological study of all aspects of society including differences in race, gender, sexuality, economic inequality, culture, and politics. Sociological topics took on a new meaning as I began to see how they related to the healthcare field both around the world and in our own country.
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A great example of the disparity in our healthcare system involves race. Countless studies show how minorities fare far worse, generally speaking, when it comes to obtaining access to appropriate healthcare. Many sociological factors apply, such as cultural traditions involving dietary choices and acceptance of adverse health outcomes, the inability to afford health insurance, and the lack of proximity to healthcare facilities in some communities.
One anecdotal example of which I’m aware involves the acceptance of diabetes as part of “regular life” in some rural African-American communities. Some people call it “the sugars,” as in “he/she has the sugars.” It’s not unheard of for people in these communities to know someone who has lost a limb or toe as a result of uncontrolled diabetes. Again, anecdotally speaking, I’ve seen first-hand older members of the Cuban community in Miami deal with similar issues as a result of culturally driven dietary choices involving carbohydrate-heavy and sugary foods. A general knowledge and analysis of these cultural traits would be helpful to any healthcare professional when dealing with issues involving this particular disease, and we know that the treatment of certain cancers can also benefit from the overhaul of an unhealthy diet.
REL 3308
During my 8th-grade year, I was fortunate enough to be awarded an academic scholarship to attend a local Catholic private school. I was excited, but equally nervous. The thought of sitting in a religion class made me somewhat anxious. However, I decided to embark on this new adventure as if I were a character in a story. I became fascinated by the connection between religious parables and how their lessons could be applied to our other classes and daily routines at St. Brendan High School.
Year after year, the story about the Catholic religion unfolded further, and each week brought a new detail on which to focus. As my senior year wrapped up, it dawned on me that what made me so apprehensive in the early days of my religious education had morphed into a subject I now found utterly fascinating. I was aware that once my college education began a few months later at FIU, I would be mostly focused on scientific matters such as biology— the polar opposite of religious education.
During our freshman orientation, we learned about class options that were required as part of the University Core Curriculum, or UCC. While browsing through the list of electives, I stopped at REL 3308 Studies in World Religions. Well, there it was, the next chapter in the story I’d fallen in love with during my high school years!
I clearly remember professor Erik Larson walking in and wishing everyone a good morning and happy first day. He asked each of us to state our name, major, and grade level, and to describe what we believed was the definition of “religion.” Once my turn came, I rattled off my statement confidently: “Good morning. My name is Keysa Garcia, I’m a Biological Sciences major in my freshman year, and I believe that the definition of religion is the belief of a superior being that a believer of that religion worships.”
As the semester went on, I realized the global religious community was much, much larger than what I envisioned during my high-school years in the Catholic-school “bubble.” REL 3308 was an exploration of —and I’m quoting the current syllabus here— “Basic Religions, Native American Religions, African Religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism, Daoism/Confucianism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam, Sects & Cults and Religion in the 21st Century.” What I learned at St. Brendan was but a small part of the bigger picture. The story expanded exponentially! This marked my first real exposure to the concept of global awareness outlined in FIU’s Medallion Program.
The influence of professor Larson’s Studies in World Religions remains with me to this day, particularly as it relates to medicine and the influence of a practitioner’s religion. For example, research conducted by the Journal of Medical Ethics suggests that doctors who are atheist or agnostic are more willing to make difficult decisions that will help very sick patients end their lives more quickly than doctors who are deeply religious, who are in turn much less likely to even discuss this type of treatment with patients in this situation. End-of-life care is particularly relevant when it comes to certain specialties including elderly and palliative care, neurology, and intensive care, and religious influences are sometimes inevitable.
On the other hand, there are many instances where patients directly benefit from religious inclusivity as part of their healthcare plan. Disclosing religious preferences at certain treatment facilities, for instance, can be helpful when planning menus with dietary restrictions stemming from religious beliefs. The staffing of appropriate chaplains can also benefit patients who seek spiritual healing along with their medical care.
The merging of religion and medicine can sometimes be a tricky path to travel, but with better understanding of patients’ needs and expectations, the right patient-doctor fit can be achieved. As a future physician with inclusivity of care in mind, I’m ready and willing to deal with situations that may require special considerations for those whose religious beliefs may differ drastically from mine.
IDH 4007 & 4008
One of the best things about growing up Latina in Miami has been experiencing an American city that is so heavily influenced by its Spanish roots. From Coral Gables street names to architectural landmarks throughout the city, Spain’s footprint is hard to miss. So I was very excited when the time came to begin one of my favorite learning experiences at FIU, professor John William Bailly’s IDH 4007 and 4008 Miami España: Ida y Vuelta. This dual-semester course covered Spain’s influences in the America’s —or the idas (departures)— with an emphasis on Miami and focusing on the impact that Spanish religion, art, and popular tradition has had on the Americas from 1492 to the present. I then devoted the second semester to the vueltas (returns) —or influences that have made their way back to Spain from Latin America, with an on-location, study-abroad Spanish voyage. ¡Olé!
I would venture a guess that most of us don’t appreciate our hometowns as much as we should. We know the sites and have maybe even visited a few, but seldom do native Miamians take the time to get to know their city in depth. That was certainly the case with me, until I took professor Bailly’s course. Each lesson unlocked a different layer of Miami, exposing the secrets behind popular landmarks such as the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. But more than a study of Spanish architecture and building styles, the class dove deep into Spain’s overall influence and contributions to the entire American continent.
Global awareness had once again reared its head during my time at FIU. With this in mind and considering that healthcare would always be my primary focus, I decided to devote my final project for this course on medical advances originated in Spain and employed in the U.S. In my presentation, I first discussed the findings of the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI), a world leader in reproductive medicine and originator of many procedures used globally in the field to this day. Among other advances, IVI pioneered the practice of using guided ultrasound while performing in-vitro fertilization procedures, a process that is now used widely in the U.S. and the Americas as a result of its elevated success rates in Spain.
I also presented the findings of Spanish physician Michael Servetus, who in the 16th century became the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation by identifying the trajectory of blood from the heart to the lungs and back.
And that concluded the idas.
It was now time for the vueltas…
Primeramente, there’s nothing like a study-abroad experience. Period! End of story!
Being immersed in another culture for weeks is something I would recommend to anyone who can do it. From time to time I find myself reminiscing about walking up and down the streets of Spain where I was just living in the moment and taking it all in. It was a truly glorious time, but homesickness inevitably set in at some point. At a distance of more than 4,000 miles, there was a small but noticeable hole in my heart whose shape perfectly matched that of Miami. Some of my classmates shared the same longing for anything “American,” so we set out to find the vueltas —the influence of American culture and tradition in Spain— we had learned about during the previous semester.
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The American presence was sometimes stereotypical, a cliché almost, and if you suspect it had to do with big-chain fast food, you are absolutely correct. Enter McDonald’s and Taco Bell, both located across the street from my apartment. Yes, Big Macs were absolutely part of the menu, but so were Patatas Bravas and McCroquetas, local spins on popular Spanish tapas (small plates). But the influence of U.S. culture wasn’t limited to food. Being fully bilingual, I could hear words here and there that were certainly American-inspired. Friki comes to mind, and it’s origins are pretty obvious (yes, freaky).
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​All in all, my time in Spain was phenomenal. It opened my eyes to a completely different lifestyle, a different culture. It absolutely changed and expanded my global perspective, and I believe I’m a different person today because of it.