There's a great documentary about the beads used in Mardi Gras and the Chinese
sweatshops where they're manufactured. Sorry I don't remember the name.
Judy Shapiro
American University
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Robert Darst" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Hi all,
>
> At the suggestion of a colleague in the English Department, I foolishly
> agreed
> earlier this year to develop a new course for our embryonic Sustainability
> Studies minor, "The Global Politics of Everyday Things." The basic idea is to
> present the students with innocuous items that they use every day, and then
> to
> trace the commodity chains backwards and forwards to illustrate various
> aspects
> of global politics, such as human/children's/women's/labor rights, trade and
> outsourcing, violent conflict, property rights, environmental protection,
> functional cooperation, etc. I doubt that there is any aspect of
> international
> relations that cannot be approached in this way. Now I only have to prep the
> course, which brings me to you!
>
> Questions:
>
> (1) Have any of you ever taught a course along these lines, and if so could
> you
> share your syllabus and lessons learned?
>
> (2) Do any of you know of good websites where my students (and their
> instructor)
> could trace the commodity chains of multiple products?
>
> (3) Any suggestions for really surprising "everyday things"--that is, items
> that
> no one would ever associate with global politics, but which in fact have
> quite
> striking connections?
>
> Many thanks! I will certainly share the syllabus when I'm ready to roll.
>
> Best,
> Rob
> Associate Professor of Political Science
> Associate Director of the Honors Program
> University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
--- Begin Message ---
|
Hi all,
At the suggestion of a colleague in the English
Department, I foolishly agreed earlier this year to develop a new course for our
embryonic Sustainability Studies minor, "The Global Politics of Everyday
Things." The basic idea is to present the students with innocuous items
that they use every day, and then to trace the commodity chains backwards and
forwards to illustrate various aspects of global politics, such as
human/children's/women's/labor rights, trade and outsourcing, violent conflict,
property rights, environmental protection, functional cooperation, etc. I doubt
that there is any aspect of international relations that cannot be approached in
this way. Now I only have to prep the course, which brings me to
you!
Questions:
(1) Have any of you ever taught a course along
these lines, and if so could you share your syllabus and lessons
learned?
(2) Do any of you know of good websites where my
students (and their instructor) could trace the commodity chains of multiple
products?
(3) Any suggestions for really surprising "everyday
things"--that is, items that no one would ever associate with global politics,
but which in fact have quite striking connections?
Many thanks! I will certainly share the syllabus
when I'm ready to roll.
Best,
Rob
Associate Professor of Political
Science
Associate Director of the Honors Program
University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth
|
--- End Message ---
