This week’s instruction focuses on globalization and its nuanced effects. While globalization has many positive effects, such as bringing the world together through mass and other communication—it can also have some detrimental effects. It is now easier than ever for sources posing as experts to misinform, and differentiating this misinformation from real news or scholarly sources is trickier than it ever has been.
Instructors, click on the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt, a debate question, as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for Globalization and The Media
Video
- In which John Green teaches you about globalization, a subject so epic, so, um, global, it requires two videos. In this video, John follows the surprisingly complex path of t-shirt as it criss-crosses the world before coming to rest on your doorstep, and eventually in your dresser. (Unless you’re one of those people who never puts their laundry away and lives out of a laundry basket. If that’s the case, shame on you.) Anyway, the story of the t-shirt and its manufacture in far-flung places like China, Guatemala, and India is a microcosm of what’s going on in the global economy. Globalization is a bit of a mixed bag, and there have definitely been winners and losers along the way. In this episode John will talk about some of the benefits that have come along with it. Next week, he’ll get into some of the less-positive side effects of globalization.
Audio
Articles
- The coming yearlong U.S. trade war with China | Axios
- Pittsburgh becomes largest US city without a daily print newspaper | The Hill
- What Does a Chinese Superpower Look Like? Nothing Like the U.S. | Bloomberg Businessweak
- Ripple co-founder speaks about the “fundamental problem” speedbreaking globalization | BCFocus
- [MISINFORMATION/CONSPIRACY] The Secret Stupid Saudi-US Deal on Syria. Oil Gas Pipeline War | Global Research
- [Background on CRG] Michel Chossudovsky | Wikipedia
Assessment
- Writing: Consider the misinformative first article. How did it make you feel to note how academic/official this article/source seemed? What concerns did this bring to mind?
- Debate: Is it good or bad for news sources and newspapers to be increasingly moving online and out of print?
- Poll: Which global nations do you most see media from besides the U.S.? (Think TV, Movies, and the Internet in particular).
- The United Kingdom
- China
- India
- Germany
- Brazil
- Short Answer: Please give your best definition of globalization. Consider your textbooks, dictionaries, and online sources and build one that seems the most right to you.
Current Events Quiz
The Center for Research on Globalization is ____.
- From Laos
- A resource on par with the BBC News
- Of questionable legitimacy/truth
- Very legitimate and truthful
China feels that the term “superpower” is something ____.
- To be shunned.
- To use in Scrabble for extra points.
- To brand their country with.
- Right before “supper” in the dictionary.
Pittsburgh is now ____.
- The nation’s largest producer of badger-based products
- Moved entirely online with their news
- Printing newspapers only on Sundays
- The largest U.S. city without a print newspaper every day of the week
The print side of newspapers is____.
- Doing better now than ever before
- Struggling to stay afloat
- Moving towards utilizing only blue ink
- Run entirely by China
According to the article provided, the U.S. and China trade war has a chance of ____.
- Strengthening bonds and ties between the nations
- Involving Switzerland
- Well, anything really
- Spiraling out of control