RESOURCE MANUAL
And
TEST BANK
PART I: ASSIGNMENTS AND EXERCISES
COUNTRY ASSIGNMENTS
An effective way to involve students in the subject matter of the course is to assign to
each a specific country on which they must report either in writing or in discussion. I
required each student to prepare a three to five page paper on selected topics
addressed in the book, generally giving them a choice as to which topics they would
address. Thus they were asked to prepare five papers on conditions in their countries
from among nine or ten topics (e.g. population growth, poverty and hunger,
environmental change, health and disease, etc.) I also required all to prepare a paper
on the economic history of their country.
Country assignments can be used in various ways depending on the level of the
students, the number of students in the class, and the pedagogical style preferred by
instructors. For example, for group work, students can be grouped by regions to
discuss and report on regional similarities and differences regarding specific problems.
They can be asked to discuss in their groups what kinds of solutions they might
propose or adopt to alleviate or address specific problems, or discuss measures
actually taken in their countries. To promote class discussion outside of groups,
students can be asked to come prepared to propose solutions to problems, or simply to
summarize conditions in their countries. Instructor's can also supplement this
discussion by having students play The World Game at the World Game Institute on
the web at http://www.libertynet.org/~wgi/index.html. Better yet, arrange for a visit from
the Institute and play the World Game live.
CORPORATE ASSIGNMENTS
Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism devotes a considerable amount of
discussion to the role of multinational or transnational corporations in our lives. It
discusses also the extent to which the actions of corporations are either masked from
us or carefully presented to cast corporate actions in as favorable a way as possible.
There are, after all, more public relations specialists in America than there are
1
,journalists and reporters. For this reason one of the most effective assignments I used
involved assigning each student a specific corporation. To involve them a little more
with the exercise, I gave each student a hypothetical $100,000 to invest in the
corporation I assigned them. For that reason, I tried to ensure that each corporation
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. I then asked them to follow their
investment for from two to three months to see how their investment fared.
2
,In addition, however, they were asked to prepare a three to five page report on the
business practices of their corporations; that is they were asked to consider the
economic, social, and environmental costs of their corporations doing business.
Resources for the reports were made available on the web site at
http://www.plattsburgh.edu/legacy/anth_web_resources.html#corporate_information.
The object of the exercise is not to bash corporations (however justified it may be in
some instances), but rather to illustrate the extent to which the consequences of doing
business can be detrimental to people (particularly in the periphery) and the
environment, and the difficulty for corporations, given their primary responsibility to
investors, to be otherwise.
3
, PART II: DISCUSSION TOPICS
To further promote class discussion, I used what were called "thesis statements" that
students were asked to come prepared to discuss. From my experience, it is best to
ask them to prepare in writing a paragraph for each statement. An instructor can then
select at random someone to begin the discussion, asking others to hand in their
written statements. They can also be used for group inquiry or as exam or study
questions. The following statements are those that I used in the Spring of 1998. New or
revised statements are available on the course website at
http://www.plattsburgh.edu/legacy/thesis_statements.html.
Chapter One: Constructing the Consumer
Thesis Statement 1:
American culture, and Western culture in general, may be characterized as the culture
of capitalism, or more specifically consumer capitalism and American society may be
characterized as the society of perpetual growth.
Thesis Statement 2:
The core premise of the culture of consumer capitalism is that commodity consumption
is the source of well-being.
Thesis Statement 3:
The central roles on the culture of capitalism are the consumer, the laborer, and the
capitalist, each operating according to a set of rules orchestrated and enforced by the
nation-state.
Thesis Statement 4:
The culture of capitalism and the society of perpetual growth require for their
maintenance the exploitation of most of the world’s resources and peoples.
Thesis Statement 5:
It is central to the successful operation of the culture of capitalism that the consumer be
segregated or masked from the consequences of his or her lifestyle on the laborer, on
the environment, and on the way of life of those whose degradation makes his or her
life possible.
4
And
TEST BANK
PART I: ASSIGNMENTS AND EXERCISES
COUNTRY ASSIGNMENTS
An effective way to involve students in the subject matter of the course is to assign to
each a specific country on which they must report either in writing or in discussion. I
required each student to prepare a three to five page paper on selected topics
addressed in the book, generally giving them a choice as to which topics they would
address. Thus they were asked to prepare five papers on conditions in their countries
from among nine or ten topics (e.g. population growth, poverty and hunger,
environmental change, health and disease, etc.) I also required all to prepare a paper
on the economic history of their country.
Country assignments can be used in various ways depending on the level of the
students, the number of students in the class, and the pedagogical style preferred by
instructors. For example, for group work, students can be grouped by regions to
discuss and report on regional similarities and differences regarding specific problems.
They can be asked to discuss in their groups what kinds of solutions they might
propose or adopt to alleviate or address specific problems, or discuss measures
actually taken in their countries. To promote class discussion outside of groups,
students can be asked to come prepared to propose solutions to problems, or simply to
summarize conditions in their countries. Instructor's can also supplement this
discussion by having students play The World Game at the World Game Institute on
the web at http://www.libertynet.org/~wgi/index.html. Better yet, arrange for a visit from
the Institute and play the World Game live.
CORPORATE ASSIGNMENTS
Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism devotes a considerable amount of
discussion to the role of multinational or transnational corporations in our lives. It
discusses also the extent to which the actions of corporations are either masked from
us or carefully presented to cast corporate actions in as favorable a way as possible.
There are, after all, more public relations specialists in America than there are
1
,journalists and reporters. For this reason one of the most effective assignments I used
involved assigning each student a specific corporation. To involve them a little more
with the exercise, I gave each student a hypothetical $100,000 to invest in the
corporation I assigned them. For that reason, I tried to ensure that each corporation
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. I then asked them to follow their
investment for from two to three months to see how their investment fared.
2
,In addition, however, they were asked to prepare a three to five page report on the
business practices of their corporations; that is they were asked to consider the
economic, social, and environmental costs of their corporations doing business.
Resources for the reports were made available on the web site at
http://www.plattsburgh.edu/legacy/anth_web_resources.html#corporate_information.
The object of the exercise is not to bash corporations (however justified it may be in
some instances), but rather to illustrate the extent to which the consequences of doing
business can be detrimental to people (particularly in the periphery) and the
environment, and the difficulty for corporations, given their primary responsibility to
investors, to be otherwise.
3
, PART II: DISCUSSION TOPICS
To further promote class discussion, I used what were called "thesis statements" that
students were asked to come prepared to discuss. From my experience, it is best to
ask them to prepare in writing a paragraph for each statement. An instructor can then
select at random someone to begin the discussion, asking others to hand in their
written statements. They can also be used for group inquiry or as exam or study
questions. The following statements are those that I used in the Spring of 1998. New or
revised statements are available on the course website at
http://www.plattsburgh.edu/legacy/thesis_statements.html.
Chapter One: Constructing the Consumer
Thesis Statement 1:
American culture, and Western culture in general, may be characterized as the culture
of capitalism, or more specifically consumer capitalism and American society may be
characterized as the society of perpetual growth.
Thesis Statement 2:
The core premise of the culture of consumer capitalism is that commodity consumption
is the source of well-being.
Thesis Statement 3:
The central roles on the culture of capitalism are the consumer, the laborer, and the
capitalist, each operating according to a set of rules orchestrated and enforced by the
nation-state.
Thesis Statement 4:
The culture of capitalism and the society of perpetual growth require for their
maintenance the exploitation of most of the world’s resources and peoples.
Thesis Statement 5:
It is central to the successful operation of the culture of capitalism that the consumer be
segregated or masked from the consequences of his or her lifestyle on the laborer, on
the environment, and on the way of life of those whose degradation makes his or her
life possible.
4
