Transcript Identity and the Forces of Globalization

What’s happening in the news?
Identity and the Forces of
Globalization
• I have the right to heat my home and drive my
car.
• Oil is absolutely essential to my way of life so
nothing should be allowed to stop extraction.
• Air conditioning is not a luxury; rather it is
essential to Canadian business – and nothing
should be allowed to interfere with this.
Learn the Terms
Refer to Chapters 1 and 2
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Globalization
Collective
Transnational Corporation
Accomodation
Assimilation
Cultural revitalization
Stereotyping
Biodiversity
Media convergence
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The world is becoming more
connected and dependent upon one
another
Control of a large amount of the
world’s media by a few companies
People defined as a group through
common characteristics or values
Variety in plant and animals species
Placing people in categories based on
assumptions of how that group of
people may think or behave
Based in one country while
manufacturing in another
Promoting collective cultural identities
Accepting new cultures
A minority culture being absorbed by a
dominant culture
The Lubicon Cree
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The Lubicon Crees are a small
Aboriginal society of about 500
people. Their 10,000 square
kilometre traditional territory is
located in northern Alberta east
of the Peace River and north of
Lesser Slave Lake.
The Lubicons have not ceded
their traditional lands in any
legally or historically
recognized manner.
Between 1979 and 1983, annual
trapping income dropped 90%.
The number of moose killed for
food dropped 90% and the
number of people on welfare
jumped from 10% to over 90%.
The Impact of Coltan Mining
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Nearly 3 million people have died in
Congo in a four-year war over coltan,
a heat-resistant mineral ore widely
used in cellphones, laptops and
playstations. Eighty percent of the
world's coltan reserves are in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
The mountainous jungle area where
the coltan is mined is the battleground
of what has been grimly dubbed
"Africa's first World War," pitting
Congolese forces against those of six
neighbouring countries and numerous
armed factions.
The victims are mostly civilians.
Starvation and disease have killed
hundreds of thousands and the
fighting has displaced 2 million people
from their homes.
• The war over coltan has
transformed Congo.
• Farmers displaced from their
land have little option but to join
coltan-mining brigades. Mined
much like gold, coltan is found
by digging large pits in
riverbeds, with armies of miners
scraping away dirt to get to the
coltan underground.
• Reports say a third of the
region's children are giving up
school to dig for coltan.
• The rebel camps have also
created a huge market for
prostitution, and with it, AIDS.
An estimated 2 million people
are HIV-infected in Congo.
• Consider the various stakeholders in the coltan mining issue.Show
how your identity is connected to the identity of the coltan miners.
• Ironically, it may be the endangered Congolese gorilla
population that finally gets the West to show concern
about Congo and its devastating conflict.
• Actor Leonaro Di Caprio and other celebrities have
spoken out against the destructive impact of coltan
mining on the environment and the mountain gorilla.
• http://hazardous.com/savegorillas/gorillamovie.html
• Do global connections have more positive
or negative results?
Positive Impact
Negative Impact
• Watch the following video clip and write
down all the facts that surprise you.
• http://www.bigpicturesmallworld.com
• Select bigpicturesmallworld
BigPictureSmallWorld
• Some statements from the video:
If the world consisted of 100 people…
7 would be over 65
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20 live on less than 1 dollar per day
14 are illiterate and malnurished
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16 live in inadequate housing
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51 do not have a phone or electricity
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8 own a computer
• What major conclusions can you draw from this video?
List the main objectives of this video
and explain how it pertains to the course