What's posted here?
Schedule of readings, notes, slides, tests, and due dates: Shows what you should read before the class on each date. Some readings are in the textbook. Others are links to online material. The schedule also shows dates of tests, assignment due dates, and so on. Lecture notes for each class are usually posted in advance, while the Powerpoint slides are usually posted after it. Some people print the the lecture notes and bring them to class to take notes on, rather than trying to write everything down. The notes are useful for studying and preparing assignments, but they do not necessarily make sense on their own, and they do not cover everything in the readings. They are no substitute for reading the assigned material and attending class.
The schedule will be adjusted during the semester, so check it frequently for current readings and deadlines.Handouts: The syllabus, assignment details, study guides, and so on.
Links: Links to other web pages about subjects we cover. These are completely optional, but may help you study or pursue questions raised by the course. Many have good photos or maps that add a visual element to the readings. All are recommended, and many are fun.
Email: Click the "Email me!" button to ask me a question or make a comment, or to turn in the computer version of an assignment. If you are not using your own computer, be sure to include your email address in the message so I can reply.
Everything on this site has been scanned for viruses and is safe to the best of my knowledge.
So why come to lectures?
First, hearing me explain the notes and slides will be far clearer than trying to figure them out without help. Second, numerous studies show that you understand and remember things better if you get the information in various different ways, like reading, hearing, and seeing. Third, you can ask questions, and listen as others ask questions that you might not have thought of. Finally, I fill in details, explain arguments, and highlight the important points, which should make it easier to see the big picture rather than getting lost in the details.
Schedule of readings, notes, slides, tests, and due dates
This schedule will change, so don't rely on a printed copy. Read the assignments before the class session. Scroll down for more. Most items are PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files and should open in a new window to view, save, or print. Move it aside or close it to see this one again. If the PDF files do not open, install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The slides are the Powerpoint presentations you see in class. They do not include all the information in the notes. They should open in a new window. Navigate with PageUp/Down, Arrow Left/Right, Space/Backspace, Mouse clicks and scroll wheel, and Home/End to jump to the start or end of the presentation. Esc or close the window to quit. If your browser downloads the file, just double-click the file to open it. If your computer does not have Powerpoint, install the free Powerpoint viewer for Windows or Impress, part of the free OpenOffice for Macintosh.
User ID and Password: Due to copyright restrictions, many items require the class user ID and password. These are different from your Peoplesoft ID and password. If you can't recall them, email me.
Be patient: Some items may take many seconds or minutes to load, especially with a telephone modem.
- Thursday, Aug. 27: Introduction to the course and some key ideas
- Notes (34 Kb)
No slides for this class
- No reading
- Notes (34 Kb)
- Tuesday, Sept. 1: Follow the money - but like an anthropologist (part 1)
- Notes (40 Kb)Slides (852 Kb)
- Robbins: Introduction to Part I, pp. 1-13. (13 pgs)
- Optional: Where did all the money come from? How banks create money by loaning out deposits.
- Notes (40 Kb)
- Thursday, Sept. 3: Follow the money - but like an anthropologist (part 2)
- Notes and slides are included in the material posted for Sept. 1.
- Robbins: Chapter 1, pp. 14-27. (14 pgs) (Discussion of this material postponed to Sept. 10)
- Tuesday, Sept. 8: Furlough day: No class, and no email replies
- Watch Affluenza (56 minutes) any time before class on Sept. 10. Click the link to watch on any computer with reasonably fast internet access. Take some notes; be prepared to discuss in class. Especially: what would you update, and how?
- Optional: Affluenza website. Some supplemental info on the video.
- I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Thursday, Sept. 10: Discuss "Affluenza" / Constructing the consumer
- Notes (42 Kb)Slides (187 Kb)
- Robbins: Chapter 1, pp. 14-27. (14 pgs) (You should have read this already for Sept. 3)
- Why Simple Living as a Political Act Is Wrong. Summary of an argument against the conclusion of "Affluenza".
- Optional: Forget Shorter Showers. The full article summarized above for those who want the whole story.
- Short video we were supposed to watch in class, but didn't: Advertising - What psychological tricks do they use? (4 minutes)
- Notes (42 Kb)
- Tuesday, Sept. 15: Constructing child consumers and the rest of the world
- Notes (28 Kb)Slides (501 Kb)
- Robbins: Chapter 1, pg. 27-39 (13 pgs)
- The Self-storage Self (New York Times, 2 Sept. 2009; 3 pgs). Recent figures on ballooning consumption. Guess where much of it ends up...
- Assignment details: Interview with an Immigrant instructions. Due by email by midnight, Sunday, Oct. 25.
- Notes (28 Kb)
- Thursday, Sept. 17: Begin "Constructing the laborer"
- Notes (26 Kb)Slides (236 Kb)
- Robbins: Chapter 2, pp. 40-65 (26 pgs)
- An Eclectic List of Events in U.S. Labor History. US history they didn't teach you in high school. Skim.
- Bananas: Our Fruit, Their Labor and Global Reality. Union-busting thugs, child labor, and starvation wages bring you a tasty snack.
- Life on the Line. A glimpse of the people who work in sweatshops making jeans. Can you understand their feelings?
- Notes (26 Kb)
- Tuesday, Sept. 22: Continue "Constructing the laborer"
- "Constructing the laborer" notes and slides are posted above, under Sept. 17. "Constructing the Capitalist" notes are posted below, under Sept. 29
- Robbins: Chapter 3, pp. 66-92 (27 pgs)
- Thursday, Sept. 24: Finish "Constructing the laborer"; begin "Constructing the capitalist: History of traders and industrialists"
- Friday, Sept. 25: Furlough day: No email replies
- This furlough day does not affect a class meeting, but I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Tuesday, Sept. 29: Finish "Constructing the capitalist: History of traders and industrialists"
- "Constructing the Capitalist" notes and slides are posted above, under Sept. 24
- Review Robbins: Chapter 3, pp. 66-92.
- Thursday, Oct. 1: The rise of corporations and neoclassical ideology
- Notes (35 Kb)Slides (125 Kb)
- Review Robbins: Chapter 3, pp. 93-108 (16 pgs)
- Factsheet: The IMF at a glance (imf.org) Read the page, then explore a bit.
- The World Bank: About Us (worldbank.org) Read the page, then click around.
- What is the World Trade Organization? (wto.org) This page is sufficient for us. What are the underlying assumptions of this organization?
- Notes (35 Kb)
- Tuesday, Oct. 6: Finish "The rise of corporations and neoclassical ideology"
- "Rise of corporations" notes are posted above under Thursday, Oct. 1.
- Robbins: Chapter 4, pp. 109-124 (16 pgs)
- Thursday, Oct. 8: Start "The nation-state"
- "Nation-state" notes are posted below under Thursday, Oct. 15, and are not covered on the midterm exam.
- Robbins: Chapter 4, pp. 124-140 (17 pgs)
- Tuesday, Oct. 13: Midterm exam
- No additional reading
- Thursday, Oct. 15: Continue "The nation-state"
- Friday, Oct. 16: Furlough day: No email replies
- This furlough day does not affect a class meeting, but I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Monday, Oct. 19: Furlough day: No email replies
- This furlough day does not affect a class meeting, but I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20: Scheduled: Externalities and Malthusian views; Actual: Finish Nation-states
- Notes: Externalities (20 Kb)Slides: Externalities (400 Kb)
- Notes: Malthusian views (17 Kb)Slides: Malthusian views (172 Kb)
- Robbins: Introduction to Part II, and Chapter 5, pp. 141-159 (19 pgs)
- Notes: Externalities (20 Kb)
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Externalities; Malthusian approach to population growth
- Notes on Externalities and Malthusian views are posted under Oct. 20.
- Robbins: Chapter 5, pp. 159-176 (18 pgs) (On Demographic transition model and wealth flows theory)
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Interview with an Immigrant paper due by midnight
- Interview with an Immigrant paper due by email by midnight. See the Interview with an Immigrant instructions
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: Demographic transition theory and more anthropological views of population growth
- Notes (31 Kb)Slides (135 Kb)
- Robbins: Chapter 6, pp. 177-196 (20 pgs) (On poverty and hunger)
- Assignment 2: "A global issue in a specific country" instructions (20 Kb) Due by email by midnight, Sunday, Dec. 6
- Notes (31 Kb)
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Food, hunger, and responses to poverty
- Monday, Nov. 2: Furlough day: No email replies
- This furlough day does not affect a class meeting, but I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: Environmental impacts
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Disease
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: Furlough day: No class, and no email replies
- Catch up or review the readings.
- I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Thursday, Nov. 12: Indigenous groups and ethnic conflict
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: Peasant resistance
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Rebellions in Kenya and Mexico
- Friday, Nov. 20: Furlough day: No email replies
- This furlough day does not affect a class meeting, but I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24: Furlough day: No class, and no email replies
- Alternative activity TBA
- I cannot reply to emails while on furlough.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving holiday: No class
- No reading
- Tuesday, Dec 1: Antisystemic protest
- Thursday, Dec 3: Resistance as religion and religious violence
- Sunday, Dec 6: "A global issue in a specific country" paper due by midnight
- "A global issue in a specific country" paper due by email by midnight. See the "Global Issue" instructions
- Tuesday, Dec 8: What is happening and what to do about it
- Thursday, Dec 10: Catch-up, review, evaluations, preparation for the test
- No notes or slides
- No additional reading
Final exam week:
- Thursday, Dec 17: Final Exam
- 2:00-3:50, in our regular classroom
Handouts
Scroll down if you don't see what you need. Click on the Handout that you want. If you have been here before, press your browser's "reload" button to see the latest additions.
- Syllabus: Living in Our Globalized World, Anthropology 340.1, Fall 2009 (24 Kb)
- Map: Location of North Light Books & Cafe relative to SSU (95 Kb)
- What plagiarism is and how to avoid it (6 Kb)
- Assignment 1: "Interview with an Immigrant" instructions (29 Kb) Due by email by midnight, Sunday, Oct. 25
- Study guide for the midterm exam, Tuesday, Oct. 13 (13 Kb)
- Assignment 2: "A global issue in a specific country" instructions (20 Kb) Due by email by midnight, Sunday, Dec. 6
- Study guide for the final exam, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2:00-3:50, in our regular room (16 Kb)
Links to background, news, and views on globalization
Interesting, often illustrated, from easy to challenging... check these out. Many of these make excellent study aids for preparing for tests. All are optional. If you have been here before, press your browser's "reload" button to see the latest additions.
...Lists of online sources for studying, papers, and delving deeper
- Online Global Problems Reader: Specifically for this textbook. Brief comments about each chapter in the book, with selected additional online sources. Variable quality, but worth a look.
...University policies
- Important Policies and Procedures for Students: SSU policy details on adding and dropping classes, cheating and plagiarism, diversity, and so on.
...Annoyed by lack of classes, fee increases, furloughs, etc.?
- Contact your Governor or legislators: Names, phone numbers, emails, and addresses. Let'em know how you feel.
Living in Our Globalized World by Bruce OwenAnthropology 340.1, Sonoma State University, Fall 2009Copyright (c) 2009, Bruce Owen. All rights reserved.Please send comments on content and presentation to
bruce.owen@sonoma.edu.URL of this document: http://bruceowen.com/global/a340-09f-1.htmRevised: 10 December 2009