We had a fire drill today.

Each day we begin class with announcements, show and tell of books that I think are interesting and relevant, a reading from a short story or poetry book, and current events

We discussed some current events such as the US alliance with Saudi Arabia and microloans to 3rd world entrepreneurs (both in Tuesday's Oregonian).

We talked about how great it was to have presentations which fleshed out our abstract learning about globalization. The presentations so far have been quite good.

Assignments and potential assignments:
-tell, in one solid paragraph why lactose intolerance is a global issue (due 12/10)
-tell, in one solid paragraph about how the Grameen Bank or the Cascadia Revolving Fund work (due 12/10)
-define the five words given yesterday (see yesterday's posting) (due 12/3)
-talk with a person (aged 21 or older) about what you've learned about globalization so far and get their feedback. Write a page or so about what you said and how they responded. (due 12/6)
-using the video, the "The Pressure to Modernize" chapter, and our class discussions; write 1-5 pages using the Ladakh as an example of globalization's effects. (due 12/12)

We learned from three group presentations: on chocolate, global weapons trade & sweatshops.

Assignment:
-find definitions to the following five words: hierarchy, Eurocentric, comparative advantage, urbanization, and carrying capacity.
-finish reading Helena Norberg Hodge article by Monday so that we may have an intelligent discussion about Ladakh and globalization after we finish the video.

We were supposed to have two presentations today, but we lacked a projector/computer. In the future, students must request a projector/computer a day or more in advance.

We reviewed a bit about globalization and I gave a short assignment about the Ladakh.
I handed out a chapter written by Helena Norberg-Hodge that students should begin reading.

assignment:
Make predictions on what will happen when the Ladakh "modernize", Westernize, and globalize. How will these 6 areas of "Western cultural invasion" affect traditional Ladakhi culture: 1) tourism, 2) compulsory schooling, 3) highway development, 4) foreign movies, 5) imports fo inexpensive barley & wheat, 6) new retail stores.

We had some shadowing 8th graders as guests today.
We took a brief informal quiz on globalization using the computer program Powerpoint.
We learned about global illicit drug trade and about slaughterhouses from two groups who presented their projects today.

assignment:
-notes from all presentations

We held a brief discussion of what is culture is in preparation for our viewing of "Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh."

Then we viewed 21 minutes of this video with students taking notes, particularly on these elements of culture: beliefs, behaviors, & "artifacts"(tools, clothes, homes, etc.).

We spent the remainder of our time in the computer lab with students emailing nonprofits involved with globalization, working on their projects, or working on anything else necessary.

assignments:
-notes on video (we will have another part to this assignment)
-email to nonprofit
-group project
-letter/response to Senator/Rep.

Today we caught up on what assignments are coming up. Then we spent some time working on projects.
The one paragraph about the chosen product (coffee, copper, etc.) was due today.

Current assignments
--email/letter to organization telling what we are learning and requesting information/curriculum
--Kurds article map & summary
--group project (due this Friday)
--paragraph answer to Sam's question
--letter & response to/from senator or representative.

Today we reviewed a bit about globalization. We went over the quiz.

I talked about filmmaker Michael Moore's approach to learning. His curiosity drives him to seek out answers to persistent questions which is exactly what he's done in his most recent movie where he pursues the question of why gun violence is so much more prevalent in this country compared to all other industrialized countries.

Possible assignment: see "Bowling for Columbine" & write a review and/or what you learned.

Other current assignments:
--write one paragraph about chosen product (coffee, copper, etc.)
--email/letter to organization telling what we are learning and requesting information/curriculum
--Kurds article map & summary
--group project

A reminder: your assignment is to research your topic with its relevance for global studies. Use today to find images that you can print or save, find charts/graphs, and find relevant information.

Look at www.matthewplies.blogspot.com for a few suggested websites for some of your projects.

Global Studies reading and movie recommendedations. Extra credit always available.

Our dumb century, Dispaches from the tenth circle, and Ad nauseam by The Onion
Out of it by: a cultural history of intoxication by Stuart Walton
State of the world (2003) by the Worldwatch Institute
Power politics by Arundhati Roy
Cost of living by Arundhati Roy
Resource wars: the new landscape of global conflict by Michael Klare
Blowback: the costs & consequences of American empire by Chalmers Johnson
To kill a nation: the attack on yugoslavia by Michael Parenti
Against Empire by Michael Parenti
When corporations rule the world by David Korten
Zapatista Reader edited by Tom Hayden
Iraq under siege: the deadly impact of sanctions & war edited by Anthony Arnove
Eyes of the heart: seeking a path for the poor in the age of globalization by Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jihad vs. McWorld by Benjamin Barber
Bananas, beaches & bases: making feminist sense of international politics by Cynthia Enloe
Killing hope: US military & CIA interventions since World War II by WIlliam Blum
Rogue State: a guide to the world's only superpower by William Blum
Roge States: the rule of force in world affairs by Noam Chomsky
Salvador by Joan Didion
Material world: a global family portrait by Peter Menzel
Field guide to the global economy by Sarah Sanderson
Inevitable revolutions: the United States in Central America by Walter Lafeber
Longitudes & Attitudes by Thomas Friedman
From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman
We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will well be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda by Philop Gourevitch
Upside Down by Eduardo Galeano
Betrayal of trust: the collapse of global public health by Laurie Garrett
Ends of the Earth: a journey to the frontiers of anarchy by Robert Kaplan
Culture & imperialism by Edward Said
Safe Area Gorazde: the war in eastern Bosnia 1992-95 by Joe Sacco
Israel/Palestine: how to end the war of 1948 by Tanya Reinhart
Water wars: privatization, pollution, & profit by Vandana Shiva
Stolen harvest: the hijacking of the global food supply by Vandana Shiva
Deliver us from evil: peacekeepers, warlords & a world of endless conflict by William Shawcross
India: a mosaic edited by Robert Silvers & Barbara Epstein
Freedom as development by Amartya Sen
Earth odyssey: around the world in search of our environmental future by Mark Hertsgaard
Guns, germs, & steel by Jared Diamond
Power of nonviolence: writings by advocates of peace introduced by Howard Zinn
Democratizing the global economy by Kevin Danaher
Commanding Heights: the battle for the world economy by Daniel Yergin & Joshph Stanislaw
The Prize: the epic quest for oil, money, & power by Daniel Yergin
In the footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: living on the brink of disaster in Mobutu's Congo by Michela Wrong
On killing: the psychological cost of learning to kill in war & society by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Dirty war: a Russian reporter in Chechnya by Anna Politkovskaya
Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of Islamic women by Geraldine Brooks
Scheherazade goes west: different cultures, different harems by Fatema Mernissi
Tournament of shadows: the great game and the race for empire in central Asia by Karl Meyer
Basque history of the world by Makr Kurlansky
Hard times: an oral history of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel
Low Life: lures & snares of old New York by Luc Sante
Discoverers: a history of man's serch to know his world and himself by Daniel Boorstin
From dawn to decadence: 500 years of Western cultural life by Jacques Barzun
Holy war: the crusades and their impact on today's world by Karen Armstrong
History of bombing by Sven Lindqvist
Sprezzatura: 50 ways Italian genius shaped the world by Peter D'Eprio & Mary Despond Pinkowish
Civilizations: culture, ambition, and the transformation of nature by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto
Memory of fire trilogy (Genesis, Faces & masks, Century of the wind) by Eduardo Galeano
Lords of the horizons: a history of the Ottoman Empire by Jason Goodwin
Humanity: a moral history of the twentieth century by Jonathan Glover
King Leopold's ghost: a story of greed, terror, & heroism in colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

open media pamphlet series listing found at www.sevenstories.com