1.12: Assignments

The Question

How well does a popular claim about globalization hold up when we actually look for evidence?

For this assignment, find a claim about globalization in contemporary media, political discourse, advertising, social media, or popular culture.

Possible claims might include:

• “Made in America.”
• “The internet connects everyone.”
• “China makes everything.”
• “Remote work means location no longer matters.”
• “Globalization is dying.”
• “Free trade makes products cheaper.”
• “Social media created a global culture.”
• “Buying local avoids global supply chains.”

You may also identify your own.

Part 1: Capture the Claim

Provide the quotation, headline, advertisement, post, or statement. Explain what the claim seems to suggest about how the world works.

Part 2: Investigate It

Use at least three credible sources, including at least one data source or institutional source. Look for evidence that supports the claim,  complicates it, or contradicts it.

Part 3: Give It a Global Studies Fact Check

Rate the original statement as:

• Mostly accurate
• Accurate but misleading
• Partly true
• Mostly wrong
• Impossible to answer without more context

Then defend the rating.

Part 4: Rewrite the Claim

Replace the original statement with a version that is more accurate without becoming unreadable.

Final Reflection

Answer: Why are simple stories about globalization so appealing when global systems are rarely simple?

Suggested length

900–1,100 words.

Scenario

You have been invited to redesign one feature of a global institution.

Choose one:

• United Nations
• UN Security Council
• International Monetary Fund
• World Bank
• World Trade Organization
• NATO
• European Union
• another major international institution approved by the instructor

You are not writing a report explaining what the organization does. Instead, assume the institution already exists and ask: What is one important feature of its rules or decision-making structure that you would change?

Part 1: Find the Rule

Identify one specific institutional feature.

Examples might include: voting power; veto authority; membership; representation; leadership selection; lending conditions; dispute settlement; decision-making procedures; or another significant feature.

Explain how it currently works using credible sources.

Part 2: Who Benefits From the Current Arrangement?

Identify at least two actors who benefit from the existing arrangement and at least two who may have less influence.

Avoid assuming that every institution simply divides into obvious “winners” and “losers.”

Part 3: Rewrite It

Propose one concrete reform.

Don't just say  “Make it fairer.” Explain exactly what changes.

Part 4: The Unintended Consequence

Every reform produces tradeoffs. Identify at least one serious problem your own proposal could create.

Part 5: Make the Case

Conclude with: Is your reform still worth doing? Why?

Suggested format

1,000–1,250-word policy brief.

Purpose

Global Studies does not require getting on an airplane. For this assignment, spend approximately 45–60 minutes observing one ordinary public or commercial space available to you.

Possibilities include: a grocery store, shopping center, restaurant district, campus, public transit station, pharmacy, farmers' market, library, neighborhood commercial street; or another accessible location. You are not tracing one object as in the Chapter 1 activities. Instead, you are observing patterns.

Part 1: Observe

Record evidence of global connection that you notice. For example: languages, foods, brands, clothing, money-transfer services, religious symbols, imported products, international media, migration, technologies, advertisements, transportation, cultural mixing, or signs of global environmental awareness. Aim for at least ten observations. Photographs are optional and should not include identifiable people without permission.

Part 2: Sort the Evidence

Afterward, organize your observations into patterns. Which examples seem primarily: economic? cultural? political? social? environmental? Which refuse to fit into only one category?

Part 3: Find the Surprise

Choose the observation that surprised you most. Research enough to explain why it is there.

Part 4: Find What You Could Not See

Now consider what globalization in this space remained invisible. Could you see labor conditions? Migration histories? Ownership? Shipping routes? Environmental costs? Government policies? Digital infrastructure? Probably not. Explain why the visible evidence only tells part of the story.

Final Reflection

Answer: If someone walked through this place without a Global Studies lens, what would they fail to notice?

Suggested format

800–1,000 words plus field notes.