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Remix and Share

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(Complete Item Description)
- Abstract:
Everyday we are bombarded with the word "global" and encouraged to see globalization as the quintessential transformation of our age. But what exactly does "globalization" mean? How is it affecting the lives of people around the world, not only in economic, but social and cultural terms? How do contemporary changes compare with those from other historical periods? Are such changes positive, negative or simply inevitable? And, finally, how does the concept of the "global" itself shape our perceptions in ways that both help us understand the contemporary world and potentially distort it? This course begins by offering a brief overview of historical "world systems," including those centered in Asia as well as Europe. It explores the nature of contemporary transformations, including those in economics, media & information technologies, population flows, and consumer habits, not through abstractions but by focusing on the daily lives of people in various parts of the world. This course considers such topics as the day-to-day impact of computers in Silicon Valley and among Tibetan refugees; the dilemmas of factory workers in the US and rural Java; the attractions of Bombay cinema in Nigeria, the making of rap music in Japan, and the cultural complexities of immigrant life in France. This course seeks not only to understand the various forms globalization takes, but to understand its very different impacts world-wide.
- Subject:
- Social Sciences
- Grade Level:
- Post-secondary
- Collection:
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MIT OpenCourseWare
Read the Fine Print

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(Complete Item Description)
- Abstract:
What is the human cost of an iPad? The labor conditions at factories making Apple products have been in the public spotlight lately. While Apple is not unique in using low-wage Chinese labor to produce its electronic products, the popularity of the iPad and iPhone, along with publicity surrounding the death of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, have renewed debate about what labor conditions constitute modern-day sweatshops.
This lesson consists of two student readings. The first reading takes a closer look at the labor conditions in factories in China making Apple products. The second reading explores the debate about sweatshops more broadly. Is it realistic to eliminate them from the global economy? What impact have anti-sweatshop advocates made? Questions for discussion follow each reading.
- Subject:
- Business, Social Sciences
- Grade Level:
- Secondary
- Collection:
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Teachable Moment
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