SOC 3040       FALL 2009     WRITING ASSIGNMENT #2           Prof. Ciccantell

The goal of this assignment is to help you answer the question “Why did I have to take this course?” We have been examining the system of global stratification and the connections between countries via processes such as globalization, underdevelopment, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling. This assignment requires you to examine various dimensions of your own life using these concepts, and to try to put yourself in the position of people in very different places in the system of global stratification. Make sure to address each of the following questions in a 4-5 page paper worth 40 points and due in class on Wed., December 9. The answer to each of the four questions should be approximately one page long. For each question, you have some latitude in deciding how to answer the question; the most important thing is that you gather information, analyze it, and then explain what you found using concepts from the course. The other thing to remember is that this is NOT intended to be a 20-page paper; do not get carried away in doing this assignment. Include a reference list of all sources used at the end of the paper and cite sources in the body of the paper.

Question 1: How do the system of global stratification, globalization, underdevelopment, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling affect you as a consumer? To answer this question, you need to do field research in a mall or a large discount store (e.g. Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart). Pick four major types of products (clothes, shoes, electronics, toys, housewares, etc.) and randomly select five items of each type of product. Make a list that includes what the product is, where it was made, and how much it cost (e.g. men’s shirt, Honduras, $10.99). In your own home, do the same thing for ten randomly selected items that you own; include these lists as an appendix at the end of your paper. To answer this question, topics to consider might include why the products were made in these places, how the selection and prices of these products affect what you buy, and how your choices might affect the economies and people where the products were made and in the U.S. (10 pts.)

Question 2: How do the system of global stratification, globalization, underdevelopment, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling affect you in your chosen career? If you are not sure about your career plans, just pick a potential option and use that career to answer this question. Potential issues to consider are how the industry in which you plan to work has been affected by these processes, what are the locations around the world where you might work, and how global competition is affecting the industry and jobs in it. To help in answering this question, find 4-5 references about the industry and your career; these can be books, academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, web sources, and/or interviews with people in the field. (10 pts.)

Question 3: Take the position of an impoverished Palestinian resident of the West Bank or Gaza. What do you think about the various groups that are using violence against other Palestinians and against the Israelis? What do you want the future of the Palestinian people to be? What do you think the U.S. should do to help resolve the situation? To help in answering this question, find 4-5 references about the topics you choose to address; these can be books, academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and/or web sources. (10 pts.)

Question 4: Take the position of an impoverished resident in an African country of your choice. How have the system of global stratification, globalization, underdevelopment, cultural diffusion, and cultural leveling affected your life? Potential topics to consider include the economic impacts of these processes (development versus underdevelopment, job and investment opportunities), the social impacts of these processes (on culture, family, religion, gender, or other social facts and social institutions), the political impacts on your country, and how your daily life has been changed by these processes. To help in answering this question, find 4-5 references about the country you chose; these can be books, academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and/or web sources. (10 pts.)