Questions for the Midterm Exam -- to be updated

1. Compare health care in three other countries based on the T.R. Reid clip and the article "Paying More, Living Less."   Which approach makes the most sense to you?  Why?
2. Explain Al Gore's "2 Canaries" of global climate change.  
3. What does Roesler mean when he says the US is a "cultural borg?"  How does that reflect fundamentalist backlash against the US?  
4. How does Pape contradict conventional wisdom regarding terrorism?
5. What does Ben Barber mean when he talked about Bin Laden's Jujitsu on terrorism?
6. Munson examines two hypotheses on why Muslims hate the US.  Explain them.  What does Munson argue is the reason for hostility towards us?  Explain his reasoning.  Do you agree?
7. Article 15: What does Stiglitz mean when he states that "liberalization discrimiates against developing countries."  Do you think the US and other countries should create a system that is fair to developing countries?  Do you think it realistic to think that countries will give up their advantages to help developing countries?
8. What does Perkins (in the "Economic Hitman" clip) argue about how the US used other countries' debt?   How does the "Life & Debt" clip illustrate the concessions that wealthy country are able to extract from developing countries (regarding the dairy industry)?

 

Questions for the Final Exam (to be updated later)

1. According to Cypher, is Chile a neoliberal success or an example of successful government intervention? 
2. What are the IMF's "4 Steps of Economic Damnation?"
3. Was Chile a neoliberal success?
4. What are the benefits and drawbacks of China's 3 Gorges Dam?  Would you build it?  Explain.
5. Why didn't GHW Bush invade Iraq in 1991?  
6. Regarding Iraq, Roesler argues that we should "do it right" or get out.  What does "do it right" mean?
7. Explain the main concerns of each of the three main ethnic/religious groups of Iraq?
8. How does the film "East is East" reflect the assimilation issue facing immigrants?

 

Take Home Essay

Bring it to the Final (typed); 20 points; 2 pages

Discuss the movie "Sicko."   How does the US approach differ from other countries' discussed in the film?    Be sure to explain "medical loss" and  "patient dumping." Compare the quality of health care in the US with others, including infant mortality rates and life expectancy.  Be sure to give details and statistics, such as from the "statistics columns" from the WHO's pages:  http://www.who.int/countries/usa/en/ and http://www.who.int/countries/can/en/. How would you reform our health care system?

 

End of Final Study Guide



Kolya

 

1. Why are the Czech Republic and other former Soviet bloc countries so pro-US and anti-Russian? 

1. Compare the lives of Czechs to that of Russians during the cold war.  The movie Kolya illustrated many of the issues and concerns faced by Soviet bloc countries during the 1980s.  Discuss two scenes from the movie that reflect this.

Reading #21

1. Give examples of US 'superpower swagger.'

1. Discuss the approach that Rizky Narzamzamy takes in 'fighting America.'  Discuss his approach in relation to our conversation with Dr. DeMerchant.

1. Professor Lawrence at Duke University argues that "they hate us because of what we do... (and) that our policy seems to contradict our own basic values."  What did he mean?  Do you agree? 

Reading #23

1. Why does Sadowski argue that most ethnic conflicts are NOT rooted in ancient tribal or religious rivalries?

1. Do you agree with Sadowski's arguement about the link between globalization and ethnic conflict?  Discuss Latin American and other examples from the article.

1. List the "3 surprises" from the impact of economic globalization.

60 Minutes Video & Lecture & Handouts from Professor DeMerchant

1. What is fundamentalism?  What factors lead to it?

1. What impact did the teachings of Muhammad have on the treatment of Arabian women?

1. How did Professor DeMerchant explain post-modernism?  Why did he say it led to fundamentalism?

1. "The Ultimate Concerns of religion are non-negotiable."  What are the implications for that and do you agree?

1. Discuss the relationship between Christian fundamentalism and US support for Israel.

Chapter 11 from Love-Cusimano and Ellen Wilson's Lecture

1.  What is Lovejoy's Dilemma?  How does international debt and external pressures (by the IMF, for example) exacerbate this problem?

1. What are NGO like the Missouri Botanical Garden doing to alleviate this?  According to Love, what does all this interaction suggest about the state of sovereignty?  Do you agree?

1. What does the Model of Demographic Transition suggest about population growth in countries as they begin to develop?

1. What was Malthus' main point about population growth?

1. Discuss the impact of rainforest destruction on the global (macro) ecosystem?

Articles # 5 ,7, 8 & 9 from Annual Editions

1. What factors have reduced birth rates since the 1960s?   If you were the Queen of India with the power to declare any law, how would you reduce birth rates?

1. Despite this reduction, Lester Brown argues that "things are much worse than we expected them to be 20 years ago."  Why did he say that?  (Hint: refer to the Model of Demographic Transition)

1. What are GMOs?  What are the benfits of using them?

1. Discuss the 'perils' of GMOs that were discussed in the article (allergens, genetic pollution, and ecological).

1. Why are carbon dioxide and CFCs called 'greenhouse' gasses?

1. Aristotle observed "that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it."  How does this relate to the 'creeping' problems facing the world?

1. Compare the TOE per capita in North America, Europe, China and India.  What would happen if China and India began to approach Western energy usage?

1. What are CAFE standards?  Should they be raised?

Chapter 4 in Cusimano-Love

1. On page 105, the authors suggest that "we are witnessing a rise in private power."  What do they mean?

1. Discuss the three ways that corporations are regulating themselves (CSR).  (see pp 109-112)

1. Give three examples from the text (pp114-116) of how MNCs are performing security functions. The last line in the article states that "As governments cede or contract functions to the private sector... state power, capacity, legitimacy and authority change relative to other actors--and thus sovereignty is changing."   Do you agree?

Professor Welz' lecture & "World on Fire" & "Sustaining the Single Global Economic Space" articles

1. Professor Welz argued that Free Markets are the key to economic growth.  What does the term 'free-market' mean?

1. Discuss the criteria needed to have a successful market economy.

1. Chua argues that "when economic liberalization and democracy are rapidly introduced to countries with market-dominant minorities, the two forces necessarily come into conflict."  Why?  How does this contradict the idea that " more markets and more democracy" are the best way to reign in ethnic tensions?  With which do you agree?

1. John Ruggle argues that a rollback, "a shift away from globalization, is the more likely outcome unless we strengthen the fabric of our society."  What does he mean by that?  How can corporations do that?

#13, Clash of Globalizations & the Monitor Articles: "Can Small Be Beautiful" and "At Foreign Firm..."

1. Bruce Scott argues that strong states are essential to development (p76-77).  What did he mean?  Contrast his examples of Europe, Russia and Asia.

1. Hoffman argues that globalization "seems to foster conflicts and resentments."  What does he mean?  How would you lessen those resentments?

1. What is the 'consumption trap' that Kumar Venkat discusses?

1. DDD pays its workers about $16 a week.  What is your opinion of this brand of capitalism?

European Union & NAFTA; Video:  NAFTA: The New Economic Frontier

1. What are the problems faced by the EU today?

1. Will the 'widening' of Europe affect the 'deepening' of it?

1. Should NAFTA press for greater regional integration?  Be sure to discuss functionalism.

1. The video points out the social costs of free trade along the Texas/Mexican border. How should that be addressed?

Disenchantment, Re-enchantment and the New Cathedrals of Consumption Lecture

1. Explain George Ritzer’s McDonaldization thesis.  List some characteristics of McDonaldization and how that can lead to disenchantment. 
2. How is this 'McDonaldizaton' a global phenomenon?  Is this an example of American socio-economic domination?

​