The Nature of Protest : Teachers' Activities : Raising a Ruckus : Bay Window : KQED

Minding the Media \| Protesting Corporate Globalization \| The Nature of Protest
Lesson: PROTESTING CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION Download a copy of the guide in PDF format. Overview Subjects Grade Levels Learning Objectives Media Components Time Components Learning Components Introductory Activity Learning Activities Extension Activities OVERVIEW: In this lesson students will explore the different ways that corporate globalization affects society. They will research the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and compare and contrast differing views on the role and impact of these groups. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the key participants and defining moments of the protest movement illustrated in the Raising A Ruckus video. SUBJECTS: History, Social Studies, English, American Democracy GRADE LEVELS: 9-12 LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Students will develop an understanding of the terms globalization and corporate globalization. Students will conduct Internet research to understand the complexity of varied concepts surrounding issues of globalization. Students will learn about the missions and varied functions of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Students will critically examine diverse and conflicting views of different organizations involved in globalization. Students will critique various Web sites in terms of accuracy and authorship in order to understand multiple viewpoints. Students will engage in a debate to deepen their understanding of how different organizations are portrayed and how they fulfill their goals. Students will research interactions between the World Bank and varied countries throughout the world. Students will reflect on their own viewpoints regarding globalization based on what they know and have learned from lesson activities. MEDIA COMPONENTS: Bay Window: Raising a Ruckus TIME COMPONENTS: In order to most effectively implement the lesson activities it is suggested that the class watch the video in its entirety. The time allotment for each of the activities will vary according to the number of computers in the classroom, the students’ fluency with conducting Internet research, and the time spent in discussion of the issues surrounding globalization. As a general guideline each of the activities should take approximately two 50 minute class periods after watching the video. LEARNING COMPONENTS: Bookmark the following sites: http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/feature/india/interviews/medha.html http://www.worldbank.org/whatwedo/ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ec/20010125/wl/world_bank_seeks_ways_to_secure_the_poor_1.html http://www.j2000usa.org/updates/poor.html http://www.worldbank.org/research/trade/index.htm http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/pdinter/pdint207.html http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/aa01.htm http://www.50years.org/april16/demands.html http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/FINANCE/IMFHistory.html http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html http://ruckus.org/ http://ruckus.org/about.html http://www.globalexchange.org/ http://www.geocities.com/thirdeyeoutrch/home.html http://www.justact.org/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/newsid_711000/711906.stm http://www.ifg.org/ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010120/pl/bush_american_pageant4.html http://www.globalexchange.org/wbimf/statesOfUnrest.html http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10mis_e/10m00_e.htm http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/feature/india/interviews/medha.html http://www.smplanet.com/webpage/webpage.html http://www.futurenet.org/2Money/Korten.html INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY- SETTING THE STAGE Activity One: Defining Terms- IMF, World Bank and WTO In order to understand the film students will need to develop background knowledge regarding the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. The purpose of this activity is to provide students with an introduction to these organizations so that they can effectively understand the concepts in the film. Divide the class into three groups. Each group will be assigned one of three organizations to research. Each group will be responsible for compiling a "Fact Sheet" which effectively describes the organization’s key functions. They will share these with the larger class. Possible sites to begin research are suggested after each group assignment: Group One: The World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/whatwedo/ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ec/20010125/wl/world_bank_seeks_ways_to_secure_the_poor_1.html http://www.j2000usa.org/updates/poor.html http://www.worldbank.org/research/trade/index.htm Group Two: The International Monetary Fund http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/pdinter/pdint207.html http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/aa01.htm http://www.50years.org/april16/demands.html http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/FINANCE/IMFHistory.html Group Three: The World Trade Organization http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html After compiling their "Fact Sheets," each group is responsible for making a presentation to teach the class about the organization it has researched. Activity Two: Organizational Introductions Ruckus Society Visit the Web site of the Ruckus Society at http://ruckus.org/. Share Mario Savio’s quote from the site with your class: There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all! Brainstorm ideas regarding this quote. What "machine" is this quote referring to? What would be the factors that would push you to want to stop the machine? What would be the ways you might stop the machine? Record on a board. Divide the class into four research groups. Send each tos research the Web site of the following organizations: The Ruckus Society, Global Exchange, Third Eye and Just Act. Group One: The Ruckus Society http://ruckus.org/about.html Group Two: Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/ Group Three: Third Eye http://www.geocities.com/thirdeyeoutrch/home.html Group Four: Just Act http://www.justact.org/ Each small group should share with the entire class. They can do so by creating a poster, power point or other media presentation illustrating what they perceive to be the group’s main mission and message. LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Activity One: What is Globalization? Globalization is a complex issue. The purpose of this activity is to give students some initial understandings of the concept of globalization. They will look at a variety of perspectives, opinions, and viewpoints, and then generate their own definition. Write the word "GLOBALIZATION" in the center of a circle on a large piece of paper. Ask the students to brainstorm meanings. Record their answers. Save students’ work for use in the culminating lesson activity. Ask the students to look up the dictionary meaning of the word globalization. Share students’ results. A sample is given below: Main Entry: glob·al·ize Pronunciation: 'glO-b&-"lIz Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): -ized; -iz·ing Date: 1944 : to make global; especially : to make worldwide in scope or application - glob·al·iza·tion /"glO-b&-l&-'zA-sh&n/ noun Share with the class the following facts from the Web site at http://www.corporations.org/. Of the world's 100 largest economies, 51 are now global corporations. The richest 1 percent of Americans own 40 percent of all U.S. assets. The combined assets of 358 billionaires equal the combined assets of almost half the world's population. The courts have given corporations the basic Constitutional rights of persons, but workers lose those rights on entering the workplace. The corporate share of taxes paid has fallen from 33 percent in the 1940's to 15 percent in the 1990's. Individuals' share of taxes has risen from 44 to 73 percent. What are students’ thoughts about these facts? Keep these facts up and revisit them after students have some to a better understanding of corporate globalization. Tell the class that globalization is defined differently by different people. Review the following quote from the movie in which Han Shan describes globalization: "Globalization, communication between people around the world? Solidarity between people around the world? I want those things, but economic and corporate led globalization? Well, not only is it not inevitable, it’s inevitable that we have to stop it." To gain an understanding of the different perspectives that surround globaliztion, create a class chart that is entitled, GLOBALIZATION- THE POSITIVE & THE NEGATIVE. Divide the class into two groups. Read the following article which introduces the concept of globalization with the class at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/newsid_711000/711906.stm Ask one group to fill in the chart with the positive aspects of globalization described in the article, and ask the second group to fill in the chart with the negative aspects of globalization which were described in the article. Divide the class into small groups made up of those who focused on the positive aspects and those who focused on the negative aspects of globalization. Ask the group to come up with a statement that defines globalization based on both the article and their discussion. Share the group statements with the larger class. Divide the class into small research groups to further investigate different aspects of globalization. Group One: Economic Globalization http://www.ifg.org/ Group Two: The World Bank & Globalization http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ec/20010125/wl/world_bank_seeks_waysto_secure_the_poor_1.html Group Three: Cultural Identity & Globalization http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010120/pl/bush_american_pageant4.html Lead a class discussion focusing on the following questions: In what ways has the world become smaller in the past decade? What do we gain by the world becoming smaller? What do corporations gain by the world becoming smaller? What do we lose by the world becoming smaller? How has the world become more divided? What do we lose by the world being less unified? Can diversity survive in a world where corporate globalization occurs? Return to the GLOBALIZATION- THE POSITIVE & THE NEGATIVE chart that the class generated in number 4 above, and add their new understandings of globalization to it. Activity Two: My Country & The WTO In the following activity students will examine different countries’ interactions with the WTO/IMF. They will analyze varied elements in order to find commonalties and differences in key issues regarding the relationships between the World Trade Organization and these countries. Divide the class into small research groups. Have each group select a country to study using the Web site at http://www.globalexchange.org/wbimf/statesOfUnrest.html. Have each group create a summary of the key issues that affect the country they have chosen. Based on these issues, the group should create a sound byte that cogently and effectively captures the essence of their country’s dealings with the WTO. (Definition of "sound byte": a quick, to the point comment that is used to capture the essence of one’s point. It is usually used in reporting news, such as when a person or group has the opportunity for a brief response in a segment of a news story.) As a class, create a mock news broadcast that features a news reporter who will interview a representative from each country. This representative will present the group’s sound byte. Videotape this broadcast if possible. Replay the videotape to analyze the sound bytes. Ask the class to determine the commonalties (if any) among the different countries. Collect the summaries from the groups and read them aloud, omitting the country name. Ask the students to accurately match the summary with the country. Upon completion, ask the students to assess whether this was an easy or difficult task. Discuss the key issues that arose from the research regarding these countries and their dealings with the World Trade Organization. Activity Three: Debating & Understanding the World Trade Organization The WTO has a Web site that is entitled "Ten Common Misunderstandings about the World Trade Organization." The purpose of this activity is for students to engage in Internet-based research to explore the different sides of an issue. This will help them develop critical analytic skills when reading information. As a class, read the article entitled "Ten Common Misunderstandings about the World Trade Organization" http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10mis_e/10m00_e.htm Divide the class into Investigative Teams. Each team has the responsibility to produce counter-evidence to each claim of misunderstanding named on the Web site above. Ask them to record both where they got their information and the author of the Web site. Review each of the ten "common misunderstandings" and allow the students to present their evidence (point vs. counterpoint). Discuss their evidence and viewpoints after all evidence is presented. When all evidence has been presented, ask the class to vote as to whether they agree with the original article statement or not. Review the following quote from James Wolfensohn of the World Bank as he talks about those who protest: "I believe deeply that many of them (protestors) are asking legitimate questions. I embrace the commitment of the new generation to fight poverty. We live in a world scarred by inequality. Something is wrong when the richest 20% of the global population receive more than 80% of the global income." Ask the students to share their responses to this statement. Activity Four: The Human Face of Corporate Globalization In this activity students will be able to see the impact corporate globalization has on human life. They will learn about the actions taken by an Indian woman, Medha Paktar, in fighting the construction of a dam project backed by the World Bank. Read the following introduction from this Web site at http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/feature/india/interviews/medha.html to your class: Medha Patkar has been the key leader and organizer of the Save Narmada Movement, a successful mass campaign of tribal people and other farmers to stop construction of the World Bank-backed Sardar Sarovar dam project in India. Sardar Sarovar would have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The Save Narmada Movement mobilized local people to take extraordinary action -- including a mass threat to cling to the land and drown if the locals' land was submerged. In her campaigning, Patkar has gone on repeated hunger strikes, and been frequently arrested and beaten. She is now convener of the National Alliance of People's Movements, a coalition of citizen organizations united by their opposition to what Patkar calls "globalization/liberalization" policies. Patkar is a winner of the 1992 Goldman Environmental Prize. As a class, read the interview aloud. Choose different students and exchange parts throughout. Create a script based on this interview which tells Medha Patkar’s story. If possible, act this out in front of an audience and videotape it. If possible, publish the story on a Web site. For information on creating a Web site, refer to http://www.smplanet.com/webpage/webpage.html Activity Five: Capturing a Picture of Globalization The purpose of this activity is for students to take what they have learned from reading, writing, viewing and listening to the issues surrounding globalization and create an artistic representation reflecting their understandings of it. Share the following Web site which features cartoons on the World Trade Organization (and many other topics as well at http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/WTO/. Share the following Web site with the class at http://www.political-cartoons.co.nz/. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the cartoon depicting globalization. Ask each student to draw a political cartoon which most effectively represents their understanding of globalization. Post their cartoons on the walls of the classroom or on a class Web page. Activity Six: Broadening Notions of Globalization The purpose of this culminating lesson activity is for students to synthesize the knowledge they have acquired through the film and lessons by creating a graphic organizer (a conceptual map). A visual representation is a helpful way to organize and summarize their knowledge. Provide students with a very large space in which to work. This could be a long blackboard or a roll of butcher block paper. Write the word "GLOBALIZATION" in the center. Refer back to students’ brainstormed definitions in Activity One: Defining Globalization. Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about globalization throughout the lesson activities. Based on their responses, create a new conceptual map that represents their new knowledge. EXTENSION ACTIVITIES: Activity One: Suggesting Change Share the following background information with the class about the author of the article "Healing the Money System": After fourteen years of residence in Southeast Asia, Dr. Korten and his wife, Frances reside in New York City, where he is the founder and president of The People-Centered Development Forum (PCDForum). The PCDForum is an international voluntary organization whose activities center on facilitating the sharing and interpretation of experience with an emerging people's development movement. This movement envisions a just, sustainable, and inclusive society that celebrates the richness and diversity of life, enhances personal freedom, lives by non-violence, and enables the growth of community and the human spirit. The forum carries out its work in close association with the Asian NGO Coalition, and cooperating individuals and organizations throughout the world. Ask the students to read the article and then brainstorm some possible solutions to the issues raised throughout. http://www.futurenet.org/2Money/Korten.html Activity Two: Reflecting on Reform Efforts Ask the students to read the following article at http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/reformWorldBank.html entitled "Why the World Bank Must Be Reformed and How We Can Do It" and write a critique of it. Download a copy of the guide in PDF format. What is PDF? You will need to have installed on your computer the Adobe Acrobat™ Reader program in order to view and print these guides. You may download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat™ Reader by visiting http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

Minding the Media | Protesting Corporate Globalization | The Nature of Protest