Global Social Issues A Social Science Elective Course for Loudoun County Public Schools Grade 11/12 Elective Curriculum for Loudoun County Public Schools Loudoun County Public Schools Ashburn, Virginia, 2016
Global Social Issues: Course Overview This course is all about you. It may seem odd to begin a course about global issues by focusing on the individual, but by taking a close look at who we are as individuals, we can determine how we identify ourselves and how our identities are connected to different people across the world. Given the rapid pace of integration in today s world, we will likely find that even if we the people on this planet--have numerous differences, we all face similar issues for our human societies. Every day the news reminds us of just how highly interconnected and interdependent we are in this world, and everything that happens has an impact that can be felt in places that are very far away. The tsunami in the waters of Indonesia swamps not only the islands of that country but India and Sri Lanka too--prompting relief efforts from all over the globe. The explosion of the BP Deepwater oil rig is an unprecedented environmental disaster, but also severely affects the livelihood of fishermen, hotel keepers, shop owners and virtually everyone who lives along the Gulf Coast, and then its ripple effect is felt everywhere. Slumdog Millionaire, a movie about an unlikely TV game show participant in India, wins an Oscar for best film, and in the telling of the story, informs us of the complexities and challenges of modern Indian life. In Global Social Issues, we will study how humans behave and interact with each other. In some instances we will see people and nations working together on environmental concerns; and in some we will see other people and nations working at cross-purposes on the environment. On other issues, like women s rights, we will discover a wide spectrum of views and approaches according to a particular society s culture and history. The course is based on a framework of issues that will help us examine and understand cultures and societies around the world. We will begin by examining some of our own identities and social issues in Virginia and the U.S., and the various structures, concepts, and beliefs that characterize human social interaction here. Among these are family and community; class and caste; race, ethnicity, and gender; governance and economic systems. We will then use these categories to examine social issues across the globe, and identify factors that contribute to social change so that as various events unfold in our study, students and teachers will together be able to develop possible causes or explanations for them. Teachers are encouraged to develop a number of suggested topics that are representative of important global social issues and that fall loosely into one of three broad themes described below. Despite a topic s placement within a particular theme, it can be seen to have connections to several, if not all, of the other themes in the course. Teachers are encouraged to link topics to other themes and help students make and explain connections between them. *Many thanks go to Ting-Yi Oei for his careful thought and organization that made the creation of this curriculum possible.
Global Social Issues
Essential Knowledge and Skills: At the end of the course, students will be able to. List and describe the most important and pressing social issues facing many human societies across the globe today. Compare and contrast how different societies are structured when speaking about family life, schooling, economic activity, religion, and government. Describe how institutions like family, community, schools, and religion can change over time; explain what factors contribute to those changes and how those changes are handled across different cultures. Analyze an event such as the tsunami in Japan [earthquake in Haiti, BP Gulf oil disaster, Hurricane Katrina, etc.] and explain its consequences for the immediate community and the larger world. Identify the major factors that bring about social change. Explain several of those factors using specific examples from your study. e.g. Natural disasters; conflicts; economic disparities. Demonstrate with appropriate case studies that what happens in one domain of human activity affects others in many ways with both expected and unexpected consequences. e.g. the effects of drilling for oil. Explain how technology has revolutionized communication on both a personal and international level. In global terms, analyze the impact that Twitter, Facebook, Wikileaks, Al Jazeera, CNN, or other information networks have had. Examine how multiple societies try to address universal human challenges, and develop policy recommendations to help governments deal with these challenges. Define sociology and explain why it is helpful in learning about modern global social issues.
General Resources: LCPS: Library Media Services, Research Databases. Teachers should investigate the online research services provided by LCPS. One example of cultural change: the emergence of MTV in the 1980s, is discussed here: http://popculture.abcclio.com/topics/display/1474040 Global Issues: This site is an excellent starting point for research on this course with links to a host of other sites. http://www.globalissues.org/ http://www.globalissues.org/article/221/global-issues-links United States Census Bureau: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/ The United Nations: http://www.un.org/ Oxfam International: Focus is on international humanitarian assistance but provides accurate and in-depth portraits of political and economic situations behind the problems. http://www.oxfam.org/en Public Broadcasting, Frontline: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/educators/culture.html Please note: The resources listed here and following each unit often contain information and links to other topics in this course. As one might expect from the nature of the issues covered in this course, there is a great deal of overlap of interests and materials.
Unit I: The Individual in Today s Global Society Essential Knowledge and Skills: At the end of this unit, students will be able to: 1. Define culture in a personal way that helps them understand their own background and heritage while also appreciating the cultures of others. 2. Describe characteristics from their own families and factors in their own background that helped to shape their identity. 3. Describe individually how they have been affected by or are a product of American culture. 4. Compare and contrast their own experiences with those of others--both in contemporary terms (the experiences of their peers) and in historical terms (those of past generations). 5. Identify and explain why certain social issues are important to them. Discuss those issues in both a local and global context.
I. Self: The Individual in Today's Global Society
I. What is my Culture? A. Language background? B. Religion? C. Ethnicity/Nationality? D. Holidays, Celebrations? II. How do I Identify Myself? What are the factors that affect how people in all societies identify themselves? Have I used those same factors in my own identification? A. Gender B. Race C. Ethnicity D. Citizenship III. What Place do I Occupy in Society? How is place in society determined? What is high status? What is low status? A. Social Status B. Work/Profession C. Economic Status D. Status determined by biological or genetic factors?
Unit I Resources: USA.gov: Government Made Easy, Citizen History and Culture http://www.usa.gov/citizen/topics/history_culture.shtml Cultural Politics http://culturalpolitics.net/popular_culture
Unit II: Culture, Social Structures, Communication Essential Knowledge and Skills: At the end of this Unit, students will be able to: 1. Identify and discuss ways marriage and family are generally seen in the United States, allowing for different cultural approaches while recognizing consistent practices and attitudes across cultures. 2. Define the family unit and how it has changed over time. 3. Describe how technology has changed the way people meet, socialize, date, etc. 4. Compare and contrast how people connect to their community, their state, and their country today with how previous generations did. 5. Analyze people s behavior when they move or engage others outside of their own community. 6. Explain what social stratification is; show how class and caste are different from each other by giving examples. 7. Offer explanations as to why humans go about making distinctions among people such as caste and class? 8. Describe the evolution of caste distinctions in India, the current legal status of caste vs. actual practice. Give examples of the system in transition today. 9. Discuss class/caste issues as you see them in the U.S. today. Give specific examples. (Hurricane Katrina, Tax policy) 10. Describe examples of how American culture and commercialism, particularly youth culture, have spread across the world, and discuss its impact on other societies. 11. Discuss terms like pride, loyalty, nationalism, patriotism and the ways in which these words can affect how people relate to each other. 12. Identify some of the most significant findings of the recent 2010 Census for the United States and for Virginia. 13. Explain what a Population Pyramid Chart is and how it can be used as a tool for economic and social planning. (Compare and contrast the populations of Japan the United States looking particularly at the senior citizen levels.)
II. Culture, Social Structures, Communication
I.Family and its Shifting Definitions A. Marriage & Family in USA; International Influences B. Various Cultural Definitions; e.g. China II.Social Interaction, Social Networking A. Effects on Family & Community Life B. Nature of Contacts, Friendships C. Class and Caste III.Population and Demographic Changes A.Aging Populations B. Immigration; Rural-Urban Shifts; War and Conflict C. Youth Culture Unit II Resources: Population Education Education and Action for a Better World: http://www.populationconnection.org/site/pageserver?pagename=issues_main National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/09/g68/pyramids.html Also see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/population_pyramid
Unit III: Economic and Political Factors Essential Knowledge and Skills: Students will be able to. 1. Identify issues that motivate people to immigrate to the U.S.A. 2. Identify and develop possible criteria the U.S. should have to guide immigration policy. 3. Illustrate the impact of war on the demography of a nation, region, or beyond. Explain with specific examples. 4. Explain why the disparity between the rich and the poor has grown in the U.S. and the world in recent years. 5. Define key terms in today s discussion of global economic policies: free trade, globalization, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank. 6. Explain basic economic principles at work through the growth and then the collapse of the housing market. 7. Describe the chain of consequences throughout an industry, the whole economy, and society of the housing crisis. 8. Describe the process of how demand for drugs here in the U.S. ties into other international issues such as drug wars in Mexico or the war in Afghanistan. 9. Define terms like climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable development and explain why these are important issues to people around the world today. Use examples from one or more of these topics to illustrate the costs and benefits of maintaining ecological balance or going green. 10. Explain: What is the World Health Organization and what is its mission?
III. Economic and Political Factors
I. Legal Status A. Immigration & Citizenship B. Human & Civil Rights II. Distribution of Wealth A. Global Divides; e.g. North-South III. Economic Factors: Relate the US and other Countries to Each A.Public Health B. Environment C. Education D. Economic Disparities and their Interests: Unions, Oligarchies E. Illicit Trade: Drugs, Human Beings F. Natural Disasters: Japan, New Orleans Unit III Resources: Doctors Without Borders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/ Utah Compact: http://utahcompact.com
Unit IV: Race, Ethnicity, Language, Gender Essential Knowledge and Skills: Students will be able to. 1. Identify countries of southern Africa, similarities and differences between them in terms of recent history and their handling of a post-white-dominated political scene. 2. Discuss and explain specific examples from around the world where race, ethnic and/or religious conflicts either have occurred or continue to occur. 3. What role do race, ethnicity, language, and gender play in being able to acquire an education both here in the U.S. and in other countries around the world? 4. Explain what Title IX is and what it has done over time to change the role of women in American society. 5. Compare and contrast the status of women in the US after Title IX to the status of women in other 21 st Century societies.
IV. Race, Ethnicity, Language, Gender
I. Identity Related to Country, Region, Religion... A. Equity for Minority Populations II. Source of Social and National Conflict A. Examples: Kosovo, Sudan, Rwanda III. The Role of Women A.Regional Differences; Cultural Differences B. Interactions; e.g. Islam in France C. Equity: The US Model? Unit IV Resources: Amnesty International: http://amnesty.org/ United Nations Global Compact, Human Rights and Business Development Forum, and Maplecroft (joint venture): http://human-rights.unglobalcompact.org/ http://maplecroft.com/about/who_we_are/ Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/