Global Youth Voices
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Global contacts have been a factor in world history for many centuries. In the postclassical period, Arab merchants developed extensive commercial contacts, including international exchange of money, and products circulated widely for elites in Afro-Eurasia. In the early modern period, virtually the whole world was embraced in some level of commercial exchange. Industrialization added further dimensions, including new technologies that accelerated transportation and communication.
Many scholars believe, however, that the intensive network of contacts that developed from the 1970’s onward constitute a really new phenomenon in world history, and they often call this globalization. Some find globalization a good thing, some bemoan the problems and losses it entails, but almost no one argues that something like it is not occurring.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
This is a collection of articles written by young people from around the world. These articles represent globalization around the world. As you read how these young people’s lives are being affected by globalization, think about the objects, goods, and people that you come into contact every day. How has globalization impacted your life?
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
Tanja Kovac (23 year-old Financial Assistant in Slovenia)
I have a large collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. There are so many MJ things that people don’t even know exist. I have all of his albums, singles, vinyls, picture discs, special edition discs, his rare mixes and tapes, Jackson 5 and The Jacksons albums…all about his music. Then I have so many of his books, magazines (from all over the world), song books, calendars, notebooks, PVC bags with MJ on it, puzzles, MJ perfumes, sculptures, badges, stickers, over 1500 of his original photos, over 100 videocasettes of rare footage of Michael Jackson, pillows, posters, promotional posters, tour books, flags, caps Mystery drink cans, MJ dolls (which sing the Black or White song), T-shirts, Billie Jean glove, hats (one of them was touched by Michael himself), DVD’s, concert tickets, original History tour bag … My most special items are two Michael Jackson autographs that I got when I went to see Michael live (Berlin and London). I made a tattoo on my right arm of one of the autographs.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How does this narrative illustrate globalization?
McDonald’s and Love in China – Blog Posting
Ten months ago my eyes would have remained on my food tray, attempting to decipher the symbols and Mandarin characters describing McDonald’s newest advertising scheme. On this day, however, I sat transfixed by the scene a mere two feet before me. The university-aged lovers (a word the Chinese apply to boyfriend/girlfriend) shared a small hot tea, which remained capped and unopened, an order of spicy McWings, a fish sandwich, and small fries. The woman was feasting on the chicken wing morsels; the man was feasting on the woman. He frequently stroked her long, dark hair, placing it behind her right shoulder. Both her hands were full of food, his remained free to assist her in opening cartons, peeling the paper from her sandwich. Learning into each other, they were merely a burger distance apart as he fed her fries. I could have been on the moon. I don’t understand Putonghua, literally common speech, as I don’t speak or translate Mandarin. As a professor of communication studies, however, I like to think I have slightly more success in people-watching than most. Attempting to match nonverbal communication with words I hear repeatedly, I manage life quite well in China. Besides, I was also once in love.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How did this synopsis illustrate globalization?
Angela (Factory Worker in Mexico) – On Work & Pay
In the factory’s good times we were sixteen hundred women making cassettes. There was a lot of competition among us, and none of us wanted to let up. We ate in ten minutes instead of the fifty the company allowed, because we were interested in making more cassettes than our counterparts. I had a very good record; they took all the women on our line out to eat a number of times as a prize for having been the most productive group. During that period I never felt any aches and pains, and I didn’t feel exhausted. Initially, I earned $18.99 a week, then $26.50, $36.00, and $56.00 (a week). Then, after the devaluation, we began to be paid in pesos. We were all very angry because we preferred to be paid in dollars, but the company said it was not convenient.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Why did the workers in Mexico prefer to be paid in American dollars as opposed to Mexican pesos?
Gabriela (Factory Worker in Mexico) – On Health Conditions
The room still lacks good fans, and the ones they have often don’t work at all. I don’t know how the muchachas keep working there, because neither the general conditions nor the safety measures have been improved in the least. Surely, they are going to suffer the same problems that I did. That work with acids is very exacting and dangerous, because if you don’t mix the chemicals properly, they can explode. Everything has to be done by the book, using precise measures. Despite the hazardous nature of the work, and the fact that you must be specially trained to do it, they pay the same as for any other job, and they fail to recognize its critical importance.
One time there was an explosion and two co-workers were burned. Fortunately, their clothing was stripped off right away and they were washed down, which kept them from being badly burned. If the chemicals had gotten on them, even one drop in the eyes, they would have been blinded. One of the safety measures that we did have was goggles, but we rarely used them because they made us so hot, as the room has no ventilation…
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. In your opinion, how do these working conditions compare to those in the United States? Give at least one reason to explain your answer.
Gabriela – (Factory Worker in Mexico) On a Plant Strike
We workers were affected by the devaluation, but for the owners it was a great deal. Here in Tijuana, and generally along the entire border, we have to buy a lot of American products – basic necessities – with prices marked in dollars. Every time there is a devaluation we buy fewer products; every time we poor people become poorer, and the rich become richer.
During the strike the manager tried to bribe the union membership, offering money and better salaries on the condition the people leave the union. After ten days of striking, the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration declared the strike null and void.
The first day of February 1983 they closed the plant permanently. They fooled us good. We were all demoralized: the state government, the American owners, and the Mexican manager had united to do us in. They stopped at nothing to destroy the union. We pressured the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration to secure compensations, and after fighting around the clock, they gave us only 70 percent of what we were owed.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. What evidence, from the text, supports the author’s claim that “every time we poor people become poorer, and the rich become richer?”
Maria Luisa – Urban Life in Tijuana, Mexico
I got to Tijuana and I couldn’t pronounce a lot of words. I couldn’t pronounce “carpet,” or “linoleum,” or “newspaper.” I didn’t even know these things existed. The old lady’s niece told me, “You don’t say it like that! You say it this way!” She taught me how to pronounce the words correctly. I was really taken with TV because I had never seen it. I had seen movies, because there was a man who brought them to show in the village. I had only seen movies, that was it. But I had never imagined there could be this little box, you turn it on, and there are people talking. I really liked TV. It’s very entertaining!...
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How was rural life different from urban life?
IV. Personal Reflection
1. What are some of the main features of global youth culture?
2. Why are people attracted to globalization?
3. What kinds of criticism or resistance might globalization create or foster?
4. Are multinational business operations good, bad, or indifferent for individual nations, such as Mexico, Slovenia, the United States, or China? Is the answer basically the same for each country? How might the answer vary, depending on the social group involved with each nation?
V. Peer Reflection
1. Read one classmate’s response to question 4 and evaluate and comment on their response. (Do you agree or disagree? Why? Are there any problems with their analysis and logic? If so, what is the problem?)
Source: Stearns, Peter N. et al. Documents in World History, Vol. 2 - The Modern Centuries: From 1500 to the Present. New York: Pearson Education, 2009.
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Global contacts have been a factor in world history for many centuries. In the postclassical period, Arab merchants developed extensive commercial contacts, including international exchange of money, and products circulated widely for elites in Afro-Eurasia. In the early modern period, virtually the whole world was embraced in some level of commercial exchange. Industrialization added further dimensions, including new technologies that accelerated transportation and communication.
Many scholars believe, however, that the intensive network of contacts that developed from the 1970’s onward constitute a really new phenomenon in world history, and they often call this globalization. Some find globalization a good thing, some bemoan the problems and losses it entails, but almost no one argues that something like it is not occurring.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
This is a collection of articles written by young people from around the world. These articles represent globalization around the world. As you read how these young people’s lives are being affected by globalization, think about the objects, goods, and people that you come into contact every day. How has globalization impacted your life?
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
Tanja Kovac (23 year-old Financial Assistant in Slovenia)
I have a large collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. There are so many MJ things that people don’t even know exist. I have all of his albums, singles, vinyls, picture discs, special edition discs, his rare mixes and tapes, Jackson 5 and The Jacksons albums…all about his music. Then I have so many of his books, magazines (from all over the world), song books, calendars, notebooks, PVC bags with MJ on it, puzzles, MJ perfumes, sculptures, badges, stickers, over 1500 of his original photos, over 100 videocasettes of rare footage of Michael Jackson, pillows, posters, promotional posters, tour books, flags, caps Mystery drink cans, MJ dolls (which sing the Black or White song), T-shirts, Billie Jean glove, hats (one of them was touched by Michael himself), DVD’s, concert tickets, original History tour bag … My most special items are two Michael Jackson autographs that I got when I went to see Michael live (Berlin and London). I made a tattoo on my right arm of one of the autographs.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How does this narrative illustrate globalization?
McDonald’s and Love in China – Blog Posting
Ten months ago my eyes would have remained on my food tray, attempting to decipher the symbols and Mandarin characters describing McDonald’s newest advertising scheme. On this day, however, I sat transfixed by the scene a mere two feet before me. The university-aged lovers (a word the Chinese apply to boyfriend/girlfriend) shared a small hot tea, which remained capped and unopened, an order of spicy McWings, a fish sandwich, and small fries. The woman was feasting on the chicken wing morsels; the man was feasting on the woman. He frequently stroked her long, dark hair, placing it behind her right shoulder. Both her hands were full of food, his remained free to assist her in opening cartons, peeling the paper from her sandwich. Learning into each other, they were merely a burger distance apart as he fed her fries. I could have been on the moon. I don’t understand Putonghua, literally common speech, as I don’t speak or translate Mandarin. As a professor of communication studies, however, I like to think I have slightly more success in people-watching than most. Attempting to match nonverbal communication with words I hear repeatedly, I manage life quite well in China. Besides, I was also once in love.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How did this synopsis illustrate globalization?
Angela (Factory Worker in Mexico) – On Work & Pay
In the factory’s good times we were sixteen hundred women making cassettes. There was a lot of competition among us, and none of us wanted to let up. We ate in ten minutes instead of the fifty the company allowed, because we were interested in making more cassettes than our counterparts. I had a very good record; they took all the women on our line out to eat a number of times as a prize for having been the most productive group. During that period I never felt any aches and pains, and I didn’t feel exhausted. Initially, I earned $18.99 a week, then $26.50, $36.00, and $56.00 (a week). Then, after the devaluation, we began to be paid in pesos. We were all very angry because we preferred to be paid in dollars, but the company said it was not convenient.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Why did the workers in Mexico prefer to be paid in American dollars as opposed to Mexican pesos?
Gabriela (Factory Worker in Mexico) – On Health Conditions
The room still lacks good fans, and the ones they have often don’t work at all. I don’t know how the muchachas keep working there, because neither the general conditions nor the safety measures have been improved in the least. Surely, they are going to suffer the same problems that I did. That work with acids is very exacting and dangerous, because if you don’t mix the chemicals properly, they can explode. Everything has to be done by the book, using precise measures. Despite the hazardous nature of the work, and the fact that you must be specially trained to do it, they pay the same as for any other job, and they fail to recognize its critical importance.
One time there was an explosion and two co-workers were burned. Fortunately, their clothing was stripped off right away and they were washed down, which kept them from being badly burned. If the chemicals had gotten on them, even one drop in the eyes, they would have been blinded. One of the safety measures that we did have was goggles, but we rarely used them because they made us so hot, as the room has no ventilation…
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. In your opinion, how do these working conditions compare to those in the United States? Give at least one reason to explain your answer.
Gabriela – (Factory Worker in Mexico) On a Plant Strike
We workers were affected by the devaluation, but for the owners it was a great deal. Here in Tijuana, and generally along the entire border, we have to buy a lot of American products – basic necessities – with prices marked in dollars. Every time there is a devaluation we buy fewer products; every time we poor people become poorer, and the rich become richer.
During the strike the manager tried to bribe the union membership, offering money and better salaries on the condition the people leave the union. After ten days of striking, the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration declared the strike null and void.
The first day of February 1983 they closed the plant permanently. They fooled us good. We were all demoralized: the state government, the American owners, and the Mexican manager had united to do us in. They stopped at nothing to destroy the union. We pressured the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration to secure compensations, and after fighting around the clock, they gave us only 70 percent of what we were owed.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. What evidence, from the text, supports the author’s claim that “every time we poor people become poorer, and the rich become richer?”
Maria Luisa – Urban Life in Tijuana, Mexico
I got to Tijuana and I couldn’t pronounce a lot of words. I couldn’t pronounce “carpet,” or “linoleum,” or “newspaper.” I didn’t even know these things existed. The old lady’s niece told me, “You don’t say it like that! You say it this way!” She taught me how to pronounce the words correctly. I was really taken with TV because I had never seen it. I had seen movies, because there was a man who brought them to show in the village. I had only seen movies, that was it. But I had never imagined there could be this little box, you turn it on, and there are people talking. I really liked TV. It’s very entertaining!...
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How was rural life different from urban life?
IV. Personal Reflection
1. What are some of the main features of global youth culture?
2. Why are people attracted to globalization?
3. What kinds of criticism or resistance might globalization create or foster?
4. Are multinational business operations good, bad, or indifferent for individual nations, such as Mexico, Slovenia, the United States, or China? Is the answer basically the same for each country? How might the answer vary, depending on the social group involved with each nation?
V. Peer Reflection
1. Read one classmate’s response to question 4 and evaluate and comment on their response. (Do you agree or disagree? Why? Are there any problems with their analysis and logic? If so, what is the problem?)
Source: Stearns, Peter N. et al. Documents in World History, Vol. 2 - The Modern Centuries: From 1500 to the Present. New York: Pearson Education, 2009.
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