SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY NOW, CORPORATE AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY 4 LIFE

All of your comments about the circumstances of sweatshop labor revealed a deep concern for your relationship as students to others who are less fortunate in the world. This is the start of becoming a student OF the world rather than IN the world. Your insight and awareness is something to be proud of. Don't undermine it with guilt or shame, blame or fault, or even regret.

Consider this re-definition from Landmark Education.

Responsibility is not about blame, shame, guilt, fault, or regret. It starts with a willingness to consider being cause in the matter.

No one else is coming to save us. Responsibility might be creatively responding using the resources you have as a college student (technology, the power of your institution--Baruch/CUNY, the radio station, blogs, etc. ) or the resources of your position (galvanizing other students or people with similar interests) to make a difference, to impact the world we live in.

Perhaps you all could be like the students in the video and organize Baruch students to explore what unfair labor practices we as a group of people are unknowingly supporting. Awareness is an important form of activism.

Perhaps this poem might be useful in being cause in the matter.
"Our Deepest Fear"
by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

ABOUT MIRACLES AND FEAR
By the way, how would anthropologists study MIRACLES or even FEAR? Guilt, shame or blame? What etic category applies or would be useful? How, when or where would you participate and observe miracles or fear? Where would you conduct fieldwork? Better yet, what social construct is at work behind the perception/reality of MIRACLES, FEAR or SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? What construct prevents us from seeing them/it?

One thought for me, because I don't have an answer for this, is the social construct of "the individual" (does it really exists in nature or is it merely a social discourse perceived in some cultures and not others?). Hmm? What a paradox. "Individual" is a social construct. That's something I've NEVER thought about before.

IN CONCLUSION
What I am learning from my own inquiry is that "noticing" is the most powerful tool in participant-observation and ethnography.

Applying Anthropology: Who Identifies the Needs of Locals?

Applied Anthropology is distinct from the academic or theoretical side of the discipline. Through the use of anthropological data, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary problems involving HUMAN BEHAVIOR and social and cultural forces, conditions and contexts. The ethnographic method is an invaluable tools for learning and studying the local firsthand. So who should identify the needs of the local people? Is it the ethnographer, the scientist, who returns home after fieldwork? Or the cultural consultants, the insiders, the locals themselves?

Here's an example of a local from the South Bronx determining development needs for her community. Applied anthropology empowers local people to fulfill their own needs.

Talks Majora Carter: Greening the ghetto

Conformity and Conflict: A Mother's Love

Read more on mother love by Nancy Scheper-Hughes

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them”.
Epictetus (Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, AD 55-c.135)

Chap 10 - The World Economic System and Colonialization

Globalization and Colonialization is Fostering Unity among Youth
Most of my experience with colonialization has not seemed good. I am a person of African descent. My family history is traced to slavery. Forced migration led my people here. In the mid to late 1990s, I was one of those who challenged globalization at the political level. The bourgeosie were stealing the labor of the proletariat. Now mothers as well as fathers were not home with the children. All parents and even children have to work to make a living. Americans spend more time with fellow workers than their families and since the climate at work tends to be so strict, the anxiety and venting about our circumstances tend to fall on the family and kin in a strange version of negative reciprocity. Family seems last on our list time-wise. The impact of industrialization and commodification in our state economy.

So we are having a conversation, an inquiry, that is designed to really get up under your social constructs, which can seem like getting under your skin. Stirring up confusion, angry, and other feelings that may not be comfortable. Know this: it's all part of the learning process. Like walking out to look at the edge of the earth before our superstitions were upended, it can really seem threatening to confront our social constructs and the discourses that keep them in place. Our mindset is designed to reinforce the status quo. We cannot really seem beyond "what makes sense" or seems "real" to us. It's not a social construct. That's the way life is.

Here is the first video I want you to examine and dig into. It's called SOMETHING TO HIDE documenting a delegation composed of university students who head to El Salvador to find out who makes clothing for Nike and Wal-Mart. They find out it's people their age with little knowledge of their labor rights.

The second video called THE HIDDEN FACE OF GLOBALIZATION is produced by the same media organization the National Labor Committee. They support workers rights in a global economy. The second video is also about sweatshops but in Bhangladesh. Watching both had me realize how universal or at lease pervasive this experience has become relative to some of the largest US corporations such as Nike. From El Salvador to Bhangladesh cultlure is becoming a universally dismal like of labor and not much else.

It has been through live aid concerts and sweatshop campaigns that young people around the world have been out to make a difference. In 2008, Live 8 founded by Bob Geldof advocated for canceling Africa's debt to save African lives. Check out his appeal at the concert.

Social Control

In this TED Talk video Julia Sweeney talks about her transition in understanding religion from the time she turned 7 till now. Towards the end however she stresses the fact that no matter what religion, ultimately some of the ideals that they are based on sound ludicrous. For example, the story of God impregnating the Virgin Mary without the use of intercourse, and giving birth to the son of God. I may believe in this, however pretend you as an intellectual of 18+ never heard the story before. Would you not think of the story as just a myth? Is it another form of Social Control in that as child you were influenced to believe this and ultimately think it to be true? Do we choose to believe in it now because it works? Or do we just have nothing else to believe in?

Chapter 9: Religion

This week in Thursday, November 6, 2008, our group will discuss religion in a variety of different ways. We want to show how different every religion is and how others use ethnocentrism, believing that their religion is better than other religions. Before class, we want everyone to think about their own religions, if you have one, and what kind of practices your religion performs. Think about whether or not other people from other religions will criticize them.
On thursday, Jiaying will discuss family culture on the Chinese New Year. She will explain the process of how they worship the Gods, as well as bring some of the materials used to worship gods. This will allow us to understand some aspect of the Chinese religion.
Ivana will speak about her Christian Evangelic religion in her home town in Serbia. Her town is separated by an invisible line, dividing the homes of the Christian Evangelics on one side and the Catholics on the other side. This will show how religion can separate people and even cause conflicts.

The picture on the left is the Catholic church on one side of the town, while the picture on the right is the Christian Evangelic church, located on the opposite side of the town.

Eun Ji will be discussing religion in South Korea. Almost 46% of the South Koreans express no religious preference. Of the religious people, 29% are Christian, 23% are Buddhist and 3% have other religious beliefs. Christianity is the biggest religion in South Korea. Christianity in South Korea has a relatively short history, but after a difficult beginning, it has seen significant growth and success. South Korea has different kind of denominations, for example, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptism and Full gospel. Although Presbyterian is the most well-known, there are more followers for Full gospel so here is a clip on full gospel.
Yoido Ful Gospel Church



This is a video of worship in full Gospel Churches in South Korea.

Christian Music Video Body Worship Dance - Worthy Is The Lamb

Tanzina will show some interesting videos on taboos in religion.

The New First Family, A New President, A New America

Voting on Gay Marriage Today - Nov 4

While McNeil-Lehrer reports a record breaking turnout from the electorate today, major initiatives concerning gay marriage are being decided in voting in three major states.

"Initiatives dealing with gay marriage, stem cell research and abortion also are on the ballot in several states.

California's Proposition 8 would terminate marriage rights for gay couples. Arizona's Proposition 102 would amend the state's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Similarly, Florida's Proposition 2 would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage."

Why is it that humans fight over defining laws for other people in this manner? What is the assumption about humans that such activity suggests? That we must be all the same? What do you think?

Group 4 Gender

On thursday Oct 30 our group made a presentation on Gender. We discussed gender roles throughout different cultures and societies. Lorrain told a story about how she helped her team win a soccer game as young child. However, the opposing coach wanted the win to be nullified because he accused Lorrain of being a boy because of her looks. This caused Lorraine's family to get very upset and just shows how the opposing coach couldn't believe that a girl could accomplish what Lorraine did on the field. Lorraine also showed a video about small children as they innocently pointed out gender roles in our society www.youtube.com/watch?v=am8n5bXefi0
Gabrielle talked her family who are part of a Moroccan Jewish culture. She described how the women of household are supposed to be the ones in charge of cleaning the house and cooking the food. She also mentioned her grandfather's views of gender roles as he had a problem with Gabrielle enrolling in sports activites because she was a girl.
Edwin talked about chauvinism in todays world. He explained that chauvinism is the belief that men are better then women. Male chauvinists often believe that women are property and can accomplish nothing with out men. As out dated a belief as it may seem to us, with the women's rights movements, many people, both men and women, hold this belief to be true. Edwin than showed the following videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0xoKiH8JJM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptx52QwFz10
I talked about how humans are all alike and how sex is seperated by just one single chromosome. I played this video www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRGNGpwb8nE
Enki showed a "Ted Talk" like video in which a guest speaker discusses how an aid of 50/50 in a poor country given to men and women was not the right solution. The speaker showed how women are better able to manage money than men and use it to take care of their family. The aid given soon moved to a 60/40 split and continued moving in the women's favor until almost all aid was given to the woman of the household.
Nicaury showed how disney cartoons invoke messages of sexism, male strength, and male dominance. She played this video:

Use Active Learning for Your Group's Time in Class

PLEASE NOTE: The week your group is responsible for presenting on Thursday, you and your group members are only responsible for READING the Conformity & Conflict chapter HOWEVER you are not REQUIRED to write any response. You are welcome to comment on it but are not required to do so. My apologies to past groups for not stating this earlier.

The presentations so far have been great. Now I'd like to encourage different kinds of learning environments. The group presentations are also an opportunity to create an active learning environment -- that's where students are not lectured to but actuall create and contribute to what's learned from their own participation. Instead of presenting ideas and videos, you can use a video or facts/statistics to poll other students' thinking or beliefs. It's sort of like moment of participant-observation where the group operates as the scientists polling the emic views of the other students.

Previously I posted guidelines to inspire ideas for your group presentation. I requested it be 15-20 mins. I will allow you up to 20-25 minutes from now on. Please be mindful of that limitation (prepare + practice and time yourselves). Check out the previous posts on group presentations.

ACTIVE TRAINING/LEARNING STRATEGIES
Did any of you see the film FREEDOM WRITERS? In it Hilary Swank's character, a first-time teacher in a "war-zone" urban school abandons traditional teaching practices to get the students more involved in caring about their education. Your group presentations might abandon the traditional method of "presenting" ideas by having the rest of the students actively generate their emic views about religion, race/ethnicity, and the world economic system during your 20-25 mins.

Have the class do a "Take a stand exercise" (polling them on current immigration policy or the history of racial stratification. Do a "campfire" sharing session where groups of 3-4 students share a story/myth that reflects a core value in their religion/faith. Then have the groups discuss the stories they heard from an etic/anthropological perspective: what generalities or universals were shared in the stories; what is it that humans in each culture are striving for and why is there so much conflict between religions given the core values? You are welcome to steal or borrow any of these ideas. Strategies for active learning (rather than just listening) are much more fun and the group does much less work in the end.

Here are great resources for active learning strategies, do your own search on Google, or think of a great example from a film, a book you read, or from a favorite class you took before. I personally love the first one on trading spaces using post it notes.

1. http://www.activetraining.com/active_learning/tool_trading_places.htm
   
2. http://www.activetraining.com/active_learning/WeaveCourseContent.pdf
3. http://www.cat.ilstu.edu/additional/tips/actEngage.php
4. Also check out TEACHERTUBE for great resources and videos