Have you ever wondered about the cup of coffee you are holding in your hands? Where does the coffee come from? Who grows it? Who processes it? What part does coffee play in their lives? How does it connect their lives to yours? Is your consumption of coffee purely a matter of individual taste? What does it mean for the relationship between you and those in the places through which coffee travels on its way to the coffee shop?
This course considers such questions about a range of common commodities that are traded globally such as coffee, tea, and bananas. It aims to familiarize students with the economic, social, and political mechanisms that regulate the production, distribution, and consumption of such commodities. By considering these commodities as embedded in the social and political lives of producers, traders, consumers, and other actors, you will be able to identify global forces and processes behind the common goods that you or people around you consume every day.
The course is suited to undergraduate students who are interested in learning about issues of globalization via ethnographic studies that take familiar consumer goods as the central objects of investigation. If you feel like English might be a challenge: this is also an opportunity to learn how to work with analysing and producing academic texts in English.
The course is structured around 12 global commodities, to each of which an ethnographic monograph is devoted. A copy of each core book on the reading list is available on reserve in the library, and you are responsible for acquiring access to the books. It is highly important for students to attend all sessions in order to have a good grasp of the main issues that cut across the different commodities considered in the course.
Learning objectives:
- Introduce students to key issues of globalization and how they are embodied in the production, distribution and consumption of global commodities.
- Introduce students to theories that are applied to understand these issues
- Acquaint students with anthropological writings on global commodities and the ethnographic approach to studying them.
Key skills to develop:
• Discussion skills: able to present ideas clearly, formulate a coherent argument, respond to other ideas constructively, and develop confidence in one’s ability to engage with other people in a discussion.
• Reading skills: able to prepare for the weekly seminars and the essay, identify key arguments and evidence used in a piece of writing and then critically appraising them.
• Writing skills: able to prepare an essay, including the abilities to identify a relevant topic and synthesize academic sources, and construct an original and well-presented argument.
• Self-reliance: able to manage time efficiently and be sufficiently reliable for group work, and to independently locate, evaluate, and use anthropological literature.
• Group work: able to prepare presentations, organize meetings of group members, constructively collaborate, and fully and equally participate.
• Presentation skills: able to synthesize information into a short presentation, present information or ideas convincingly, and develop confidence in speaking to groups of people.
Literature: See course schedule
Rhythmus | Tag | Uhrzeit | Format / Ort | Zeitraum |
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Modul | Veranstaltung | Leistungen | |
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23-GP Global Perspectives | Bereich 1: International politics, law and economics | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Bereich 2: World history, culture and language | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation | |
Bereich 3: Global community: opportunities, challenges and approaches | Studienleistung
|
Studieninformation | |
- | unbenotete Prüfungsleistung | Studieninformation | |
25-FS-EM Einführungsmodul | E2: Einführende Veranstaltung aus den Fakultäten | Studieninformation | |
E3: Einführende Veranstaltung aus den Fakultäten | Studieninformation | ||
25-FS-GM Grundlagenmodul | E2: Einführende Veranstaltung aus den Fakultäten | Studieninformation | |
E3: Einführende Veranstaltung aus den Fakultäten | Studieninformation | ||
30-M25 Fachmodul Transnationalisierung, Migration und Entwicklung | Seminar 1 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Seminar 2 | Studienleistung
|
Studieninformation | |
- | benotete Prüfungsleistung | Studieninformation |
Die verbindlichen Modulbeschreibungen enthalten weitere Informationen, auch zu den "Leistungen" und ihren Anforderungen. Sind mehrere "Leistungsformen" möglich, entscheiden die jeweiligen Lehrenden darüber.
Studiengang/-angebot | Gültigkeit | Variante | Untergliederung | Status | Sem. | LP | |
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Internationales in Studium und Lehre (Einschreibung bis SS 2011) | Wahl | 3 | aktive Teilnahme Global Perspectives, Bereich 1,2,3 GS |
Assessments
1. The Studienleistung will be assessed based on two components:
i. Students are expected to work (individually or in pairs, depending on the number of students) on a class presentation on the most important issues you find out about one commodity. The presentation could be in the form of a poster or in other forms, and should show (a) main groups of producers, traders, regulators, and consumers, and (b) highlight specific problems at various stages of the commodity’s lifecycle, (c) including the linkages, power relations, and interdependences between the different actors involved in these stages.
ii. Apart from reading the introduction of the books on the core reading list before every session, you will be asked to provide an oral summary of one chapter for each of at least 6 books on the core reading list. We will discuss who should read which chapter for the following session at the end of each seminar.
2. Moduleleistung: You will write a critical review of two books indicated in the reading list, including the additional readings. The critical review should be between 4500-5000 words. It should contain the main arguments of the two books and the empirical and theoretical linkages between the two books, in particular how they together illuminate the themes laid out in Appadurai’s text. You should also comparatively evaluate the arguments of the two books regarding their relevance and rigor, the research approach and the writing style of the book. The essay should be concisely written with a clear structure and arguments. It should also be well-formatted and properly referenced.
Zu dieser Veranstaltung existiert ein Lernraum im E-Learning System. Lehrende können dort Materialien zu dieser Lehrveranstaltung bereitstellen: