humans are not inseparable from the globalized world

If 2020 has taught us one thing, it is that humans are not inseparable from the globalized world, and in many ways the systems that we have created (economic, political, social, etc…) run contrary to or are incapable of dealing with the complexity of certain “human-environment” or “human-human” interactions.

I like for the final essay in every Global Issues to reflect back upon multiple strands of the course, while also dealing head-on with a current global issue. Five weeks ago, it was clear that you would be writing about Covid-19, just as my Spring 2020 students did, and while the coronavirus is certainly an ongoing global issue, it would be irresponsible to ignore the more pressing matter now dominating our headlines and streets, structural racism.

Basing your research on scholarly and peer-reviewed sources across the social sciences and humanities, explain how structural racism impacts racism, but also how those impacts translate into effects upon other areas such as politics, as well (so you should eventually be connecting multiple modules). You should choose a single topic from within each module to explore; for example, don’t try to write about how racism has impacted all of economics; focus in on one economic topic as a case study for the broader structure, and make sure that whatever you choose you address a current issue at least on a national scale, if not international. And keep in mind that this is a research paper, so you do not have to agree on some of the points you are making, but you do have to base them on evidence and support from peer-reviewed sources.

Include one paragraph with expert-opinion and evidence-based support as to how can we go about addressing and fixing the impacts you highlight in your paper.

Address these questions utilizing peer-reviewed sources, lecture materials, and class readings, but also keep in mind that you may draw upon non-peer reviewed scholarly and reputable sources, as well. This work can be found in many professional journals dedicated solely to these topics which MTU has access to including Journal of Black Studies, Journal of Pan African Studies, Antipode, ACME, Race & Class, and many many more. Some publishers have also released entire book series for free in the past few weeks, such as University of Minnesota Press (Links to an external site.). And still others have compiled entire reading lists of materials some peer-reviewed, some simply scholarly that you can draw from such as the University of British Columbia (Links to an external site.) and the Black Geographers (Links to an external site.) association. It is important to include BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) voices and many of these provided lists strive to do so. I would like to see you strive to do the same – though of course that information is not always known, and I won’t be grading you on that criteria. As you find sources and are questioning it’s relevance to you or it’s quality as a peer-reviewed or scholarly source, reach out to me for clarification.

Your paper must have a clear thesis statement (Links to an external site.), and be built around that statement. Be sure to choose a clear topic and clearly identify it as part of a specific module before connecting it to other modules. You don’t have to connect it to all 6, but obviously, as the final for the course, this will be about making connections, so be sure to demonstrate that in your writing.

Five sources will be considered an absolute minimum for your paper. An example of this formatting and bibliography style can be downloaded here https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/documents/201802161242_717_10.pdf (Links to an external site.).