E104 Global Consumer Culture
Assignment 5- Final Exam Essay Take-Home
Due in class December 9
Worth 200 Points towards Final Grade
General Instructions:
This is a take-home essay, part of your final exam. Length is five pages. Follow the general instructions for assignments on the assignment webpage.
This essay is meant to get you thinking about all of the things you have learned this semester, in lectures, readings and discussions. We want you to think deeply, and use ideas and examples from the whole semester.
This semester we have given you many examples of both globalization and localization. We have discussed these two concepts using examples of food, music, economics, sports, culture, and the environment (among others).
First,
we would like you to give us your informed definitions of Localization and Globalization. Don’t go looking in your readings or noted for these definitions - we want you to come up with your own, after thinking about all the ways we have talked about these two ideas during the semester. Feel free to draw on examples, and to break down each of these ideas into types or sub-concepts.Second,
based on your reading, lectures & films, do you think localization or globalization is the dominant trend in the world today? You will want to deal directly with the arguments made by Ritzer, and the authors in the Watson book, but make sure you also deal directly with contradictory examples from your other reading like Trobriand Cricket, the Japanese bath, and the Miss Belize Pageant.If you think neither trend is dominant, you have to explain why you think so, and why the two trends are not contradictory.
A complete answer must draw on readings, discussions, and lectures. You should probably write no more than two pages on the first part of the question.
PROOFREAD your papers before you hand them in. Make sure you have an introduction AND a conclusion. Put your AI's name on the first page of your paper. Consult the course website for guidelines about paper writing, and contact your AI for further assistance. As usual, we expect papers that are carefully written, grammatically correct, and interesting to read. Good luck!
Questions or comments? Send
email to Professor Wilk or your AI.