Student Presentations: Reflections and Follow-Up

This is our space to reflect, follow-up on or share information regarding any of the topics that were discussed in student presentations. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Reflections on "Immigration: Prespectives and Experiences" - Mon, 4/25

Please share your reactions/reflections on the social science symposium event on immigration you attended today (Monday, 4/25). What did you think? What presentations or aspects of the event did you like the most? Why? I look forward to hearing from you!

Sources of Global Inequalities

Jared Diamond, the author of "Guns, Germs and Steel" is an "environmental determinist". He argues that “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people’s environments, not because of biological differences among people themselves” (p. 25). His argument is that the people who were "geographically blessed" were able to domesticate plants and animals to produce an abundance of food, which created conditions needed to develop new technologies, weapons, immunities to disease etc. This is why some societies were able to expand and conquer other societies - why some societies are better developed and more powerful than others. Do you agree or disagree with Diamond? Why? Additionally, thinking beyond the root causes of inequalities, what are some other factors that perpetuate poverty in some and prosperity in other parts of the globe? After watching  the first episode of "Guns, Germs and Steel, " we watched the "Unnatural Selection" movie in Prof. Rogers-Cooper's class. The two movies made me think about the parellels between access to and control of resources (e.g. food) as a cause of inequalities both in early history and right now. It was interesting to see how our relationship with the environment "evolved" over time. We moved from harvesting food to sustain Life to engineering food for profit...Does this play a role in generating global inequalities today? What do you think?

Prof. Monaco's Lecture on the "Arab Spring"

On Thu, 3/31, we attended a "Global Conversations" event organized by the Office of Student Life. Prof. Monaco lectured about the role of the United States in the "Arab Spring" (focusing mainly on Egypt). What aspect of the lecture did you find the most interesting? In your view, what international relations theory was reflected in the way Prof. Monaco framed his arguments? Explain, give examples. Also, what did you think about his analysis about the role of social media (e.g. facebook) in the revolutions? What do you think about the possible connection between local "civil society bloggers" and organizations such as the Freedom House and National Endowment for Democracy? Based on what you learned so far (from the lecture and in our learning community), what do you think the future will look like - the aftermath of the Arab Spring? Looking forward to your feedback.

Hello Everyone :)

Hi everyone!
I am excited to join our Global Politics blogging community and look forward to reading more of your blogs and interacting through this medium. On my blog, I will be posting questions and topics  I would like you to respond to and discuss. Your participation will count as part of your homework grade for my class. For each topic/question, you are expected to comment/discuss within one week of the date it was posted (to receive credit), although later participation will be welcome as well.
Thank you all.