Globalization

ANTH 150B

Prof Silverstein

Fall 2017

Final Project

 

DUE THURSDAY DECEMBER 7TH, 11:59 PM in the Assignment Box.

Introduction

In our class this semester we have been exploring historical, economic, political, cultural and soon ecological and ideological aspects of globalization. We have seen how globalization involves intensification of the interactions of different parts of the world. One way to understand this is by looking at what are called commodity chains, the steps, materials and people involved in the production of things. A commodity chain is a series of links connecting production, distribution and consumption. It starts at primary production: the growing of crops or mining of material. These primary products are then manufactured into goods (commodities), distributed to market, and finally sold and consumed. We can also take into account environmental impacts (like waste streams) and social impacts (like labor conditions) in our studies of commodity chains.

 

Goods that you see and use each day have gone through the steps of a commodity chain to make it to you. Food, clothing, electronics—everything you buy goes through a commodity chain. The bread for your hamburger bun may have been baked here in Tucson, but the wheat could have been grown in Canada, the beef for the hamburger may have come from Argentina, the cheese might have been crafted in Wisconsin. If you look in your closet you may find clothes ‘made in’ China, Jordan, Vietnam, or Indonesia, but the cotton may have been grown in Mali, spun in Germany, then finally assembled in Asia, only to be shipped to Los Angeles, trucked to Tucson and sold in the local mall. Two shirts sold in two stores in the same shopping plaza, or even two shirts in the same store, may have been produced in two very different commodity chains.

 

Goal of the Project

Using concepts from the units in our class, study one commodity chain in detail, and discuss whether there are alternative ways of producing that item.

 

Final Project Instructions

Choose one of the listed objects that you want to work on and answer the questions posed below for that specific item. These responses will require you to do some of your own research by reading labels, surfing the net, or even making phone calls to companies to see if they know where the materials come from and where the factories are located. You will then follow the steps below to write your paper. Your paper should have a descriptive title, be between 1200 and 2000 words in length, double-spaced, and in Times New Roman (or a similar) font in a standard size (e.g., 12 point). And try to have a good time with the project!

 

Step 1

Choose one of the following:

 

A bottle of drinking water

A cup of hot chocolate

A tube of lipstick

A tube of toothpaste

A box of tissues

Headphones

A hotdog

An energy bar

 

Step 2

Read the following and do the tutorials (though these are not graded, you are responsible for knowing the information in them):

 

Avoiding plagiarism:

http://new.library.arizona.edu/research/citing/plagiarism

 

Citing sources in your text and at the end:

http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext

 

Tutorial on citing your sources:

http://www.library.arizona.edu/tutorials/documenting_your_sources_apa/

 

Tutorial on popular vs scholarly sources here:

http://www.library.arizona.edu/tutorials/scholarly_sources/

 

Tutorial on evaluating online websites and resources here:

http://www.library.arizona.edu/tutorials/evaluating_web_resources/

 

Note: These are very important to help you avoid losing points by either using inappropriate resources and/or improperly citing them in your paper.

 

Step 3

Write up your paper. STRUCTURE your paper with these SIX sections, plus bibliography. Do NOT write your paper with bullet points, write it as a narrative, like a ‘normal’ paper or article. But be sure you address each question in each section. You will lose points by not addressing a question.

 

I. Introduction

 

What is your commodity?

What brand(s) are you focusing on?

Are there any relevant facts about this product and/or brand that make this case study particularly interesting/important?  (e.g. “ABC, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of ________ in the world.”)

 

II. Primary sector inputs

 

What raw materials are used to produce your commodity?

Leather?  Plastic?  Rubber?  Cotton?  Metal?  Foam? Other materials?

Where does the company get these materials?

What countries?

Why there?  (Cheap/abundant supply there?  Close to company HQ?)

What kind of labor is used to grow/harvest/locate/extract these raw materials?  (are they unionized?; do they have high/low wages by local standards?; how heavily exploited are the individuals who gather these materials?)

 

III. Secondary sector activities

 

Where is your product manufactured?

What considerations may have gone into your company’s decision regarding where to locate their production facilities?  (Environmental regulations, taxes, etc.)

What kind of labor is used to assemble/process/produce your commodity?

Is all or part of the production of your commodity outsourced?  Offshored?

 

IV. Tertiary sector activity

 

Where was your product designed?

What types of transportation (boat, truck, train, cart, plane, etc.) are used to move your product between stages in the commodity chain?

Does the company do this transportation itself, or does it contract this out?  To which companies?

How is your product advertised? Where is it advertised? What kinds of people is that advertising addressed to? (Age group? Gender? Ethnicity? Other features?)

 

V. How might this commodity chain be made more equitable, sustainable, efficient, etc.? 

Is there a different company producing your commodity in a different way? (Hint: difference does not mean just another brand. ‘Different way’: more equitable, sustainable, efficient, so and so forth.)

What are the relative strengths/weaknesses of this alternative approach?

 

VI. Conclusion

Briefly summarize each section above

What is/are the main point/s about this analysis that you’d like your readers (i.e. me) to take away from it?

 

 

Citations and Bibliography

 

You need to cite all sources in the body of your paper and in a bibliography at the end. This is a Research Paper!

 

Be sure that the information you gather comes from “reliable academic sources” (this is explained in the tutorials above).

Be careful and critical in using company-based sources (like a company website). Remember, their priority is not to inform the public about all aspects of their products and their production, their priority is to get the public to buy their stuff.

 

Be sure you properly cite your research (again, see the tutorials above)! Because this paper will require substantial, original research, you must use academically appropriate sources and cite each one (in text and at the end of the paper in a bibliography, as the tutorials show you).

 

You may wish to include diagrams and pictures. If you do, place each one immediately below the paragraph where you refer to it in the text and be sure to include a descriptive caption (including a full citation to the source from which you obtained it). If the source is a website, include the full address of the website and the date that you last accessed the website.