Impact of Modern Globalization on Indigenous Life Sociology Discussion Question

Impact of Modern Globalization on Indigenous Life Sociology Discussion Question

At the outset, I should like to express my grateful thanks to the honorable ATSIC Commissioner and to the Honorable Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and through them to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission as well as to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, for their kind invitation to visit the great and beautiful country Australia, in order to discuss certain issues related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples. Within the framework of my visit, I have the honor to deliver the present lecture on: “The Impact of Globalization on Indigenous Peoples’ Intellectual property and Cultures”.

Indigenous peoples today stand at the crossroads of globalization. In many ways, indigenous peoples challenge the fundamental assumptions of globalization. They do not accept the assumption that humanity will benefit from the construction of a world culture of consumerism. Indigenous peoples are acutely aware, from their own tragic experience over the past 500 years, that consumer societies grow and prosper at the expense of other peoples and the environment. We must not forget that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development – the Earth Summit in 1992 – was unable to agree on any significant transfer of wealth from the North to the South, because such a transfer would require higher prices and reduction in levels of consumption among the rich countries. Instead, the Earth Summit promised to boost growth and consumption in the South without taming consumption patterns in the North.

In the Andes and Southeast Asia, where the majority of the world’s indigenous peoples live, flows of private foreign investments have increased by as much as 10.000 percent, judging from the statistics published by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Certainly, this money is making some people in the North and in the South – very wealthy. But this growth has been at the expense of many important and highly diverse ecosystems, and the Indigenous peoples who live within them. Even national parks, biosphere reserves, and the lands set aside for Indigenous peoples have been opened to mining and logging-in particular in Latin America and Asia.

It seems that we have learned nothing from the human and ecological tragedies caused by the misguided development policies of the 1960s and 1970s.

Large scale development projects such as hydroelectric dams, transmigration programs, and the so called “Green Revolution” have not just displaced millions of people, leveled rainforests, emptied rivers and exterminated more of the world’s biological diversity. These projects also set ethnic and social conflicts into motion that may haunt us for generations yet to come.

The very existence of the world Indigenous movement is a product of globalization, especially in the field of information technology,

air travel, telephone and now the internet, have helped to link Indigenous peoples together worldwide, to increase the visibility of Indigenous peoples, and to amplify Indigenous peoples’ collective voices. In many countries there are Aboriginal Peoples Television Networks, in Guyana Indigenous peoples even they have mapped their ancestral territories and asserted land claims using global positioning system (GPS) and remote sensing satellite technology. Indigenous peoples worldwide are using the globalization of communication of ideas in order, among others, to combat the globalization of reckless consumption.

1 2 These pictures are of the Mopan Mayan village of San Benito Poite in southern Belize where I lived for 4 summers while doing archaeological research in the area. When I was there, from 2003 until 2006, there was no electricity in the village, no running water, and no outhouses even (I won’t go into that one in detail…). We used candles or flashlights in the evening and bathed in the river. And then I found the picture on the right on line a couple of years ago. I don’t know if there is electricity yet – this Internet Café seems to run on solar power, so maybe not. Nor do I know where they moved the school to since this used to be the schoolhouse. But apparently they are now on‐line! – something that is happening in many places through the use of solar panels and satellite dishes. 3 I think these are quotes but can’t find from where (very bad, Cassandra!). Anyway – I wanted a definitions of globalization that went beyond the purely economic, which is what the focus tends to be. And the processes of economic globalization – as described in the second paragraph re: Latin America – is a significant issue. But the ramifications – far‐reaching effects – of economic globalization are equally significant and are usually not addressed as completely. So we are going to look at what kinds of economic situations – stemming from globalization ‐‐ are happening in Latin America and then also at what the impact of these have been in indigenous communities. 4 OK – as noted in the previous slide, outsourcing of labor needs is a common practice today. Major manufacturers (in places like the US) set up operations in other countries where wages are lower and where the “cost of doing business” is cheaper or easier in other ways as well – and such places include countries in Latin America. And while some of these economic interest factors may provide additional employment opportunities for the people of Latin America – the benefits accruing from these operations are almost all on the side of the U.S. and other multi‐national companies that set up shop in Latin American countries – who pay pitiful wages and often maintain working standards that are not only lower than they are in the U.S., but also lower than those practiced by the local businesses in these countries.

And then there are the additional effects on traditional Latin American society. And – as an example of all of this – I want to look at what are called maquiladoras or maquilas in Latin America. 5 6 7 The majority of people who work in these maquiladoras are young women who are preferred by employers because they say they have finer hands and are more dexterous and so better at the fine work that goes into assembling some kinds of products. They also say, however, that women are more docile and easier to manage than male employees and that they are less likely to complain about poor wages and working conditions because they have fewer options for paid employment. Women are also discriminated against by employers, however – in the sense that younger, unmarried women are preferred because they don’t (and won’t) have children to contend with or pregnancies which will keep them from work. In some places they are even required to take a pregnancy test before they are hired and if they do become pregnant, they can be fired. And, in fact, the working conditions for all employees are bad – they aren’t supposed to drink water or anything else on the job so they won’t have to take extra bathroom breaks (only 2 a day are allowed), their wages are unregulated and often lower than the Mexican minimum wage, and if they try to organize or unionize they can be fired or, more commonly, the plant will simply close down and start up somewhere else. And so, these are often last chance or no other option types of jobs that people take. The people that move up to northern Mexico to try and find work at the maquiladoras are usually unskilled, uneducated people from rural areas of Mexico that come to the border as a last hope. 8 And given the poor wages they make, they can’t afford much in the way of housing and in many places, the maquiladora workers live in make‐shift shanty towns that they have established near the manufacturing plants. 9 OK – the establishment of maquiladoras in Mexico and other Latin American countries has also given rise to various social issues – in that the increasing participation of women in these kinds of occupations has had certain consequences for the traditional social roles and positions of men and women in traditional Latin American society. Traditionally – the men have worked and the women have stayed at home and kept the house and raised the children.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

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Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource