CHAPTER 10: Teaching Social Issues from a Global Perspective

As never before, the lives of students in our classes today are shaped by the outcomes of globalization. Students download music from Mexico onto Ipods developed by a U.S. company and made in China as they eat hamburgers made from Brazilian beef that grazed on land that was once primary rainforest. Their families may drive Japanese or European cars made in Ohio or South Carolina as they worry about the price of gas that originated in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, or Venezuela. Today’s students have grown up watching news beamed nightly from correspondents in Israel, Russia, or Iraq, and many watched the 2008 Olympics live from Beijing. Along with millions of other young people around the world, they have shared the trauma of terrorist attacks on their fellow citizens and the anguish of having people in their community die in a foreign war. Unlike previous generations, many are accustomed to hearing languages other than English spoken and personally know immigrants, exchange students, or refugees from Latin American, Asia, Africa or Europe. Things international—be it styles, technologies, entertainment, religious conflicts, health, or environmental issues—are inextricably situated in their lives.