Unit 6: Modern World History
Lesson C: Research - Challenges of the Modern World
Activity 5: Impact of Technology
Big Question: Will technology create a global culture or a better world?
Possible Subtopics:
- International corporations
- Efforts to save indigenous cultures and/or languages (i.e., indigenous people of Mexico)
- New Media: Film, Television, and the spread of culture
- Communication technology: Word Wide Web, Cell Phones, and the spread of culture
- Migration/Immigration
- Globalization of entertainment
- Medical breakthroughs and the impact on life expectancy world wide
- Government actions to preserve culture
- Reactions to spread of Western culture
- Perspectives on the development of a global identity
Resources
- Efforts to save indigenous cultures and/or languages (i.e., indigenous people of Mexico)
- Enduring Voices Project, National Geographic includes maps, facts, photos, and videos. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/
- Saving Endangered Languages, Huffington Post, August, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/saving-endangered-languages_n_936858.html
- Editorial Arguing In Favor of Saving Endangered Languages, Psychology Today, February, 2010. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/strange-tongue/201002/saving-endangered-languages
- Collection of recent stories about efforts to save endangered languages. Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity. http://www.rnld.org/news
- Canadian Storytellers Fight to Save their Language, UN Works for Cultural Diversity. http://www.un.org/works/OLD/culture/canada_story.html
- The UN Works for Cultural Diversity Homepage. http://www.un.org/works/OLD/culture/index.html
- Saving Important Cultural Heritage Sites. http://globalheritagefund.org/vanishing
- Search "endangered languages" in SIRS. Many relevant articles will appear on the results page.
- Migration/Immigration
- Economic Migration in China, Migration Information Source http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=838
- Migration Information, provides fresh thought, authoritative data from numerous global organizations and governments, and global analysis of international migration and refugee trends. Homepage offers policy briefs, "Spotlight" features, and information about their ongoing projects. http://www.migrationinformation.org/?mpi
- Map showing global migration, New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/world/20070622_CAPEVERDE_GRAPHIC.html#
- Interactive map showing U.S. Immigrant Data Since 1880. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html
- Homeland Security to Focus on Deporting Criminals Under New Immigration Move. PBS Newshour. http://video.pbs.org/video/2099626985
- The World's Largest Human Migration, China, Millions of migrant workers make their way home, PBS POV. http://video.pbs.org/video/2145973367
- Economics of Bolivian Migrants, November, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/bolivian-migrants-ride-out-hard-times/2011/11/03/gIQAxXmNXN_story.html
- How to Ensure Fair, Safe Laws for World's Workers. November, 2011. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/restoring-workers-rights-is-not-about-blame-its-about-innovation/2011/10/26/gIQAe6nR1M_story.html
- Search "migration" in SIRS. Many relevant articles will appear on the results page.
- Search "migration" on Stanford University's website for many relevant resources. http://w ww.stanford.edu/
- Editorials, articles, and resources on migration from the Brookings Institution. http://www.brookings.edu/search.aspx?doQuery=1&q=migration
- Medical breakthroughs and the impact on life expectancy world wide
- Research on global diseases as well as programs to combat these diseases. Gates Global Health Program. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/global-health/Pages/overview.aspx
- Maps showing contrast between malaria and expenditures on health care by nation. Click on link; scroll down to photo gallery. NPR, November, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97338308
- Health Care in India, National Geographic, December, 2008. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/12/community-doctors/rosenberg-text
- Against The Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health. http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/index.cfm
- AIDS Deaths and New Infections Continue to Fall in Most Parts of the World, Washington Post, November, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/aids-deaths-and-new-infections-continue-to-fall-in-most-parts-of-the-world/2011/11/21/gIQAPvBZjN_story.html
- Data, statistics, reports on global health at http://www.who.int/en/
- Search "global health" in SIRS. Many relevant articles will appear on the results page.
- Resources from U.S. State Department on global health. http://www.state.gov/e/oes/intlhealthbiodefense/index.htm
- Editorials, articles, and resources from the Brookings Institution on Global Health. http://www.brookings.edu/search.aspx?doQuery=1&q=global%20health
- Reactions to spread of Western culture
- India's Rejection of Foreign Retailers. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143333600/fallout-from-indias-failed-foreign-retailer-plan
