Writing Homework Help

Week 15- 5/3 to 5/9: Globalization and Its Discontents- 1989-2000

Here are the Prompts for this week–

Foner chapter 27; Stone/Kuznick chapters 11 and 12 (where Prompt topic is relevant); Zinn chapters 10 and 13. Work is due Sunday May 9th, 11:59 P.M. Choose ONE of the Prompts and respond to another student Post, be sure to cite your work and address all major points of the Prompt for full credit. More grades and info about the end of the term coming this week as well! Consult the calendar to stay up to date. E mail questions and concerns asap.

On to the Prompts…

1. What was the “New World Order” under George H.W. Bush and what role did America play in it? How can you see this in action through Panama and Iraq (the first Gulf War)? What is the history that led up to this movement (and what of Eisenhower’s farewell address in 1961–how do you think his warnings fit in to the New World Order)? Is this about democracy, or something else? Do you agree or disagree with Kinzer’s thesis and approach on these topics, especially based on his interview regarding his book, “Overthrow?” Be specific and explain why you have come to those conclusions (recall earlier links to Kinzer). Stone/Kuznick also have some things to say on this issue. Feel free to include and remark upon these interpretations accordingly.

G. Bush Sr. speech on NWO (Links to an external site.)

Kinzer (Links to an external site.)

Eisenhower’s Military Industrial Complex Speech (Links to an external site.)

[Also…the “Why We Fight” documentary by Eugene Jarecki on the growing military industrial complex (not the original series) is worth seeing, but hard to find online unless paying for streaming, just FYI]

2. What was Clinton’s New Economy and what were the New Democrats like under his leadership (the DLC)? How did the neoliberal policies of globalization impact American workers and those in third world countries? Explain the effects of market deregulation on the economy. How is Enron emblematic of these issues and what was their connection to the incoming Bush administration in 2000? (see previous links from past prompts for DLC info).

Nickel and Dimed in America (Links to an external site.)

G.W. Bush and Ken Lay of Enron (Links to an external site.)

Bush Pioneers (Links to an external site.)

Economy in the 1990s (Links to an external site.)

Also…if you get a chance, check out the film, “The Smartest Guys in the Room” on the Enron scandal (on Kanopy (Links to an external site.)). Or the relatively recent film, “Inside Job” about Wall St.

PBS on Enron (Links to an external site.)

Inside Job- interview with director (Links to an external site.)

Enron Trailer (Links to an external site.)

3. Discuss civil rights and the problems of the prison industrial complex system in the US throughout the 1990’s up to the present. After looking at trends in crime and punishment, what do you think it says about American democracy, opportunity and equality? How do these things pan out in the electoral system (voting)? How does this impact democracy? Explain and support.

Activism on Prisons

Prison Activist (Links to an external site.)

Critical Resistance (Links to an external site.)

School to Prison Pipeline (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

Justice for Sale (Five Part Series) (Links to an external site.)

The Complete Picture (Links to an external site.)

4. Elections are seen as a key measurement of American democracy. We have had a sordid history of various election troubles, but most Americans still seem to trust that the system works overall (i.e., believe they live in a free society, a democracy). Discuss the myriad problems associated with the 2000 and 2004 elections in terms of American democracy, not from a partisan standpoint. Were these free and fair elections for all Americans? Why or why not? Below are some comments and info you may not be so familiar with, even though one was published in Rolling Stone magazine. How do these make you think about America’s electoral process? (Especially since there have been problems since the early republic- see HERE (Links to an external site.) for more.) And thinking about history in the making re the 2020 election, how does our past provide context for our current election affairs? Not all claims of election and/or voter fraud are equal, both now and in the past.

Blackbox Voting (Links to an external site.)

Interview with Mark Crispin Miller (Links to an external site.) NYU professor and author, on Breaking the Set, RT

Issues with the 2004 election? Was the election stolen?

Yes (Links to an external site.)

The 2004 election- Stolen?

No (Links to an external site.)

Cybervoting (Links to an external site.)

More recently- Greg Palast (Links to an external site.)

There has been some serious reporting done on election fraud (not to be confused with voter fraud) in the last several presidential primaries and general elections, but this also involves emerging information in relative historical terms (and doesn’t all involve Russia, though some does), so we’ll leave it aside for now, noting that the DNC has admitted (Links to an external site.) to rigging in the 2016 primaries, which may not surprise those familiar with history, and the GOP has engaged in voter suppression and stacking efforts from crosschecking to gerrymandering (and as the other links suggest, both major political parties in the US have engaged in questionable electoral behavior).

See you online!