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Establishing Inclusion and Belonging in a Globalized City

Author: Amanda Fiegel

School/Organization:

Northeast High School, Philadelphia, PA

Year: 2020

Seminar: The City in History

Grade Level: 9-12

Keywords: belonging, brain drain, brain waste, care drain, city space, Culture, discrimination, globalization, Identity, immigration, Marxism, public and private spheres, push and pull factors, Social Identity Theory, spatial immobility, structural violence and, xenophobia

School Subject(s): Social Studies

This unit investigates how globalization contributes to belonging or exclusion in a city and how the infrastructure and stakeholders of a city have a direct impact on immigrant communities. Theories from anthropologists and urbanists are discussed and applied to how and why immigration occurs and how cities respond and adapt to newcomers. The unit also focuses on how cities use public spaces to create belonging or exclusion through language accessibility, public restrooms, safety and recreation. Students are challenged to think critically about how their city is or is not developed to be inclusive and how they can become more globally aware and tolerant of our diverse communities.

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Full Unit Text
Content Objectives

This 4 week unit plan is designed to push students to analyze the effects of globalization on a city and what makes a city inclusive. In this unit, students will read the ideas of anthropologists and urbanists as to what promotes inclusion and what promotes exclusion. They will then begin reading materials on how cities attempt to structure themselves and how its communication methods and actions promote inclusion or exclusion in public spaces. They will then go on field trips in the city itself, and through observation (photography) and interviews (podcasts),  they will determine for themselves what seems to be promoting inclusion or exclusion in their own case study(ies). The unit will spend considerable time on methods of gathering information and on methods of transmitting research findings. The hope is that they will learn to live together more creatively and compassionately, both in the classroom and in the city, and that they will also be able to challenge misconceptions about immigration.

Concepts and theories we will explore include, but are not limited to: globalization, push and pull factors, city space, belonging, identity, culture, brain drain, brain waste, care drain, discrimination, immigration, xenophobia, structural violence and, public and private spheres.

Background Information

Immigration and Philadelphia

Philadelphia is a major U.S. city that has become home to immigrants from around the world. According to the Pew Charitable Trust (2018), immigration was a prime driver of Philadelphia’s population growth from the 19th century through the early 20th century. However, in the 1920s, due to government restrictions, immigration began a long period of decline around the country and the foreign-born population steadily fell in American cities. In the 1970s, an increase in immigration started up again in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston because of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 (also known as the Hart-Celler Act) which was established to reunite families and attract skilled labor. However, Philadelphia was still tagged as a “low-immigration city” with only 6.4 percent of its population as foreign-born (Ginsberg 3). Then, in the 1990s, immigration started to rise again in Philadelphia, and it became a central force in driving the city’s growth. The reasons for this large increase can be attributed to the growth of low-skilled and unskilled job opportunities such as consumer and health care services, as well as the establishment of support networks and tailored services for immigrants. In the last couple decades, this has caused immigration to explode:

From 2000 to 2016, the city’s foreign-born population grew by roughly 95,000, or 69 percent, compared with 41 percent nationally and 27 percent in the comparison cities. The number of immigrants in the labor force increased by about 89 percent, faster than in the nation as a whole (52 percent) and in the comparison cities (36 percent, on average) (Ginsberg 3).

Furthermore, in the latest Philadelphia census data from 2016, the Pew Charitable Trust (2018) found that an estimated 390,000 residents were either immigrants or U.S. natives with immigrant parents. Out of these residents, there were nearly 76,000 children under age 18, or about 1 in 4 city children. This means that immigrants have a huge role in shaping Philadelphia’s communities and workforce. It also means that schools and community programs have a bigger responsibility for helping in social assimilation, social equity and inclusion.

The Philadelphia School District has had to adapt to representing global communities through educational language programs and public services.  To make accommodations and to provide information and resources, the Philadelphia School District  established the Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs (OMCP) which works with more than 15,000 English Learners who represent more than 130 countries and speak more than 100 home languages. Research from the Pew Charitable Trust (2018) shows that speaking only a foreign language or even speaking foreign-accented English is linked to lower income, limited housing choices, and inadequate health care. With this in mind, school districts need to ensure that they provide adequate services for their students to attain English proficiency. The Philadelphia School District has done this by hiring ELL teachers and bilingual counselors and has utilized language translation services for both elementary and secondary schools. Programs like these aim to ensure that both parents and students have access to equitable education, as well as safe and inclusive environments to allow for foreign-born students (and students of foreign-born parents) to thrive academically, socially, and economically. Conversely, the Philadelphia School District also has a responsibility to educate native-born students about globalization in an effort to create more harmonious and tolerant citizens who will see a culturally rich landscape as an asset to the community.

Unfortunately, however, dog-whistling rhetoric, scaremongering, and nationalism can infiltrate peoples’ minds and make them lose sight of the benefits of multiculturalism for  cities and their communities. Instead of immigration being welcomed with compassion and pride, it can often be faced with vitriol and resistance as some people fear becoming powerless, jobless, and outnumbered. As educators, we must combat ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and prejudice and teach students about the history of immigration, the push and pull factors of immigration, and the benefits immigration can have on our society today. For one, immigration can increase economic capital in a city. According to the Pew Trust (2018), immigrants accounted for a large part of the workforce:

Nearly 1 in 5 Philadelphians in the labor force in 2016 was an immigrant, with the biggest number working in service jobs in the health care and education, hospitality, and retail sectors. The number of immigrants in the labor force grew by nearly 66,000 from 2000 to 2016, more than double the increase attributable to U.S.-born workers over the same period.

This data demonstrates that our cities’ establishments rely on immigrants to sustain economic growth. But at the same time, economic shifts can also create divides and anger among native-born citizens as immigrants tend to work for less, and do not often unionize, as they lack knowledge of  and access to the nuances of the new country’s systems. As a consequence, inequitable wages become normalized and fair wages become a fight, resulting in native born citizens accusing immigrants of stealing their jobs. This threat increases racial tensions and can be seen when any new immigrant population comes into a city.  Peter Bourgois (2003) discusses this xenophobia and labor exploitation in his ethnography In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio in which he discusses how immigrant discrimination in Harlem shifted from the Irish to the Italians to the Puerto Ricans in the 1960s. One third of the Puerto Rican population emigrated to New York for manufacturing jobs, yet because of deindustrialization, outsourcing, and urban renewal they became reliant on state aid and physically concentrated and ethnically separated housing. The result: an inherited future of uncertainty, social inequity and poverty. Their reversal shows that immigrant communities are at risk of deterioration if public policies and reforms are not put into place and if multinational companies outsource their workforce. Additionally, if discrimination, misconceptions, and extreme nationalism fill a city’s landscape and are communicated in its public spaces, overtly or subtly (in the case of no representation of culture), then our cities are in danger of creating more fractious and inequitable relations between their stakeholders and shareholders.

Cities are not and cannot be static institutions that don’t allow for change. In order for cities to grow and flourish, change and accommodations need to happen. This may cause native born citizens to fear the possible upheaval and negotiation of cultural norms. Equally, immigrants may fear assimilating or feeling inadequate or excluded. However, cities must take on the challenge of fighting for representation and inclusion in order to truly evolve and strengthen economically, socially, and culturally.

The Allure of a City

A city can be defined by many features that shape a living community. In his seminal work, The Greeks, H.D.F Kitto (1950) discusses the idea of a polis or city-state that revolves around communal life on a political, cultural, moral and economic level. He discusses how the Greeks established centrally organized places where social life was carried out in front of the community and also the gods. These central public spaces allowed for community, industry, commerce and democracy. As a result, more people from rural communities came into the city in order to benefit from its centralized systems and prosperity.

During the Industrial Revolution, cities became booming destinations for not only immigrants from overseas, but also for people from rural communities. In the United States, eleven million people migrated from rural to urban areas between 1870 and 1920, and a majority of the twenty-five million immigrants who came to the United States in these same years also moved into the nation’s cities (Recchiuti, “America moves to the city”). Today, there is still that same drive for many immigrants, as there tend to be more opportunities and resources available. For one, the density of a city allows people to travel more easily by using public transportation and/or walking and biking to find work. This allows them more job opportunities and access to resources. Additionally, company headquarters, real estate and businesses provide foreigners an opportunity for not only economic advancement but crucial experience to help propel their careers and entrepreneurship. In addition to academic and economic gains, cities also offer better access to healthcare and government programs that cater to the disenfranchised and specialize in rare diseases and areas of medical epistemology. These accommodations, which often include language, financial and legal assistance, offer immigrants opportunities to maneuver more easily through a city, and resources such as free public education and access to larger academic institutions give opportunities to children and young adults. Because of these resources, immigrants are able to settle and establish cultural enclaves, causing certain neighborhoods to evolve and become a globalized mecca for new immigrants.

Globalization

Globalization has made major contributions to city life. Pountney and Maric (2015) define globalization as “the worldwide process of increasing economic, technological, political and cultural interactions, integration and interdependence of nations” (55). Globalization occurs because of a variety of push and pull factors.  A push factor is anything that forces a person to emigrate because their native country is presenting economic, social or personal harm. Examples of push factors are war, persecution, low wages, natural disasters and family separation. A pull factor is anything that persuades a person to immigrate to a new country in order to have a better life. Examples of pull factors are safety, freedom, higher wages, career opportunities, better environment and family reunification. The resulting migration has a major impact on the development of cities in determining neighborhoods and public spaces that shape a city’s initiatives and programming. As seen in the Pew Charitable Trust Report on Philadelphia, cities become homes to immigrants from all over the world who offer different skills and funds of knowledge. However, even though globalization can produce a myriad of positive outcomes, it can also present some consequences.

Brain Drain, Brain Waste and Care Drain

For a lot of younger immigrants, academic advancement at the post secondary level is a huge pull factor. For one, major cities host universities that provide people an opportunity to conduct research and gain essential skills at accredited institutions. According to Brown (2008) “Foreign students and immigrants make up 50% of all science researchers in 2006; 40% of doctorates in science and engineering; 65% of all doctorates in computer science. By 2010 foreign students will make up 50% of all doctorates awarded by American universities and 75% of all doctorates awarded in the sciences” (3). American universities and cities greatly benefit from this immigration, as they receive the most intellectually equipped students who can build social, academic and economic capital. Research companies, hospitals and technology firms are dependent on having immigrants thrive so that the city and its stakeholders can prosper as well. Therefore, cities need to strategize on how to foster inclusion and celebrate diversity.

Although American cities benefit from immigrants’ intellectual capital, the cities of these foreign students can lose out tremendously as they experience the loss of talented people, referred to as brain drain. Mountford (1997) defined brain drain as professionals and educated people moving from one country to another, seeking better living and salary conditions. As a consequence, the developing, sending countries, such as Venezuela and India, lose out, and the receiving countries reap the benefits. This drain of intellectual capital can have a major social, cultural and economic impact on a city, and cities need to be strategic about what structures need to be developed in order to curtail people from emigrating.

On the other hand, receiving cities and countries do not always capitalize on the brain drain. Instead, cities in the United States and England, can experience brain waste, where highly skilled immigrants are underutilized because of employers’ negative perceptions of the quality of foreign education and work experience. According to a report, “nearly 2 million immigrants with college degrees in the United States—one out of every four—are relegated to low-skilled jobs or are unable to find work” (Batalova, et al. 2016). This information highlights the misconceptions of the educational and skill levels of immigrants and emphasizes that cultural capital is a huge determinant of peoples’ success. Cultural stigmas and ethnocentrism change accountants, dentists and teachers into pizza delivery men, Uber drivers and house cleaners. As a consequence, a city’s representation of immigrants in the workforce becomes associated with low-level jobs, which then takes on a multitude of negative perceptions. This type of representation can only perpetuate continued structural violence and institutionalized discrimination and lead to fractured and volatile cities where immigrants live on the fringe of society and in segregated communities. That is why it is important for educators to discuss these concepts with their students to expose misconceptions and biases.

Furthermore, care drain can also have an impact on cities. Care drain is when mothers leave their native country and children to provide childcare for working families. In the ethnographic film, Chain of Love (2001), Marije Meerman investigates how women from the Philippines immigrate to the Global North (Europe and the United States). Although the Filipina women earn money to send home, they also experience emotional stress, as they take on the emotional needs of the families they work for, as well as the trauma of leaving their own families behind. The families are able to build economic, social and cultural capital, yet the Filipina women suffer. They carry the emotional labor of caring for another baby, while emotionally neglecting their own. The Filipina women are in a liminal space of being maternal figures but also outsiders who don’t have permanent residency and social and cultural capital, yet their employers and the cities they work in, are benefiting. This type of trauma and labor can greatly distress one’s body and mind, and can also contribute to the structural violence of immigrants.

Brain drain, brain waste and care drain can all impact an immigrant’s identity and sense of belonging as they force immigrants to negotiate their native born culture with the culture of their receiving country in order to survive in cities that may not recognize their funds of knowledge. One must question the effects of the stresses on not only the immigrants but also on the city. If there is a huge influx of immigrants due to brain drain and care drain, what resources will cities need to provide and amend? If immigrants are experiencing brain waste, what mental and bodily health services will we provide to ensure they do not suffer silently?

Culture

Culture can be defined as a set of beliefs and can be seen in food, religion, recreation, entertainment, language and many other facets of life. According to Franz Boas (1930), considered to be the father of modern American cultural anthropology, culture “embraces all of the manifestations of social behaviour of a community, the reactions of the individual as affected by the habits of the group in which he lives, and the product of human activities as determined by these habits (Monaghan and Just 37). Boas argued that environment rather than biological inheritance mainly determines human character, habitus and behavior; therefore, emphasizing that one’s community plays a huge role in contributing to a person’s identity, and that cities have a great stake in molding members of our society.

In order for a culture and cities to thrive, there need to be rules and structure. Levi-Strauss (1966), the founder of structuralist anthropology, suggested that society is structured in accordance with the “binary nature of the human mind”. Being able to determine binary opposites allows order and causes cultures to establish “rules of conduct”. Although these rules are not always understood, they have been consciously accepted and modified in order to reach certain goals that allow societies to function and thrive (Monaghan and Just 41).  When we know the rules, we know how to function, causing us to feel more secure and at ease. However, cultural values and norms are not static and permanent, especially in a globalized world. Globalization plays a key role in changing cultural rules of conduct, causing some members of society to be conflicted on what to alter, keep and/or adopt. Many people base their identity on the cultural practices they have followed, and a change in these rituals and rules can cause internal and external conflict. The binary nature of our brains can influence people to categorize practices as right or wrong or establish an “us vs them” mentality which can dangerously lead to divisiveness and ethnocentrism. Therefore, stakeholders of cities bear the responsibility of establishing a city’s culture and heritage but also in maintaining a delicate balance of celebrating new values and norms in a globalized society. Cities need to be places where people can have unfettered expressions of their identities and feel a true sense of belonging.

Belonging and Identity in a City

As previously mentioned, culture is largely shaped by one’s environment and one’s culture majorly influences one’s identity. Identity can be defined as “the process that informs the way in which people see themselves and the groups they belong to and also how other people categorize a person” (Poutney and Maric 144). According to Monaghan and Just (2000), we derive many facets of our identity from the various groups to which we belong (54). It can be defined by one’s community, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and other aspects of culture. Additionally, identity can be shaped by one’s social status and how much agency one has.

Karl Marx argued that capitalism results in class identity being imposed. He saw that a person’s position in society was in direct correlation with the economy, and, as a consequence, a social hierarchy is reinforced and the working class is seen as a commodity. In a globalized city, where brain waste is occurring, immigrants can be subjected to a lower position, causing them to lose self-worth and a sense of identity as they are forced into jobs that do not reflect their skills. They essentially become cogs in a machine and their bodies are commodified and lack agency; this representation then becomes a reflection of their identity, and as a result, they become at risk of being excluded from the public sphere. Additionally, because they may have language barriers, they cannot fully express their true identities in their new settings, causing them to change internally and externally and, in the worst cases, feel dehumanized. This further reinforces the need for education and programs for English proficiency, as well as fair labor laws. Furthermore, it reinforces that various representations of immigrants and people of color need to be in the public sphere and in the corporate world so that positive messages are communicated in a city’s landscape.

Belonging, Identity and the Public Sphere

The public sphere is a public space where social relations take place, such as city centers, educational institutions, and other places where people congregate and interact. It can also be considered any place where people can execute agency, such as in businesses and in office spaces. Public spheres also determine boundaries and taboos, making it necessary for newcomers to negotiate the spaces for meaning and adapt to social and cultural norms and cues. According to Daenekindt and Stijn (2013) in order for people to acquire social mobility (the opportunity to move up and around in society and status), individuals must play a role to generate favourable perceptions; therefore, they must participate in public practices associated with higher social status in their new social environment. This means that in order for immigrants to have more upward social mobility in the public sphere, they may have to alter themselves so that they can have more agency. As a consequence, they may leave their private sphere identity, which is closely linked to and shaped by their native culture, behind. This concept of cultural separation and Americanization is discussed by Bourgois in In Search of Respect from an autobiographical account of an Italian-American adolescent:

We soon got the idea that “Italian” meant something inferior, and a barrier was erected between children of Italian origin and their parents. This was the accepted process of Americanization. We were becoming Americans by learning how to be ashamed of our parents (59).

This suggests that for immigrants, there can be a conflict in identity, as children, especially want to be a part of the majority or in-group. In order to express one’s identity, a person may use symbols in the form of body-marking (i.e. clothes, uniforms, tattoos, grooming), religion, music, space and language. These symbols can communicate status, conflict, and solidarity. Thus when an immigrant comes into a new environment, he/she has the opportunity to keep or change the symbols of communication in order to assimilate and/or acculturate. This can be seen in code-switching in language, wearing different clothes, and practicing different customs. This act of assimilation can also cause cultural dissonance, as the immigrant can feel internally conflicted about which identity to embody in the public sphere. The feeling of belonging is especially crucial for young adolescents, as Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, soccer team etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity and belonging. According to Tafel and Turner’s Social Identity Theory, belonging is established by three stages: categorization, social identification and comparison. In a quest for an identity in a new land, one either separates from the past self, creates a new identity, or fuses the two cultures together. The fusing of two cultures is called hybridization and is defined as “the mixture of two different identities leading to the emergence of a new form of identity that is different from its constituent parts” (Poutney and Maric 159). A hybridization of cultures can be seen throughout cities through language, religion, food and celebrations that are interwoven with native cultures to create rich and diverse communities. In cities, the integration of several cultures is necessary in order to create inclusion and belonging. Public spaces can help communicate belonging and different resources, representations, signs and symbols can aid in this process.

 

The Utilization of Public Spaces and Inclusion Practices

Within neighborhoods, opportunities for recreation, communication and public space are essential in creating community. Mumford (1937) argues that we must treat the “social nucleus as the essential element in every valid city plan” and that the “spotting and inter-relationship of schools, libraries, theaters and community centers is the first task in defining the urban neighborhood and laying down the outlines of an integrated city” (93). In other words, in order for a city to function and a community to thrive, there need to be communal places at the center that foster integration, creativity, and communication. Olmsted, the father of city parks, was interested in what accommodations for recreation would be best for citizens. He believed that parks should be central public spaces, green oases with interesting design, and  accessible to all. He argued that parks allow people to decompress from long working days and   provide a break from a city landscape of work and responsibility.

Public Restrooms

Within these public spaces, there also needs to be accommodations for people to be able to access these places. The integration of public restrooms is key in this accessibility, as it allows people to spend time in a place without fear of not being able to relieve themselves. This dilemma has become even more apparent in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic where restaurants, shops and other public places have closed their restrooms, making it difficult for delivery workers, the homeless, parents and other people in transit to be able to stay outside for longer periods of time. In the StreetsBlogChicago, Kirsten Lambert discusses the history of public toilets. In cities in Europe and Latin America pay-as-you-go toilets are normalized, but the United States does not have the same outlook. In fact, in the 1970s, the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America managed to eliminate tens of thousands of pay-as-you-go toilets across America as they believed it was unethical to make people have to pay to go to the bathroom. Although the campaign had good intentions, it caused more harm as it increased spatial limitations and made people, especially women, excluded from the public sphere.

For women, the lack of public restrooms can really hinder their mobility because they do not have the privilege of relieving themselves in public, as men often do. In the ethnography, Working the Nightshift, Reena Patel (2010) discusses how more public toilets would allow for more social mobility and the integration of women into public spaces in Mumbai. Without them, women either avoid public spaces or contract urinary tract infections, making them spatially and socially immobile. As a consequence, they are excluded from belonging and attaining more social and economic capital. The problems that can occur because of a lack of bathroom facilities has caused cities such as Portland and San Francisco to develop stand-alone toilets called Portland Loo and PitStop Mobile. These toilets give free access to the public and allow people to be able to function freely in a city and not be at risk of being spatially limited, humiliated or at risk of fecal related diseases and infections. Even the Charmin toilet company has come up with a public restroom finder app, Sit or Squat, that gives people the locations of the closet toilets and their star ratings, demonstrating the importance of having access to public restrooms.

Language Accessibility

For immigrants, in particular, language accessibility is key in making places inclusive. The primary language that is used in signage and in public spaces demonstrates power relations and communicates both belonging and exclusion. This is a controversial issue, as some may argue that monolingual signage can unify people and create belonging, while others may argue that it can send political messages and put non-native speakers at a disadvantage. Janssens (2012) discusses political-linguistic territoriality in Belgian with the French and Flemish speaking residents and how having both languages in signage can alleviate conflict and solve political turmoil. Conversely, if the translations aren’t accurate, as was seen in some Flemish signs, it can cause more harm than good. Therefore, cities need to be cognizant of how language can have an impact on inclusion and sociolinguists and geolinguists serve as valuable resources in creating urban spaces that allow immigrants to access public spaces and feel a sense of belonging. Signs and/or audio in multiple languages, as well as visuals, can increase inclusivity. Additionally, the representation of people of different colors and of different body markings can increase an awareness and appreciation of diversity.

Safety and Public Surveillance

Furthermore, accessibility to save public spaces is essential for cities. According to Jacobs (1961), “the bedrock attribute of a successful city district is that a person must feel personally safe and secure on the street among all these strangers” (107). This means that the community must provide security through informal, civic surveillance of its streets by its stakeholders, which include residents, restaurants, schools, small businesses, community centers and people’s homes. Additionally, Jacobs argues that the neighborhood streets and sidewalks must become the “vital organs” of an integrated community, creating a “network of voluntary controls and standards among the people themselves” (107). As a result of these voluntary controls, the community is more harmonious and collaborative as everyone is a stakeholder in the common good. Additionally, sidewalks and streets allow members to have more access to public resources and keep them connected to broader communities and recreation areas.

Including the Marginalized

Public spaces often have imaginary boundaries that are a result of redlining and exclusionary urban planning. As a consequence, marginalized groups are excluded from the public sphere and are spatially limited and segregated. In “Social Inclusion and Space” Madanipour (1996) advocates inclusionary practices to insure that marginalized groups are included in the public sphere. He stresses the need to break the trap of socio-spatial exclusion that keeps people on the margins and proposes decommodifying real estate and establishing deliberate city planning so that people with low and moderate incomes are not on the periphery of society. If new immigrants do not establish households in the public sphere, they develop their own communities that can have benefits but also consequences.

According to Hipp and Boessen (2012) when immigrants come into neighborhoods, social distancing can occur between the immigrant newcomers and the native groups which can cause the native groups to exit. As a result, the newcomers begin to develop neighborhoods with their own institutions and create a higher degree of social interaction, but more isolation from the larger community. Without ties to the broader community, the immigrants may not garner resources for the local area and or achieve what Albert Hunter (1995) referred to as public control. Therefore, they are a risk of not acquiring more social and economic capital.

Keeping these concepts in mind, educators have the opportunity to teach students about how the structures that are put in place by a city have a major impact on how members of a global city feel either included or excluded. If a city is largely made up of immigrants who bring economic capital to a city, yet they do not feel like they belong, this alienated feeling can only negatively affect the prosperity of a city and its community members.

Teaching Strategies

Essential Questions

What is globalization and how and why does immigration occur?

How does immigration and globalization affect a city?

How have anthropologists and urbanists contributed to cities?

What is culture and how is it communicated in a city?

How is belonging communicated in a city?

How is public space negotiated and utilized in a city?

Standards

 

This unit aligns with the following Pennsylvania Core Curriculum of the School District of Philadelphia:

 

PA Core

 

CC.1.2.9–10.G Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

 

CC.1.2.7.J Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

 

CC.1.2.7.B Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences, conclusions, and/or generalizations drawn from the text.

CC.1.2.7.F Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in grade-level reading and content, including interpretation of figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

CC.1.5.7.C Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

CC.1.5.7.A Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, on grade-level topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CC.8.6.9-10.A. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

  • Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
  • Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
  • Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
  • Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  • Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.

 

CC.8.6.9-10.C. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CC.8.6.9-10.D. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

CC.8.6.9-10.E. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

CC.8.6.9-10.F. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self- generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CC.8.6.9-10.G. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

CC.8.6.9-10.H. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

CC.8.6.9-10.I. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Teaching Strategies

In investigating how globalization affects a city and how belonging and inclusive communities are created, students will practice how to use applied theory to support their claims and will use journal articles, book extracts and videos to provide evidence and make comparisons. For each lesson below, there will be links to articles for students to read to complete the assignments. The teacher will also use the background information from the unit to inform the content that is taught and can include this content in PowerPoint presentations or in whichever way fits their style.

Teaching strategies will include PowerPoint presentations and videos to guide students through the visualization process. Collaborative virtual learning activities, such as Padlet and Pear Deck, will allow students to analyze material and come to a consensus with their peers. Students will make a podcast with StoryCorps to engage in interviewing and speaking and listening skills. The Power Paragraph format will give students a detailed plan on how to write an analytical paragraph with quotations and analysis. This will also be useful for any English Language Learners. Furthermore, brainstorming activities, such as the ABC brainstorming chart, will push students to relate the topic to as many themes and ideas that represent the letters in the alphabet

Classroom Activities

Lesson One:

Lesson Title: Immigration and A Globalized City
Standards: CC.1.2.7.F, CC.1.2.7.B

 

Objective:  SWBAT define globalization and the push and pull factors

SWBAT to state the benefits and risks of immigration on a city

SWBAT analyze and compare data on immigration in Philadelphia and other cities

 

Materials: A laptop and the following articles:

The impact of globalization on place (National Geographic Society) https://newsela.com/read/natgeo-impact-globalization-place/id/53347/?search_id=e4816759-3c9e-4bca-bd52-93a94caa48cd

 

What is globalization? (National Geographic Society)

https://newsela.com/read/lib-globalization/id/34861/?collection_id=2000000071&search_id=8e40d93c-2d4d-4107-9a9d-bf21dedd645a

 

The effects of globalization (National Geographic Society)

https://newsela.com/read/natgeo-globalization-economy-effects/id/50383/?search_id=a9c4fa1a-18e3-4862-a6e7-739315f15a26

 

Opinion: Why is immigration different from trade? By Amar Bhidé, Project Syndicate

https://newsela.com/read/election-2020-immigration-trade/id/2001004948/?collection_id=2000000398&search_id=c646d04b-2952-479d-a942-a2cf520264e7

 

Pew Charitable Trust Report 2018: Philadelphia’s Immigrants

https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2018/06/pri_philadelphias_immigrants.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

   
Prepare Learners: Homework:  What is Globalization?

Assign the above articles to students and ask them to take notes on the 5Ws  of globalization (who, what, where, when, why and how). Each student should read two articles (they will share their information to the class on the next day). They should focus on defining the push and pull factors and how globalization can affect place.

Energizer: Create a Padlet or PearDeck on the topic of Globalization. Have students use their phones or laptops to add the main ideas that they gathered from the article they read. Students then pair with a partner and discuss some of the main points that have been mentioned. Then the class feedbacks to talk about the main takeaways.

 

Discuss with students that globalization has been happening for centuries and it has a major effect on a city’s identity and diversity inclusion. In particular, Philadelphia has seen a huge influx in immigration between 2010-2016. Why would Philadelphia be a place for immigrants?

 

Possible answers: sanctuary city, transportation, located close to other metropolises, construction, education, hospitals, lower cost of housing, etc.

Interact with the Text or Concept: Assign students the  Pew Trust Charitable Trust report and read pages 1-6 as a class. Have it projected it on the screen and also available on the laptops. Analyze the graphs to deduce information and model what these graphs may imply.

 

 

Extending Understanding: Then put students into pairs and assign them pages with visual graphs and data (pages 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28). There will be more than one pair with each graph.

 

Have the pairs copy the graph and paste on a Google Slide (this presentation should be shared so students can add to it and have it as a complete presentation). Then have them deduce what the information implies and the effects of the data on the makeup of a city. Encourage them to use sentence stems such as:

–        This graph/data delineates

–        This graph/data suggests

–        This graph/data emphasizes

–        This graph/data may concern

–        In comparison with other cities, Philadelphia…..This suggests…

 

After, students will present their data and what they deduced. For homework, students will synthesize the information and state what resources a city needs to have in order for immigrants to be able to feel a sense of belonging and inclusion in a city.

 

 

Lesson Two:

Lesson Title: How does globalization affect belonging or exclusion in a city?
Standards: CC.1.2.9–10.G  CC.1.5.7.A

 

Objective:  SWBAT define globalization and the push and pull factors

SWBAT define belonging

SWBAT define cultural assimilation

SWBAT analyze how cities contribute to belonging

SWBAT conduct interviews with a native born citizen and immigrant on how belonging is achieved in a city

Materials: StoryCorps Podcast, phone/recorder, interview questions

Autobiographical Accounts

https://diversity.utexas.edu/2017/06/04/coming-to-america-students-and-faculty-share-their-american-immigration-stories/

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

Vocabulary: belonging, globalization, immigration, push and pull factors, cultural assimilation, body-marking, compassion, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism
 

 

Prepare Learners:

 

Writing Prompts

How can belonging be created in a space?

How can people create their own belonging in a new city?

How do you know someone doesn’t belong or is an “outsider”?

 

Express to students that belonging is shaped by language, status, gender, body-marking, and other customs and practices that shape our identity.

 

In order to not be xenophobic, ethnocentric and exclusive, we must gain a better understanding and have compassion for others. We cannot “other” people because they are different to us or have different customs. Instead, we have to take a cultural relativist mindset. We have to have empathy and compassion. But what is empathy? Play Brene Brown’s video on empathy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

 

Review the definitions of cultural relativism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, acculturation, assimilation, hybridization and push and pull factors.

 

Interact with the Text or Concept: 1. Read one autobiographical account of immigrants and take notes on the following:

–        push and pull factors

–        acts of acculturation, assimilation, hybridization and/or resistance

–        feelings of belonging or exclusion

2. From the account, come up with questions to interview a person who has moved from another country and how they have tried to assimilate and gain a feeling of belonging. Additionally, write interview questions for a native born citizen. The objective is to see where each person is coming from and how their environments have shaped their thoughts about globalization and belonging.

Avoid using binary closed questions that result in yes or no. Center your ideas around the major themes of globalization, identity and belonging (i.e. rituals, body-marking, food, communication, religion). Start off with basic questions (i.e. age they left, where they came from, push and pull factors) and then move into some other questions that allow the person to expand on his/her thoughts. Remember, that a lot of questions will be formulated by the person’s answers, so you will have to be spontaneous. It is all about their story and the feelings they experienced. Some types of questions maybe:

–        How did you feel walking the streets/going to school/starting a job?

–        What made you feel like you belonged or didn’t belong?

–        What’s the most important thing a city can do to make an immigrant feel a sense of belonging?

–        What are your thoughts about immigrants living in a city?

–        Do you feel like you belong in your city?

–        What makes you belong to your city?

–        Why do you think immigrants come to a city?

–        How do you think immigrants are treated? How do you treat them?

–        Do immigrants have it easy or difficult? Why?

 

Extending Understanding: With the questions, students will conduct an interview with a family member, classmate, teacher or any other person who has immigrated to Philadelphia and who is a native a to Philadelphia. The goal is for students to see both perspectives and gain understanding of what drives people’s feelings and also promote the noticing of these feelings.

They will need to practice the AAA’s Code of Ethics and ask for consent and permission to record. It is recommended that they interview at least two people so they get a gauge on what is the best interview; they should transcribe. They should also be familiar with how podcasts sound and it is expected that they have listened to a few prior to this lesson. Practicing interview questions in front of the class would be helpful.

 

After getting a good idea of the person’s story and receiving the person’s consent to record, students will create a podcast with StoryCorps about the perspectives of immigrants and native born citizens on what it means to belong in a city and this feeling is or is not achieved in a city.  Encourage students to really listen and ask spontaneous questions. They can and should deviate from their script.

 

Students will share the Podcast on Google Classroom and students will listen to each podcast. Afterwards, each student will write a response on how native born citizens’ and immigrants’ feelings on belonging in a city. They will use theory to support their findings.

 

 

 

Lesson Three:

Lesson Title: Effects of Brain Drain and Brain Waste
Standards: CC.8.6.9-10.A CC.1.2.9–10.G  CC.1.5.7.A

 

Objective:  SWBAT define the concepts of brain drain and brain waste

SWBAT determine the causes of brain drain and brain waste

SWBAT devise solutions to combat a city’s brain drain and brain waste

 

Materials: Articles

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brain_drain.asp

 

Videos

What is Brain Drain? https://youtu.be/5IUcFDE3COc

On Brain Drain | Lynn Zovighian | TEDxAUB https://youtu.be/1HeUNyeKsY0

 

 

   
Prepare Learners: Homework: Watch the two videos on Brain Drain and define brain waste and brain drain. State the reasons why they both occur.

 

Energizer: Discuss with a partner the videos and write the reasons and definitions on a post-it note (can use Padlet or other online contribution forum).

 

Teacher discusses the answers on the post-it notes/Padlet and asks the question: How can brain drain have a negative effect on a city? How can brain waste have a negative effect on a city?

 

Interact with the Text or Concept: Discuss brain drain and apply theory such as World Systems Theory and Capitalism (Use IB Anthropology theories)
Extending Understanding: Use the Power Paragraph format to answer the questions below. Students will cite evidence from the videos and text:

 

What does a city need to develop in order for natives to come back to their city?

 

How can cities capitalize on immigrants with college education and intellectual capital? What can they develop to give these people job opportunities that reflect their qualifications?

 

Homework: Draw a visual representation of brain drain and brain waste using visual metaphors (sink, waste can, pieces of ‘trash”) and how that affects a city and community.

Lesson Four:

Lesson Title: How is a city planned and what is needed in the public sphere?
Standards: CC.1.5.7.A CC.1.2.9–10.G  CC.8.6.9-10.H.

 

Objective:  SWBAT use concepts of cultural anthropology to discuss how culture is communicated through layout, language and signs and symbols
Materials: “Introduction to Part Five” from the City Reader pages 317-320

Women lack access to private toilets around the world: This common form of gender discrimination leads to stress, discomfort, and violence

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180905140245.htm

The Lack of Equal Bathroom Access for Women Is a Global Design Flaw https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-07/the-lack-of-equal-bathroom-access-for-women-is-a-global-design-flaw

The Long Lines for Women’s Bathrooms Could Be Eliminated. Why Haven’t They Been?

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/01/women-men-bathroom-lines-wait/580993/

A Brief History of Disability Rights and the ADA https://ability360.org/livability/advocacy-livability/history-disability-rights-ada/

What would a truly disabled-accessible city look like?

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/14/what-disability-accessible-city-look-like

BEFORE CITIES BECOME SMART, THEY MUST BECOME ACCESSIBLE

While Smart Cities Hold Promise, They Also Risk Erecting More Accessibility Barriers

https://mobilitymgmt.com/Articles/2019/03/01/Accessibility.aspx?Page=1

Vocabulary:  public and private sphere, urban planning, urban renewal, infrastructure, gender discrimination
   

 

Prepare Learners: Writing Prompts:

 

What is needed in a city?

Places:

Resources:

Infrastructure:

 

What is a public and private sphere?

 

Discuss as a class why these things are important and how the structure allows society to function and have roles and responsibilities. This then shapes identity, which shapes belonging. Without certain things put into place, people may become excluded. Who may experience limitations in our communities?

(possible answers: homeless people, people with mental illnesses and physical disabilities, immigrants, minorities, transgender, elderly)

Interact with the Text or Concept: Read “Introduction to Part Five” from the City Reader pages 317-320 and take notes on the history of urban planning. Think about how it has changed and developed.
Extending Understanding: In taking into account urban planning, we must realize that some marginalized groups have fought to have accessibility to certain resources and to be represented in the public sphere. Investigate the following and state how the changes in laws and reforms (or lack thereof) in urban planning have contributed to either belonging or exclusion/discrimination/inequity:

 

physical disabilities (global or local): https://ability360.org/livability/advocacy-livability/history-disability-rights-ada/

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/14/what-disability-accessible-city-look-like

restrooms (global or local): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180905140245.htm

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-07/the-lack-of-equal-bathroom-access-for-women-is-a-global-design-flaw

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/01/women-men-bathroom-lines-wait/580993/

 

From your investigation, what has enlightened you? What are you more curious about? What other changes need to be made in the public sphere?

 

 

Lesson Five:

Lesson Title: How is culture communicated in a city space?
Standards: CC.1.5.7.A CC.8.6.9-10.H.

 

Objective:  SWBAT use concepts of cultural anthropology to discuss how culture is communicated through layout, language and signs and symbols
Materials: Introducing Anthropology by Poutney and Maric, Ethnography handout (Appendix), ABC Review (Appendix), poster
Vocabulary: culture, body-marking, belonging, cultural diffusionism, Social Identity Theory, public and private sphere, urban planning
   
Prepare Learners: Gallery Walk: Posters will be around the room with the following tasks. Students will go around the room in groups of three and add their thoughts and ideas. They can write sentences, words or draw pictures.

 

Define culture.

Define public space.

Define a symbol and a sign.

How can a public space communicate?

How can culture communicate?

How can the lack of representation of culture affect a community?

Interact with the Text or Concept: Have a student take a poster and discuss the comments on each topic.

 

 

Explain to students the idea of representation in the public sphere and how images, places and resources, both positive and negative, can communicate belonging or lack of belonging. Additionally, a lack of representation and accessibility can be equally impactful.

 

Discuss with students that they will be participating in fieldwork observations that will require them to look at how culture and belonging are communicated in a city and how city planning of public places contributes to a more or less inclusive community.

 

Review AAA Code of Ethics, safety procedures and fieldwork observation guidelines (See Chapters 13 and 14 in Introducing Anthropology). If participating in interviews, students should leave names anonymous to protect their subject’s identity.

 

In order for students to adequately conduct research, it is recommended to do a trial observation as a class so that you can practice ethnographic strategies. This could be done within school or on a fieldtrip. After, discuss the findings and limitations of the fieldwork observation. This will allow students to have more fruitful ethnographic material when they do the assignment independently.

Extending Understanding: Complete the ethnography investigation (Appendix)

Complete the ABC Review (Appendix)

 

Bibliography

Batalova, J., Fix, M., Mittelstadt, M. (2016, December). Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States (Rep.). Retrieved July 1, 2020, from The Migration Policy Institute website: http://research.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NAE_BrainWaste_V4_Digital.pdf The authors discuss the how immigrants’ intellectual capital is wasted, ignored, and rejected in their new host countries.

Baldwin, L. (2017). “The Venezuelan Diaspora: A Cerebral Exodus.” Latin American Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works.http://digitalcommons.augustana.edu

/ltamstudent/1 Baldwin discusses how Venezuela and other countries experience the loss of intellectual capital.

 

Bourgois, P. (2010). In search of respect: selling crack in El Barrio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bourgois’ ethnographic study examines how structuralized racism has caused Puerto Rican immigrants to turn to drug dealing.

Brown, F. (2008). “The intersection of school desegregation and economic globalization in America,” Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.libproxy.temple.edu/apps/doc/A218606479/AONE

?u=temple_main&sid=AONE&xid=a12a11ea Brown discusses how globalization has affected the makeup of universities.

 

Daenekindt, S., & Roose, H. (2013). “Cultural chameleons: Social mobility and cultural practices in the private and the public sphere,” Acta Sociologica, 56(4), 309-324. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/24569482 The authors discuss the spatial, temporal and social limitations of immigrants in the private and public sphere.

Hipp, J., & Boessen, A. (2012). “Immigrants and Social Distance: Examining the Social Consequences of Immigration for Southern California Neighborhoods over Fifty Years.,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 641, 192-219. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/23218829 The authors examine how immigrants and natives create and/or reject social distancing in cities and their neighborhoods.

 

Janssens, Rudi. (2012) The linguistic landscape as a political arena: The case of the Brussels periphery in Belgium. In C. Hélot, M. Barni, R. Janssens, & C. Bagna (eds.), Linguistic Landscapes, Multilingualism and Social Change, pp. 39–52. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Janssens discusses how language can communicate power relations and how conflict and discrimination can occur as a result.

Kitto, H.D.F. “The Polis” pp. 40-46. The City Reader.  Edited by Richard T. LeGates and Frederick Stout.  New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Kitto discusses the makeup of a city and what is needed for the people.

 

Lambert, K., Parrella-Aureli, A., Greenfield, J., Khan, T., Cobbs, C., Hoyer, S. (2020, June 12). The lack of public restrooms during the pandemic is impacting mobility. Retrieved July 10, 2020, from https://chi.streetsblog.org/2020/06/02/

the-lack-of-public-restrooms-during-the-pandemic-is-impacting-mobility/ The authors discuss the role of public bathrooms in a city and how the lack of bathroom facilities has an impact on recreational time spent in a city.

 

LeGates, R and Stout, F. (2011). The City Reader. 5th ed. London: Routledge. The anthology consists of various readings from urbanists and their theories and studies of the evolution of cities.

 

Madanipour, Ali. “Social Exclusion and Space,” 186-94. The City Reader.  Edited by Richard T. LeGates and Frederick Stout.  New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Mandanipour discusses how the disenfranchised and marginalized communities are excluded from the public sphere and proposes solutions for cities to be more inclusive.

 

McLeod, S. A. (2019, October 24). “Social identity theory,” Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html McLeod discusses the aspects of the social identity theory and how people establish in and out groups.

Monaghan, J., & Just, P. (2000). Social and cultural anthropology: a very short introduction. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. The authors discuss the history of anthropology and present different case studies.

Mountford, A. 1997. “Can a Brain Drain Be Good for Growth in the Source Economy?” Journal of Development Economics 53 (2): 287–303. doi:10.1016/S0304-3878(97)00021-7 Mountford discusses the concepts of brain drain and how the loss of intellectual capital from immigrants can be both damaging and beneficial.

Mumford, Lewis.  “What is a city?”  The City Reader.  Edited by Richard T. LeGates and Frederick Stout.  New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016. Mumford discusses the important features of a city and what is needed in order for a city to thrive.

 

Olmsted, Frank Law. (2016), “Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns” The City Reader.  Edited by Richard T. LeGates and Frederick Stout.  New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. Olmsted discusses how recreation and parks are essential for the mental and social health of city stakeholders and the structure and beauty of a city.

 

Patel, R. (2011). “Introduction,” 4-11. In Working the night shift: Women in India’s call center industry. India: Orient BlackSwan Private Limited. Patel examines the spatial and temporal limitations of women in Mumbai, India and how the lack of public restrooms contributes to their spatial immobility.

 

Pountney, L., & Marić Tomislav. (2015). Introducing anthropology. Cambridge: Polity. The authors the foundations of anthropology and focuses on the key concepts and theories needed for IB Social and Cultural Anthropology.

Recchiuti, John Lewis. “America moves to the city,”  (article). (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-gilded-age/

gilded-age/a/america-moves-to-the-city The author discusses the history of the American city and how industrialization shaped its infrastructure.

Appendix

The Power Paragraph: PCEEA

 

Point:  Answer the question and state a main point you want to prove.

 

Context: Give background details to give your reader information about the character, topic, scene or chapter. Start with “During this scene…” or “Throughout this article…”

 

Evidence: Find a quote that specifically proves the point and can be analyzed. “In the text it states…” or “In the passage, Miss Havisham says…”

 

 

Explain: Explain/translate what the quote means. “In other words…” or “This shows”

 

Analyze: Dig deep and state what this does for the reader. Analyze what the quote implies or says about your point. Start with “This implies” or “This suggests” or “This delineates”

 

 

Smarties! Add additional or alternative analysis to show you think outside of the box. Think MEAT! Use sentence starters like “Additionally” or “On the other hand”

 

Globalization Power Paragraph Prompts

 

Answer ONE of the questions in Power Paragraph format (PCEEA). Look at the sentence stems to help you.

 

  • What does a city need to develop in order for natives to come back to their city?

 

  • How can cities capitalize on immigrants with college education and intellectual capital? What can they develop to give these people job opportunities that reflect their qualifications?

 

 

  • To what extent has globalization made a negative or positive impact on society?

 

 

 

P:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

E:In the text____________________________________________”______

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________”(         ,           ).

E:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: _________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Extra/Alternative:_______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IB Social and Cultural Anthropology: Culture and City Ethnography

100 points

 

Question: How are belonging and culture communicated or not communicated in a city’s public sphere?

 

 

Objectives:

 

  • To use an ethnographic lens in a field observation
  • To analyze how messages are communicated through signs and symbols
  • To use anthropological theory and terminology to analyze observations
  • To use anthropological case studies to make comparisons

 

City Public Space Observation Steps:

 

Look at the following topics and do the following:

 

  1. Pick a city public space. This can be within a few block radius. Be in that designated space for one hour (you can move around every 15 minutes to get different angles). Write down what you literally see. Look at EVERYTHING. Even the smallest detail (i.e. body language, signs, sidewalks,dirt, etc.) can send a message. Think about placement, location, design, colors, etc. Also, don’t be afraid to participate in the environment. Walk, take pictures, sit on a bench, throw trash away. Are there accessible bathrooms? Statues? Flags? People in suits, jeans, etc? People on phones, walking dogs, etc. Also record numbers (i.e. 10 people…). Pick up on details! The more you stay in a space, the more you see.

 

  1. For each sign or symbol that you see, state what each sign implies and communicates. For an example, if you literally see a sign that says “No loitering”, who is that referring to? Does that make one excluded or does that make one feel safe? What is being communicated? Also, a sign or symbol can be literal or it can be the unwashed floor.

 

  1. Apply theory and make connections on how culture and belonging are or are not communicated. Think about all of the other case studies we have covered and apply them to this space.

City Space Ethnographic Study

 

 

Date:_____________________________________

Time:_____________________________________

Location:_____________________________________

 

 

Signage and Symbols (language, signs, color, flags, statues, etc):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People (positionality, gender, language, politeness, ethnicity, age, body, etc):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Places (parks, recreational areas, religious organization, etc.):

 

Resources (transportation, bathrooms, ramps, sidewalks, etc.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belonging and Globalization in a City Review

 

Instructions: Think of everything you have learned throughout the unit on cities and globalization and use the ABCs to brainstorm. Don’t forget theory!

 

A

B                                                                    

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y                                                                                                        

Z