Globalization: Immigration as a Manifestation

Unit 2: Activities

Activity 1: Building Background Knowledge: “Text Deconstruction and Building Background about Senegal”

OUTCOMES:

1. The students will be introduced to the issue of immigration in Senegal.
2. The students will address the question: Why do people leave their homes?
3. The students will be introduced to and understand the term Neoliberalism.
4. The students will read viewpoints on the IMF and WB from conflicting resources and deconstruct the text.
5. The students will understand the role of the IMF and WB in the impoverishment of people in Senegal

TERMS: Neoliberalism, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB)

ARTIFACTS: None

MATERIALS:

1. YouTube video (22 min): Out of Africa Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6DYxxvzKBI&feature=related
2. Text deconstruction/reconstruction handout
3. Article: What is Neoliberalism? by Elizabeth Martinez and Arnoldo Garcia
4. Article: The IMF and the World Bank: How Do They Differ? http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/differ/differ.pdf
5. Article: The IMF and World Bank- An Overview from globalenvision.org
6. Video: The Luckiest Nut in the World- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtlYyuJjACw
7. “IMF and World Bank Create Poverty” from Global Research TV- http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/04/imf-and-world-bank-create-poverty

PROCEDURES:
Days 1-2

1. Introduction: Class discussion around the following questions:
1. How do our introduction to globalization and our discussion of poverty relate to immigration issues? (The question may be discussed after a “quick write” or “quick draw”)

1. What do you know about immigration in the United States?
2. What do you know about immigration in other places in the world?

1. Watch the video “Out of Africa-Spain”- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6DYxxvzKBI&feature=related

and complete text deconstruction/reconstruction handout

1. Class discussion after video:
1. Why do people leave their homes?
2. Many of the people in the video said there is no work so they have to leave. Why isn’t there work?
3. When it comes to immigration, who are the privileged? Who are the marginalized?

 

1. Students will read the article “What is Neoliberalism” by Elizabeth Martinez and Arnoldo Garcia.
1. In groups, students will use the article to create their own definitions and non-definitions of Neoliberalism (What is it? What is it not?).
2. Students will discuss how neoliberalism affects impoverished people and how it contributes to immigration and globalization. Again, graphic organizers or illustrations may be helpful for students.

Days 3-4

1. Students will Explore IMF and WB policies in West Africa.
1. Students will read the articles from (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/differ/differ.pdf) and from globalenvision.org and examine perspective, positioning, and power in the articles by using the text deconstruction handout. The articles are very long, and depending on the age group, the educator might want to jigsaw the articles among the students and have each student report out on the section of the article he or she read.
2. Optional: Students will watch “IMF and World Bank Create Poverty” from Global Research TV- http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/04/imf-and-world-bank-create-poverty
2. Wait? What does this have to do with Senegal and immigration?
1. Students will watch the video The Luckiest Nut in the World- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtlYyuJjACw
2. Students will go back to the questions from day one after viewing video:
1. Why do people leave their homes?
2. Many of the people in the video said there is no work so they have to leave. Why isn’t there work?
3. When it comes to immigration, who are the privileged? Who are the marginalized?
3. In groups or individually, students will create a map in poster form that illustrates the relationships between the following words, phrases, and concepts: Neoliberalism, IMF, WB, immigration, globalization