Access to the Dollar Street website

Income can often tell you more about how people live than location can. Using the website Dollar Street, you are given a way to visualize how other people around the world live. This will help you determine whether the world is flat or spiky. In other words, has globalization leveled the economic playing field, or has it created more inequality? You will consider this question about today’s world, using pictures from around the world to help you draw conclusions.

Comparison
You will compare families around the world today to draw conclusions about economic equality—or inequality.

In this activity, you will use the Dollar Street website to think about the question, “Is the world flat or spiky?”

Dollar Street is a powerful way to visualize how other people live around the world. Dollar Street imagines a world where everyone lives on the same street and the houses are ordered by income: the poorest people live at one end, and the richest live at the other end. Dollar Street really comes alive when you start comparing objects. As Bill Gates says, “I found the photos of toothbrushes to be particularly interesting. The families at the poorest end of the street use their fingers or sticks to clean their teeth. But once you reach a certain income level, everyone starts using a plastic toothbrush with bristles.” The more time you spend on Dollar Street, the clearer it becomes that all of us have the same basic wants and needs but our means of addressing these wants and needs is often quite different.

You are going to fill out the Dollar Street Project worksheet using the website. You can pick whichever three families you want, but you should be able to explain your choice. You might choose to look at three families on different continents, or within the same continent; or perhaps, even within the same country.

Once you’re done filling out the organizer, use the information you’ve found to help you answer the following question: Based on the families you learned about, has globalization leveled the economic playing field, or has it created more inequality? You will write a two-paragraph response to this question using evidence from the organizer to support your claims. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class. It’s likely that you and your classmates came up with pretty different responses to the final question—why do you think that is?

After World War II, many countries came together to create international institutions like the United Nations, with aims such as reducing and preventing violence. Economic institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were also formed with the goals of maintaining economic stability and relieving poverty. Old and new international non-governmental organizations also worked on a global scale, like Amnesty International and others, to inform and mobilize world opinion, creating a sense of global community and responsibility. Author, Eman M. Elshaikh suggests that the impacts of these institutions should be carefully measured against their initial and shifting goals.

This article introduces major international institutions formed after World War II, which continue to operate in the world today. Pay attention to the aims of these institutions, and how some of these aims have shifted. This reading connects to all three of the main Unit 9 Problems, urging you to consider international institutions in the context of human rights and genocide, the costs and benefits of globalization, and the ways in which global networks have changed our sense of identity. Elshaikh’s introduction of these institutions will help you extend all three frame narratives you have been given.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were some of the priorities of the United Nations at the time of its creation? What was the historical context?
2. What were the aims of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)?
3. How does the United Nations differ from a “world government,” a label that some critics used for it? Can you connect this to the Bennett Sherry reading, “Why Does Genocide Still Happen?” about the aims and effectiveness of the United Nations in preventing conflict and genocide?
4. Consider the initially stated aims of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the later shift in the goals of these economic international institutions, along with the World Trade Organization, created in 1995. How did these aims shift?
5. What are the aims of the international non-governmental organizations introduced by Elshaikh and how does this help you understand globalization as defined in Unit 9?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present?
2. When you consider the “flattening” effect of globalization, but also the “lumpy” aspects of the world today, have international institutions like the UN and IMF helped make the world flatter or lumpier?
3. When you consider the international institutions that Elshaikh introduces here, how do you think that they impact our sense of identity as national citizens? What about as global citizens? Can you extend Elshaikh’s work here? How can we assess the effectiveness, the benefits, and the costs of these international institutions?

Download the video, We the People

In this activity, you will explore the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals and then pick one goal and one country to research further in order to take informed action. While this activity builds important research skills, more importantly, it shows you how in today’s world, a global community has banded together in the interest of making the world a healthier place to live in terms of climate, social justice, and overall economic and social equality. You will consider how our twenty-first-century global community supports these lofty goals, and then you will take action in support of one of these goals.

In this activity you will research six of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, pick the goal that seems most important to you, and then research a country that this particular issue has impacted. Finally, you will come up with a way to take informed action in relation to your chosen goal.

Start by watching We the People, a three-minute video about the UN’s goals.

Do you know what this video is about? If not, either your classmates or your teacher will fill you in about the UN Sustainable Development Goals: what they are, and how they were created. Now, it’s time to dig in more! Take a few minutes to review the UN’s 17 sustainability goals, found here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/. Then, take out the UN Sustainable Development Goals Worksheet and research six of the goals in a bit more depth, adding information about each one of the goals to the worksheet. When you’re done, answer the questions at the end of the worksheet.

Next, choose the goal that is most important to you, and then do some research about one of the countries the issue impacts the most. After you’ve gathered more information, come up with a realistic plan about what kind of action you can take part in to help your global community meet these goals. When you have a plan, get your teacher’s approval before moving forward. Once you have the go-ahead, it’s time to institute your plan! At some point, your teacher will ask you to share your plan and how it worked out with your class. This will include:

• The ways in which you took (or are still taking) action in light of the goal you chose.
• How taking action has impacted you.
• Whether participating in global action has made you feel like you are a more-involved member of a global community.

This essay describes the rapid economic development of the People’s Republic of China. Elshaikh begins by introducing the post-World War II rule of Mao Zedong, which included significant economic gains but also massive famine and political chaos. Soon after Mao’s death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping led a period of rapid growth under what he termed “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” In the four decades that followed, in spite of growing inequality, environmental degradation, and political oppression, China has emerged as a leading economic power and raised millions out of poverty.

This essay focuses on China, and in particular its rapid economic growth, over the last few decades. China forms an important regional case study for answering the Unit Problem: “Explain the extent to which new global connections and innovations brought change in different parts of the world from c. 1900 to today.” You might think of it as evidence for discerning regional variations within broader patterns.

Think about the following question as you read the article: Using evidence from this article, explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present. Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were some of the important developments in the economy of the People’s Republic of China in the years shortly after its 1949 founding?
2. What led to the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution and what were some of the results?
3. What were some of the important aspects of the post-Mao policies under Deng Xiaoping?
4. Alongside the increasing national wealth of the People’s Republic of China that Elshaikh outlines, what are some of the downsides of this economic growth?
5. Can you connect aspects of China’s rise to the requirements of “neoliberal” policies that Elshaikh introduces in her essay on “International Institutions”?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Using evidence from this article, explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present.
2. The Unit Problem asks you to consider change over time around the world for the recent past. What if you were asked to answer this question only for China, and only through the theme of economic systems? What would you identify as the major economic changes in China over the period covered by this article?

There is no doubt that China is a modern superpower and a hub of globalization, under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party. But what does that actually mean for the Chinese people? Do they celebrate their new economic wealth? Or do they suffer under the weight of state surveillance and tight control? In this video, with the help of Dr. Crystal Chang, we explore the successes, and costs, of China’s great social contract.

For the past century, globalization has come to connect us all to each other. Yet it looks different, and is experienced in different ways, in different regions. The Chinese experience is very important for understanding these different views. We can benefit from understanding the unique choices made by the Chinese state, and the costs and benefits it has brought to Chinese people. These choices are often quite different from our own society, and through this video and the expertise of Dr. Crystal Chang you can evaluate them for yourselves.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: To what extent does this video the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present? You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview – Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. According to Francesca Hodges, about what proportion of the world’s population is Chinese?
2. What does the data suggest has happened to China’s economy over the past century? What has been the impact on Chinese people?
3. According to Dr. Crystal Chang, why do the Chinese people generally support or allow the Communist Party to continue to govern, despite being authoritarian?
4. According to Professor Chang, how has China benefited from globalization, and how has that changed over time?
5. Does the Chinese government allow and encourage dissent? How does it discourage negative opinion?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. To what extent does this video the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to present?
2. Consider Dr. Chang’s evaluation of both freedoms and economic change in China. Do you think it is worth giving up some freedoms, and allowing some oppression, if most people are benefiting economically? Compare these choices to the ones made in your own country.

The credit for China’s transformation back into an economic powerhouse in the 1980s—after almost two centuries of economic stagnation and decline—is often credited to Deng Xiaoping. But the little-known Premier Hua Guofeng, who governed from 1976 to 1980, probably played a key role in rolling over from hardline communism to a more open system, transforming the global economy in the process. Often purposefully written out of history by his successors, he may have been the architect of transition, or perhaps he was just lucky to govern in a period when global and national trends were shifting.

This unit focuses on the issues and trends surrounding globalization, particularly in the late twentieth century. China’s transition to the world’s manufacturing center and the huge economic growth of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” is a big part of how that history has unfolded. Hua Guofeng’s biography will provide you with a view of that transformation that is different from the high-level articles you have read.

Read 1: Observe

As you read this graphic biography for the first time, review the Read 1: Observe section of your Three Close Reads for Graphic Bios Tool. Be sure to record one question in the thought bubble on the top-right. You don’t need to write anything else down. However, if you’d like to record your observations, feel free to do so on scrap paper.

Read 2: Understand

On the tool, summarize the main idea of the comic and provide two pieces of evidence that helped you understand the creator’s main idea. You can do this only in writing or you can get creative with some art. Some of the evidence you find may come in the form of text (words). But other evidence will come in the form of art (images). You should read the text looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the main idea, and key supporting details. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was the great transformation in China’s economy that took place after 1976?
2. What did Hua Guofeng do as Premier to help lead to this transformation?
3. Who usually gets credit for the reforms that led to this growth, according to the author? Why does Hua Guofeng not?
4. How does the artist use artistic design to demonstrate the transformation in China’s economy between 1976 and 2016?

Read 3: Connect

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in this unit of the course. On the bottom of the tool, record what you learned about this person’s life and how it relates to what you’re learning.

1. To what extent does this article explain the continuities and changes in the global economy from 1900 to the present?
2. How does this biography of Hua Guofeng support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about China’s economic transformation in the 1980s?

To Be Continued…

On the second page of the tool, your teacher might ask you to extend the graphic biography to a second page. This is where you can draw and write what you think might come next. Here, you can become a co-creator of this graphic biography!

In this article, historian Bridgette Byrd O’Connor introduces aspects of how items we use every day, from a cup of coffee to a smartphone, are connected to vast global networks of production and distribution. Using the examples of the iPhone and Starbucks coffee, she explains some of the controversies and criticisms that have been directed at these massive corporations and their global footprints. O’Connor also notes some of the efforts both companies have made to respond to these criticisms.

This article introduces the global networks that bring you two famous brands. Consider these networks in terms of the Unit Problem, which asks you to consider how global connections and innovation brought change throughout the past century, and how those changes might be experienced in different ways by various groups and communities.

Think about the following question as you read the article: Use evidence from this article to explain how and why globalization changed labor and culture over time. Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads Worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How, according to the author, do cheap labor and unregulated workplaces influence global trade?
2. How has the American economy changed in recent years as manufacturing jobs are lost to automation or moved to countries with lower labor costs?
3. Besides the extremely high costs that would probably be required to manufacture iPhones in the United States, Apple CEO Tim Cook also notes the lack of skilled workers in the United States as a reason for moving manufacturing to China. Why does this lack exist, according to the article?
4. What are “conflict minerals” and what are some examples?
5. Why is it difficult to know what products have achieved certification and met ethical standards, such as being “ethically sourced” or “Fairtrade”?
6. What kind of complaints against Starbucks are mentioned in this essay, and what are some examples of the company’s responses?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Use evidence from this article to explain how and why globalization changed labor and culture over time.
2. What evidence does this article provide to help you respond to the question: “Explain the extent to which new global connections and innovations brought change in different parts of the world from c. 1900 to today.”
3. Starbucks and Apple have both engaged in efforts to counter or reassure critics that their business practices are ethical. Why do some companies act in immoral ways? What do you think drives the efforts by Starbucks and Apple to act in an ethical way? How does their behavior compare to businesses and reform movements you encountered back in Unit 4?

In this activity, you will choose a product and try to trace its production and distribution path around the world, as was done with the iPhone and coffee in the article “Goods Across the World.” While our lives may seem like they mostly function on a local level, this will reinforce just how global everyday life has become.

In this activity, you’re going to try to trace a product around the world, as was done in the article Goods Across the World.” You will take the following steps to research and illustrate the movement of your product. Choose something you use in your everyday life. It must be made of different components, or parts, and cannot be an iPhone or Starbuck’s coffee.

1. Conduct some Internet research to figure out where the components of this product originated before they were assembled into your product. Limit this to five components.
2. Add these locations to your world map.
3. Then, try to find out where the components of the product traveled to be assembled to make your final product, and add these locations to the map.
4. Add your current location.
5. Draw arrows to show where the component parts originated, where they traveled, and how they eventually got to you.

When you’re done, post your final map in your classroom, and then take a few minutes to see what other products were traced. Now, think about which products’ “origin stories” surprised you the most, which surprised you the least, and if you will do anything different in your everyday life to lessen the environmental impact and any hidden costs associated with the product, such as low-wage or child labor.

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores economic changes that happened during the late twentieth century. Some of these changes have been described as neoliberal, which means that they encourage free trade, discourage government intervention in markets, and call for fewer regulations. In this collection, you will see how some of these changes cascaded across China, Chile, Western Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia. You will also hear voices critical of these changes.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 9, one of these topics is the “Economics in the Global Age”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.