United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellowship Examining Connectivity James Furgol, Montgomery College (Maryland) Dr. Stephanie Hoon, Pima Community College (Arizona) 2022-2023 Introduction: Welcome to your role in an international mission. This mission is dedicated to expanding educational access and championing student empowerment through "open pedagogy." In this approach, you, as a student, are at the heart of an engaging, collaborative learning environment, with the freedom to access your educational journey. What is this mission's ultimate goal? To heighten social justice in our community, promoting the free exchange of knowledge and work. Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, this renewable assignment paves your path to becoming an agent of change within your community. Prepare to embark on this transformative journey. For this work, we will integrate the disciplines of Historical Studies, Communications, and Management, to achieve the primary goal of responding to SDG #13: Climate Action. Within this SDG, we will focus on the specific target 13.3. Purpose: This assignment gives students the opportunity to learn more about the origins, manufacturing, distributing, or advertising of a product, resource, or service they have used in the past two years. This process will help them understand how their personal choices as a consumer are connected to our globalized market. Learning Objectives: This assignment will help students understand how their personal choices as a consumer are connected to our globalized market. Instructions: Globalization has only taken to new heights over the course of the 21st century. Even with the interruption of grain exports from Ukraine due to the current Russian-Ukrainian War, goods begin, are manufactured, and distributed across most of the globe. This assignment asks you to take a moment to reflect upon how this process influences you. For this assignment, you will identify and analyze one product, good, or resource that you own or use. You will then examine your selection’s origins, how it is produced/manufactured, and how it is distributed in today’s global economy. To start this assignment, first review either of the following chapters: https://www.e-ir.info/2017/01/16/connectivity-communications-and-technology/ https://www.e-ir.info/2017/01/17/feeding-the-world/ Acceptable Topics: You may select any product, good, or resource you own or use regularly. Examples of Acceptable Topics: Acceptable topics are purposefully open-ended. The only requirements are that it refers to a product, good, or resource you used over the past 2 years. The following are some examples to consider, but are certainly not the only options for this assignment: • • • • • • A piece of personal clothing A favorite food Building/renovation/repair materials for your home A repair part for your car A public good (e.g. water) that you regularly use in your home A recently purchased luxury or common item Step 1: Share your selected good/product/resource under the discussion forum by 11:59 pm on the date. In no more than 250 words, explain why you chose your selection. Introduce your selected product, and provide some details on its origins. Some questions to consider are: How was your item manufactured/distributed? How many different groups were involved from its origins to you being able to purchase your selected? How were you able to obtain your selected good/product/resource? (x points) Step 2: Compile and analyze your research materials by date. Step 3: Complete and submit your essay by date. (x points) The paper is broken into the following three parts: Part 1 Source Summary/Context: The first part of the assignment introduces your selected good/product and summarizes your selection's contents. The summary should include your selection's origins, which distributor you bought it from, the number of steps in the supply chain it took to originate, produce and distribute your selection, and how you obtained your selected good. (200-250 words, 1 page) Part 2 Analytical Section: The second part of the assignment is to analyze your selected good/product/resource. Choose one of the following themes: origins, manufacturing, distribution, and advertisement. Who (which groups) were involved in your selected theme? What role(s) do they play in your selected theme? Were they treated ethically and/or compensated fairly? Are they protected by any national/international organization(s)/law(s)? (500-750 words, 2-3 pages) Part 3 Conclusion: Conclusions are often mislabeled as simply summarizing the paper's primary points. Instead, they serve as a vital part of the writing process in that they conclude your paper's primary points and allow space for follow-up questions. In your conclusion, expand upon any of the following points: Did this process reveal anything new to you about the origins, manufacturing, distribution, and advertising of your selected product? Did you encounter any gaps in these processes, and if so, what is needed to learn more? If your research revealed any groups exploited in these processes, what is needed to amend these issues? (200-250 words, 1 page) I encourage you to organize your paper by using subsection titles. Your paper should be no more than 1,250 words and five pages long (the header, in-text citations, and bibliography do not count towards the total word count). Format Requirements: Students will post a discussion entry visible to the entire class and finish the assignment by completing an essay in MS Word document. Research: Along with your textbook, any relevant course material, and your selected source you must use at least two academic sources and three journalist/social media sources. The academic sources must come from academic journals or monographs. The three journalist/social media sources must come from accredited news agencies. I encourage you to select articles from at least two different news sources (e.g. 2 articles from Al-Jazeera, and 1 article from The Economist). By this point in the semester, you ought to be comfortable using our college’s library databases. However, do not hesitate to contact me or any of the reference librarians with any research questions/challenges you may have. Citations: For this assignment, you must cite your work. You must tell the reader exactly where you obtained your information. You may use APA, Chicago, or MLA as long as you are consistent. For guidelines on MLA citations, review the following website, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/. Failure to cite your work will result in an automatic F (this is not negotiable). Writing: If research is the work of the social sciences and humanities, then writing is the art. Writing in a clear and organized manner will assist the reader in understanding what you are saying and following your argument(s). Content is certainly important, but if the reader cannot understand what you are saying, then it does not matter how much research you put into this assignment. This paper is not a copy-and-paste exercise. In other words, the majority of your essay ought to be paraphrased (written in your own words that is supported by credible sources). Direct quotes ought to be limited to supporting key points throughout your paper. Simply copying and pasting large blocks of text from your sources not only reduces your voice but also gives off an impression of laziness. Assessment Criteria: The following is the recommended grading rubric for this assignment, which is purposefully open-ended to meet the needs/demands of the given course/semester. Recommended Grading Rubric: In total, this assignment is worth x points. • • • • • • • • Posting and sharing your topic with the class – x points Providing a clear summary of your selected good/resource/product – x points o Providing the context for your selected good/resource/product – x points Analyzing your selected good/resource/product origins, manufacturing, and distribution – x points Assessing your selected good/resource/product's targeted audience and how they are persuaded to purchase said item – x points Incorporating at least two academic and three journalist sources in your analysis – x points Ending your paper with a reasoned conclusion – x points Organization and development - x points Grammar and format - x points Examining Connectivity is licensed by James Furgol, Montgomery College (Maryland); Dr. Stephanie Hoon, Pima Community College (Arizona) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA)