Global Issues: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Global Issues is a pedagogically rich text that offers a unique way of looking at contemporary issues, such as food security and global conflict, from a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary perspective. By exploring each issue in depth, students gain an applied understanding of more abstract concepts like conflict, globalization, culture, imperialism, human rights, and gender, while the cross-cultural approach encourages students to view the world from outside the Western box. Designed for introductory-level students in global and international studies, human geography, anthropology, sociology, and development studies, this highly accessible text offers instructors and students a unique way of matching the concepts they learn in the classroom with important issues in the world in which they live and work.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations Author Profile Acknowledgements To the Instructor Introduction Part I: Cultural Imperialism and Human Rights 1. Purdah: Is the practice of female seclusion and wearing hijab oppressive to women or an expression of their identity? 2. Female Circumcision: Is this practice a violation of human rights or a cherished cultural tradition? 3. International Aid: What benefits do NGOs provide developing countries and how can their presence generate new challenges? 4. Population Growth: Is the world over-populated and should governments have the right to control birthrates? Part II: Culture Change and Changing Identities 5. Heritage Languages: Are they an endangered species? 6. Body Image: How does body image affect identity and status, and how has the transnational flow of Western ideals of beauty impacted other cultures? 7. Same-Sex Marriage: What are the socio-economic, religious, and political implications of same-sex marriage and changing family structure? 8. Social Media: What is its role in socio-political revolution? 9. Global Nomads: Do Third Culture Kids own a national identity? Part III: Economic, Political, and Social Conflict 10. Food Security: What are the economic and political determinants of food security and the global implications of world hunger? 11. Ethnic Conflicts: What are the underlying reasons and the consequences of these conflicts? 12. Human Migration: What are the socio-economic and political implications of the transnational flow of people? 13. Global Conflict: Is the world safer because of military intervention, and what are the consequences of militarism? Conclusion Glossary Lesson Plans and Websites References Index

About the Author :
Shirley A. Fedorak has taught at the University of Saskatchewan and the American College of Cairo. She is the author of a number of textbooks including Global Issues: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (2013), and Pop Culture: The Culture of Everyday Life (2009). She now lives in Penang, Malaysia where she continues to write.