Choose either a specific commodity or some aspect of a commodity chain (such as its labor and/or ownership/control conditions; social, economic, environmental, and/or health consequences; political violence/wars; etc.).
Emphasize relationships and activities of labor, capitalists, nation-states, consumers, and the natural environment.
Culture of capitalist/global commodity chains
Karl Polanyi’s Paradox
Negative externalities
Challenges of internalizing externalities (= “sustainability”)
Approximately 750-1000 words of narrative text; college standards of writing; enforcement of FIU penalties for plagiarism
Double-spaced 11 or 12-point Times New Roman font; in-text citations; references section; Chicago, MLA, or APA format.
If you want to focus on Covid-19 (or any other “signature” disease):
What is the global culture of capitalism? What are “global commodity chains”? What are “negative externalities”? What is “Karl Polanyi’s Paradox”? What are examples of each within the global culture of capitalism?
What are the basic questions to ask about patterns of disease at any point in time and space?
Describe the relationships between (1) culture and disease; (2) cities and disease; (3) environmental change and disease; and (4) human ecology and disease.
What defines a “signature disease” of a specific historical time and pattern of geographic connections? How is Covid-19 an example of a signature disease?
What are arguments–including the relevance of “Karl Polanyi’s Paradox”, “global commodity chains,” and “negative externalities”– for healthcare as a global public good (and as a human right), as opposed to healthcare as an individual, commodified choice?