1. World Issues An Introduction

2. An Introduction to World Issues Imagine you are a first-class passenger on a spaceship hurling through space Poisonous gases are leaking into certain sections of the craft and several passengers are dying from the fumes The water supply has been contaminated due to a breakdown in the ship's waste expulsion system

3. An Introduction to World Issues Many passengers crowded into the economy section of the craft are seriously ill, and only a few of them are getting proper medical attention Food supplies are running low and a large number of passengers are chronically undernourished

4. An Introduction to World Issues The spaceship has an overall destruct system and increasing numbers of technologists - some mentally unstable - have gained access to the controls of the destruct system What would you do?

5. An Introduction to World Issues List your 5 top priorities in order of importance 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. Uhhh… Issues? A question, concern, or problem that has reached the stage of dialogue There are often multiple points of view on a given issue Studying issues helps one to understand the rationale for these various perspectives  You should be able to debate for any side of an issue

7. Examples of types of issues Environmental –those that impact both the natural environment as well as urban environments Political – often fundamentally about power and control – who has it, how they got it, and what they do with it Social/Cultural – how people relate to one another and the differencing characteristics of various groups Economic – related to the financial well-being people of people, countries, and regions of the world

8. An Introduction to World Issues Most world issues are:  Complex  Interrelated  Controversial

9. Example: Poverty Global poverty seems like an economic issue, but also relates to…  Health (the poor can’t afford proper food, water, sanitation, medical care)  Environment (the poor don’t have access to green technologies, have to resort to resource exploitation – like deforestation – to meet needs) There are many perspectives on how to solve this issue  Trade and regulations  Debt  Outside help vs. helping themselves

10. Example: Gender Inequality The widespread oppression of women seems like a social/cultural issue, but has implications on…  Economy (50% of the workforce)  Health (women are usually primary caregivers) But in many parts of the world gender inequality is deeply culturally ingrained (while many people see the oppression of women as immoral, many other see women’s rights as immoral)

11. How “world issues literate” are you?

12. Acronyms UN NATO WTO IMF WHO UNICEF WFP NAFTA FTAA APEC G8 NGO OPEC MNC OECD DRC GMO

13. Who are these people?

14. Where would I find… Ankara Damascus Darfur Dhaka Mogadishu Pyongyang

15. Finally…. List as many African countries as you can