Instructor Portfolio Questions
IH 852 Fall, 2015, Bill Coleman, Instructor Portfolio Questions for 1st Section
Section 1
Economic Justice/Injustice: Davidson and Marx
DAVIDSON
1—Brief history of manufacturing in Greenville, South Carolina?
2–History of SMP
3–Why did Standard Motor Products stop manufacturing in Queens and move to Greenville?
4–For any given product that it presently manufactures in Greenville, at what point might Standard Motor Products stop manufacturing in Greenville and import from overseas?
5–Continual off-shoring calculus?
6–Aftermarket replacement auto parts
7—What is gildermeister?
8—What is a fuel injector?
9–Larry Sills’ past, present and future at SMP?
10–Luke Hutchins’ past, present and future at SMP?
11–Maddie Parlier’s past, present and future at SMP?
12–Present rank of United States as a manufacturing nation?
13–# of US citizens employed in manufacturing today vs. in the Great Depression
14–# of US citizens today vs. in the Great Depression
15–In what sense is it grossly unfair that Larry should be the CEO of SMP?
16–In what sense are the employees of SMP lucky that Larry is there?
17–Impact of NAFTA?
18–Why did SMP stop manufacturing in Queens and move to Greenville?
19–Why is there any manufacturing in the United States today?
20–Present status of manufacturing in the United States?
21–Future of manufacturing in the United States? Why does it matter?
MARX
22–Marx writes: “Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones.” In “Making it in America,” Adam Davidson brings Marx up to date by saying that today’s world is experiencing the “double shock” of globalization and computer-aided industrial productivity. How do each of these 2 elements affect:
a—Larry Sills
b—Luke Hutchins
c—Maddie Parlier
23—What does Marx mean by the “bourgeoisie?”
24—What does Marx mean by the “proletariat?”
25—How does Marx understand social class?
26—Marx predicts a “decisive hour” when the proletariat will arise and the bourgeois age will come to an end. In Marx’s prediction, we see a stage in which the state owns and controls the means of production. What is the name of this stage?
27–Over time, Marx predicts that the state will no longer be necessary and all class antagonism will fall away. What is the name of this final stage in human history?
28–What change in our experience of work will facilitate this falling away of all class antagonism?
TABUCHI
29–Describe the difference in Chinese vs. American textile manufacturing salaries today.
30–For every $1.00 required to manufacture in the U.S., Boston Consulting estimates that it costs _______________ to manufacture in China. How is this possible, given the wide gap in salaries?
31–How does the Pacific Trade Agreement play into Chinese entrepreneurs’ thoughts about manufacturing in the U.S.?
32–How many Chinese companies are manufacturing now in North and South Carolina?
33–Where does their raw cotton come from?
34–From a labor perspective, what’s the difference between the costs on the one hand of spinning yarn and manufacturing cloth vs. (on the other hand) cutting and sewing clothes?
35–Reconstruct, as best you can, the history of the textile industry in South Carolina.
36–How does the strong dollar affect manufacturing jobs in the United States?
37–What differences do there appear to be in the rules for workers in China vs. the rules for workers in South Carolina? Give an example?
38–South Carolina is “right to work” state. Explain.
39–At present, Chinese companies see that their American employees do not work as accurately as employees back in China. What difference does Tabuchi cite? Why do you think this difference exists?
Section 2
STUDY QUESTIONS for AMERICAN TEXTS from 1776 to 2015
Disintegration, 2010, by Eugene Robinson
1—“There was a time,” Robinson writes, “when there were agreed-upon ‘black leaders,’ when there was a clear ‘black agenda,’ when we could talk confidently about ‘the state of black America’-but not anymore. Explain.
2—(speculative question) In the beginning of the 20th century, 2 great black leaders—Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois—proposed 2 different strategies for black America. Which strategy do you think best explains the world that Robinson describes in Disintegration?
“1.5 Million Black Men Missing from Everyday Life,” 2015 by Justin Wolfers et al
3—For every 100 white women, age 25-54, living in America today, not in jail, there are __________ white men of the same age, not in jail.
4—For every 100 black women, age 25-54, living in America today, not in jail, there are __________ black men of the same age, not in jail.
5—How does Wolfers account for the 1.5 million missing black men?
6—How do black women cope with this demographic imbalance?
7—How do black men cope with demographic imbalance?
8—(speculative question) How is this demographic imbalance likely to perpetuate disadvantage for black children in the future?
9—(speculative question) How have the disadvantages that black people have faced in the past created this present disadvantage?
Declaration of Independence, 1776
10–What is the full name of the Declaration of Independence?
11—Why, according to the Declaration, do governments exist?
12—(speculative question) What purpose does this preamble, “We hold these truths to be self-evident….” serve?
Recollections of Israel Jefferson, 1873, regarding, among other things, a conversation between Thos. Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette, 1824
“To the latter proposition of Gen. Lafayette, Mr. Jefferson in part assented.”
13—He was in favor of teaching the slaves ______________
14—He was not in favor of teaching the slaves _____________________
15—What was Thomas Jefferson afraid of?
16—What details in Israel Jefferson’s recollections convince you that his story is accurate?
Lincoln’s 1st Inaugural Address, 1861
17—According to Lincoln, what would be needed for one state or group of states to legally secede from the Union?
18—At a minimum, Lincoln argues, the Constitution should be considered as a _____________.
19—But Lincoln goes further than this, he argues that perpetuity is inherent in the Constitution.
a. Briefly, what is his historical argument?
b. In addition, what language in the Constitution implies perpetuity?
20—The North and South can get along, Lincoln argues. They have really only 1 difference of opinion. What is it?
21—To make the South feel more comfortable remaining in the Union, Lincoln makes a remarkable offer. What is it?
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address 1863
Lincoln says the Declaration of Independence created the United States of America.
22—Find language in the Gettysburg Address to support this claim.
23—Find language in the Declaration of Independence that supports this claim.
24—Find language in the Declaration of Independence that contradicts this claim.
25—Using Lincoln’s own language, demonstrate that Lincoln’s position has changed and that the offer he made in his 1st Inaugural Address is no longer on the table.
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address, 1865
“Each looked (Lincoln says) for … a result less fundamental and astounding.”
26—Who is “each?”
27—What, according to Lincoln, is the astounding result?
28—Restate Lincoln’s sentence—“Each looked for … a result less fundamental and astounding”—in your own words. Begin your sentence with the word, “Neither….”
29–How does Lincoln’s reference to Genesis in his 2nd Inaugural Address suggest the completeness of his opposition to slavery?
Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963
30—What specific promise made by Birmingham merchants in 1963 to black leaders does Dr. King mention?
31—What specific strategy do civil rights leaders in Birmingham embrace to force the merchants to keep their promise?
Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream,” 1963
On Aug. 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King addresses 250,000 civil rights supporters. He is not explaining an individual campaign but rather, he is explaining the entire Civil Rights Movement in America.
32—“Five score years ago….” What speech is Dr. King echoing?
33——“Five score years ago….” To what specific presidential act is he referring?
34—“In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.” To what document in particular is Dr. King referring?
35–“It is obvious today that … this promissory note … has come back marked “insufficient funds.” Restate this sentence in your own words being as specific as possible.
36—By comparing the civil rights movement to a group of aggrieved creditors trying to collect on a bad debt, how has Dr. King turned the tables on white America?
PPT Nonviolence and the 101st Airborne
37—In what sense does the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s take place under the protection of the American military?
38—(speculative question) To what degree can you make the argument that the greatest advances in the civil rights of black people in America have come as a result of America’s wars?
Section 3
Portfolio Questions for Gender Readings
Kate Bolick, “All the Single Ladies”
P 1 why must we now understand that traditional marriage =/= our highest ideal?
What was the best thing about Allan, Bolick’s boyfriend with whom she broke up when she was 28?
Now that she is 39, what are her choices?
P2 How does Bolick describe what it’s like for women who have reached “the top of the staircase?”
P3 According to Stephani Coontz, how was marriage in America in the 1950’s different from what marriage had been for thousands of years?
P4 “For starters,” Bolick says, “we keep putting marriage off.” What does she mean?
Also, medical science is changing what we need to have children. Explain.
Gains of the women’s movement? Describe.
P5—“Deterioration of the male condition?” Describe. What class of men have been most hurt?
“When Gloria Steinem said, in the 1970s, “We’re becoming the men we wanted to marry,” I doubt even she realized the prescience of her words.” Explain.
P6 Gender crisis in the American South after the Civil War?
P8 “Capitalist men are pigs.” Explain.
P8 Bolick describes one annoying man after the next. Which character strikes you as the most annoying of all?
P9 Ralph Richard Banks says, “(T)he reality is that what’s happened to the black family is already beginning to happen to the white family.” Explain.
p11 How does the 80/20 rule contradict the picture of everybody having exciting social lives all the time?
P13 What % of adult Americans were single in 1950? In 1910?
P15-Hunter-gatherer societies’ focus on groups of men and women vs. agriculturally-based societies’ emphasis on the couple? Explain.
P16 “greedy marriage”—what does it mean?
P17 Mosuo people of southwest China—midnight trysts for autonomous people: how does this fit in to Bolick’s overall thesis? (17) How does it work?
P19 What is Bolick’s “mini-neo-single-sex residential hotel of two?”
11—The Begijnhof in Amstersdam: 106 apartments for single people (19-20)
17th century Childbirth
Alice Thornton writes that, “by the infinitt providence of God (she was) in great mercy delivered (of her child).” Were she not such a devout Christian, how might she feel that God’s role in her suffering was not so merciful?
Coverture as explained by Blackstone
According to this principle, husband and wife are considered to be one person. How is this arrangement not romantic, but a formula for depriving women of any independence whatsoever?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “The Declaration of Sentiments”
1st paragraph: explain why Stanton deviates from Jefferson’s language (“people” vs. “portion of the family of man”)?
2nd paragraph: how does Stanton change Jefferson’s “unalienable rights?”
2nd paragraph: Jefferson says, “…it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.” What language does Stanton substitute? What is the difference between Jefferson’s and Stanton’s visions of revolution?
3rd paragraph: Both Jefferson and Stanton draw out a long list of grievances against a male figure. Jefferson writes: “He has…. He has… He has….” Stanton writes the same. To whom is Jefferson referring? To whom is Stanton referring?
Go back to 2nd paragraph: Both Jefferson and Stanton complain of “a long train of abuses.” How long have the abuses of which Jefferson complains been going on? Find specific language to support your answer. How long have the abuses of which Stanton complains been going on? Find specific language to support your answer?
In what sense is the injustice of which Stanton complains more harmful than the injustice of which Jefferson complains? Try to refer to language in the 2 texts. Your answer should compare the “long train of abuses” to which each author refers.
In what sense is the remedy that Stanton proposes more gentle than the remedy that Jefferson proposes? Your answer to this question should refer to your answer to Question #3.
Jefferson and Stanton each were mouthpieces for a revolution. In the short-term, whose revolution seemed greater? In the long term, whose revolution has been more profound? You cannot find the answer to this question in the text of either declaration. You must consult your own general knowledge.
Section 4
RICKS, FIASCO, as reviewed by Michiko Kakutani in N.Y. Times (notice verb tenses)
Page #
2 (Ricks) reminds us that when it came to the threat posed by Mr. Hussein, the (Bush) administration consistently emphasized “‘worst-case scenarios’” even as it was ‘best-casing’ the subsequent cost and difficulty of occupying the country.” Paraphrase and explain.
3 Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 troops would be necessary, after Saddam was defeated, to prevent an insurgency in Iraq. What counter-argument did Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld give?
4 L. Paul Bremer, appointed by Bush to be head of the American occupation, immediately disbanded the Iraqi army and fired every government official who had ever been a member of the Baath party. Explain, in your own words, how this contributed to the fiasco.
HERODOTUS, THE HISTORIES—Books 7-9, Second Persian Invasion of Greece
Book 7
Paragraph #
1-4 How does Xerxes come to power as king of Persia?
35 How does Xerxes punish the Hellespont?
35 How does Xerxes punish Pythius?
47 Artabanus: 2 serious problems Xerxes faces. What are they?
99 Who is Artemisia?
104 Demaritus is asked by Xerxes: will the Greeks fight? His answer?
109 How big is the lake at Pistyrus? What happens to the lake?
126 As Xerxes army marches from Thrace into Macedonia, what particular problem do their camels face?
132 Persians always demand earth and water? What does it mean?
140 First oracle advising the Athenians what to do: what does it say?
142 Second oracle to the Athenians: what does it say?
143 What is Themistocles’ interpretation of the 2nd oracle?
194 Sandoces: Describe his treatment by Darius.
201-233 Thermopylae: what is the Persian advantage? The Greek advantage?
Book 8
4 Greek heroism based on a series of bribes? Who is the chief briber?
67- Xerxes: should we meet the Greeks at sea? What does Artemisia say?
87- Artemesia @ Salamis. How does she escape the Greeks?
100 after the Persian defeat at Salamis, what does Mardonius propose to Xerxes?
102 Artemesia’s advice to Xerxes?
105-106 Tell the story of Hermotimus and Panionius.
111-112 Themistocles and the Aegean islanders? How does this story foreshadow the story that Thucidides will tell?
140-144 A new offer from Mardonius. How do the Athenians deal with it?
Book 9
5 After the Athenians stone Lycides, what do the Athenian women do?
37 Why does Mardonius hesitate to attack at Plataea?
71 At Plataea, why does Aristodamus fight so bravely?
80 How do the Aeginetans get rich after the battle of Plataea?
82 According to Pausanius, why was Xerxes stupid to attack Greece?
84 3 mass graves dug by the Spartiates (Spartans). Describe.
86-88 Treatment by Pausanius of his Boeotian prisoners. Describe.
107-113 Tell the story of Masistes and his problems with Xerxes.
116-121 Tell the story of Artayctes
123 Can you relate Cyrus’s belief that “soft lands produce soft men” to Pausanius’ reaction (#82) to the Persian feast prepared after the battle of Plataea?
THUCIDIDES, ON JUSTICE, POWER, AND HUMAN NATURE : Brief overview with focus on the Melian Dialogue
Paragraph #
Book 3
35-46 1 year into the war, Pericles makes a funeral oration. In your own words, how does this speech prefigure Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address?
Book 4
68 The people of Plataea (the same city where the Greeks won their final major victory over Mardonius and the Persian Army that Xerxes had left to destroy all of Greece) have been besieged by the Spartans and have surrendered, on the condition that they may plead with the Spartans not to kill and/or enslave them. What one question do the Spartans ask them? When all the talking is over, what do the Spartans do to them?
84-116 The island of Melos (halfway between Athens and island of Crete) is an island whose inhabitants came originally from Sparta. They have tried to remain neutral in the Peloponnesian War, but in 416, the Athenians and their allies send 38 ships. What reasons do the Athenians give the Melians to surrender to them? What reasons do the Melians give for not surrendering? What happens in the end?
Book 8 An oligarchy is briefly established in Athens. Then the oligarchy is overturned and democracy is briefly restored. In 404, The Athenians surrender to Sparta and its allies. Athens, Sparta, and all of Greece, go into a slow decline. In your own words, why do you think this happens?
Section 5
Portfolio Questions for Section 5
Genesis, 1-3 (Blackboard)
Without blaming serpent, Eve or Adam, what do you think is the crime which gets Adam and Eve thrown out of the garden? To say it another way, what is this knowledge which God wants to keep human beings from having?
Eusa Story (Blackboard)
What is Eusa’s crime?
In what way does his story retell the shut-down of the Garden of Eden?
Galileo (Blackboard and Copernicus film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHUWP9zu4W8)
On the night of January 7, 1610, Galileo has a new “superlative instrument.” He writes, “When I inspected the celestial constellations through a spyglass, Jupiter presented himself.”
p. 64—What does Galileo see when he looks up at Jupiter?
p. 65—Why does he decide, on January 8, to look at Jupiter again?
p. 65–What does he see, on that second night (January 8) when he looks at Jupiter again?
pp. 65-85—Between January 8 and March 1, 1610, what does Galileo do every night that the weather is clear?
p. 85—What does Galileo know for certain by March 1, 1610?
(film) Briefly describe Galileo’s scientific achievement
(film) Briefly describe Galileo’s trial for heresy
(film) Briefly describe the advance of science since Galileo’s day
The 6th Extinction ppt slides
#6 Describe the trajectory of human population from 4000 BC to 2100 AD (projected)
#9 How does Darwin explain extinction?
#15 How does E. O. Wilson explain extinction?
#19-20 How long have there been human beings? How long have there been ginkgo trees?
#21 What is the relationship between megafauna extinctions around the world and the spread of human beings?
#28 Karl Marx almost seems to admire the “subjection of Nature’s forces to man” which has happened during the brief “rule” of the bourgeoisie. Explain.
The 6th Extinction (text)
Chapter 1—Why are the golden frogs dying? What change in the world is causing the frogs to die?
Chapter 2—pp. 27-28 What does Jefferson write about “the economy of nature,” and what does he expect Lewis & Clark to find on their expedition to the West?
p. 29 How does Cuvier arrive at the conclusion that the bones of a mastodon belong to an “espece perdue (lost species)?”
p. 44 “The thread of operations is broken,” Cuvier writes. Explain.
Chapter 3 pp. 48-52 Lyell, like Darwin, is a “uniformitarian.” Explain.
p. 69 How does Darwin explain extinction?
Chapter 4 pp 74-78 in 1977, Walter Avarez sends soil samples to a colleague, Frank Asaro. In 1980, Walter Alvarez and his father, Luis Alvarez, publish a paper, “Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction.” What is their theory? What is their evidence ?
p. 91 Paul Taylor says about the death of the ammonites that, in certain moments, “the rules of the survival game” abruptly change. How is this a restatement of Cuvier’s idea that “the thread of operations is broken?” How does this theory put a major dent in Darwin’s theory of how extinctions take place?
Chapter 5 pp. 107-108 Paul Crutzen argues that the Earth is now in a new phase of extinction which he calls the Anthropocene. Name 5 geologic-scale processes which people are now causing.
Chapter 6 p. 113 How much CO2 will there be in the air by 2050? What global warming effects can be expected?
pp. 113-114 How much of this CO2 finds its way into the world’s oceans? How much more acidic will the oceans be than they were at the start of the Industrial Revolution?
pp. 116-117 How do the underwater CO2 vents along the sides of the Italian island, Castello Aragonese, offer scientists an “underwater time machine?”
pp. 121-124 How does ocean acidification increase “the cost of calcification?”
Chapter 7 pp. 128-130 How do coral reefs get built? How do they change the world?
pp. 136-137 With ocean acidification, what will happen to the world’s coral reefs? What will happen to their “tenants?”
Chapter 8 pp. 151-153 Imagine walking from the North Pole to the equator. To what degree are there more species in the tropics than anywhere else? Describe 3 theories to explain this difference.
p. 161 According to Darwin, how do species respond to temperature change?
p. 167 Describe 2 different predictions for the % of species loss by 2050, based on temperature change alone.
Chapter 9 p. 176 How much ice-free “wildlands” exist today?
p. 177 what is a “fishbone” pattern of deforestation?
p. 186 As a result of tropical deforestation, how many insect species are being lost every year?
p. 189 Describe the “dark synergy” between fragmentation and global warming.
Chapter 10 p. 197 What is meant by word, “Pangaea?”
pp. 204-205 just as golden frogs and other amphibians are being wiped out by chytrid fungus, little brown bats are being wiped out by white nose syndrome. How are human beings to blame?
pp. 205-208 What is an “introduced species?” How can it be argued that human beings are causing a “New Pangaea?”
Chapter 11 p. 221 Human beings “have brought (the Sumatran rhinoceros) so low that it seems only heroic human efforts can save it.” Explain.
p. 226 “What happened to all these Brobdingnagian animals? Cuvier, who was the first to note their disappearance, believed they had been done in by the most recent catastrophe: ‘a revolution on the surface of the earth’ that took place just before the start of recorded history.” Explain.
p. 234 It appears that the Anthropocene era does not begin with the Industrial Revolution, but with the dispersal of human beings around the earth. Comment.
Chapter 12 pp.246-247 Neanderthals are gone, but something like 4% of our genes today are, in fact, Neanderthal genes. Explain.
p. 249 Human children do not seem to be brighter than ape children except in one regard. What is it?
Chapter 13 p. 260 What is the Frozen Zoo?
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