About Social Studies 10-1

About Social Studies 10-1

Globalization

People in today's world are increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Trade, travel, migration, communication technology, and the media have connected people in ways never imagined by our ancestors. Globalization has an impact on each one of us, sometimes in positive ways and sometimes in negative ways. Globalization impacts our culture, our economy, our social structure, our politics, and our identity.

Because globalization affects each of us individually, every person has a unique perspective. If you are a General Motors worker who lost his job to someone in the developing world, you have experienced a negative effect of globalization. However, the factory worker in Mexico who now has a good job making those car parts has experienced a positive result of globalization.

If you are an Indigenous person whose family has lost its language and culture due to assimilation, you have experienced a negative result. But, the fact that you now have access to medicine and technology to make your life healthier and safer is a positive result. This course focuses on what globalization is, what it does, and what our role is in a changing world.

Diversity and Tolerance

It is important for us as Canadians and as citizens in a multicultural world to recognize the importance of diversity and to have respect for each others' differences. Our diverse experiences and perspectives make Canada the nation that it is. Pluralism builds upon Canada's history and foundations, which reflect the country's Aboriginal heritage, bilingual nature, and multicultural reality. A pluralistic view recognizes that citizenship and identity are shaped by many factors such as culture, language, environment, gender, ideology, religion, spirituality, and philosophy.

Globalization and You

This morning you awoke, got out from under your Egyptian cotton sheets, put on your Chinese-made designer-label jeans, your Indonesian sneakers, and your made-in-Guatemala T-shirt. You drank Colombian coffee or Florida orange juice and ate Canadian bacon and eggs. As your mother drove you to school in her Japanese made-in-Canada SUV, you listened to a European rock band on your designed-in-America made-in-China iPod. Then, she set off to work at an American oil company, manned by Albertans, selling their product to the U.S.A.

Canada is a mix of Indigenous people and immigrants from all over the world. Our values and customs are part of Canadian society. As individuals, we are shaped by our connections with many influences from around the world. As Canadians, we cannot ignore the fact that our connections with other lands and cultures are essential to our identity as a country.

What global connections do we have on a personal level? How do they shape who we are? Does globalization broaden your horizons or threaten your uniqueness?