February 2016 Favorites

Books:

1. "Desert Flower" by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller. The story of a girl from a nomadic tribe in Somalia who underwent female genital mutilation, and later became a famous supermodel with the right political platform to become the first woman to speak out about it.
2. "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" by Max Weber.
3. "Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking" by M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley.

Movies:

1. "Desert Flower" (2009) by Sherry Hormann. It's a more fictionalized version of Waris Dirie's autobiography.
2. "Bride & Prejudice" (2004) by Gurinder Chadha. An Indian, Bollywood reimagining of Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice".
3. "Persepolis" (2007) by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. The story of a girl who goes through all the instability in the recent history of Iran. I hear the graphic novel that inspired the movie is also good, if you can find it.
4. "The Swan Princess" (1994) by Richard Rich.
5. "Working Girl" (1988) by Mike Nichols.

CIGP: Civil Society Organizations (Unit 6, L3, March 1)

Recommended content:

1. "Reframing NGOs: The Identity of an International Relations Non-Starter" by Norbert Götz

2. "Intergovernmental Organizations, Nongovernmental Organizations, and International Law", chapter summary from "Essentials of International Relations" by Karen Mingst

CIGP: Multinational Corporations (Unit 6, L2, February 29)

Recommended content:

1. "International Political Economy", chapter summary from "Essentials of International Relations" by Karen Mingst

2. "Multinationals and the New Politics of Hate" by Merryn Somerset Webb

2. "Multinational Corporations" by Allen Sens

Homework for March 4

1. Watch at least two of the following movies:

- "Sarah's Key" (2010) by Gilles Paquet-Brenner

- "Game Change" (2012) by Jay Roach

- "The Iron Lady" (2011) by Phyllida Lloyd

2. In a 500-word essay, compare and contrast the role of the individual in the movies you watched. Use the concepts we saw in class about the role of individuals and organizations in global issues.

3. Upload it to Blackboard by March 4th, 11:59 PM. The link will be under the "Assignments" tab and labeled "Essay 5_Sarah's Key, Game Change, and The Iron Lady". E-mailed assignments will get an automatic zero.

CIGP: The invention of the organization (Unit 6, L1, February 26)

Recommended content:

1. "The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism Before its Triumph" by Albert Hirschman

2. "The Study of Organizations and Evolving Organizational Forms Through History: Reflections from the Late Medieval Family Firm" by Avner Greif

3. "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls

CIGP: Mass Publics and Public Opinion (Unit 5, L3, February 25)

Recommended content:

1. "Public Opinion Supports Apple Over the FBI -- Or Does It?" by Krishnadev Calamur

2. "Kylie Jenner Suffers Panic Attack When Kendall Abandons Her on the Red Carpet"

CIGP: The individual in international relations (Unit 5, L2, February 24)

Recommended content:

1. "The Individual", Chapter summary from "Essentials of International Relation by Karen Mingst.

2. "Assessing Leadership Style: A Trait Analysis" by Margaret Hermann.

3. "Choices, Values and Frames" by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky

Ernest Hemingway's advice to writers

This was my favorite quote:

"As a writer you should not judge. You should understand."

Read the entire post here. 

Lydia Cacho's conference was cancelled

CIGP: Levels of Analysis and the Individual (Unit 5, L1, February 23)

Recommended content:

1. "Levels of Analysis"

For those interested in studying International Relations, Political Science, or Law

Attendance will count as Participation. Sorry about the short notice!

Conference with Dr. Evan Ellis, "Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean". Commented by Dr. José Fernández Santillán. February 19, 2016. Sala de Consejo, Tec de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México.

CIGP: Quantitative & Qualitative Research (Unit 3, L2 & L3, February 18)

Recommended content:

1. "UniversityNow: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research"

2. "Qualitative vs. Quantitative"

3. "Catallena" by Orange Caramel

CIGP: Correlation & Causality, Facts & Counterfactuals (Unit 3, L3 & L4, February 17)

Recommended content:

1. "Spurious Correlations" by Tyler Vigen

2. "Correlation & Causation" by Kip Wheeler

3. "1.1. Facts, Facts & Facts" by Kevin Mulligan

4. "2.1. Counterfactuals and Causal Dependence" by Peter Menezies

5. "The Big Bang Theory - Sheldon and Amy's Counterfactuals Game"

For those interested in studying Animation or Communications

"Stop Motion Rally", February 25, Sala de Animación 2D, CEDETEC 106.

"Cómo producir tu cortometraje", March 8, Dirección de carrera LCMD.

CIGP: Reliability of Sources (Unit 3, L5, February 16)

Recommended content:

1. "Judging the reliability of Internet information" by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

2. "Validity and Reliability" by Martyn Shuttleworth.

3. "Distinguishing between primary and secondary sources" by the University of California-Santa Cruz Library

4. "Is Wikipedia a Credible Source?"

5. "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." from Wikipedia.

CIGP: Building an Argument (Unit 3, L0, February 15)

Recommended content:

1. "Argument and Essays 1" by Richard Holton.

2. "How to Write a Good Essay".

3. "Supreme Court Justice Scalia at Arguments - BBC News"

History of the Maria biscuit

If you thought I was kidding, click here.

Remember that what the British call "biscuit" is called a "cookie" in the United States.

The following video is a short history of biscuits in the United Kingdom and why they are relevant to its history. Your final project can be an original topic like this, if you successfully argue for its relevance. When you choose your topic, you have to convince me that I won't understand your assigned country if I don't know about the topic you chose.

CIGP: Central Asia and Russia (Unit 3, L8, February 12)

Recommended content:

1. "What if the Russian Revolution never happened?"

2. "Wait for it... The Mongols!: Crash Course World History #17"

3. "The Silk Road and Ancient Trade: Crash Course World History #9"

Conference: "En busca de Kayla"

Assistance will count as Participation.

Conference: "Dibujamos el mundo"

Assistance will count as Participation.
Conference with illustrator Javier Pérez. February 17, 2016. Auditorio, 14:30.

CIGP: South Asia and India (Unit 3, L7, February 11)

Recommended content:

1. "The Mughal Empire and Historical Reputation: Crash Course World History 217"

2. "What Americans get wrong about India"

3. "Daily life in Pakistan"

CIGP: Middle East (Unit 3, L6, February 10)

Recommended content:

1. "Islam and Politics: Crash Course World History 216"

2. "Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash Course World History 223"

3. "Iran's Revolutions: Crash Course World History 226"

4. "Why do people become Islamic extremists?"

CIGP: Asia-Pacific (Unit 3, L5, February 9)

Recommended material:

1. "World Geography - The Geography of Asia and the Pacific"

2. "2,000 years of Chinese History! The Mandate of Heaven and Confucius: World History #7"

3. "Communists, Nationalists, and China's Revolutions: Crash Course World History #37"

4. "Asian Responses to Imperialism: Crash Course World History #213"

5. "How Powerful is Australia?"

6. "7 Things You Need To Know About ASEAN"

CIGP: Sub-Saharan Africa (Unit 3, L4, February 8)

Recommended content:

1. "Africa's Growing Middle Class"

2. "Africa for Norway - New charity single out now!"

3. "When Saving Africa Sucks"

4. "What if Africa Was Never Colonized?"

5. "Congo and Africa's World War: Crash Course World History 221"

Homework for February 22

1. Read "En busca de Kayla" by Lydia Cacho and Patricio Betteo.

2. For February 22, write a 500-word letter to either the author or the illustrator about your thoughts on the book. Sign it with your name, and send it to frangg23@gmail.com.

3. On February 24, attend their conference in the Auditorio at 14:30. Attendance will count as Participation.

CIGP: Europe (Unit 3, L3, February 5)

Recommended content:

1. "Europe: Political Division and Location"

2. "The European Union Explained*".

3. "Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World"

4. "Why Do We Still Have Monarchies?"

CIGP: Latin America & the Caribbean (Unit 3, L2, February 4)

Recommended content:

1. "War and Nation Building in Latin America: Crash Course World History 225"

2. "Latin America: Beyond the Stereotypes"

3. "Brazil and Mexico: Comparing Latin America's Giants"

4. "The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History #24"

5. "Caribbean Human Development - Crime Hinders Development"

Homework for February 10

1. Read "Dibujamos el mundo" by Javier Pérez, with text by Albert Martínez López-Amor.

2. For February 10, write a 500-word letter to either the author or the illustrator. Tell them what you thought of the book and what it made you think or feel. Sign it with your name like you would any letter. This will be graded like any written assignment, except sources are not required because it is a letter. However, it should have the right structure with a clear main idea and conclusion.

3. On February 17, go to their conference in the Auditorio at 14:30. Assistance will count as Participation.

CIGP: North America (Unit 3, L1, February 3)

Recommended content:

1. "North America - Physical Features"

2. "Where US Politics Came From: Crash Course US History #9"

3. "The War of 1812 - Crash Course US History #11"

4. "The Difference between the Democrats and the Republicans"

5. "I am Canadian!"