Overview
This week, we’re expanding our sociological lens to examine how inequality functions on a global scale. Our focus is on the interconnected systems that uphold transnational inequality, such as colonial legacies, neoliberal capitalism, and resource extraction. We’re also looking at how global narratives, especially those about development, poverty, and power, reinforce dominant narratives and hierarchical ideas of nations. For this one, please wait until you've viewed the lecture video.
Your task this week is to use visuals to explore how global systems of wealth, power, and status are represented in everyday life, in media, and in resistance. Think about the stories we tell about the Global South, about who needs saving, who gets blamed, and how these narratives often uphold the very inequalities they claim to address.
You’ll be using Wakelet again to curate your visual journal. Please label your collection clearly with “Week 5” or a title connected to this week's topic so I can easily locate it. You are required to include at least 5 visuals, a written reflection that connects your visuals to course materials, and thoughtful peer responses to two classmates. Please read the instructions closely; missing pieces such as citations, visuals, or references to readings will impact your grade. Visuals may include photos, memes, infographics, headlines, or media clips. Be intentional. Label your sources clearly.
Your written reflection (350–400 words) must:
- Reference all three readings and at least one video
- Analyze how your visuals reflect global inequality, power, and status
- Apply sociological concepts from across the course
- Go beyond description; this is your space to reflect, critique, and connect
As you write, consider:
- How do your visuals show global inequality, development myths, or colonial patterns? What global systems are seen?
- Where do you see resistance, exploitation, or control? What narratives are being presented?
- What surprised or challenged you in this week’s materials?
- How has your understanding of wealth, power, and status evolved since Week 1? And how can we see the importance of intersectionality woven throughout our analyses?
- What themes, patterns, or contradictions have stuck with you?