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5. Additional Credit Activities & Course Projects
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5.1 Entrepreneurial Activities
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5.1.1 US Core Values
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Capitalism & Speed
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CC0. "It's the economy,
stupid." This campaign slogan of
Bill Clinton in the 1990's has come back to haunt USians in the
current financial crisis. Given what you are learning about US
values, read one or more of the reports found on this link and
create a response that includes what you think the problem
is, how it is perceived by USians and what you feel will happen in
the future. Bring your results on paper, or e- mail them to
a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC2. Is it possible
to
revive the
image of America? US Businessmen reflect on how to
repair the damage to the US image in the aftermath of the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. This article is six years old and written
before the financial downturn. Add any comment relating to this in
the topic. Bring your comments on paper or e-mail to
a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC3. Sports
Metaphors. The White House uses them, US business uses
them. Can you use them to speak to US Americans? Though George Bush
is gone, the practice continues. Read this piece and bring your
comments on paper or e-mail to a facilitator
for evaluation.
Reference:
Sports Talk: A Dictionary of Sports
Metaphors by
Robert A. Palmatier and Harold L. Ray
(1989). |
up to $20.00
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CC4.
Trading
up. Watch and reflect on a short video that
explores the entrepreneurial spirit in North America.
Price, value, and celebrity all play a role in achieving
one's goals. Bring your comments on paper or e-mail to
a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC5.
Working
Wealth. Check out this financial ad for what it says to
you and what it says about US Americans. Bring your comments on
paper or e-mail to a facilitator
for
evaluation |
up to $20.00
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CC6. Is
The American
Dream alive and well among aspiring immigrants? Read a
firsthand story of a taxi driver's dream of success in the
USA and reflect on the values that still attract people to come to
the US both legally and illegally. Bring your comments on paper
or e-mail to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC7.
Changing
definition of the American Dream traces the value
shifts in home ownership, thrift, and debt in the USA from the
early 20th century onward into the current financial crisis. Bring
your comments on paper or e- mail to a facilitator
for
evaluation. |
up to $20.00
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CC8.
Did Christianity Cause the
Crash? Certainly the "prosperity gospel" has
been preached since the 1920's in the US, beginning with Bruce
Barton's book, The Man
Nobody Knows. This
success bible of the 1920s portrayed Jesus as a model marketer and
promoter. Barton's book (which was a huge best seller) appears to
have been bridging the gap between Calvinistic hard work,
self-denial, and saving and the new hedonistic consumer ethic:
spend, enjoy, and use up. This article looks at that gospel in a
highly Latino context. Read this current commentary from
the Atlantic Monthly
Online and bring your
comments on paper or e-mail to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC9. View the
American
Montage video. Take a walk with a classmate and
take your camera along. Photograph the things you see that reflect
US influence. See if you can connect the images with various US
values that they represent. Submit an electronic document with
images and reflections by e-mail to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20 for each of
you.
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CC10. Listen to the
podcast and read the commentary of
Israeli consultant Aviv Share about the
Regeneration
of America. Do you agree with the
author's analysis of US values? If so, why? If not, why?
Bring your
reflections on paper or e-mail them to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC11.
American
Identity Crisis (homo economicus without
work) is an essay by
Dan MacLeod that looks into the question of how US identity which
so depended on what one accomplished and won, is threatened by the
lack of employment and meaningful work for so many USians today.
What do USians have to fall back to say who they are? Read his
commentary and bring your reflections on paper or e-mail them to
a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC12. In
Fast Track to
Inequality Bob Herbert argues that a generation of
economic policy has reduced substantially the middle class in the
USA and institutionalized poverty for many. Read his commentary and
bring your reflections on paper or e-mail them to a
facilitator for
evaluation.
|
up to $20.00
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CC13.
The
Corporatization of America
John Ikerd explores whether the political
freedoms so treasured by USians are in fact being eroded by the
corporate sectors' influence on life and politics. Bring your
reflections on paper or e-mail them to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC14.
The New
American Dream: Renting It's time to accept
that home ownership is not a realistic goal for many people and to
curtail the enormous government programs fueling this ambition
according to Thomas J. Sugrue in the Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2009. How does the concept of home
ownership so precious for so long to USians compare with your
culture and your personal expectations? Bring your reflections on
paper or e-mail them to a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC15.
Why Democracy
Is Public: The American Dream Beats the
Nightmare. George Lakoff and Glenn W. Smith, writing
in Truthout
Friday 29 July 2011 signal the
changes interpretation that conflicting groups of USians are
engaged in as conflict over the economy and philosophy of
government escalates. What are your best hopes and fears about the
USA? Bring your reflections on paper or e-mail them to
a facilitator
for
evaluation.
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up to $20.00
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CC16.
Why Happiness isn't Always Good:
Asians vs. Americans is an op-ed article
by John Cloud that examines the prevailing positive psychology of
USians and raises questions about its benefits. How do you
see the positive spin so important in the USA? Read this article
and then bring your reflections on paper or e-mail them to
a facilitator
for
evaluation. |
up to $20.00
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CC17. After 9/11:
Searching for American
Optimism is an article by Ted Anthony asking whether
optimism, the carrier of the American Dream is dead or still alive.
Read this article and then bring your reflections on paper or
e-mail them to a facilitator
for evaluation. You can add
another $15 to this score by interviewing, by Skype or in person,
an American you know on the topic of US optimism after having read
the article.
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up to $35.00
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