Classroom Activities
Grades 9-12:
Wade Davis

Globalization Debate: Ask students if they know what “globalization” is. This word has become quite common, so they’ve probably heard it before. What evidence do they see of globalization in their daily lives? List their responses on the board. Ask them to think about and discuss how the process of globalization might affect other cultures. Then have them use the Internet to learn about different perspectives on the effects of globalization. They should visit the following sites, plus others they find through searches.

• National Geographic Millennium: Globalization: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/2000/culture/global
• International Forum On Globalization: http://www.ifg.org
• PBS Globalization and Human Rights: http://www.pbs.org/globalization/
• Rainforest Action Network U’Wa Campaign: http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/oxy

Stage a class debate on the pros and cons of globalization. Assign each student a role, either pro or con (or have students choose roles if there’s an even split in opinions). Have students support their pro- and anti-globalization arguments with concrete evidence that they find on the Internet, in the library, and in their own lives. The debate should address the effects of globalization on both Western culture and indigenous cultures around the world.

The Ethics of Anthropology: Ask students to define the word “ethics.” Then ask them to list the ethical dilemmas that an anthropologist might face when studying indigenous cultures. Discuss their responses as a class. Have them listen to the Real Audio interview with Wade Davis at http://www.savvytraveler.com/Show/Features/
1999/02.20/interview.html. (If this isn’t practical, listen to it yourself and read a few quotes to the class). In this interview, Davis states that the “one lesson of anthropology” is that there are “other ways of being” besides our own. He also says that anthropologists don’t want to sequester or freeze indigenous people into a museum-like existence, a moment in time; rather, they want to make sure that indigenous people can “embrace the modern on their own terms.”

Hold a class discussion on these two key elements of Davis’s outlook. What does he mean by “other ways of being”? What can be done to make sure that indigenous people are free to take the modern amenities they want and turn down those they don’t want? Is it possible to study another culture without having an impact on that culture?

Have students look through National Geographic’s Vanishing Cultures site (http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/2000/culture/lost/index.cfm) and list the things they think an anthropologist studying one of these cultures should and should not do. You might also want to have them search the library or the Internet for anthropological codes of ethics. Have them write guidelines for new anthropologists who are just about to undertake their first studies of an indigenous culture. These guidelines should explain the ethical dilemmas that the anthropologists may encounter and instruct the new anthropologists on how they should behave when living with indigenous peoples.

Betsy Hedberg contributed these classroom ideas.