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Objectives:
Class Preparation: Part 1, Required Materials Read Chapter 10 in Turner and devote some time to thinking carefully (using critical thinking skills) about the assumptions and postulates he offers on pp. 220-221. Gottschalk, Simon. (2020) Accelerators, Amplifiers, and Conductors: A Model of Tertiary Deviance in Online White Supremacist Networks, Deviant Behavior, 41:7, 841-855, DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2020.1734746 Assignment 2 is due this week -- and we are in the last chapter of Turner that we will all read -- the remainder is optional. We now move on to applying theory. I want to use this class today to start preparting for the final assignment in which you will use what you have learned to develop theory-based local policies to address your PIN. I'm trying to start us off with a look at two themes that have recurred throughout the semester. One is the concept of commodification. We have not used this term much, but most theoretical critiques of modern economic systems ultimately call upon the role of commodification to explain how modern and now post-modern capitalism "works." Even if you know what the term means, please watch this short video. It gives a good, short discussion of the components of commodification and calls upon social theory to explain what commodification is. This video provides an excellent discussion of the difference between commodification and commodifization. It also touches on some of the discussions of the "good" and the "bad" of commodification. I chose commodification because the rise of global trade -- globalization -- has vastly expanded the role of commodification globally. Almost any product produced anywhere in the world can be bought today online -- which means that any product can become a commodity, including art, sport, and culture. COVID-19 has accelerated the development of the global economy greatly and we honestly have no "roadmap" to what this will do to communities around the world. I ask you to use theory this week to make your own "postulates" (like those that Turnher has on pp. 220 and 221 of Chapter 10) about how these changes will affect your PIN at the community level. COMMODIFICATION We will also discuss the role of the other major global transformation that we are experiencing -- the development of a sort of "parallel" virtual world that may or may not be very similar to the "spatial world" in which human society has been rooted. We have already seen some of the potential for good and for ill with the growing power and ubiquitous presence of the virtual world. The virtual world intersects strongly with the historic spatial world through, for example, commerce, the flow of information of all sorts, and the use of internet platforms like Twitter and Facebook to strengthen or even foster the development of persistent "virtual communities." This process is also global in scale and is affecting every aspect of our lives and has enormous potential to transform communities. We already see that disparities between and within communities are exacerbated by "poor internet service." For example, some school children have essentially lost a full year of their K-12 education due to lack of good internet service. We also saw the power of the Internet in spreading misinformation about COVID-19, potentially literally killing people who believed the misinformation was true, valid information. I also want you to develop postulates about how the growth of the "virtual world" will affect the PIN you want to address -- again at the community level. Please read the article by Gottschalk. While it deal with White supremacist networks and deviant behavior, the explanation of accelerators, amplifiers, and conductors is much more widely applicable.Class Preparation: Part 2 The Week 10 Reading List provides two sets of readings, one dealing with commodification and one with the nexus between the virtual and the spatial world. Please read at least one article from each list -- whatever strikes you as interesting. Use the article to develop your postulates about the economy and communication structures that we are likely to see in the "post-COVID-19 world (see below). " Submit two of your postulates to the Week 10 Discussion Board prior to class. These do not have to be elaborate, lengthy statements. On the contrary I want something very succinct similar to what you see in Turner on pp. 220-221. One should address commodification and the likely effects of the "boom" in e-commerce and acceleration in the globalization of the economy "post-COVID" - focusing on your PIN. For example, dealing with my area of interest in food systems, I would postulate that the growth of carry out, pick up at the store, and delivery of food from supermarkets to local "pop-up" farmers' markets has so accelerated the move to "food delivery" that no venue will be able to survive without offering delivery. I would also postulate that this will exacerbate existing disparities in access to food for consumers and inequities in market access for farmers. The other postulate should address the role of the social media on the Internet and how this may affect communities with regard to your PIN. Related to my postulates about delivery -- any farmer who does not have good internet presence is unlikely to be able to stay in business. |