To start off, I would like to say that the first two days of class were definitely different than I expected for this course. I assumed we would be labeling maps and memorizing capitols of the world. I am happy to have learned we are not doing that at all. Within the first two days of class alone, a lot of information as been brought to my attention. I have had many questions come to mind through the lectures, the readings and the speakers. With Coach Morris's lecture I was able to comprehend the idea of "globalization" a little better. Although I felt like Coach Morris did not directly talk about how soccer explains the world, he did so in a philosophical manner. Coach Morris discussed how "sports are mirrors for society". For example, he showed a picture of the Scotland fans and the English fans seperated at a soccer game. He spoke of how people have been killed after games, and how they sing morbid, hateful songs and shout hateful obscenities towards each other during the games. This exemplifies the idea that there needs to be a balance in society.
Doctor Pillay proved to be a bit more helpful, because he spoke more directly to his topic. Where will Africa be in ten years? Doctor Pillay hit the nail on the head with discussing the elements of what is flattening our world: companies, politics and innovations. Africa has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. Doctor Pillay discussed how companies have reduced five pills into one to better supply people. However, this only helps fight HIV/AIDS and there is still no cure for it. As I found out yesterday in class the companies are not trying to create a cure (even though they seem to be so close) because they are making more money by selling products like Viagra. Doctor Pillay also addressed the oil issuse, which we have been reading about. It is not surprising that there is oil available in the United States, but few people seem to realize. The United States is the world's third largest petroleum producer. Like Doctor Pillay discussed South Africa's Sasol has discovered that synthetic oil can reduce "our crude craving".
Something that caught my attention was that the United States is now ranked 40th for innovation. That is very mind bottling considering the United States used to be ranked as first in the world. Another eye-opener is how much in debt our counrty is. I knew it was high but I was unaware that China owned our debt. It is scray to think that China could shut our country down in the blink of an eye. It is especially crazy to think about how much money our country owes when many people, such as professional sports players and celebrities, make enough money a year that could probably end our recession.
All in all, I'd say this course has much to offer and within two days I am already aware of so much more in the world than I was to begin with.
Posted at 7:21 PM by Leah Schmidt