Life and Debt: Interdependency Between Markets in the Global North and South

In her chapter, “The Gendered Politics and Violence of Structural Adjustments,” Faye V. Harrison reflects on how postcolonial Jamaica has been—and continues to be—profoundly affected by colonial and gendered exploitation in the form of structural adjustments. This exploitation has been expressed in multiple ways: as development, as neocolonization, as gendered violence, but also signals the deep interdependency between countries in the Global North and South in complex ways. The Film Study #2 prompts students to consider the question of globalization and what means for citizens of the global North and South. Using anthropological concepts and theories discussed in the course, students will be asked to respond to a question about the nature of global dis/connections and their far-reaching implications. Assignment Instructions In three pages (or 750 words, double-spaced) please answer the following prompt: With reference to Faye Harrison’s chapter, briefly summarize and explain how one event from the film, “Life and Debt,” addresses the interdependency between markets in the Global North and South. How has the current global economy intensified historically uneven divisions of labour between higher-income and lower-income countries? Your response should include at least two course concepts relating to global transformations (e.g., globalization, neoliberalism, neocolonialism, structural adjustments, underdevelopment, gendered violence, faraway markets, market externalities, and/or “glocal”). Not explicitly engaging with both Harrison’s chapter and the film will result in a lower grade.