Sub-Saharan+Africa

= =

=__//**Sub-Saharan Africa**//__=

Africa is the site for the origins of human life on this planet. "Skeletons of the oldest known //homo sapiens// are found only in Africa, and African people contain greater genetic variety than the rest of the world's population." (Bradshaw et al. p. 380) A big focus of this understand why and how most of Africa is afflicted with such high levels of poverty. Certainly, in the modern world this should be a concern for all of us. Thus, Africa is of major importance to human history, and our understanding of the world.

=Central Question: **To what extent should world leaders be concerned with the quality of life of people in LDCs?**=

__**Links [|Africa]**__
 * [|African Geography Games]**

What do I know about African geography? (This is an in class activity. So, please save this for class)
First off, our mental maps reveal much about what we know and how well informed we are about places. Africa, as a continent, is really quite easy to identify. It has that distinct shape, that most all people quickly recognize. The same, though, might not always be true when it comes to recognizing all of the fifty-three countries in Africa. Begin this lesson by taking a quiz on identifying where the countries in Africa are locate. After, that post your results and a detailed assessment of your performance on this quiz at My Mental Map of Africa. What does your performance reveal about your[| mental map] of Africa? Be prepared to share your thoughts about this to class.

[|Geography Map of Africa Quiz]

Read pp. 379-393 and write a paragraph answer to each of these two questions: 9A.1 How can a region with such a rich history and wealth of resources end up as the poorest in the world? 9A.2 What would be the Western countries' response if they experienced the African level of HIV/AIDS?
 * Homework**

=Documentary: [|The Great African Scandal]= Before watching the documentary above, read about [|Ghana]. (from CIA World Fact Book).

After you finish watching this documentary do two things:
 * 1) In a paragraph explain what you found most impressive about the lives of the average Ghanaian as revealed in this film.
 * 2) What question do you have that the director of the film did not answer that you believe needed to have been answered?

=**The IMF, the World Bank and the WTO: A help or a hindrance to developing countries?**= You are to evaluate these IFIs and produce information as to why or how they help or hinder the development of nations. See below for your group members. Consider some of the sources below for your research:
 * Group || Members ||
 * 1 || Min Hee,Young Q, Jamie, Eric, Angie, ||
 * 2 || Su Jin,Brian Kwon, Jay, Ji Soo, Stella ||
 * 3 || Jennifer, David, Brian Kim, Lisa ||
 * 4 || Brian Cho, Jae, Jun Woo, Rachel ||

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ce**nter/action/eng/index.htm - World Bank web page (to get their perspective on their role)—** http://www.worldbank.org/ Some interesting articles: Look for Analysis of Current Issues under //Globalization and Empire Building//. From there go to: . //The Tragic Tale of the IMF in Zimbabwe//, or . //Restructuring the Global Economy: Eradicating Bretton Woods and Creating New Institutions// http://www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/rg/RGWto.shtml little more than an extortion racket—** http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,1505816,00.html
 * -International Monetary Fund, Getting a member country’s economy back on track**—
 * - International Forum on Globalization—http://www.ifg.org/**
 * - The WTO in action: Case studies—**
 * - A truckload of nonsense: The G8 plan to save Africa comes with conditions that make it

IMF, World Bank, WTO: Hindrance or Help Presentation by Lisa Ahn, Brian Kim, David Kim, Jennifer Nam

=DEFINING DEVELOPMENT= Go to the above wikispace and individually work on the assignment posted there, and here.

=**Development in Africa - Our Class Project**=