Welcome to the Global Issues Links Page! These links are worth checking out: web sites that have some real interest or value for the always-thinking GI student. (That's you.)
If you want to keep up on news around the world, there are few sources better than the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), web-accessible at news.bbc.co.uk/default.htm. It's especially interesting to see their take on U.S. news.
Elsewhere in the world are other media sources worth considering when you're trying to get yourself a nicely 3-D view of global issues. Some of these include:
When we talk about international issues, it is crucial that we know facts but also important that we know how to describe them: we sound foolish (and sacrifice authority) when we mispronounce words like "Putin" or "Qatar". Fortunately, the Voice of America has a website to help us: check it out at the VOA Pronunciation Guide for Journalists.
Whatever you happen to think about the CIA, make use of their excellent resources, including The World Factbook, which contains a tremendous storehouse of information about the nations of the world, and the directory of other publications, including the frequently-updated international List of Chiefs of State.
Propaganda is a crucial theme of our course, and the web is a wonderful place to learn about it. TIME/CNN has articles like this one on historical and current U.S. propaganda. Research institutes (such as the Institute for Propaganda Analysis) and academic sites (such as Prof. Randall Bytwerk's site on Nazi and East German propaganda -- check out his Superman example!) add relevant details and analysis. Take your time to go through these -- lots of interesting stuff in here!
Looking at the world? If you are a fan of NBC's The West Wing -- or not -- you may remember the episode about the social justice associated with mapmaking, and what it makes people think about the rest of the world. Check out this link for information on the Peter Projection shown on that episode. Also, look around for info on Mercator and other great names in mapmaking, you budding geographer.
Contributors from outside our class have recommended some great media sites, including American Journalism Review, which links to -- and allows you to search for and within -- thousands of media outlets here and abroad.
Near and dear to our global hearts - at least as far as the study of the world is concerned - is the United Nations, which has a vast web site at www.un.org.
Some veterans of the Social Studies department recommend: www.netaid.org, which addresses the pressing issue of poverty around the world...and The Hunger Site, which gets money for international food distribution every time someone clicks on it -- no expense to you, because the sponsors donate the cash just because you've clicked in.
Amnesty International gives a critical look at some of the world's human-rights trouble spots. Looking for their report on a particular country? Try this index from within their comprehensive site.
National Geographic hosts an annual Geography Bee of really difficult questions. Test your knowledge daily at the Geography Bee Challenge website...and don't forget to check out our GI Geography Quiz.
The U.S. Library of Congress - the world's largest library - has a terrific web site. Find it at www.loc.gov.
There are presentation/lectures on-line for your at-home viewing enjoyment (sic). Do not attempt without context! (Just kidding...but context is very important, as you know.) Check the GI Presentation Trove page. In case you're wondering, these are MS PowerPoints.
More links are coming! Look and learn, and we will too - and e-mail us if you have suggestions or questions.
