How have booms in specific commodities – such as sugar, oil, or drugs – at different points during the last five centuries determined contemporary inequalities, hierarchies, and stereotypes? How have national cultures and languages, and relations between nations, been significantly determined by the circulation of these goods? How have individuals, whose labour often represents the commodity itself (for example in sex work, care work, and the reproductive bioeconomy), navigated these global flows, becoming part of those flows or resisting them?
In this module you will explore the historical geopolitical, economic and cultural relations between nations which shape the contemporary context of globalised business. We focus on the political, economic, and cultural exchanges that have shaped the contemporary world through a specific lens: the production, circulation, and consumption of commodities. Through engagement with key theories from Modern Languages and cultural studies, you will gain a critical understanding of how nations, businesses and individuals communicate across geographic, linguistic, cultural and digital divides. By analysing case studies including films, novels, and music, from contexts across the globe, students will develop the intercultural awareness needed in global markets and the skills required to communicate effectively in multicultural business environments.
This module will also equip you with essential academic skills. The focus of this module will be on composing an academic essay on a topic related to the module content and conducting the relevant research for the essay.
Lecture / Seminar: 32 hours.
Independent Study: 118 hours.
Assessment Preparation: 50 hours.
Essay (1,500 words) (worth: 50%).
Mini-Practical: Answering questions from across the module’s content (40 minutes) (worth 50%)
Reassessment Method: Single instrument 100% written assessment (1,500 words)
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Discuss a range of factors informing the global production, circulation and consumption of commodities
2) Analyse primary materials as appropriate, using up-to-date theoretical frameworks and relating works to the relevant socio-historical context
3) Apply a range of established techniques to carry out independent analysis and research on cultural products and present their findings
4) Undertake independent research in the library, using resources such as research articles, books and relevant online materials
5) Synthesise and evaluate information from several sources, and apply this knowledge in the analysis of textual and visual materials relating to a range of nations, cultures, and commodities
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