Inequality in the 21st

century

29.09.2025
 Post-discussion Geography of Globalization (Murray & Overton)

“Death of Geography”?
•Claim: Location no longer matters → world is borderless, flows dominate.
•Reality: Geography still matters — borders, places, infrastructures remain crucial.
•Examples: “Shrinking of the world” = faster travel, communication, flows.

Space & Time

•Types of Space: absolute (fixed), relative (relational), metaphorical (imagined).
•Space–Time concepts:
• Convergence → places closer via faster transport.
• Distanciation → actions have distant effects.
• Compression → intensified pace of flows.
 Post-discussion Geography of Globalization (Murray & Overton)

Scales of Analysis
•Local ↔ National ↔ Global.
•Globalization collapses scales → more fluid & interconnected.

Local–Global Interactions
[Link] as Mosaic – separate units.
[Link] as System – interdependent states/economies.
[Link] as Network – dynamic flows & connections.

Key Concept: Glocalization

•Global + Local processes intertwine.
•Local expands outward; global compresses inward → new hybrid outcomes.

Takeaway
👉 Globalization is contingent: historically, spatially, politically specific.
👉 To understand it, we must look at where & how it is experienced.
 Post-discussion
Maps as Colonial Power – The Piri Reis Map (1513)
Maps = rhetorical artifacts → shape how we see space, history, and
identity.
Reis Map celebrated globally (UNESCO, Turkey’s heritage campaigns).
Tied to Columbus’s “discovery” → reinforces the Eurocentric myth of
modernity.
Colonial cartographic violence:
Erases Indigenous presence & spatial knowledge.
Labels land as “empty” & available for colonization.
Dehumanizes Indigenous peoples

Result → Map becomes a celebratory discourse of conquest rather than

a record of multiple histories.
 Post-discussion
Alternative Cartographies – The de la Torre Map (1841)
Cuban geographer José María de la Torre produced a counter-
narrative.
Shows Columbus’s voyages and Indigenous place names &
histories.
Marks sites of resistance & memory:
Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (defender of Indigenous peoples).
Caique Hatuey (Taíno leader, first Indigenous anti-colonial
fighter).
Destabilization strategies:
Juxtaposes colonial & Indigenous place names (“today” +
original names).
Memorializes Indigenous resistance alongside colonial history.
Example of border thinking (Mignolo): re-mapping to disrupt
colonial discourse.
→ Maps can reproduce colonial myths or challenge them by re-
inscribing silenced voices.
- Critical questions….

•If maps are not neutral but rhetorical tools, how do the Piri Reis
and de la Torre maps illustrate the power of cartography to either
erase or recover Indigenous histories?

•What does the de la Torre map teach us about the possibility of

using colonial tools (like maps) for decolonial purposes? Can
maps ever escape their colonial legacy?
“Our Rivers Aren’t Blue” —Waorani Mapping Process

Colonial Mapping (Official Maps)

•Show forests as “empty green space.”
•Minimize Indigenous presence (only a few village
dots).
•Justify oil drilling & state control over subsoil
resources.

Waorani Counter-Mapping
•Goal: Create a map full of things that don’t have
a price.
•Participatory process: elders, women, men,
children → collective memory & knowledge.
•Steps:
• Drawing boards (community sketches,
stories).
• Walkabouts (GPS + oral history).
• Data entry with unique symbols (150+):
jaguar paths, burial sites, palm swamps,
etc.
• Maps revised, printed, and given back to
each family.
Counter-mapping = decolonizing cartography: maps that defend land, honor Indigenous knowledge, and
strengthen community.
Colonial / State Maps
•Forest as empty space.
•Few dots for villages → minimal human presence.
•Boundaries highlight oil blocks, roads, pipelines.
•Serves extractive industries, legitimizes dispossession.

Waorani Counter-Maps
•Territory shown as alive & storied.
•150+ unique symbols (jaguar paths, sacred sites, clay deposits, fruit
trees).
•Oral histories, elders’ knowledge, collective memory embedded.
•Defends land rights, strengthens community sovereignty.

Looking at these two mapping

Contrast in Purpose approaches, what do they reveal
•Colonial Map → Control & exploitation. about how knowledge can
empower or oppress?
•Waorani Map → Resistance, memory & care for land.
Pre-discussion to 3a

The Globalization Game – Who Wins, Who Loses?

– Quick Poll [use pen and paper]

•“Has globalization reduced inequality overall, or increased

it?”
 Pre-discussion to 4a

•Group A: Government of a developing country (wants growth but also protection

for local industries).

•Group B: Government of a rich country (promotes free trade, but secretly

subsidizes its own industries).

•Group C: Multinational corporation (seeks cheap labour and open markets).

•Group D: Civil society/NGO (advocates for workers’ rights, education, and health).

•Group E: International institution (IMF/WTO/World Bank) (pushes liberalization

and rules for global trade).
 LEARNING GOALS

Each group should: Define what you want from

globalization.

Identify policies they would advocate to reduce

inequality. Consider who gains and who loses in
globalization.

For output: Each group comes prepared with a short

position statement for the post-discussion role-play.
Group A: Government of a Developing Country
•Your Goals: Create jobs, protect local industries, attract foreign investment.
•Your Hidden Interest: You fear being too dependent on foreign companies.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Your farmers and workers being undercut by imports and cheap labor.
•Catchphrase: “We need growth, but on our own terms!”

Group B: Government of a Rich Country

•Your Goals: Promote free trade, open markets, protect your multinational companies.
•Your Hidden Interest: You secretly subsidize your own farmers and industries.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Losing influence to rising economies.
•Catchphrase: “Free trade is great—as long as it’s on our rules.”

Group C: Multinational Corporation

•Your Goals: Access cheap labor, avoid high taxes, expand into new markets.
•Your Hidden Interest: You want weak labor laws and limited environmental rules.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Governments raising taxes or enforcing strong worker rights.
•Catchphrase: “We bring jobs and investment—don’t scare us away!”

Group D: Civil Society / NGO

•Your Goals: Protect workers, promote fair wages, education, health, and the environment.
•Your Hidden Interest: You rely on donations, so you need visibility.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Exploitation of vulnerable people and destruction of the planet.
•Catchphrase: “People and planet before profit.”

Group E: International Institution (IMF/WTO/World Bank)

•Your Goals: Promote liberalization, enforce rules, stabilize the global economy.
•Your Hidden Interest: You are heavily influenced by rich countries’ interests.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Countries refusing to follow your trade rules or loan conditions.
•Catchphrase: “Rules and reforms are the price of global prosperity.”
Group A: Government of a Developing Country
•Your Goals: Create jobs, protect local industries, attract
foreign investment.
•Your Hidden Interest: You fear being too dependent on
foreign companies.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Your farmers and workers being
undercut by imports and cheap labor.
•Catchphrase: “We need growth, but on our own terms!”
Group B: Government of a Rich Country
•Your Goals: Promote free trade, open markets, protect your
multinational companies.
•Your Hidden Interest: You secretly subsidize your own farmers and
industries.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Losing influence to rising economies.
•Catchphrase: “Free trade is great—as long as it’s on our rules.”
Group C: Multinational Corporation
•Your Goals: Access cheap labor, avoid high taxes, expand into new
markets.
•Your Hidden Interest: You want weak labor laws and limited
environmental rules.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Governments raising taxes or enforcing
strong worker rights.
•Catchphrase: “We bring jobs and investment—don’t scare us
away!”
Group D: Civil Society / NGO
•Your Goals: Protect workers, promote fair wages, education,
health, and the environment.
•Your Hidden Interest: You rely on donations, so you need
visibility.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Exploitation of vulnerable people and
destruction of the planet.
•Catchphrase: “People and planet before profit.”
Group E: International Institution (IMF/WTO/World Bank)
•Your Goals: Promote liberalization, enforce rules, stabilize the
global economy.
•Your Hidden Interest: You are heavily influenced by rich countries’
interests.
•Big Fear / Red Line: Countries refusing to follow your trade rules or
loan conditions.
•Catchphrase: “Rules and reforms are the price of global prosperity.”