Focused Global Issue From Fields of Inquiry

Examples of the levels of specificity necessary for a well-defined
and focused global issue:
Field of inquiry:
Culture, identity and community—colonialism

Insufficiently focused to be a useful lens for investigation.
Global issue
How do societies reconcile native and colonial influences?
Appropriate for presentation; works/texts engage the issue from varied
perspectives
Local issue
A newly independent nation sets out to rename sites named for prominent
colonizers.
Too specific for works to engage with this particular expression of the issue
Field of inquiry:
Beliefs, values and education—shaping educational systems

Insufficiently focused to be a useful lens for investigation
Global issue
The effects of allowing new populations access to education
Appropriate for presentation; works/texts engage the issue from varied
perspectives
Local issue
A regional government develops a plan to accommodate an influx of refugee
children into the public-school system.
Field of inquiry:
Politics, power and justice—corruption

Global issue
Corruption as an obstacle to achieving greater equality
Appropriate for presentation; works/texts engage the concern from varied
perspectives
Local issue
The government of a country has impeached their president on charges of
corruption
Field of inquiry:
Art, creativity and the imagination—freedom of expression

Global issue
The effects of curtailing freedom of expression
Appropriate for presentation; works/texts engage with the issue from varied
perspectives
Local issue
A painter’s work is deemed too controversial to display in an exhibition.
Field of inquiry:
Science, technology and the natural world—progress

Global issue
The importance of finding a balance between progress and respect for
nature
Appropriate for presentation; works/texts engage the concern from varied
perspectives
Local issue
The construction of a dam in a particular community
Determining the global issue:
A global issue incorporates the following three properties:

• It has significance on a wide/large scale.
• It is transnational.
• Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts.
Students may look to one or more of the following fields of inquiry for
guidance on how to decide on a global issue to focus their orals on. These
topics are not exhaustive and are intended as helpful starting points for
students to generate ideas and derive a more specific global issue on which
to base their individual oral. It should also be noted that there is the
potential for significant overlap between the areas.
Culture, identity and community

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore aspects of family,
class, race, ethnicity, nationality religion, gender and sexuality, and the way
these impact on individuals and societies. They might also focus on issues
concerning migration, colonialism and nationalism.
Beliefs, values and education

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore the beliefs and
values nurtured in particular societies and the ways they shape individuals,
communities and educational systems. They might also explore the tensions
that arise when there are conflicts of beliefs and values, and ethics.
Politics, power and justice

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of rights
and responsibilities, the workings and structures of governments and
institutions. They might also investigate hierarchies of power, the distribution
of wealth and resources, the limits of justice and the law, equality and
inequality, human rights and peace and conflict.
Art, creativity and the imagination

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of aesthetic
inspiration, creation, craft, and beauty. They might also focus on the shaping
and challenging of perceptions through art, and the function, value and
effects of art in society.
Science, technology and the environment

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore the relationship
between humans and the environment and the implications of technology
and media for society. They might also consider the idea of scientific
development and progress.
In selecting the global issue for their oral, students must be careful not
simply to select from the broad fields of inquiry above, but to determine a
specific issue for discussion that can be reasonably explored in a 10 minute
oral. The global issue chosen for consideration should be significant on a
wide scale, be transnational in nature, and be an issue that has an impact
felt in everyday local contexts. The issue should be clearly evidenced in the
extracts or texts chosen.
For example, within the field of culture, identity and community, the theme
of gender in itself might be unsuitably broad for an individual oral. A student
interested in this theme might explore instead how gender bias manifests
itself in different contexts; how this can be evidenced in many ways in texts
of different sorts; how different authorial choices will determine what is
meant by gender bias; whether bias should be viewed positively or
negatively, allowing the students to evaluate the writer’s choices and the
impact they might have on the different readers’ or viewers’ understanding.
The oral itself will only be concerned with the aspects of the global issue
relevant to the two texts chosen.
The student should ensure the oral offers a balanced approach, giving
approximately equal attention to both texts. Thus, it is important that the
student selects extracts/texts that offer equally sufficient material for the
discussion.

Focused Global Issue From Fields of Inquiry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Focused Global Issue From Fields of Inquiry

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Focused Global Issue From Fields of Inquiry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Examples of the levels of specificity necessary for a well-defined

and focused global issue:

Culture, identity and community—colonialism

Beliefs, values and education—shaping educational systems

Politics, power and justice—corruption

Art, creativity and the imagination—freedom of expression

Science, technology and the natural world—progress

A global issue incorporates the following three properties:

Culture, identity and community

Beliefs, values and education

Politics, power and justice

Art, creativity and the imagination

Science, technology and the environment

You might also like