Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for April 20th

For homework, please: 

- submit your Teilleistung consent form (available in the "class information" folder on Ilias), if you haven't already.

- continue working on your first Teilleistung with your partner. 

- complete all of the exercises and readings in the CSR folder on Ilias.

- watch the following TED Talk and take notes concerning how the speaker defends his thesis, "Businesses exist to serve a purpose...and only by doing so will they generate profits in the long run." The social responsibility of business | Alex Edmans | TEDxLondonBusinessSchool - YouTube After considering his arguments, are there any blindspots in Edmans' arguments (i.e. areas/factors he didn't consider)?

Optional: Alex Edmans' TED Talk focuses in part on the company COSTCO. This video interestingly outlines COSTCO's business model (and, by the way, this YouTube channel is a great one to follow): Behind Costco's Treasure-Hunt Shopping Strategy | WSJ - YouTube

Optional essay: investigate the CSR policies of one of your favorite companies. In an essay of 250-350 words, identify where the company is doing well (be specific and use examples) and where it has room for improvement, in your opinion. If you choose to complete this assignment, it must be sent to me via email in a .docx file (so that I can edit it and add comments) no later than Monday, April 19th by 5 pm.

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for April 19th

 For homework, please read pp. 324-330 of These Truths and answer the following questions:

1. What was striking about Idaho and California's demographics in the latter half of the 19th century?

2. What was the caveat in the 1868 treaty between the US and China?

3. Put Frederick Douglass' "composite nation" in your own words. In what ways has the US achieved this concept? In what ways has it not?

4. What are the Force Act of 1870 and the Klan Act of 1871? (Requires outside research.)

5. How were women divided on the 15th Amendment?

6. What compromise was brokered in 1877?

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for April 19th

 For homework, please: 

1. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement (located in the "Class information" file on Ilias) and send it to me via scan. This must be submitted by April 16th.

2. read Units 11-12 in your textbook and complete all of the accompanying exercises. Make sure that you learn ALL of the vocabulary from Unit 12. 

3. translate these remaining sentences into English: 

h. Du sollst sofort nach Hause kommen!
i. Du möchtest sofort zum Chef kommen!
j. Das mag ja sein, aber...
k. Sie möchten sicher nach Hause gehen?
l. Er soll ein guter Schauspieler sein / Er will ein guter Schauspieler sein.

4. have a look at this video, which is a nice, quick review of conditionals: A review of conditionals: BBC English Class - YouTube ...and this one for for mixed conditionals: Grammar: Mixing conditionals - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube

(The BBC Learning English channel is an excellent YouTube channel to subscribe to.There are videos there for all levels of English learning.)

5. in the "Conditionals" folder on Ilias, read the explanation pages for "real conditionals" and "unreal conditionals" and do all of the exercises in their accompanying "exercises" files. Self-check using the "answer key conditionals" file. 

6. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of April 12-16. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance. Complete a log entry for this session.

Note that the class notes from April 12th (file entitled "class notes on modals from april 12th") are in the modals folder on Ilias. 

The reflexive and reciprocal pronoun sheet (under precisely that file name) has been uploaded for your review. (I recommend looking at it if you have difficulty using "myself", "themselves," etc. correctly in English sentences.)

The following exercise types will be on this semester's exam: CLOZE, tense gap fill, word formation, gerund and infinitive (the verb will be given to you and you will be required to complete the sentence with a verb phrase), key word transformation, error correction with the vocab covered in Destination (You will be given sentences in which vocab from the book is employed and you must decide if it is used correctly. If not, you must supply a corrected version), and the essay. More on this in our next class. 

The optional writing task this week will keep in the theme of nature and the environment introduced in Unit 12. There are three topics to choose from this week (even if you don't do the essay, feel free to use these videos in your individual sessions this week; the channels they come from are good sources for other videos and content):
1. Watch the following video and introduce another sustainable invention that you have either seen in real life and of have dreamt up yourself that you think should be in more widespread use:
A Spoon You Can Eat Is a Tasty Alternative to Plastic Waste | Short Film Showcase - YouTube
2. The following video introduces the concept of biomimicry: The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps. - YouTube How else can humans learn from nature?
3. If you were a minister for the environment, what policies would you put into place?

Submit your essay of 250-350 words to me at my email address in a .docx file by Thursday, April 15th at midnight. Essays submitted after this deadline will be deleted and/or that exceed the word limit will not be corrected. 

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for April 13th

For our next group session, please complete the following:

- fill out, sign, and send the Teilleistung consent form (available under "Class information" on Ilias) to me via email by April 20th

- get started with your partner on the first Teilleistung 

- complete the readings, listening comprehension activity, and exercises featured in the "Trade and logistics assignments" folder on Ilias (note that one of the readings features an optional essay assignment; if you choose to complete this assignment, it must be sent to me via email no later than April 8th by 5 pm)

- read through the two fairtrade files in the Ilias folder and do some outside research on criticism of fairtrade. What do fairtrade seals have in common with organic certification?

- keep abreast of the Suez Canal situation over the next couple of weeks and be ready to talk about the impact and implications of it in our next session (this clip gives your a 3-minute run-down of the situation as of March 30th): Cargo ship freed from Suez Canal, but shipping backlog could last - YouTube

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Tuesday/Thursday Group, Homework for April 15th

For homework, please: 

1. read through all of the files featured under "Class information" on Ilias and make sure you have understood it

2. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and send it to me via scan. This must be submitted by April 16th.

3. read Units 9-10 in your textbook and complete all of the accompanying exercises.

4. in the "Modal verbs" folder, read the files "predicting with modal verbs" and complete all of the exercises in the "predicting with modal verbs exercises" file. Do the same for the "present and the past" files (complete all of the exercises in the exercises file as well). You can check your answers in the first two answer key files at the top of the "Modal verbs" folder on Ilias. 

5. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of April 5th-9th. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance. Complete a log entry for this session.

Your optional essay assignment includes the following: find an advice column letter/agony aunt letter from the web and write a response to it that directly opposes the advice provided in the publication. Include this advice from the columnist in your submission. Your response should not exceed 350 words. Submit this to me via email by April 6th at 5 pm. Late submissions/submissions that exceed the word limit will not be read.

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for April 12th

For homework, please read pp. 311-316 from These Truths and answer the following questions:

1. Why was the phrase "natural born Citizen" added last minute to Article II, Section I of the US Constitution?

2. Why, according to Lepore, are a "natural born citizen" and a "natural born subject" not the same thing?

3. What is meant by the "fealty of blood"?

4. What can explain the "periods of fervent nativism" referenced on pg. 313? (Think back to last semester.)

5. What precipitated the change in how US passports were issued?

Make sure you know who the following people are: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass

Make sure you know what the following terms refer to: Dred Scott, suffrage

Additionally, watch the following clip concerning Confederate monuments from 2017, take down as many notes as you can concerning the different perspectives represented and consider the questions that follow: Why America is wrestling with Confederate monuments - YouTube

1. Did this discussion develop in ways you expected it to considering your knowledge of US culture? Explain your answer.

2. Would a discussion in Germany concerning controversial monuments look different? How? (Be specific.)

3. Do these monuments have anything to do with notions of citizenship and what/who constitutes a US citizen? Explain your answer.

4. This interview is from 2017. How has the discourse concerning Confederate monuments and monuments in general changed in the past four years?

Kompetenzerweiterung II, Monday/Wednesday Group, Homework for April 12th

My apologies for how abruptly the session ended today! Please complete the following and if you didn't have the chance to exchange contact information with your partner, please let me know and I will connect you two. Please email me concerning any questions regarding content and the semester.

For homework, please: 

1. read through all of the files featured under "Class information" on Ilias and make sure you have understood it

2. fill out and sign the Teilleistung agreement and send it to me via scan. This must be submitted by April 16th.

3. read Units 9-10 in your textbook and complete all of the accompanying exercises.

4. in the "Modal verbs" folder, read the files "predicting with modal verbs" and complete all of the exercises in the "predicting with modal verbs exercises" file. Do the same for the "present and the past" files (complete all of the exercises in the exercises file as well). You can check your answers in the first two answer key files at the top of the "Modal verbs" folder on Ilias. 

5. make sure that you have met with your partner in the week of April 5th-9th. Send them the reading and listening links at least 48 hours in advance. Complete a log entry for this session.

Your optional essay assignment includes the following: find an advice column letter/agony aunt letter from the web and write a response to it that directly opposes the advice provided in the publication. Include this advice from the columnist in your submission. Your response should not exceed 350 words. Submit this to me via email by April 1st at 5 pm. Late submissions/submissions that exceed the word limit will not be read.