Industrialism and Global Change: Colonialism, Work, Culture, and Environment

All flashcards

Industrialism

A mode of subsistence using wage labor, machines, and chemical processes to mass-produce commodities.

Alternative modernity

A form of modernity shaped by local histories and institutions rather than simply copying a European path.

Precarity

Physical and psychological harm associated with a lack of secure income.

Commodity fetishism

Attributing transformative or social power to commodities, as if owning them creates desirable qualities.

Climate ethnography

Research documenting how climate change affects local livelihoods and everyday life.

Quiz questions

1. What does colonialism mean in the context of industrial expansion?Answer: Political domination of another country for economic exploitation.
2. Why did colonial governments often restrict industrial development in colonies?Answer: To protect European manufacturers from local industrial competition.
3. What does commodity fetishism describe?Answer: Attributing social or transformative power to goods themselves.
4. What did David Graeber argue about many white-collar jobs in *Bullshit Jobs*?Answer: Many are pointless or socially harmful forms of bureaucratic make-work.
5. What distinguishes an unstructured interview from a fixed questionnaire?Answer: It uses open prompts and lets participants describe experiences in their own terms.