Just a shameless plug a few things of mine that just came out in print. Two are specifically on Bolivia; the other is a published version of the writing/discussion assignment I developed based on American Idol & presented at the 2009 APSA Teaching & Learning Conference.

My friend @kohenari has an interesting post about plagiarism on his blog. The topic’s been under discussion a lot lately (both in the mainstream press & in places like The Chronicle of Higher Education). What makes Ari’s post interesting, however, is that he objects to the conventional wisdom that students today are more likely to plagiarize because the digital age makes it easier—and perhaps even reduces previously existing taboos about intellectual ownership. Further, Ari suggests that new social networking technologies (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) actually foster attribution, not plagiarism.

I often use Singapore in class discussions of “modernizing authoritarian” regimes (and one more current than Mexico, Brazil, or South Korea). It also serves as an interesting case of semi-authoritarian, soft-authoritarian, or bureaucratic-authoritarian regime—and the relationship between such regimes & (possible) future democratization.

This video is a good launch pad for discussion. Although it was produced for a Dutch network, nearly all of the 10 mins is in English (just ignore the Dutch subtitles).

This Economist videographic is great for discussing the socioeconomic impact of fertility rates. In just over 3 mins, it makes one simple point: around the world, as incomes rise in, fertility rates decline.

But it also shows that these declines have been uneven across regions & time. So it allows for a more nuanced discussion—particularly one geared at asking why fertility rates would decrease as a function of improving socioeconomic conditions (or whether a decrease in fertility rates comes before socioeconomic improvements?). Either way, it’s a great way to sneak in some structuralism.

I’ve been a longtime fan of The Economist. Recently, they’ve started putting up video reports on their website. This one’s great for illustrating global migration & its socioeconomic impact. In less than 3 mins, it makes some clear points: most migration occurs w/in regions, remittances are an important source of income for developing countries, and most remittances go to middle-income developing countries (not the poorest).

Another video from Current TV’s Vanguard series. This one’s about the controversy over women’s headscarves in Turkey. Although the textbook I’m using next semester doesn’t include Turkey as one its 10 cases (the only Muslim country included is Iran), it does include a brief “mini-case” on headscarves in Turkey & France (in the chapter on politics of inclusion & clashing values).

Image via Wikipedia

I have to thank my little brother, Andy, who recently shared his newfound obsession with Current TV. As I started looking for things to use next semester, I was poking through Hulu.com & stumbled upon Vanguard, a series of 30-minute mini-documentaries. They’re quite good.

Over the next few weeks, as I select videos I will use in my classes (comparative politics & Latin American politics), I’ll post links & brief commentary here.

This first one is about Nigeria (one of our cases next semester), but it is appropriate for any discussion on the dilemmas of petrostates. The Vanguard crew in this video visits the Niger Delta, where much of Nigeria’s oil (which accounts for 80% of GDP) comes from. Just watch.