My Stuff:
The Geography of My Belongings
GEOG 111 Exercise #2 - 70 points
Instructor:  P. Kaldjian

This exercise (adapted from the work of Dr. Vogeler) is intended to help us realize the extent to which we participate in the world economy through our consumption, to help us appreciate the degree to which our material comfort is tied to many people a lot less comfortable than we, and to help us get to know the people and places that are making our private property – we ought to get to know who “they” are, as “they” are very important in our lives.  Consider the following quote, what  Barbara Ehrenreich said about those who work for minimum wages in the United States, from restaurant workers to Wal-Mart employees; it is extracted from her book Nickel and Dimed:  On (Not) Getting by in America (Metropolitan Books, 2001).

This was said about our fellow Americans.  We can only imagine how much more this might be so for those that struggle in the far corners of the global work force.

Now, consider all of your daily activities, and how they tied to stuff.  Lots of stuff.  As much as we may think that we are consuming “American” products, an investigation of our belongings suggest that there are a whole lot fewer American products than we might have imagined, and that there may, in fact, be no such thing.  Surprisingly few things within your reach were entirely made in the United States, by tools and equipment made in the United States, and with ingredients and raw materials made in the United States. We live in a global economy and our personal possessions come from all over the planet.  The question is, where do our things come from.  Just anywhere, or is there a pattern?  Do our personal possessions have an identifiable geography?  This assignment helps us find out.

DATA COLLECTION THROUGH ANALYSIS:
Step by Step Instructions -- Follow carefully

1. Most of the things you own have a sticker, tag, label, or engraving of where it was made.  We are going to take an inventory of some of your personal items in your dorm room, apartment, or home that fall into the following categories (we examine the producers of our food in another assignment):a. Clothing: Shirts, Pants, Shoes, Jackets Only
b. Electronics: Computer, Microwave, CD Player, and Other (Specify)
c. Household Goods: Furniture, Glassware, Bowls, Lamps, and Other (Specify)2. Enter these items, as in the example below, into Table I (click on the following link: EXCEL SPREADSHEET) that has been prepared for you to automatically calculate the % of US GDP for you.  YOU MUST FILL IN THE  ROWS OF THE ENTIRE TABLE -- WHILE STILL IN EXCEL -- FOR IT TO WORK CORRECTLY AND MAKE THE PROPER CALCULATIONS FOR YOU.  ONCE YOU ENTER THE GDP/capita, THE SPREADSHEET IS DESIGNED TO CALCULATE THE REST.  If you don’t have enough items, then check out a friend’s stuff, but you must fill in every entry for the calculations to work. (NOTE:  You should  be able to open this spread sheet on any campus computer and save it to your own drive or disc -- if you have any uncertainties, see a computer assistant on campus or me during office hours.)

3. Use your atlas and the map below to find the countries and the regions in which your belongings are made.

4. To find the Gross Domestic Product per Capita (2008) for each country, use the list found in the CIA World Factbook (If a country you are looking for does not have 2008 data, use the most recent; if it is not there, check for an estimate). You can also check the following website:  http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0874911.html if the info you want is not in the CIA list.  The Gross Domestic Product is a measure of wealth, similar to, but not quite the same as, a measure of average income.

5. Compare the average wealth of a person in the country where your personal item was made with the average American’s wealth.  Divide the manufacturing country’s GDP/capita by U.S. GDP/capita ($47,000 in 2008).The table is set up to calculate the figures in the % of US GDP column for you. (Incidentally, Sri Lanka's GDP/cap was $4,600 in 2005, when it was 10.6% of the US's and is now down to $4,300 -- 9.1% of the US GDP. Evidence of a widening gap between wealthy and poor?)

6. Your data set is done!

7. Next, complete Table II (found on the same EXCEL SPREADSHEET as Table I) to show which world region your items come from.  For each category of items, put the number of items that come from each world region.  The table is set up to calculate the figures in the Total column for you.

8. Finally, thoughtfully answer the following questions based on your map and Tables I and II. Type them on a separate sheet of paper -- your answers should be typed, not to exceed one page.

A.  Neatly and creatively map your findings (The Arizona Geographic Alliance has great outline maps -- follow the link to Maps). What do you find? Discuss the general geography (regions and countries) of where your stuff was made? Is there a relationship between any categories or items and the region(s) from which they come? Discuss any patterns? NOTE: Your maps can be made by computer or by hand. If by hand, scan them and save them as a pdf or jpeg so that you may submit it on D2L.

B.  Compare the GDP/capita in the countries where your stuff was made with the GDP/capita in the U.S. ($41,800) for each of the three general categories? What patterns do you see between GDP/capita and the kinds of stuff we consume?

C.  Read "The Changing Geography of The Clothing Industry (pp. 280-281, Knox & Marston, Human Geography, 5th ed, 2009).  Take a look also, at the model that shows the connection between retailers and the sources of their textiles. Do your clothing and other goods fit the general patterns described here?  How so?

D.  You’re done!  What is the most important, interesting or profound thing you discovered or learned from doing this exercise?

9. After you have complete Tables I and II, and answered the questions, submit your tables, map and answers through D2L to me as MS Word and MS Excel (or .PDF) documents with yourlastnameEX2 as the file name before class begins on the day that it is due. If you do not know how to submit a homework assignment through D2L, the kind people at the computer helpdesk in the Old Library are waiting to help you. .  PLEASE, PLEASE --  MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TABLES ARE NEAT BEFORE YOU TURN THEM IN.  SOMETIMES YOUR INDIVIDUAL COMPUTERS WILL READJUST THE SETTINGS. MAKE SURE THAT EACH TABLE FITS ENTIRELY ON A SINGLE SHEET.  YOU WILL LOSE POINTS IF YOUR TABLES ARE PRINTED FROM ONE SHEET TO THE NEXT.

Last updated:  24 August 2009