World Regional Geography

Recitation Assignment Week 10: October 28-November 3

This assignment will be graded.

To complete this assignment, read chapter 10 in your textbook. In particular, you will want to focus on sections that relate to Afghanistan, especially "Social Conditions and the Status of Women" (pg 448-450). Some of the questions require you to reference your textbook, so have it with you while you work. In addition, you need to read three short articles, ALL of which are at the following link.

The first article is a speech by Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, about U.S. policies in Afghanistan (3 pages). Bhutto's speech made in 1998, eerily foresees the September 11 attacks on the U.S. The second article is about the politics of the burkha - the full-body covering that women had to wear under Taliban rule (3 pages). There are photos of women in burkha in your textbook on pg 436, and 443. The last article is about the return of the Taliban in rural Afghanistan (2 pages).

Link to Week 10 Articles

Write out answers to the following questions, and hand them to your T.A. at the start of recitation. Answers should be brief, but typed, in 12-point font, and double spaced (standard college format).

  1. According to Bhutto, what was the main effect of the Cold War on U.S. foreign policy. List some examples.
  2. Have the September 11 attacks against the U.S. had a similar effect on U.S. foreign policy? Explain, using at least two examples.
  3. Under the Taliban, women had to wear the burkha and were prohibited from receiving education. This is part of local culture, and it would be a form of cultural imperialism for foreigners to promote changes to these practices.

    Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? In your answer, draw on your textbook's discussion of "Culture in a Globalizing World" and "When Cultures Collide" (pg 24-27).

  4. Are some values universal, meaning that they transcend culture and pertain to all people, or do you believe in cultural relativism? Whatever side you argue, you MUST address the counter argument to your position.

Cultural relativism says that good and bad are relative to culture. What is "good" is what is "socially approved" in a given culture. While this assignment focuses on the Taliban and women's rights, there are many other instances where cultures differ. For example, polyandry (one woman having more than one husband), has been practiced in Tibet for centuries (see pg 429 in your textbook). In the U.S. polyandry is against the law. Capital punishment provides another example. We still employ this penalty in America, but Western Europeans think capital punishment is barbaric.