Heimler's History: Globalization and Calls for Reform

Overview

• Focus on globalization's impact on human rights and economic inequality.
• Explain how social categories, roles, and practices have been maintained and challenged.

Increasing Globalization

• Post-1900, the world became more interconnected (economics, communication, transportation).
• New global dialogue on race, class, gender, and religion.

Human Rights

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948): Articulated rights for all humans; aimed to protect women, children, refugees.
  • UNICEF: Established to aid children post-WWII.

Women's Rights

• UN World Conferences on Women:
  • 1975: First conference planning advancement of women.
  • 1979: Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; proposed an international bill of rights for women.
  • Provisions included suffrage, right to marry freely, equality in education, family planning.
• Voting Rights:
  • U.S.: White women in 1920, Black women in 1965.
  • Brazil (1932), Turkey (1934), Japan (1945), India (1945), Morocco (1963).

Cultural and Religious Equity

• Negritude Movement: Celebrated African culture in French West Africa.
• Liberation Theology: Latin America; Christianity advocating for the poor against the rich.

Racial Equality

• South Africa and Apartheid:
  • System of racial segregation from 1948.
  • Nelson Mandela: Leader of African National Congress, imprisoned for anti-apartheid activism.
  • Global criticism and economic sanctions led to apartheid's end in the 1990s.

Caste System in India

• Caste Discrimination: Constitutionally banned in 1949.
  • Caste Reservation System: Reserved jobs and education spots for Dalits.

Human Rights in China

• Ruled by Communist Party; poor human rights record.
• Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989): Pro-democracy protests violently suppressed.
• Uyghurs: Muslim minority facing persecution; global criticism.

Environmental Movements

• Impact of Globalization: Environmental degradation in poorer nations due to lax pollution laws.
• Greenpeace (1971): Advocated against deforestation and global warming.
• Greenbelt Movement (1977): Founded by Wangari Maathai in Kenya to address environmental damages.

Economic Inequality

• World Fair Trade Organization (1989): Promoted fair trading, environmental respect, good labor conditions.

Conclusion

• Overview of key developments in global human rights and environmental movements due to globalization.
• Emphasis on reforms and their varying success across different regions and issues.