A Battle of Metaphors: Is Globalization a 'Rising Tide that Lifts All Boats' or 'a Race to the Bottom'? Using Metaphors to Understand Ciudad Juarez/El Paso Transnationalism

This curriculum module was developed for the February 17-18, 2006 Peoria Area World Affairs Council conference, “Mexico and the United States: More than Neighbors.” Although specifically addressing the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso border region of the United States and Mexico, this module seeks more generally to explore the ways global forces are transforming social, political, and economic realities all around the world, including the United States. In this endeavor, we view the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso region as a profound example of how Mexico and the United States are indeed “more than neighbors”; this region presents a variety of issues, ranging from citizenship, economy, the environment and human rights that transcend national borders and are truly transnational in nature. These issues, while manifest in this particular region, are actually part of a larger, global set of trends, forces and processes. To understand the transnational nature of the challenges and opportunities facing the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso region is to begin to understand how globalization is increasingly affecting our lives in many fundamental ways.

Introduction & Goals of this Curriculum Module

In this section, you can find an introduction about how this Curriculum Module was framed and developed with the goals of the module at the end.

Section 1: What do we mean by a ‘Global Perspective’?(And why might we need one?)

You will explore the way two metaphors represent the global economy in the news, in our textbooks, in government reports, and in conversations: ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ metaphor (the increasingly interconnected economic system not only makes rich nations rich, but also makes poor nations less poor), and the ‘race to the bottom’ metaphor (Globalization of market forces has greatly increased the inequality in the world).

Section 2: A 'battle of metaphors': Is the global economy 'a race to the bottom' or 'a rising tide that lifts all boats'?

You will explore the way two metaphors represent the global economy in the news, in our textbooks, in government reports, and in conversations: 'rising tide lifts all boats' metaphor (the increasingly interconnected economic system not only makes rich nations rich, but also makes poor nations less poor)' and the 'race to the bottom' metaphor (Globalization of market forces has greatly increased the inequality in the world).

Section 3: Much “more than Neighbors”:  Ciudad Juarez, El Paso, and Globalization

This section includes an introduction of the cosmopolitan region of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso in a global context by discussing some shared problems of a transnational nature. The section further illustrates how some change in one region will inevitably affect the other by focusing on two issues among many others:

• Issue 1: When Water Meets the Dessert;
• Issue 2:  The Economic Divide: Maquiladoras, Migration and Labor Rights.

Section 4: Readings, resources, references

The final section consists of valuable resources for teachers and students. You can find Illinois State Board of Education Standards parallel to this curriculum module, suggested ‘Border Studies’ readings, extended research texts, and web sites with all module reading texts and their references.