![\"ap_16257858719587_1bf997cb65c0b62199ce64728286717a.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000\"](\"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/270\/2017\/01\/ap_16257858719587_1bf997cb65c0b62199ce64728286717a.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000-300x200.jpg\")
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In Fall 2016 and Winter 2017, students at The Evergreen State College<\/a> in Olympia, Washington, studied “Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation<\/a>,” with professors Savvina Chowdhury<\/a> (Feminist Political Economy), Zolt\u00e1n Grossman<\/a> (Geography\/Native Studies), and Sarah Williams<\/a> (Feminist Theory \/ Consciousness Studies). The interdisciplinary program examined how the capitalist drive to extract commodities stokes divisions among communities, and deepens their differences and conflicts, but also how those communities can and have come together to defend common ground. The process of commodification turns goods (crops, minerals, energy, water, information, bodies, etc.) into resources to be exploited for profit.<\/p>\n The program reviewed North American case studies where the quest to control commodities has contributed to ethnic, racial, or religious conflicts\u2014such as the origins of racial slavery and the white race on early colonial tobacco and cotton plantations, treaty rights struggles of Indigenous nations over access to fish and water, and the use of migrant labor from Latin America in fruit fields and orchards. We drew parallels between domestic and overseas \u201cresource wars”\u2014such as the ethnic\/sectarian conflicts that divide the oil-rich Middle East, the forested and dammed tribal territories of South Asia, and the heartland of corn in Mexico.<\/p>\n This class website project (in the second quarter of the two-quarter class) focused on the role of commodities in social change, with each student drawing from a case study of resistance and\/or resilience, grouped thematically in these categories: ANIMALS<\/strong> ARTS\/CULTURE<\/strong> CARE\/BODIES<\/strong> EDUCATION\/KNOWLEDGE<\/strong> ENERGY<\/strong> FOOD<\/strong> LABOR<\/strong> MINERALS\/TIMBER<\/strong> OIL PIPELINES<\/strong> The opinions expressed on this website are those of the students and\/or their research sources, not of other students or faculty in the program, or of The Evergreen State College. For feedback or questions, please contact the winter-quarter program faculty Savvina Chowdhury<\/a> <\/span><\/em>and Zolt\u00e1n Grossman.<\/a> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Fall 2016 and Winter 2017, students at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, studied “Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation,” with professors Savvina Chowdhury (Feminist Political Economy), Zolt\u00e1n Grossman (Geography\/Native Studies), and Sarah Williams (Feminist Theory \/ Consciousness Studies). The interdisciplinary program examined how the capitalist drive to extract commodities stokes divisions among communities, and … Continue reading Welcome to Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"narmada-dam-protests\"](\"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ccc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/270\/2017\/01\/narmada-dam-protests-300x201.jpg\")
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\n Orientalism and Gorilla Poaching in Rwanda – Emma Somers
\n American Wild Horses: Commodities or Sacred Beings?
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – Allie Kuppenbender
\n Deforestation, Cattle, and Fast Food – Marcos Borja<\/p>\n
\n Butoh: The Intercultural Embodiment of Opposition – Lorena Macias
\n Hip Hop, BRUJAS, and Urban Feminism – Lizzie Merrick
\n Anti-Authoritarian Traditions: Activism and Media – Zach Yandrich
\n Muslim Watch: A Media Analysis Under Trump \u2013 Zak Soeria-Atmadja
\n The Anti-Contra Movement and Transnational Solidarity
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – Natasha Higbee<\/p>\n
\n Death Care in U.S. Prisons – Kendra Freas
\n The Future of Senior Care in the U.S. \u2013 Izzy Gore
\n The Adoption Industry and the Adoptee Rights Movement – Alex Lipe
\n Profiting off Indigenous Children in South Dakota – Colleen Zickler
\n Trans Bodies as Commodities in the Medical World – Mo Dole
\n Criminalization of Abortion in El Salvador – Frieda Bequeaith
\n People Not Playthings: Abuse in America – Amanda Delouise
\n Torture: Fueled by Greed – Katie Fong
\n Intersectional Health and HIV\/AIDS in the U.S. \u2013 Jaxson Merk<\/p>\n
\n The Danger of Commodifying Knowledge \u2013 Alex Nolting
\n Instant Messaging and Social Media as Commodifying
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Communication – Drew Vandergriend
\n Common Knowledge: Free Software and Copyleft \u2013 Joseph Thayer
\n West Coast Gun Regulations Without Representation – Kellin Kahl<\/p>\n
\n Western Shoshone Nation Opposes Yucca Mountain Nuclear
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Repository – Matthew Neisius
\n Public Power: Distribution of Electricity in North America
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013 Laurel Trammell
\n Carbon Trading \u2013 Colin Edwards
\n Resistance to Privatization of Oil in Mexico – Franz Carroll
\n The Nationalization of Iranian Oil – Christina Cravens
\n The Rojava Revolution: Oil, Water, and Liberation – Chris Colella<\/p>\n
\n Nisqually Food Sovereignty: Sustainable Decolonization and
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Restoration – Tori Chapman
\n Palestinian Olive Trees Under Attack – Anna Lucia Salerno
\n Planting Justice: Food Sovereignty in the Bay Area – Kieran Shell
\n The Chicago Unemployed Movement\u2019s Protests for Food and
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Housing – Harry Katz<\/p>\n
\n Fast Food Workers\u2019 Rights and the Minimum Wage – Punkin Ward
\n The Importance of Immigrant Worker Cooperatives
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – Taylor Maschger
\n Women\u2019s Labor Under Capitalism – Amelia Clausen
\n Sex Workers’ Collective in New Zealand – Arielle Heighton<\/p>\n
\n Resource Extraction and Social Unrest in Montana – Thomas Clark
\n Logging, Owls, and Unlikely Alliances around Environmental Ethics
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 on the West Coast \u2013 Zack Shaver
\n Neoliberal Conservation and REDD in Ecuador – Kela Hall-Wieckert<\/p>\n
\n Oil and Indigenous Resistance at Standing Rock- Rebecca Bramwell
\n Women\u2019s Leadership at Standing Rock – Liz Randol
\n Indigenous Resistance to Enbridge Oil Pipelines – Raven Yamada
\n Keystone XL Pipeline: A History – Junius Dexter
\n Water Protectors Against the Trans-Pecos Pipeline
\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – Roma Castellanos<\/p>\n