Freeman conclusion
giant factories tend to become outdated and
replaced by new factories
in lower wage areas
this was somewhat less true in communist countries where
factories were seen as crucial to avoiding social unrest
what social system did the factory create?
- scheduled non-stop work
- low cost consumer goods
- the idea of progress through
technological innovation and efficiency
the factory is a feature of modernity, not
capitalism
what is left behind?
- polluted poor cities like Flint, Michigan
- a lot of hopelessness in places where
factories have left
- a forgotten lesson: it is possible to
re-invent the world
Notes for test:
- write one essay (no short answer or multiple
choice), somewhere around two pages double spaced typed--your
time is the 50 minute class period
- You will have a choice of two
questions
- Make sure to organize your
essay around answering the specific question asked, not
generally about the topic
- open book/notes/internet--you may write on
your laptop, but test will still be held if network is down
- most important: argument (you have an overall
point and a set of linked steps to support it) and using
specific evidence to support your argument. Grammar
isn't an issue unless it makes your point hard to understand
- your essay should be organized into paragraphs
with topic sentences (it is ok for the introduction to be a
one sentence paragraph)
- one way to do this is a 5 paragraph essay
model, shortened by having 2 instead of 3 body paragraphs, a
one sentence introduction, and a short conclusion
- another
model, but skip the introductory information
- the rules about plagiarism
apply--use exact words in quotes or re-state in your own
words, in either case give the source
- informal references: (Freeman p. 326) or
(https://www.feedough.com/disruptive-innovation/)
- if you are sick or otherwise unable to make it
to the test please email pammack@clemson.edu before test time
if at all possible
Themes:
- how does political ideology affect how your factory is
organized or how you think about organizing it
- communist theory that factory workers need to have a
voice
- Chinese emphasis on isolating factory development areas
and using migrant workers--their ideology included limiting
the freedom of workers to move wherever they wanted
- workers
- what kinds attract the building of large factories
- what is the work like for the workers--scheduled,
nonstop, repetitive
- how do the workers try to improve their own lives,
particularly by organizing (particularly unions)
- how does culture affect the growth and development of
factories
- cultural revolution in China
- Henry Ford's belief that farmers were the most
important citizens in the US
- focus in China on isolating factories with capitalist
rules
- the importance of the market
- what is there enough market for to mass produce?
- rise and fall of factories due to costs and what
consumers want to buy
- how factories became a symbol of modernism and progress:
- more efficient
- more people can have more things, higher standard of
living
- more globalization
- longer lives
- work is easier
- big is beautiful
- our image of progress is more about having more things
and less about improving the lives of the disadvantaged
- more about possessions and less about human connections