Topic: The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan
Description:
It should be approximately 1500 words.
Ideally, your review should contain the two main elements:
a. the micro-level, where you focus on the actual source (style; language; author; audience; evidence; etc)
b. the macro-level, for example: how has The Corporation added to your knowledge of the field (if at all); how does it compare with other similar sources in teh field?
Remember, you don’t need to focus on everything but your review should include both the micro and macro- level. Ideally, you should clearly state in your introduction what aspects your review will focus on.
4. Using some extra references is always a plus, as it demonstrates that your have compared/contrasted the book with other sources.
Critical Issues in Law and Management – Lecture 1
Structuring assignments – Critical reviews
Contacts:
Dr Rochelle Sibley ([email protected])
Dr Ionna Iordanou ([email protected])
Why assess via critical reviews?
– Promotes focused analysis of a particular view
– Encourages students to think about sources in context
– Emphasizes importance of student’s own viewpoint and understanding
– Allows students to demonstrate critical engagement
Structuring critical reviews:
– Don’t just summarize the text – give an outline of the key issues
– The put the text in context – what does it add to your knowledge of the field?
– How does it compare to other texts in this topic?
– What are its overall strengths and weaknesses?
– What evidence does the author use to supper his her arguments?
Critical reviews – Introduction
Your introduction should answer the following questions for the reader:
– Who wrote the text?
– When was the text written?
– What does the text focus on?
– What are the text’s overall conclusions?
– How valuable do you think this text is for understanding the topic?
Critical reviews – Main body
The main body of a critical review should:
– Identify and assess the main critical issues of the text
– Justify your judgment of the text
– Consider the author’s research and evidence
– Put the text into context how does it compare with other sources on this topic? – how does it address the topic?
– Explain the relative strengths and weaknesses of the text
– Give examples from the text to support your assessment
– Consider how the book is marketed – who is the target audience?
Critical reviews – Conclusions
Your conclusion should try to:
– Summarize your assessment of the text
– Summarize its strengths and weaknesses
– Summarize your supporting evidence for your assessment
– Give a final overview of how valuable it is for understanding the topic
Remember that a conclusion should not be more than 10% of your word count!
The writing process:
– Inventing
– Planning
– Drafting
– Revising
– Editing
Inventing, planning and drafting your critical review:
– Reread your allocated text – what does it add to your knowledge of your theme or topic?
– What will be your overall assessment of the text – what is the point of view your review needs to convey to the reader?
– Remember to think about critical engagement from the outset – how can you demonstrate it?
Revising and editing your critical review:
Reread your first draft, ask yourself:
– Have I remained critical throughout?
– Have I put the text in context?
– Have I given examples to support my assessment of the text?
– Have I shown what this text added to my own understanding?
– Is my review consistently and clearly expressed?
Sample review:
The first point of note here regards audience awareness. The majority of the book’s content is based on a series of journal articles that the author published previously and this is the medium best suited to the material. The problem is that the book is structured around academic financial models, so if the reader does not already have a strong understanding of this highly technical approach then they are not likely to find the development of these models to be an engaging or enjoyable read.
Sample review:
The novel’s marketing strategy interested me. The reader immediately notices the cover of the book, which suggests panic and poverty. The book’s title creates a sense of mystery to focus the reader, and made me want to read the book. The soundbites on the back cover are taken from highly educated sources but the last two quotations come from Vogue and Elle magazine, which are not usually aimed at academic readers. The fact that the book was translated did make me question whether some of the story could have been misinterpreted or just lost in translation, which could have affected the essential message of the novel.
Key points for critical reviews:
– Don’t just summarize the text – give an outline of the key issues
– Then put the text in context – what does it add to your knowledge of the field?
– How does it compare to other texts in this topic?
– What are its overall strengths and weaknesses
Supplementary reading to help with the book reviews:
https://mises.org/daily/5505/Why-Capitalism-Is-Worth-Defending
https://www.businessinsider.com/milton-friedman-explains-greed-2013-7
https://drlwilson.com/Articles/FREEDOM%20AND%20CAPITALISM.htm
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-04-25/well-being-is-more-than-a-side-show-to-neoliberal-economics
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-consequences-of-globalization-and-neoliberal-policies-what-are-the-alternatives/7973
https://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/Neoliberalism_the_Grassroots_and_the_Peoples_Assembly
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/sep/12/march-of-the-neoliberals
https://online.sfsu.edu/jgmoss/PDF/635_pdf/No_23_CrottyEsteinKelly.pdf
https://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/19990401.htm
https://www.stwr.org/globalization/neoliberalism-and-economic-globalization.html
https://0-muse.jhu.edu.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/journals/human_rights_quarterly/v025/25.4monshipouri.pdf
https://idsc082014.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/72542018/McChesney_Global-media-neoloberalism-imperialism.pdf
Link to video watched in class:
What is a corporation?
– It is one form of business ownership
– It’s a group of individuals working together towards an objective
– Gaining returns for the people that work for and own the business
- Industrial revolution
- enormous growth in corporations