CULT 320:Globalization and

CultureKara Heitz, 11/20/2014

Cory Doctorow, “For the Win”

• What are the conditions of labor for the gold farmers in the book? How are these similar/different to what was described in the articles? Why do you think people work these jobs?

• What kinds of power do people have to challenge and change their labor conditions? How does the book draw on US labor history? Is organizing labor movements easier or harder in virtual worlds? Why or why not?

• How does the virtual economy in the book operate? Who benefits from the way this economy is structured? And how is it brought down by the “Wobblies”? Is this similar or different than “real world” capitalist economic systems?

• What is the connection between globalization, culture, and online multi-player games? Are these games creating their own global social networks and in-game cultures? Is there a real space of “globalized culture” and “global citizenship” in these games?