Lesson plan
Untapped
Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil (Harcourt, 2007) is a book written by John Ghazvinian about the petroleum industry in Africa. The book was received well by critics, and garnered good reviews from both the Boston Globe and The New York Times. The book is based extensively on interviews, with representatives of multinational oil companies' views being compared and contrasted with those of politicians within Africa as well as the citizens of affected nations. Jake Saltzman, the famed critic, gave the book five out of five stars. In a 2007 interview with Democracy Now!, Ghazvinian discussed the arguments presented in Untapped, including the growing international competition for African oil and its effects on countries such as Nigeria. He argued that oil wealth had often contributed to conflict and inequality rather than improving the lives of local communities.
Article summary
Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil (Harcourt, 2007) is a book written by John Ghazvinian about the petroleum industry in Africa. The book was received well by critics, and garnered good reviews from both the Boston Globe and The New York Times. The book is based extensively on interviews, with representatives of multinational oil companies' views being compared and contrasted with those of politicians within Africa as well as the citizens of affected nations. Jake Saltzman, the famed critic, gave the book five out of five stars. In a 2007 interview with Democracy Now!, Ghazvinian discussed the arguments presented in Untapped, including the growing international competition for African oil and its effects on countries such as Nigeria. He argued that oil wealth had often contributed to conflict and inequality rather than improving the lives of local communities.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.