58 pages • 1-hour read
The Hidden Globe
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. What were your overall impressions of The Hidden Globe?
2. Discuss what you liked most and least about the book.
3. Compare this book to Abrahamian’s first book, The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen (2015).
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. To what extent does Abrahamian’s description of the hidden globe reflect your own beliefs about the globalized economy?
2. Did any of the people profiled in the text remind you of people in your own life or that you are aware of from the news?
3. Abrahamian issues several calls to action in The Hidden Globe. Did any of them move you to think or act differently in your own life around the issues of neoliberalism and fragmented jurisdictions?
4. Did any of the geographies Abrahamian visits as part of her on-the-ground research seem particularly interesting or appealing to you? Which of them would you want to visit and why?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. How well does The Hidden Globe capture our contemporary political economy and its pitfalls? Are there elements that go unaddressed you feel could have been?
2. Abrahamian writes approvingly about some Differing Modes of State Sovereignty while criticizing others. Do you agree that forms like charter cities provide positive models for rethinking state sovereignty? Do you agree with her critiques of models like the offshore migrant detention facilities?
3. Discuss limitations to the human rights model of social justice as presented in the text. How is this model entwined with the neoliberal political economy?
4. Were you surprised by any of the historical facts provided in the text? Were you previously familiar with this historical background?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. How does Abrahamian weave cultural references to novels and film into her discussion of the hidden globe? How do these references contribute to the book’s tone?
2. Abrahamian uses figurative, almost poetic language to characterize people, locations, and ideas throughout The Hidden Globe. Did any of those passages stand out to you? Which ones and why?
3. Nearly every chapter in The Hidden Globe is built around a concrete person or place. How did you feel about this structure? How does it relate to the characteristics of the political economy Abrahamian is describing?
4. Compare and contrast the people Abrahamian profiles throughout the text. In what ways are they similar? How are they different?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. What new rules or regulations would you create to address the problems Abrahamian describes in the text? What could be done to make these changes a reality?
2. Put yourself in Abrahamian’s shoes. Write a list of questions you would ask of people who work within the hidden globe system. Whom would you want to interview and why? This could either be someone already profiled in the text or a different figure.
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