COR 4640 Human Trafficking: the Commercialization of Humanity

Human trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world, generating $150 billion in annual profits. Despite being recognized as crime by nearly 200 countries and territories, human trafficking occurs in every region of the globe, including every U.S. state.  Although human trafficking and its gross violations of human rights exist everywhere, the demographics of who is exploited and how they are exploited differs depending on a multitude of economic factors, political climates, historical precedents, cultural norms, and discriminatory biases.  Though no prior economics knowledge is required, we will use a basic economic framework to examine the crime.  You will learn how to analyze the crime throughout the globe and apply this knowledge to critique government-proposed solutions and Hollywood’s portrayal of crime in movies such as Taken.  You will also contribute to fighting the crime by developing trafficking awareness training modules using 1Huddle gaming software.