Globalization Studies

1. Globalization Studies International College KhonKaen University 2011 Week 6 – Our Shrinking World (2)

2. Our Shrinking World • Last week we looked at how the world is shrinking in a physical sense – distances are shrinking through: • improvements in technology • improvements in communications • the increasing ease of travel • the growing numbers of people migrating for work or a better life • This week we will look at how the world is shrinking in a cultural sense (cultural globalization)

3. Cultural Globalization • Cultural globalization is the process of the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe • Culture defines the identity of individuals – how we see ourselves and who we identify with • Culture is composed of customs and norms largely inherited from our parents • Religion is a key component, but so too are values, beliefs, language, food, music and dance

4. Cultural Globalization • Cultural groups often define themselves by treating people from other cultural groups as alien, as “other” • Through colonization and economic domination, the West has been the dominant civilization over the past 200 years • Other civilizations have had to absorb Western influence whether this was welcome or not • The dominance of Western culture and its values is seen as a threat by many other cultures

5. Cultural Globalization • Very rapid advances in communications technology over the past 40 years have speeded up the spread of cultural influence • Television allows us to see more of how people live, work and behave elsewhere in the world • The internet allows us to communicate freely with people in distant countries • Cheaper, faster travel allows more people to see, taste and experience different cultures more easily

6. The Global Community • This speed and ease of communication affects the way we see the global community • But does globalization make people around the world more alike or more different? • If we take language, music, dress and images as the major components of culture, we find that pop culture based on Western norms in Hollywood, New York, London and Paris are increasingly popular around the world

7. The Global Community • If the spread of American or Western culture displaces traditional diversity, this is evidence of cultural homogenization (cultural shrinking) • The idea of a “global village” was first introduced over 40 years ago in the early years of personal computing • The “global village” is a metaphor used by many futurologists to portray a world in which national borders will largely vanish and the world will become a single community

8. The Global Community • The “global village” theory is not just that all societies are becoming more similar • Also that because of the global reach of new communications media we can see the impact of our actions on a global scale, forcing us to take responsibility for them • This vision of the future is more valid for issues surrounding the environment, than culture, because…

9. The Global Community • Generally new cultural influences have been added to local cultures and customs to create greater diversity, not less • There is much evidence of societies defending local uniqueness, individuality and identity • The resistance to lifestyle changes from globalization has been especially strong in the area of religion

10. Cultural Globalization - Religion • Many people feel threatened by all the change and the inflow of foreign ideas, people, goods and services • Some of these look to religion to provide a response – a reason to preserve the traditional way of doing things and to resist change and uncertainty • There has been a dramatic rise in religious fundamentalism in the last past 30 years

11. Cultural Globalization - Religion • Religious fundamentalism defines people by what divides them • It focuses on the differences in humankind, not on what unites them • Religious leaders call on their followers to reject foreign influences – not just in religious belief but in politics, economics, behavior…. • Divisive religious fundamentalism is particularly strong in Hinduism and in Islam

12. Cultural Globalization - Religion • Fundamentalist Hindu parties in India campaign against every imaginable foreign influence, from Coca Cola to consumerism • More troubling are fundamentalist Islamic sects which advocate destroying everything they see as “unIslamic” • A crisis of modernization exists in many Muslim societies • Poor economic performance has left large numbers of the urban population poor and frustrated

13. Cultural Globalization - Religion • Religious fundamentalism has become the most important cause of domestic and international terrorism in many countries • In the West, particularly the USA, people hurt by change or afraid of change turn to fundamentalism branches of churches to vent their frustration • The new “far right” Tea Party has strong following amongst evangelical Christian groups

14. Cultural Globalization – Language • Another area of change where we can see the effects of cultural globalization: languages • Some languages are increasingly used in international communication while others are disappearing • Three languages are becoming increasingly dominant: English, Chinese and Spanish • Around 80% of the content posted on the internet is in English

15. Mother Language Spoken

16. Cultural Globalization – Language • Almost half of the world’s growing population of foreign students are enrolled at institutions in English-speaking countries • But the number of spoken languages in the world has dropped from about 14,000 500 years ago to less than 3,000 in 2007 • To communicate in our shrinking world we need to speak the same language