Globalization is defined by our text as "A social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede, and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding(p. 380)." Essentially, globalization is an integration of cultures around the world, from technology to food to architecture.
Globalization has had an interesting effect in the US. The American culture is pretty powerful in the grand scheme of things. (How else do you explain the international success of overpriced ripped jeans?) Thus, the US tends to affect other countries before other countries effect us. For example, the Japanese adopted The Backstreet Boys far before Americans began demanding any sort of Japanese music. However, when Americans allow a bit of another culture to become part of theirs, they seem to completely forget that it was foreign in the first place. Given the origins of the country, this is hardly surprising. Nevertheless, when other countries adopt something uniquely American, they do not forget as easily that it comes from a different country.
But how does this affect the culture as a whole? In America, globalization means sharing American culture with other countries. Yes, other cultures leave their mark, but it is solely about sharing American ideas. In other countries it becomes a matter of preserving one's own culture while trying to adapt to the ever present American culture.
Globalization can definitely be a good thing. It can, in fact, be a great thing. Globalization can, in the right circumstances, promote better understanding of cultures, and help broaden one's horizons. However, it can also be a bad thing, since the ethnocentrism is bound to rear is head.
I can completely understand this fear. The fear that one's culture, which is an essential part of one's life, is being erased. From culture we learn our values, we learn our past, we even learn our fears. The threat of having a culture, however bland or rich, erased can put people on the defensive.
Globalization is a double sided mirror, having the potential to bring out the worst as well as the best.
Edits:
For India, globilization has definitely been a good thing. To many, India is still the overpopulated third world country that we've been reading about in the news for years. More recently, it has been connected with things like outsourcing. Understandably, this is confusing to someone who has not seen the effects of globalization on India. How can a country that has so many economic problems be putting out people that are talented enough to attract attention from abroad? Yes, there are rural areas in need, but India also contains a vast urban sprawl. The fact is, the India of today is nothing like the India of 20 years ago. Before the advent of globalization, India was a very traditional country, now it is a bustling hub. A simple way to look at it would be though acceptable women's fashions. In the late '80s, when I was born, women usually wore traditional clothes, most women never removing the scarf they wore on their shoulders or wrapped around their neck. My last visit to India was six years ago in 2002. Imagine my surprise as I walked off the plane wearing a, by my standards, modest knee-length skirt and my aunt gasped in horror. Though some younger women had begun to adapt western clothing or elements of western clothing, they continued to be very modest. No one ever wore a skirt unless it was either a school uniform or a floor-length skirt. I am planning to visit India again this summer, and this is what everyone's been telling me: "Pack your skirts and tank-tops!" Within the past six years, strict Indian standards have given way to western ideals. While a skirt or a tank-top may have been seen a grossly immodest a mere six years ago, it is now acceptable dress, even in the conservative area of south India.
This sort of situation has carried over to America as well, with the rise of yoga, meditation, and, more recently, ayurvedic medicines.
(Though, to be honest, if I see another horribly generic, badly done "How to do Yoga" book/cd/dvd, I might go into convulsions....)
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3 comments:
Thanks for your post Sawr42.
What you have here is great. For example, I thought this was an interesting and insightful comment: "Given the origins of the country, this is hardly surprising."
Still, I think I need a bit more. In particular, I don't think you addressed the criteria of examining the impact of globalization in at least one culture abroad. You mentioned some things which are on the right track, I think, but a more detailed discussion is what I'm looking for here.
Be well.
Great! That was just the sort of revision I was hoping for!
You've demonstrated mastery of the Globalization learning unit.
HI, i know the class is over, i just wanted to write a response. i appreciate all the comments you have posted on my blog. I think that globalization has been happening for a long time, and i think that other countries having contact with each other is a good thing. i have travelled a lot and had exposure to other countries that would have not really been possible without the outcomes of globalization. but i think that american culture is a destructive culture, when it comes into contact with other cultures, and so as the world's "super power" find it hard to see real positive effects of globalization. Also i always have to see the bad with the good, or its not a complete picture.
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