The Assignment for the class on Monday, 16 of April
Topic: Culture and Globalisation. Cultural Identity. 
Do we live in a culturally converging world? What are the cultural consequences of globalization? “In terms of Culture, is Globalization an opportunity or a threat?” as asked by UNESCO. If globalization means greater integration and/or interconnection, would this overwhelm the world’s cultural diversity? Does globalization encourage cultural homogenization, polarization or hybridization? These are perhaps the most important questions that can be asked when it comes to examine the effects of globalization on culture. . What do we mean by globalization? What do we mean by culture? Is it fair/wise to think that globalization is a phenomenon independent from cultural changes? Wouldn’t these questions depoliticize our understanding of cultural change (at the global level) by not addressing the self interested powerful forces behind change that aim to influence cultural interactions and interconnections? Considering such concerns, then perhaps it is necessary to always ask ourselves how our cultural behaviors are shaped/influenced, by whom, in whose interest and to what ends? This means that we need to be aware of power relations underlying cultural changes at both the local and global levels.
We have already discussed the notion of globalization and recognized that even if we define it as a process of greater social and economic integration, this has not been natural, neutral and inclusive. The notion of culture needs to be scrutinized too. Culture is not only one of the most complicated words in English language (Williams 1958), but has also been evolving historically. Culture is generally defined as a set of shared values, norms, attitudes, goals, practices, knowledge and conventions. For a long time (especially among early anthropologists), culture was used to be applied to primitive, native, and tribal societies implying each locality has its own cultural particularities. The end of colonization period and the rise of independent nation-states in the 20th century expanded the scope of using this concept to refer to nationally shared values and norms. While localists may still emphasize the local nature of culture, arguing that the nationalistic conceptions of culture ignore local/communal diversities, globalists, in contrast, argue that cultures are now less attached to their local and national contexts and have become more and more homogenized due to the recently accelerated social interconnections. Economic liberalization, new information and communication technologies, as well as the increasing rates of migration have all contributed to the emergence of transnational cultures and identities.
2. Read the article Globalisation: A Threat to Cultural Diversity?
and make a presentation on the key issues in it . This text is an absolute MUST to be worked on!
Think over the following questions to be discussed in the class:
- Which American products/corporations have spread to other countries around the world? What is it about American products/corporations that have caused them to spread (as opposed to other products/corporations)?\
- What positive and negative impacts do these products/corporations have? How could they alter local cultures?
- Why is the American market so dominant?
- What role do other countries play in cultural globalization? How do other countries contribute to American culture?
- Do you feel uncomfortable or threatened by foreign products? Why or why not? Do you think other Americans are? Why or why not?
3. Watch the following rather thoughtprovoking videos and get your feedback in the class:
This presentation forces us to rethink what we consider "normal" in terms
of place, culture and identity and to open our minds to the limitless
possibilities that exist.
In this funny clip Quebec explains one of the reason she wants to separate is fear of losing her cultural identity. Canada and America responds.
And finally goes just gorgeous photo show "People-Culture-Identity :Discover the World" with beautiful music background
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