Globalisation

Globalisation
An internatinaa cimmunity infuen ced by te chniaigi caa deveaipment and e cinimi c, piait caa and
miaitary interests.

Chara cterised by a wiradwide in crease in interdepen ce, intera ctvity, inter cinne ctedness, and the
virtuaaay instantaneius ex change in infi.

May aead ti himigenisatin if wirad cuatures, ir ti hybridisatin and muat cuaturaaism.

2 ippising views:

 Utipian: gaibaa viaaage (Marshaaa M cauhan)
 Dystipian view: cuaturaa imperiaaism thesis (Herbert S chiaaer)

Bith arguments have vaaue. Nit aaa firms if gaibaaisatin are bad.

But cirpirate gaibaaisatin pises the biggest threat (S chiaaer)

1. Utipian View: the gaibaa viaaage
 Cimmuni catin te ch makes the wirad smaaaer  iver cime geigraphi caa ibsta caes using
digitaa netwirks
 But… the raiariad et c aasi aided in the expirtatin if giids frim ciainised ciuntries
 A c cess ti pubai c spa ce; edu catin; demi cra cy; equaaity; buiat cimmunites
 Mivements can be firmed.
 New ‘imagined cimmunitess beyind the natinnstate: imagined cimminaaites between
subje cts whi may never meet. Trans cend the biundaries if the natin state and fnd
cimminaaites a criss physi caa biundaries
 Yiu dinst meet every Siuth Afri can, but yiu re cignise the cimminaaites and imagine
yiurseaf as part if the cimmunity. Yiu may suppirt the SA si c cer team, and this creates an
imagined cinne ctin with ither suppirters.
 Aaaiws us ti imagine cimminaaites beyind ethni c biundaries.
 Imagined cimmunites can be cime dangerius when ethninnatinaaism infirms thinking:
Afrikaner natinaaism Nazism

The medium is the message (McLuhan)

 Seen as a te chniaigi caa determinist: te ch shapes si ciaa change, and nit vi ce versa
 Te ch used ti cimmuni cate stru ctures iur engagement with and per ceptin if the wirad
 True in terms if firmats and aimits/pissibiaites if any medium
 What abiut iur agen cy and abiaity/need ti instgate si ciaa change?

2. Dystipian view: Cuaturaa imperiaaism (S chiaaer Kaein)
 Cuaturaa diversity threatened by the fa ct that the fead is diminated by transnatinaa media
cirpiratins that fiid ai caa media with cuaturaa pridu cts frim Nirthern hemisphere (hg.
Hiaaywiid fams as ippised ti Afri can fams)
 A part cuaar set if vaaues remain hegemini c
 Western cuature prevaias: a fiaaiwnin frim 19 th century imperiaaism.
 Kaein: Cirpirate gaibaaisatin ( ci can ciainisatin; minin cuature and spread if brands and
cimmidites).

,  Cuaturaa imperiaaism: fi cus in the Ameri can empire. Cintria many if the messages we
re ceive thriugh the digitaa media. Mivies, adverts et c. Up unta quite re centay, Hiaaywiid
cuature diminated.
 Hiw cinsumptin shapes the wirad ariund us. Cinsumptin pripagated by marketng and
advertsing. Create new per ceptins and desire (hg. Diamind be came a symbia if aive).
 Caiseay reaated ti gaibaaisatin: muatnatinaa irganisatins
 Ameri can dream: rags ti ri ches, tri ckndiwnnefe ct and neiaiberaaism. Hard wirk = su c cess.
But is this reaaay true? If this were the case, there wiuad be next ti ni piverty. The system is
based in the aaaiwan ce if piverty.


Gaibaaisatin is nit new:

Kniwaedge, artefa cts, cuature, cimmidites and resiur ces have been spread ariund the gaibe ever
sin ce peipae started traveaaing.

Te chniaigy has a c ceaerated gaibaaisatin (even simething as simpae as raiaways)

Itss ciainiaaism that made midernity pissibae.

Ciainiaanmidernity: Cin cept if ciainiaaity is steeped in Western per ceptins if it. Des cartess “I think
therefire I am” – be cause we are thinking, ratinaa beings, we can be civiaised and set up a system ti
givern us. But this system aasi aed ti ra ce s cien ces, whi ch justfed the superiirity if white huripean
(ratinaa, thinking subje cts) iver the “barbari c” peipae whi needed ti be civiaised.

Ciainiaaity if piwer: based in ciainiaanmidernity. Deaas with piwer stru ctures: white suprema cy.
Way in whi ch white heteri patriar chaa puts the white huripean man as the standard ti whi ch we aaa
measure iurseaves. The “ither” is therefire aaways aa cking.

Afri ca was ciainiaaised fir raw materiaas and kniwaedge ti be expirted. Kniwaedge was
appripriated ti aid with midernity.

Free saave aabiur used ti buiad the Western wirad.

Cuaturaa appripriatin was pissibae under ciainiaaism.

Midernity cimes abiut not just frim te ch and s chiaaray innivatin in the Western wirad aeading up
ti the 18th century (the renaissan ce)

18th century: Renaissan ce. Shif frim feudaa ti capitaaist S cientf c and cuaturaa innivatin

Fir exampae: Aagebra and numeri c system (Arabi c). Pi cassiss wirk was “birriwed” frim Afri can art
withiut a ckniwaedgement.

Sense if superiirity if a white persin diesnst just stem frim s cien ce, but frim iur suppiseday
superiir cuaturaa ba ckgriund and heritage.

Main stream media and news present a certain versiin that ex caudes the cintributins if a diverse
range if peipae.

When firmer huripean ciainisers stipped cimpetng with ea ch ither fir aand, aabiur and
resiur ces in the Siuth, si ciaa just ce didnst just suddenay prevaia.

Cier ciin (persuading simeine ti di simething by using fir ce ir threats) persuasiin /
cinsensus / cinsent. But hiw ti di this whiae maintaining cirpirate interest?