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UNIT TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO GLOBALIZATION
TITLE OF THE LESSON: Defining Globalization
DURATION: 1.5 hours
Introduction:
Globalization is one of the key concepts of our time. It has been the topic of
debates and perhaps one of the descriptions being given about this topic is the idea
that the world is becoming more similar in terms of beliefs, practices, and culture. The
concept is being tied up with modernity, with continuous technological advancements
and increasing economic, cultural, political and historical relationships among nations.
This lesson will focus on the various definitions of globalization. It also aims to
understand globalization using different interpretations and approaches.
Objectives/Competencies:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
General: Understand the meaning of globalization.
1. Define globalization using different concepts.
2. Be knowledgeable on the different interpretations and approaches of
globalization.
3. Tell their globalization experience.
Lesson Proper/Course Methodology:
DEFINING GLOBALIZATION
Several definitions of
globalization have been written
in various materials over the
years. It was defined as a
process, a concept and an
ideology to mention a few. So
how do we fully understand the
term? In this lesson, we will try
to discuss the concept of
globalization using different
perspectives.
Globalization cannot be defined clearly in one term or one definition. Its
definition can be different depending on the field, situation, or events (Al-
Rodhan,2006). The meaning of globalization may reflect one's point of view, may it be
political, cultural, historical and others. In a journal, Steger (2005) said that the term
globalization should be confined to a set of complex, sometimes contradictory, social
processes that are changing our current social condition based on the modern system
of independent nation-states.
Globalization includes economic integration; the transfer of policies across
borders; the transmission of knowledge; cultural stability; the reproduction, relations,
and discourses of power; it is a global process, a concept, a revolution, and an
establishment of the global market free from socio-political control. It is also a concept
that has been defined variously over the years, where most of it refers integration and
cooperation, development, progress, integration and cooperation, colonialism,
regression, and destabilization. Nevertheless, these challenges do not change the true
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GLOBALIZATION
purpose of this term that brings with it a multiple hidden agenda. An individual's political
ideology, geographic location, social status, cultural background, and ethnic and
religious affiliation also provide a background that determines globalization.
Let the following diagram aid us in our discussion. Martin Khor, in 1995, referred
to globalization as colonization. From one country to another, colonizers left us with
political, cultural, historical and economic influences many of which are very evident
up to this day and age. At the same time, Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson, in his
book The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization (2001), said that
globalization make the world shrink with distances getting shorter and things moving
closer. It refers to the increasing ease with which somebody on one side of the world
can interact, to mutual benefit, with somebody on the other side of the world. Almost
similar to the definition given by David Harvey in his book The Condition of Post-
Modernity (1989) where he stated that globalization is the compression of time and
space. In today's time, we don't need to spend too much time to reach a particular
destination, connect with someone from afar or talk to a family member from the other
side of the world real time. Globalization gives us this convenience in the form of
technological innovations. On the other hand, Kenichi Ohmae in his book The
Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Global Marketplace (1992) said that
globalization is the onset of a borderless world.
With globalization, there is an increasing interconnectedness among the
countries around the world. There is diffusion of values, beliefs, practices and
technology. There is continuous exchange of goods and services.
The process of
world shrinkage
(Larsson, 2001)
Compression of
time and space
(Harvey, 1989)
The onset of borderless world.
(Ohmae, 1992)
It is what we in the Third World have
for several centuries called
colonization. (Khor, 1995)
Figure 1. What is globalization?
The difficulty in defining globalization is far from disappearing. Nevertheless,
exploring the different meanings and idea behind globalization, we are able to see how
the concept has been identified over the course of a relative number of years.
