global cultural

1. Global cultural and cultural flows
About today
 Cultural differentialism
 Civilization
 Cultural hybridization
 Appadurai “landscape”
 Cultural convergence
 Cultural imperialism
 World culture
 MCDONALIZATION
 The globalization of nothing
What is culture? in music, in art, in food, in literature, and in
sports.
 The arts and other manifestation of human intellectual achievements
regarded collectively ( eg, “20 century popular culture”)
 The ideas, customs and social behaviour of particular people or society.
(eg, “Afro-caribbean culture’).
Is there global culture? according to beyond and dunkerley global culture has the
following characteristics.
 Global culture does not have an “ethnic core”.
 Global culture it is not tied to a specific place, time or shared memory and
shared history.
 Global culture it is media-driven, “top down” and profit-driven.
 Global culture it often presents a glamourised version of the American life
style.

2.  People can be partof different culture.
 Possibility of “neo-tribes”(( communities that are disconnected in space but
connected by a common interest)).
Where is global culture headed?
There are different theories of how cultural globalization is evolving:-
 Cultural differentialism
 Cultural hybridization
 Cultural convergence
Cultural differentialism
Cultural differentialism- emphasizes lasting difference between cultures, it argues
that the deep structureof cultures is unaffected by globalization.
Samuel Huntington is one of the main defenders of this theory , he argues that
there are 8 world civilizations that are greatly difference and have clashed
throughouthistory.
 Far eastern (( Chinese and japan))
 Hindu
 Islamic
 Orthodox (( centered in Russia))
 Western European
 North America (with austrialia and new Zealand)
 Latin America
 African
Hunting argues that civilizations
Vary greatly in terms of basic philosophical assumptions, values, social relations,
customs and outlooks in life.

3. Are among the most enduring human associations and constitute the broadest
level of cultural and personal identity.
Span over many nation-states and are closely aligned race and religion.
He identifies 3 phases
Phase1 : 1500AD to 1500AD civilizations werewidely separated in time and space.
Phase2: 1500AD to WW2 was characterized by a uni-directionalimpactof western
civilization on all others (due to industry, commerce and military).
Phase 3: after WW2 was characterized by the clash of the capitalist vs communist
ideology, with the fall of soviet union.
Heclashes cameto evolvearoundreligion and culture, modern ageis characterized
by the economic growth of Asian societies and the expansion of islam, which will
lead to “dangerous clashes” between the civilizations.
Cultural hybridization
Cultural hybridization- argues thatas a resultof globalization differentcultures mix
and unique hybrid cultures emerge, that are mix of local and global.
According to cultural hybridization
 The world is growing more diverse
 Globalization provokes a variety of responses which produces glocalization .
 Commodities and media are used differently by different individuals and
groups which again increases diversity.
 Some languages and cultures combine into new hybrids “creolization”.

4. Appadurai argues that cultural flows and disjunctures produce unique new
realities and cultural hybrids around the world.
He differentiates 5types of flows that are all contributes to
hybridization of cultures.
I. Ethnoscapes : individuals and groups thatmore around the world and
impact their destinations. ( migrant)
II. Technoscapes: flows of technologies that are used by individuals and
places differently.
III. Financescapes ; money that moves through the world and increases
interconnectedness.
IV. Mediascapes; information and images created by media that circulate
the world.
V. Ideoscapes : ideologies and counter ideologies that also circulate the
world.
According to appadurai each region, group and individual will affect
and affected differently by these 5 “landscapes” which will increase
global diversity.
Cultural convergence
Cultural convergence- is the idea that globalization tends to make
cultures grow more a like.
Cultural imperialism- one or dominant cultures imposethemselves on
other cultures. “mostly the US and the west”
World culture – natures emergence and spread of global models in
politics, business, religion, education and e.t.c that lead to uniformity.
Cultureis seen asbeing shapedon severallevels, country,organization
and institutions as well as individuals.

5. Examples of culture convergence or homogenization
McDonalization
The spread of fast food restraunts throughout the world, bringing
more efficiency predictability and control but generating “semenes”.
The globalization of “nothing”
Spread of structures of forms thatare easy to replicate in any place of
the worldbecausethey are“empty” examples : shoppingmalls, chain-
store products, credit cards, ATMs and etc.
Critiques
Critiques to cultural differentialism
 Overly simplistic.
 Promotes cultural racism and islamophobia.
 Reduces each group to a set of cultural criteria.
 Reflects a belief in the superiority of the west.
 Sees multiculturalism as threat.
Critiques to cultural hybridization
 Hybridization does not necessarilly threaten the dominance of
western media culture.
 Hybridization will not automatically prevent homogenization –
both can happen at the same time .
 Non-western brands names originate in western markets.
Critiquesto cultural convergence
 Local culture “doesn’t seem to disappear “

6.  People can interpret outside culture in their own ways –its not
simply cultural assimilation .
 People can juggle multiple cultural “identities”
 Western culture can cause pushback ((fundamentalism)).