Globalization and Cultural Studies

Globalization

• Globalization is accelerated by advances in communication and transportation tech, increasing worldwide interaction and interdependence.
• Historically, globalization is rooted in European colonization and Western imperialism.
• Globalization offers increased cultural exchange and economic growth.
• Globalization poses challenges like growing inequality, cultural homogenization, xenophobia, nationalist responses, and intensified tensions.

Cultural Studies

• Cultural studies are transdisciplinary, examining culture as a contested site of meaning.
• Cultural studies are influenced by Marxist theories and critical perspectives.
• Power, history, and social context shape cultural practices and representations.
• Meanings are continually produced, negotiated, and transformed.
• Dominant narratives are challenged.
• Cultural studies offer ways for marginalized voices to assert their identities and resist oppression.

Definitions of Culture

• Anthropologic definition: Culture is a system of shared meanings and symbols inherited and used by people to understand and shape their world.
• Cultural Studies definition: Culture is a contested site where meanings are negotiated and challenged, revealing power dynamics.
• Globalization definition: Culture is a resource mobilized for economic, political, or social gain, and is an active arena of cultural flows.

Hegemony

• Hegemony refers to the normalization of a dominant group's values, ideas, and practices to the point they are accepted as "common sense".
• This normalization makes social inequalities appear natural.
• Domination can occur without overt coercion because of hegemony.

Cultural Identity

• Cultural identity is shaped by one's cultural background (language, values, rituals, historical narratives).
• Cultural identity bonds individuals within a cultural group, distinguishing them from "others."
• It's dynamic, multifaceted, influenced by personal experiences and group histories.

High and Low Culture

• High culture includes cultural products/practices (classical music, opera) associated with an elite or educated class.
• Low/Popular culture encompasses everyday cultural expressions (popular music, movies, street art) that are recognized as relevant.

Positionality

• Positionality is one's social location within a network of categories like race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality.
• It shapes personal experiences, knowledge, and communication practices.
• Positionality positions individuals within broader structures of power and privilege.

Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism includes the belief that one's own cultural norms, values, and practices are superior to those of other groups.
• It leads to negative evaluations, stereotyping, devaluation of other cultures, conflict, and discrimination.

Standpoint Theory

• Knowledge is shaped by one's social position, especially those of marginalized groups who experience social oppression.
• Unique perspectives offer insights into dominant narratives and reveal aspects of reality invisible to those in privileged positions.

Elements of Intercultural Praxis

• Inquiry: Critically questioning and gathering information about intercultural interactions.
• Framing: Contextualizing issues within broader cultural and power dynamics.
• Positioning: Recognizing one's own social location and its impact on perceptions and communication.
• Dialogue: Engaging in open, respectful conversation across cultural boundaries.
• Reflection: Assessing one's own biases and learning from intercultural experiences.
• Action: Implementing changes based on critical awareness to foster more equitable intercultural relations.

Global South, Global North

• Global North refers to developed countries with greater economic, political, and cultural power.
• Global South refers to regions marked by histories of colonization/economic exploitation, facing underdevelopment and inequalities.

Colonization

• Colonization is the subjegation of another country, imposing its cultural, political, and economic systems.
• It has long-lasting impacts on cultural identities and power relations.

Cultural Imperialism

• Cultural imperialism includes a dominant culture imposing its values, practices, and norms on other cultures.
• It leads to the erosion of local cultures and reinforces power imbalances.

Economic Globalization

• Economic globalization refers to the integration/interdependence of national economies through global movement of capital, goods, services, and labor.
• Ties cultural practices to market dynamics.
• Economic globalization can exacerbate wealth and cultural disparities.

Cultural Values, Norms, Behaviors

• These are shared beliefs, expectations, and behavior patterns of a cultural group.
• They guide how individuals interact, communicate, and interpret events.

Ideological War

• Ideological war occurs where competing ideas, values, and worldviews use cultural symbols and narratives as battlegrounds.
• Fought through political means and contestation of meaning and identity.

Deterritorialization

• Deterritorialization is the separation of cultural forms, meanings, and identities from their original contexts.
• Modern communication and travel accelerate this process.

Diasporic Community

• A diasporic community consists of people living outside their ancestral homeland but maintaining cultural, emotional, and social connections with it.
• These communities preserve and transform cultural identities beyond national borders.

Dog Whistle

• A dog whistle is a coded language conveys a secondary meaning to a specific audience while remaining ambiguous to others.
• It is used in political rhetoric to signal support for controversial views.

Hybrid Cultural Form

• A hybrid cultural form emerges from blending traditions.
• It results from creative synthesis and the negotiation of conflicting cultural elements.
• It leads to innovative expressions of identity and social practice.

Militarization

• Militarization is when societies organize themselves to support military objectives.
• This includes military values, infrastructures, and practices in civilian life which affects social norms in times of conflict.

Xenophobia

• Xenophobia is an irrational fear or dislike of people from other countries or cultures.
• It manifests as hostility, discrimination, and prejudice towards immigrants.

Social Construction of Race and Gender

• Race and gender are socially constructed, not inherent traits.
• Maintained through social processes, historical contexts, and communicative practices.
• They are made to stratify society, and their meanings shift over time.

Signifier vs. Signified

• Signifier: The physical form of a sign (word, image, symbol).
• Signified: The concept or meaning that the signifier represents which is crucial for understanding constructed meaning.

Silenced History

• Silenced history refers to marginalized or omitted narratives or perspectives.
• Acknowledging it is essential for understanding past injustices and their lasting impact on cultural identities.

Rule of Power

• Power shapes which narratives, identities, and histories are privileged.
• Power dynamics influence whose voices are heard and suppressed in intercultural interactions.

White Identity

• White Identity includes characteristics and social practices that maintain the dominant position of White groups.
• It includes unexamined cultural normativity, obscuring the resources, privileges, and power of White identity.

Intersectionality

• Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how multiple identities interact and produce overlapping systems of discrimination or privilege.
• It highlights individual experiences.

Racial Historicism

• Racial historicism is knowing that race is embedded in historical contexts.
• It is shaped by colonialism, slavery, and systemic racism which shape contemporary understandings of identity and power.

Equating Race and Culture Issues

• Equating race and culture leads to essentialism, reducing identities to simplistic categories.
• It can fuel stereotypes, ignore variation, and reinforce divisions and understanding.

Social Construct

• A social construct is an agreement rather than arising from properties.
• It shapes how societies see concepts such as race, gender, and class.

Transgender

• Transgender describes individuals whose gender identity does not align with their assigned sex.
• It emphasizes the distinction between gender roles and sense of identity.

Types of Identity

• Avowed Identity: How individuals openly claim and express their identity based on their history.
• Assigned Identity: The identity ascribed to individuals by external observers based on stereotypes.

Time/Space Compression

• Time/space compression makes distant places and events feel closer; shrinks the world to transform our perceptions of time and distance.

Cultural Space

• A cultural space is a physical or virtual setting in which cultural interactions occur.
• These spaces are used to express identity, build communities, and reinforce hierarchies.

Segregation

• Segregation is the separation of people based on race, class, or ethnicity. -De jure Segregation: Legally enforced separation. -De facto Segregation: Separation occurring through ways not mandated.

Polysemic Cultural Space

• Polysemic cultural space holds contradictory meanings, which can be interpreted by different groups.
• It serves as a site for the negotiation of cultural identity and power.

Glocalization

• Glocalization adapts global cultural products or ideas to fit local tastes and contexts and produces culturally hybrid forms.

Deindustrialization

• Deindustrialization is the decline of industrial capacity in a region.
• It can lead to social and economic shifts and impact cultural identities.

Ghetto

• A ghetto historically is where a particular marginalized group is concentrated
• It is results from segregation and social exclusion, carrying connotations of isolation.

Stages of Intercultural Relationship Development

• Initial attraction/encounter
• Negotiation of cultural differences
• The establishment of mutual understanding
• Sustaining & deepening of adaptation

Heteronormativity

• Heteronormativity assumes that relationships are “normal which reinforces rigid gender roles.

Types of Intercultural Relationships

• Interracial Relationships: Involving partners of different races.
• Interethnic Relationships: Crossing different ethnic backgrounds.
• International Relationships: Involving individuals from different countries.
• Interreligious Relationships: Crossing different faith traditions.
• Relationships can span differences related to socioeconomics or other cultural dimensions.

Class Prejudice and Classism

• Class prejudice or classism are discriminatory attitudes and practices against individuals based on their socioeconomic status.
• It favors wealthier groups while marginalizing lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Intercultural Ally

• An intercultural ally promotes equality and bridge cultural divides.

Myths About Intercultural Relationships

• Assumptions that such relationships are unsustainable and partners must compromise their identities.
• Relationships are complex and require communication.

Relational Culture/Identity

• Personal identities are co-constructed through interactions/relationships.
• Our identities are influenced by the cultural contexts in which we live.

Challenges in Intercultural Relationships

• Language barriers
• Cultural misunderstandings
• Racism or xenophobia
• Identities within personal and social contexts.

How the Internet Impacts Intercultural Relationships

• The internet facilitates relations by connecting people across boundaries, also introduces misinformation.

Bridgework

• Bridgework actively involves creating connections and understanding between different groups.
• This challenges divisive stereotypes.