GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURE

Define culture and the two categories of cultural transformation discussed in class.

= the shared set of meanings that are lived through the material and symbolic practices of everyday life - a bundle of behaviours, values, ideas, and beliefs that is shared by a group of people. cultural artifacts are material manifestations of culture - man-made objects with meaning. cultures are never static but are constantly changing; a living them. two categories of cultural change:

1. culture evolving from within the society itself (evolutionism): change originating internally. ex: evoloution of language in a culture; different uses of slang from generation to generation

2. changes triggered by contact with other societies and which can be voluntary or involuntary (diffusionism): external change brought about by contact with another culture. ex: use of grapes turned into a food eaten into a drink product after contacting a group that uses grapes and turns them into wine

How does economic integration/globalization lead to cultural diffusion? Discuss using the example of languages

= because trade, economics, culture are all intertwined

• economic exchange is an important part of cultural diffusion

• cultural isolation is accompanied by economic isolation/self sufficiency

• once a region’s economy becomes oriented towards trade and markets, it becomes economically dependent upon other regions

• trading requires communication, creating a common language to speak (language of commerce)

• currently the dominant global language of commerce is english, and spread through global economic interaction

• ex seen through villages: when villages start trading, one village might become a center of trade and wealth. as the central place, its language and culture may begin to dominate trade, leading to surrounding villages to learn its language and interact there = people learning english because USA is a central place in global economy. language is an indicator of economic and cultural transfromation with globalization leading to language loss through colonialism,nationalism, and urbanization

What is meant by the phrase “economic systems are also cultural systems”?

= economic systems need to be learnt; involves learning ways of doing business and how to predict and trust transactions

• different cultures place differing importance and value on resources

• the functioning and practices of an economy is embedded within and shaped by culture of the society it operates in → changing one changes both

• cultural understanding is important for economic initiatives to exceed (people are rational economic actors and their culture determines economic behavior)

• ex: the failure of cheap high-efficiency cooking stoves and the development of impasses in 1980 shows how economic changes do not work if they are not culturally appropriate

We spoke about the connection between cultural diversity and diversity of thinking and societal organization to meet different challenges or needs. Be able to explain why cultural diversity is important? Illustrate with an example (such as language as discussed in class)

importance of cultural diversity = processes driving changes to cultural diversity drives changes to biodiversity

• a sustainable future sees diversity as a core principle

• loss of cultural diversity = loss of environmental knowledge

• acknowledging the value of cultural diversity and traditional knowledge is important for safeguarding biodiversity, highlights the connection of biological and cultural diversity, and for the role of indigenous/local people in sustainable management

• traditional knowledge is embedded with specific cultures and languages and invaluable source of infromation about biodiversity and human relationships, and loss = loss of cultural heritage and capacity to adapt and live sustainability within the ecosystems

• example of language: language shapes the way we think by the different structures and vocabularies. the vocab of a language reflect the unique elements specific to that culture and environment. different cultures express concepts like humger in different ways which alter the understanding of hunger (english - i am hunger vs gern/spanish - i have hunger). loss of language = loss of ways of thinking and understanding = loss of culture)

Has globalization led to greater cultural diversity or cultural homogenization? Be able to explain the dynamics of cultural change under globalization as discussed in lecture.

cultural homogenization = driven by western values, leads to loss of distinctive cultures and a global shift towards a werstern, individualistic, materialistical, consumerist cutlture

• cultural loss = erosion and disappearance of independent cutlural systems or “ways of life” → shared “lowest common denominator” associated with the global economic system

• cultural imperialism is not as simple as “americanization”, cultural influences is felt from a variety of sources but is dominated by areas of high consumption (consuming culture).

cultural diversification = increase integration of global economy with free markets and democracy is opening up cultural freedoms and opportunities for exchange within and between nations

• cultural gain = places like london becoming culturally diverse with growing cultural hybrids and influences from abroad