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14.2: Globalization

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    5655
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    What is Globalization?

    The answer to this question is not a simple one. There are various definitions of globalization depending on the perspective with which the topic is approached. Many think of globalization as processes that cause changes that make people more interconnected and interdependent. Others think of it as “…a reorganization of time and space in which many movements of peoples, things, and ideas throughout much of the world have become increasingly faster and effortless (Morris 2010: 865). Still others focus on the interaction and integration promoted by international trade, investment, and information technology (The Levin Institute 2015).

    400px-English_&_Hebrew_Coke_labels.jpg
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): English and Hebrew Coke labels. (CC BY-SA 3.0 unported; Yoninah).

    Anthropologists acknowledge that all of these definitions are relevant to the study of globalization and use long-term ethnographic studies to understand the dynamics of globalization. One of the things that make anthropological research on globalization important is that it remains focused on the impact of these global processes on individuals and cultures. Anthropologists do not assume that globalization is “natural and unavoidable” as that approach is steeped in Social Darwinist ideology and obscures how power and privilege are constructed and maintained (Morris 2010). It is an experiential process, meaning that it is different for each person. In an anthropological sense, globalization is “…an intensification of global interconnectedness, suggesting a world full of movement and mixture, contact and linkages, and persistent cultural interaction and exchange” (Inda and Rosaldo 2002: 2).

    Enmeshed in the concept of globalization are modernization, development, and the legacy of European colonialism.

    References

    1. Bodley, John H. Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System, 4th edition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005.
    2. Gezen, Lisa and Conrad Kottak. Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014.
    3. Global Exchange. “The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund.” Last update 2011. Accessed May 5, 2015. www.globalexchange.org/resources/wbimf.
    4. Haslam, Nick, Stephen Loughnan, Catherine Reymolds, and Samuel Wilson. “Dehumanization: A New Perspective.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 1 no. 1 (2007): 409-422. Accessed May 1, 2015. doi. 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00030.x
    5. Hunger Free World. “Bangladesh: The Key to Regional Development.” Accessed May 6, 2015. www.hungerfree.net/english/wh...desh/lcbd.html.
    6. Inda, Jonathan X. and Renato Rosaldo. “Introduction.” In The Anthropology of Globalization: A Reader, edited by Jonathan X. Inda and Renato Rosaldo, p. 1-34. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2002.
    7. International Monetary Fund. “About the IMF.” Accessed May 4, 2015. http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm.
    8. Keene, Courtney. “Development Projects That Didn’t Work: The Perils of Narrow Approaches to Complex Situations.” Globalhood. Accessed May 6, 2015.www.globalhood.org/articles/b...Didnt_Work.pdf.
    9. Kottak, Phillip Conrad. “Culture and Economic Development.” American Anthropologist 92, no. 3 (1990): 723-731.
    10. McKibbens, Bill. “An Alternative to Progress.” Mother Jones May/June (2001). www.motherjones.com/politics/...ative-progress.
    11. McMichael, Philip. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2000.
    12. Miller, Barbara. Cultural Anthropology, 6th edition. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011.
    13. Morris, Christopher. “Globalization.” In 21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook, Vol. 2, edited by H. James Birx, p. 865-873. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2010.
    14. O’Driscoll, Emma. “Applying the ‘Uncomfortable Science’: The Role of Anthropology in Development. Durham Anthropology Journal 16, no. 1 (2009): 13-21.community.dur.ac.uk/anthropol.../odriscoll.pdf.
    15. Shah, Shelly. “Development: Criticism of Growth Oriented Theories of Development.” Sociology Discussion. Accessed May 5, 2015.www.sociologydiscussion.com/d...velopment/1065.
    16. The Levin Institute – The State University of New York. “What Is Globalization?” Globalization 101. Accessed May 1, 2015. www.globalization101.org/what...globalization/.
    17. United Nations. “Main Organs.” Accessed May 4, 2015. www.un.org/en/sections/about-...ans/index.html.
    18. World Bank. “Organization.” Accessed May 4, 2015. http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership.

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