Globalization And Culture - Research Paper Example

Running head: GLOBALIZATION & CULTURE Globalization and Culture Insert Here Insert Affiliation Here Globalization and Culture Cultural individuality and distinctiveness is the pride of every nation. All communities rejoice in the richness and exoticness of their own cultural symbols, be it dressing, architecture, language or way-of-life. With the dawn of globalization, however, cultural variety and distinguishing characteristics are vanishing; giving rise to a monoculture common to all. While this may be a harbinger of unity and relatedness among all people of the world, it also damages the unique cultural identities they once took pride in. This paper discusses the effects of globalization on culture, along with its positive and negative effects. Since the effects of globalization on culture are non-exhaustive, it is attempted to incorporate a few of the most significant ones. The origins of globalization are also discussed. I. Globalization—Towards a Homogenous Culture A. What is Globalization As Yazdani, (2009, p. 54) writes, globalization refers to the growing “interconnectedness” of peoples and nations from all over the world via investment, trade, and travel. According to him, globalization is the transformation process in which “local/regional phenomena” are converted into “global ones”. Globalization is viewed from various perspectives, such as social, economic as well as cultural (Sanagavarapu, 2010, p. 36). A major consequence of globalization is the increase in transnational transportation, especially migration to “western and industrialized societies” (Castles & Miller, 1998; Papastergiadis, 2000 as cited in Sanagavarapu, 2010, p. 36). B. A Mono-Cultural World It is an indomitable fact that globalization is diminishing physical boundaries between nations and increasing cultural homogeneity, as more and more people from different cultures intermix, interact, and share their ideas, values, habits and lifestyle. As Yazdani puts it, globalization has “bull-dozed” native cultures, thereby homogenizing them until their identity is not unique to them alone (2009, p. 56). He argues that this is because of the commercialization of culture through media, effecting civilizational, religious and cultural values. The world is thus losing its cultural diversity and is arriving at a mono-cultural state, which is the resultant of the homogenization of cultures through globalization. II. The Origin of Globalization and its Impact on World Culture—Varying models Globalization is a universal phenomenon resulting from commercial interactions and trade between countries. Globalization accelerated from the 1870s until the beginning of the First World War in 1914, when all countries worldwide felt the effects of an international economy (Haynes, 2010p. 134). Various routes, by both land and sea, had been developed in historical times, whose main function was to facilitate trade. However, goods were not the only entities that were being exchanged. Religious and cultural exchanges were also widespread across these routes. For instance, the influence of Buddhism, which originated in India, on Central Asia, China, Tibet, Japan and South East Asia occurred due to trade contact among these countries; and the Silk route enabled cultural exchanges between Central Asia, China and Europe (Yazdani, 2009, p. 55). The effect of globalization on culture is explained using various models described below. However, no single model is enough to relate the actual spread of globalization. A. Vanguardist Model The Vanguardist model puts forth the notion that European culture expanded from the West to the rest of the world (Buzan, 2010, p. 3). According to this model, there was a one-way transmission of culture, in which poorer and lesser-developed nations adopted the culture of Europe, which was more powerful and dominant. This resulted from European colonization of other nations. As Buzan writes, by the end of the 19th Century, the world was “recreated in the image of Europe”, resulting in a “standard of civilization” (2010, p. 4). Most other significant civilizations were either forced to adopt European culture, or did so on their own to ensure that they remain internationally favorable. Even now, most nations have adopted westernization as a means of remaining on the global circuit. As Suzuki points out in his study on Japan and China, Japan has tried to conform to the so called “standard of civilization” so that it can be accepted in the western international society, whereas China has only selectively adopted some western elements to gain strength for the protection of its own culture against western impact (as cited in Buzan, 2010, p. 8). B. Syncretist Model In contrast to the one-way cultural exchange proposed by the Vanguardist model, the Syncretist model holds that cultural exchanges occur among all civilizations, because of which, cultures not only evolve internally, but also as a result of “encounters” with other cultures (Buzan, 2010, p. 10). For instance, Islam spread from the Middle East to Asia and Africa and Buddhism spread from India to East Asia. Moreover, as implied by Hobson, Europe imbibed the “technologies and commercial innovations” from China, Arabia and India, referred to as “oriental globalization” by Hobson (as cited in Buzan, 2010, p. 13). III. Effects of Globalization on Culture As is evident from the preceding discussion, globalization has greatly affected the culture of all nations worldwide. Some of these are discussed below: A. Effect on Habits Globalization has affected people’s habits in a multitude of ways. Be it eating, networking or entertainment. The same snacks and junk food are shared worldwide and people relate with the same movie characters. For instance, Pizza that originated in Italy, burgers that originated in the US and popcorn that originated in the UK have now taken over the fast food zones around the world. As surprising as it may sound, these fast foods are available even in rural areas of many developing countries. The handshake, originally a western form of greeting, is now a common form of greeting worldwide. Even in countries such as Japan, China and India where the usual form of greeting is a bow or a ‘Namaste’, the handshake is very commonly used, especially in business and diplomatic meetings. Body piercings and tattooing, which were originally prevalent among tribes, especially in olden times, are now widespread among the modern youth of all countries. Entertainment, movies and music, all share a common similitude among countries worldwide. International film festivals and music concerts have encouraged the incorporation of foreign customs and languages in native countries. Globalization has also affected parenting. As argued by Kuran and Sandholm (2003, as cited in Sanagavarapu, 2010), contact with global cultures is leading to “cultural hybridization”, in which families are adopting “diverse cultural norms and practices” (p. 37). Since globalization has accelerated migration to western countries, minority immigrants have to adapt the societal norms of the host country to avoid being racially stereotyped and discriminated. This has affected the parenting styles of minority immigrants leading to “hybridized parenting” (Sanagavarapu, 2010, p. 38). For instance, Sanagavarapu (2010, p. 39), based on Jambunathan and Counselman’s (2002) study, points out that Indian immigrant mothers in the US who favored corporal punishment in their home country did not do so in the USA. Moreover, Indian mothers in their native country prefer “authoritative styles of parenting” compared to the “authoritarian” style of Indian immigrant mothers. It is also pointed out that immigrant parents in the USA usually want their children to learn English in their early childhood even if it is at the expense of their home language. Thus, the culture of the host country, if it is the dominant one in terms of economy, affects the cultural aspects of its immigrants who are from less developed and less powerful countries. In a way, the habits of people from powerful countries are super-imposed on those from less powerful countries. B. Effect on Language Language is the most affected part of culture owing to globalization. Since English is the official business language, people in all countries are either forced to learn it or do so of their own accord because of its indispensable nature. Such a strong influence of English has even affected some people’s proficiency in their own mother tongues. However, the vocabulary of the English language itself shows a strong influence of other languages such as French, Latin, Dutch and Arabic. The advent of the internet and social networking has changed the way people communicate, and with it comes a whole new form of language devoid of structural and linguistic accuracy. For instance:- “C ya at 9”! Originating as the ‘SMS lingo’, it has now dominated social networking spheres on the World Wide Web. The English language itself has thus changed a great deal, although not in the formal context. C. Effect on Dress-Code Globalization has rendered an interesting intermixing of dress codes and fashion. Although it is believed that globalization is synonymous with westernization and that the whole world is adopting the fashion of the west, it is argued here that the flow of fashion is a two-way process. While the world is adopting ‘American’ clothing by way of blue Jeans, T-shirts and skirts, the truth is that most of these apparels were introduced to America by foreigners. For instance, the blue Jeans were introduced in America by a German merchant, Levi Strauss in the 1850s. Many other popular fashion labels in America belong to Italian, French and other designers. The sarong, which originated in the Malay, is now popular in the Arabian Peninsula, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and many Asian countries. Coats and ties are common apparel and so are scarves, which are now used as a fashion accessory by women worldwide. People relate more to international brands than their native brands of apparel. All this has been possible because of globalization. D. Positive & Negative Implications The effects of globalization on culture have both positive and negative implications. While on the one hand it promotes cultural unity and togetherness, on the other hand it leads to loss of cultural diversity and richness. A person traveling from one country to the other will not feel as out of place as he would have felt a century ago. This is because he will have access to almost everything that he is used to in his native country. The prevalence of English as a common language has promoted intercultural and cross-border bonding and interaction, bringing people all over the world closer to one another. This has, however, led to a diminishing importance of native languages and has also led to the loss of their originality. Stating the negative consequences of globalization, Jaenicke (2010) argues that as the world is becoming globalized, the “characteristic differences” between various cultures are vanishing and our “ways of experiencing the world” are becoming uniform (p. 92). Jaenicke, however, maintains that cultural identity does not affect our psychological identity unless we experience an unfavorable expression in response to our specific cultural gesture, for instance, the denial of our handshake by a person from another culture. In conclusion, it is stated that globalization has greatly affected the cultural aspects of all countries, especially the lesser developed and less powerful ones. The language, dress code, habits and other aspects of culture have been deeply affected. While this has both positive and negative implications, most countries are striving to preserve their cultural identities and linguistic purities by discouraging western associated cultural elements. Even as these attempts are taking place, the world is still accelerating towards cultural homogenization and a mono-cultural identity. References Buzan, B. (2010). Culture and international society. International Affairs, 86, 1-25. Haynes, J. (2010). Democratisation in the Middle East and North Africa: What is the Effect of Globalisation? Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 11, 133-149. Jaenicke, U. (2010). Does globalization affect our dreams? An inquiry into the subject matter of dreaming. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 19, 92-97. Sanagavarapu, P. (2010). What does cultural globalisation mean for parenting in immigrant families in the 21st century? Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32, 36-42. Yazdani, E. (2009). Globalization and the Role of Islam in the post-Soviet Central Asia. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, 8, 53-69. Read More