1. What role does globalization and its processes (travel, migration, and displacement; new media and technology; commodity consumption) play in the construction and expression of individual and communal identities?
Globalization has led to an increased level of interaction between communities from different countries and continents. Although government regulation, place of birth and international boundaries usually decide a person’s nationality, his or her identity is open to external influence and change. Globalization and the entry of foreign consumer products into world markets has opened a whole new avenue of influencers to otherwise closed society. Canclini notes that, in the case of Latin America, people are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the barrage of technological advances, consumer goods and industrialization that is changing and, in fact, increasing the needs of the society .
People’s wants have turned into needs through constant exposure to global marketing initiatives. The amount of consumer goods owned by a person, and often its price, determines the social standing and identity of an individual. The progression of educational status between generations has also impacted the concept of bare necessities, with uneducated parents being unable to understand the growing needs of their middle or even higher educated children
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was possible for people to travel long distances for leisure as well as business. However, it was not as common as it is today. Travel for leisure has been boosted by developments in the field of aviation. Due to globalization and the opening up of markets, employees have to interact with counterparts who belong to a completely different culture. This interaction could be in person, or even through the use of technology such as video conferencing. Immigration for the purpose of employment has resulted in the creation of minority ethnic populations in countries that can impact politics and policies. Appadurai terms this movement and dispersing of cultures as ‘ethnoscape’. The adoption of local customs and cultures becomes a requirement in such cases, leading to doubts over one’s own identity consequently resulting in internal conflict as well as external opposition to change .
According to social sciences, societies, nations and cultures are distinguished and divided by the spaces and boundaries that naturally separate them . Each place has its own ethnicity based on race, color, religion and language. Cultures may not be limited by countries but span an entire geographical area. This segregation on cultures based on borders leads to several issues of ‘crossing over’. With the advent of globalization, people are increasingly crossing borders, and migrating to foreign shores in search of work and livelihood. This migration in not just geographical nature but cultural as well. Immigrants of every country tend to adopt local cultures and then transport them back to their own country once they return. They also disperse some of the characteristics of their own culture in the country that they have migrated to, especially in areas where ethnic communities are concentrated. Case in point is the Indian immigrant population of England. This transfer of cultures has led to the rise of ‘Multiculturalism’ in most developed as well as developing countries across the world.
‘Westernization’ has influenced everything from music, fashion, pop culture as well as the concept of beauty and social etiquette, leading to concerns over the loss of national identity among several Asian and African countries. Technology too, has seen massive growth in past three decades. The advent of the internet and online communication systems has led to communication between cultures much more common. This has also made having basic technological knowhow a must to gain reasonable employment. Individuals in under-developed countries who find it difficult to access such education have a stronger sense of backwardness than they probably did before globalization.
With corporations having easier access to cheap labor and ready resources, especially in developing countries, several companies have started operations on foreign shores. This includes manufacturing and assembly plants. The concept of ‘outsourcing’ of backend processes has also gained tremendous momentum over the past decade. This aspect of globalization seemingly provides employment opportunities to local populace as well as economic growth within the host country. However, the wages of the employees are comparatively low, even dismal in industries such as textiles and garments. There have been several concerns raised over the existence of ‘sweatshops’ of popular Western brands that employ child labor and provide abysmal and inhumane working conditions. Being subjected to this form of employment, imbibes a sense of slavery among the ethnic populace, who begin to identify themselves as being inferior to their employers .
Bibliography
Appadurai, Arjun. "Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization." Public Worlds, Volume 1 (1996): 27-47.
Canclini, Nestor Garcia. "Consumers and Citizens: Globalization and multicultural conflicts." Cultural Studies of the Americas 6 (2001): 16-33.
Gupta, Akhil and James Ferguson. "Beyond "Culture": Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference." Public Worlds, Volume 1 (1996): 65-79.
