Globalization of Culture: This thesis examines how globalization affects the world’s traditions and personalities, and how the effects of this blending of indigenous cultures with the rest of the world from the modern world order.
Review of literature–
- Yogendra Singh, in Culture change in India: identity and globalization (2000).
This book investigates Changes in cultural styles because of exposure to global cultural trends from India’s perspective, highlighting qualitative research on the prevalence of different outcomes on cultures and their identities because of globalization, while challenging the effect of our Indian culture.
- LUKE MARTELL, in SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION (2017).
In view of increasing globalization, Martell contends that while it provides many opportunities for greater engagement and involvement in communities around the world, such as through the media and migration, it also has negative consequences such as violence, global poverty, climate change, and economic instability.
- Marwan Kraidy, in Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization (2006).
This book explores the use of the term “hybridity” in cultural and postcolonial studies and presents a history of the definition as well as prescriptions for its future use, building on original study. Karidy advocates critical trans culturalism, a new theory he developed to study cultural blending And, in addition to using hybridity as its central principle, offers a realistic method for exploring how media and communication function in foreign contexts.
- Abderrahman Hassi & Giovanna Storti, Globalization and Culture: The Three H Scenarios, Globalization – Approaches to Diversity (2012).
This research looks at the transnational movements of individuals, financial resources, goods, knowledge, and culture that have recently expanded significantly and fundamentally changed the world, providing three cultural transformation possibilities: homogenization, hybridization, and heterogeneity.
- Dani Rodrik, Has Globalization Gone Too Far? 41 Challenge 81–94 (1998).
The project presented an analysis of the different analytical viewpoints and empirical responses and examines the benefits—and drawbacks—of international economic integration, and criticizes orthodox economists for downplaying the risks.
Globalization
Globalization is a process of exchange and convergence among individuals, companies, and governments from various countries, fueled by foreign trade and investment and assisted by information technology. Since it is multidimensional and global in nature, this mechanism has global implications for the environment, society, democratic processes, economic stability and security, and human physical well-being.
Globalization, as a philosophy and a system, has emerged as the overarching political, economic, and cultural power in the twenty-first century, with significant implications for the state’s status.
Culture –
“Culture is composed of explicit and tacit patterns of and for action taught and expressed by symbols, which constitute the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiment in artefacts; the basic Center of culture is composed of universal concepts and their attached beliefs. Culture mechanisms can be viewed as action components on the one hand, and conditioning elements of potential action on the other.”
Local culture –
Local culture is a term that is commonly used to identify the everyday environment of people who live in unusual and distinctive places. It reflects ordinary people’s feelings of appropriateness, ease, and correctness—qualities that classify personal desires and changing tastes.
Cultural globalization
The method of integrating local culture with the outside world through globalization is referred to as cultural globalization. It is a process in which everyday life experiences, as influenced by the spread of goods and ideas, reflect a global standardization of cultural expressions.
The term “globalization of culture” first emerged in conjunction with the topic of nation-state unification and the extension of people’s cultural relations in the late 1980s. Many people agree that cultural globalization is a long-term historical phenomenon that brings diverse cultures together.
“Human integration and hybridization are included in cultural globalization. Cultural convergence across continents and countries has been going on for decades. – Jan Pieterse
The positive contribution of cultural globalization –
Rather than dismantling those cultures, as others predicted, mainstream media contributes to the revitalization and regeneration of nations’ cultural preservation. Language, rituals, and history will also be maintained using technologies. Technology promotes self-representation and the preservation of personal and social identities by providing individuality and empowerment.
The new period of globalization, with its unprecedented expansion and intensification of global transfers of money, Labour, and information, is the homogenizing of local culture. This phenomenon promotes social convergence and has opened new doors for millions of people. It leads to the strengthening of cultural relations between cultures and to human migration.
Global media centres provide groups with a distinct identity to increase awareness and provide knowledge and understanding of their experiences and cultures to the public. It also provides for the sharing of relevant accounts and commentaries on matters vital to cultural continuity and knowledge conservation in cultural ways, thus assisting them in maintaining their plurality.
Global positioning of cultural groups enables previously unseen social and political influence. There have been many times when increased contact between cultures has resulted in a flowering of innovation. Prime examples include Periclean Athens and Renaissance Italy.
The negative contribution of cultural globalization
Cultural globalization reduces the individuality of local societies and may contribute to feelings of isolation, alienation, and even abuse. This is particularly important for traditional cultures and communities that are subjected to accelerated “modernization” based on ideas imported from elsewhere that have not been adapted to their specific background.
Globalization’s effect on cultural diversity encompasses multinational companies’ adoption of commercial culture, manipulation of Labour and economies, and influence on social values. This increased availability of commercial media and merchandise has the potential to “overpower” local cultural influences. It contributes to the perilous erosion of ethnic identity.
Because of unparalleled linguistic transparency, a far larger audience than ever before has a window into watching, listening to, and observing previously inaccessible phenomena. Unrestricted access results in misrepresentation, stereotyping, and the destruction of cultural and intellectual property properties. Globalization facilitates more colonization, which has implications for intellectual property and cultural rights. Many people believe that “if it’s out there, it’s free to take,” including cultural signs, poetry, dance, rituals, and other cultural artefacts. These cultural symbols are part of a person’s culture and are called living heritage.
Individualism and national cultures are eroding as globalization promotes a “Western ideal of individualism.” This supports a consistent collection of principles and ideals. These Western ideas are quickly assimilated into other practices and paradigms, with far-reaching consequences.
“The prevailing society and society of the day decide the next greatest technology as well as the next commercialized product that will be made accessible to the public and admired by those who are unable to use these devices due to financial constraints. – Kanuka (2008)
Impact on Indigenous people –
Many indigenous peoples are rapidly being exploited by the tourist industry because of globalization. Because of the simplicity with which Western travellers can visit these cultures, there is more interaction between the two, which is not entirely equal. Countries that have this kind of tourism often change their policies to encourage the influx of tourist dollars. Many tribal people have been displaced from their native territories to accommodate Western tourists.
One advantage is that locals would have more work openings in the retail industry. This, however, contributes to the visitors and municipal employee status disparities. Furthermore, the wealthy elite, not indigenous workers, are the prime economic beneficiaries of these nations’ tourism industries.
Indigenous property is seen as a valuable commodity that foreign companies can buy, lease, and manipulate. Which has had a direct impact on local economies, as traditional land uses are being replaced by specific uses designed to maximize revenue for larger organizations. This contradicts the conviction of many indigenous peoples that the soil is the cornerstone that connects them to their heritage. As a result of this exploitation, many aboriginal communities have been pushed back to the periphery of civilization.
One of the most significant classes of indigenous peoples that international companies directly target is the youth. Adolescents are more vulnerable to targeted consumerism, so they may find western marketing values more attractive than their own cultural practices. Since their personal identity is less fixed than that of an adult in their culture, they are converted more easily. As a result, societal hierarchy is eroding and a sense of identity is becoming more personal and human rather than communal.
Many indigenous people see globalization as a challenge to traditional family arrangements, leading to the extinction of cultural practices. Globalization’s consumerist nature often contradicts traditional indigenous values. Cultural and social factors are not permitted because of globalization. Instead, it seeks to further the interests of the larger, more powerful countries and companies that are behind its globalization.
Globalization’s direction in prospects of changing the cultural system –
Cultural Homogeneity –
Homogeneity implies that, because of the globalization movement, human experiences will inevitably become the same everywhere. Any theorists argue that America’s racial dominance over the rest of the planet will inevitably lead to the disappearance of cultural diversity. This form of cultural globalization has the potential to create a human monoculture. In a society dominated by a homogenized and Westernized mass society, this approach is known as cultural hegemony, and it is associated with the annihilation of cultural traditions.
This presence can be seen in American-based television shows that are rebroadcast all over the world. Major American corporations, such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, have contributed significantly to the globalization of American culture. Coca-colonization refers to the dominance of American goods in foreign markets, which some critics of imperialism see as a threat to the indigenous cultures of these countries.
However, critics argue that this is an exaggeration of the phenomenon. While homogenizing forces do exist, globalization research has revealed that they are not an omnipotent, unidirectional force that levels everything in its route. Any quest for a global culture will be futile because it does not exist. It is more fruitful to concentrate on specific aspects of life, since we are still a long way from having anything resembling a unified global society.
Cultural Heterogeneity-
Diversification, also known as heterogenization, refers to obstacles that block flows that would lead to cultures looking similar. Cultures, in this view, remain distinct from one another.
Distinct cultural groups evolve into heterogeneous structures because of disparities in demands imposed by their society to conform to the latter’s requirements. These populations become diversified and slightly variable over time because of environmental factors and strains.
For example, as the proliferation of the colonization phenomenon resulted in a decline in cultural difference, communities emerged and cultural distinctions was desired as the colonization revolution faded.
It is important to note that, according to this viewpoint, markets are affected by financial flows and globalization in general, but the real crux of the world remains intact and constant, as it has always been, with only periphery surfaces directly impacted. Concerning the consequences of globalization, it appears that cultural differentiation will continue to be high. The definitions used by various cultural communities to characterize their status and differentiation from other cultures are likely to change.
Cultural Hybridization
The fusion of Asian, African, American, and European cultures is referred to as cultural hybridization: hybridization is the development of global culture as a global mélange. As a point of view, hybridization belongs to the more fluid end of cultural relations: the mixing of races, rather than their separateness, is stressed. Thus, cultural hybridization refers to the process of blending a cultural component into another culture by modifying the feature to conform to cultural norms.
Consider the migration of religious practices, literature, and history that occurred because of Spanish colonization of the Americas. To take another example, the Indian experience exemplifies both the diversification of cultural globalization’s reach and its long history.
This has been accelerated by people’s interaction through technological revolutions and mass communication. Every aspect of culture has been hybridized with another. Creole languages, for example, are modern languages that were developed by simplifying and merging different languages that came into contact within a specific community at a certain time. Louisiana Creole is a language that combines African, French, and English elements.
Reaction to cultural globalization: alternative prospective
Conflict intensification (single culture community)
Another point of view contends that the process of cultural globalization may result in a “Clash of Civilizations.” Indeed, as the planet shrinks and becomes increasingly integrated, connections between individuals from various societies increase society awareness, which in turn energizes disparities. Indeed, rather than achieving a global ethnic community, the cultural disparities compounded by cultural imperialism will be a cause of dispute. While few scholars believe in a “Clash of Civilizations,” there is consensus that cultural globalization is an enigmatic process that fosters a keen sense of local difference. conflicting ideologies
Indian example: Research on how globalization changed local culture
The formation of bicultural identity in Indian society –
The creation of a bicultural or hybrid identity, meaning that part of one’s identity is embedded in local culture and the other derives from an understanding of one’s place in the global world.
Immigrants and national minorities are no longer the only ones that can build a global identity. People today, especially the youth, develop identities that give them a sense of belonging to a global community, which includes knowledge of global cultural practices, traditions, styles, and facts.
How it is influencing the local culture of Indian society –
- Educational attainment: On the one hand, globalization has contributed to an explosion of content on the internet, which has raised people’s awareness. It has also strengthened the region’s need for specialization and the promotion of higher education.
- Nuclear Families: Growing migration, as well as financial independence, has culminated in the separation of joint families into nuclear families. The Western domination in individualism has resulted in an aspirational generation of adolescents. National history, family culture, job culture, and culture are all changing at a fast and significant pace.
- Indian cuisine: Indian cuisine is one of the most common all over the world. Historically, Indian spices and herbs were highly prized trade commodities, but Western foods are now more common.
McDonaldization: A term used to describe the increasing rationalization of everyday practices. It manifests when a population adopts the characteristics of a fast-food chain. McDonaldization is a rethinking of rationalization, as well as a transition from traditional to legitimate ways of thinking, as well as scientific management.
- Clothing: Traditional Indian clothing for people was once the mark of our society. Formal clothing was once required to attend weddings and ceremonies, but this is no longer required. Instead, Indo-western clothing, a hybrid of Western and Subcontinental styles, is common.
- Indian Performing Arts: Sacred, folk, mainstream, pop, and classical music are all popular in India. India’s classical music remains a vital source of religious inspiration, creative creativity, and pure entertainment. There are many folks and classical forms of Indian dance.
Though Indian classical music has received international acclaim, western music has only recently gained traction in our country. Fusing Indian and Western music is encouraged by musicians. Western dance styles are becoming increasingly common among Indian youth.
- Consumerization: A term used to describe the drastic shifts that have occurred in regional and global markets because of the overwhelming size, presence, and power of big-box department stores. It is evident in the growth of multinational enterprises, which have almost wiped out small traditional businesses in our world.
Conclusion –
Cultural globalization encourages nations to share similar values and integrate customs. Cultural globalization is described as the globalization of corporate and market cultures, as well as the extension of foreign interaction. On the one side, this promotes individual national cultures around the world. Common international cultural phenomena, on the other hand, can displace national or transform them into international. Many see this as a lack of traditional cultural traditions and a struggle for the rebirth of national culture, while others see it as the beginning of a prosperous period.
“We must establish a kind of globalization that benefits all… not just a handful”
I am Pankaj sarpal, a student in symbiosis law school Noida pursuing BA.LLB and currently in my 3rd year. Sociology isn’t just my passion but rather it is something how I perceive things around me.