We all seem to partake –somehow- in a new streak of research where the concept of globalisation takes form of some sort of mantra, rendering previously valid questions irrelevant and imposing new paradigm shifts in a variety of disciplines. In the field of International communication, the process of globalisation is not only about the emergence of huge transnational corporations. It also implies changes in communication policies and their impact on cultural autonomy and identity not only in weaker nations but in the most powerful ones as well.
It is in this context that International Communication scholars are forced to rethink their existing theories of the free flow of information, the rapid growth of information technology, and the distribution of cultural power in a new environment where boundaries have become porous.
Ali Mohammadi’s International Communication and Globalisation is the latest, not the first as the editor would like us to believe, in that effort. This book is a compilation of essays written by the most noted scholars in the field (Barrett, Hamelink, Halloran, Tehranian, Tomlinson…) representing different schools of research.
At first read, there is little that is new in the topics discussed or the authors who wrote them. Almost all the essays are summaries of arguments the contributors have already made in their own books. There is a lot of value, however, in the way Mohammadi organizes his book in four parts, three of which share a macrosocial approach of examining the limitations and directions of international communication research and the impact of globalisation on media markets and technology transfer. The fourth part, entitled ‘Globalisation, Culture, and the Control of Difference’, follows m...
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If research on the impact of globalization on media markets and nation-states is still valid and useful, empirical studies on the effects of globalization on national cultures and identities are even more so. The last part of this book is a summary of the effort in that direction, but scholars in this field need more critical research couched in a cultural studies tradition to rewrite their theories of cultural power and the role of the global media in the same way Tomlinson and others did to rethink their premises of cultural imperialism theory.
Overall, this book is a useful one in the sense that it sums up the major trends, past and present, of international communication and provides insightful directions for a global future.
Works Cited:
Mohammadi Ali, (ed.), (1997) International Communication and Globalisation. London: Sage Publications. 228 pages
He begins his story in pre-civil war Afghanistan. He and his Hazara servant Hassan spend many hours per day together. One of the most cherished times spent together was when Amir would read stories to Hassan, under a pomegranate tree. Amir had a love for literature, a trait similar to his mother, who died while giving birth to him. However, this troubles his father ("Bâbâ," Persian for father), who tries to make Amir more like himself, active and courageous. Baba puts Amir on a soccer team and tries to teach him to defend himself, but fails with every attempt.
Italy has a current population of 58,742,000 people in the twenty first century. The geography consists of a mountainous peninsula in southern Europe, which then extends all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. This includes the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and numerous amounts of other smaller islands. The mountain range known as the Alps, forms Italy's border with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia (National Geographic). The majority of Italy has a Mediterranean climate, which is typically defined as having cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
Cultural Studies focuses on the political and social impacts of media. Cultural Studies assumes that all cultural products are ultimately about power and possess value only to the degree that they attack established social order. Traditional Philosophy emphasizes the perennial difficulty of sustaining excellence in a culture seemi...
TUNSTALL , Jeremy. “The Media Are American: Anglo-American Media in the World.” London: Constable, 1977.
History. What is history? History is not just a complete story from the perspective of a man nor women. But it is a replica that tells the story of our communities, cities, countries, and the world. History by definition is the account of change over a period of time. For centuries, people have altered the environment in order to meet their needs. The effect of these changes have brought upon both positive and negative effects on the environment, societies, and regions. Some include the development of irrigation in ancient Egypt, the construction of chinampas by the Aztecs, and the mining of coal in Great Britain. Throughout time, many of the ancient civilizations have gone through inconvenient setbacks while trying to complete their goal. Nevertheless,
Hartley, John (2002), Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts, London, Routledge, pp. 19-21.
Walgrave, Peter Van Aelst & Stefaan. 2002. New Media New Movements? The Role of the Internet in Shaping the "Anti-globalization" movement. Belgium : Routledge, 2002.
For Globalism and Local Cultures, Globalism is a social condition that when people over the world share a homogenous, culture and form a “global village” by the means of electronic communications and mass media. However, the author pointed out the difficulties in defining both “culture” and “local”. For “culture”, instead of the traditional definition, the more recent one – “Culture is a set of ideas, reactions, and expectations that is constantly changing as people and groups themselves change” would be adopted by the
History is a story told over time. It is a way of recreating the past so it can be studied in the present and re-interpreted for future generations. Since humans are the sole beneficiaries of history, it is important for us to know what the purpose of history is and how historians include their own perspective concerning historical events. The purpose and perspective of history is vital in order for individuals to realise how it would be almost impossible for us to live out our lives effectively if we had no knowledge of the past. Also, in order to gain a sound knowledge of the past, we have to understand the political, social and cultural aspects of the times we are studying.
Western countries have been suspected of using their position and power to cultivate cultures around the world through the use of media. These cultures are inspired by western cultures and are a powerful way to gain and maintain dominance especially in third world countries. This essay is aimed at arguing a case against global cultural imperialism. Key areas taken into cognizance in this work are, firstly the definition of key terms used in this essay. Secondly, this essay focusses on the demerits of global cultural imperialism though media use namely, erosion of the youth’s indigenous cultures, the use of media to portray western cultures as superior relative to other cultures, contamination of indigenous cultures through the unruly content found in western media productions, western cultures and living standards as shown though the media promotes brain drain in less developed countries, western produced products promoted on global media present unfair competition to local products and how global cultural imperialism is being used to spread western propaganda hence misleading the youth. Lastly this essay concludes with a conclusion.
History to me is defined as past events, relevant and irrelevant, as a whole that make up the backstory of the world. Everything becomes history eventually. Most people relate the word history to bad experiences in boring classes with high school coaches who just hand out busy work for entire semesters. I believe history is more, or it could be more. History is a story, a beautiful, tragic story, the most comprehensive story ever. Shakespeare once said, Life “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Although to an extent I agree, I believe history helps one to learn and avoid making the same mistakes over and over.
History is the bridge that connects the past with the present. Without history, we have no future. The past gives value to our present. David C. McCullough stated, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are”. I agree with McCullough, history gives us a purpose. History allows us to investigate and interpret the past in order to see how we developed and where we came from. We can get an idea of what has influenced our past and present, and also what will shape our future. We can see what previous generations did and whether or not t...
“Four countries border Italy; Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia. Italy is also surrounded by five seas; Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrehienian Sea, and Lygunan Sea” (Throp 12). “Agriculture in most of the country has been of a subsistence type and has led to deforestation” (Italy-Culture). “ Islands are also a part of Italy; Sicily in the south and Sardinia in the northwest” (Italy-Culture). “Italy is slightly larger than Arizona, it’s a long peninsula shaped like a boot” (Italy). “The weather is mostly 50s and 60s in January; som...
I define history as important events that have happened in the past, and the ones that are presently happening. At some time or another everything will be considered history. History tells a story, whether it’s written, painted, carved, or sung; a collection of events that someone explains to you that is usually important.
Global communication is the communication that occurs all over around the globe across international borders. The requirement for global communication is because of increase in influence and effects of globalization, Different culture, societies and countries share their ideas, knowledge, cultural and societal practices through using of technology and spread their ideology and dominant set of minds in other countries and societies. Mostly, the dominant and independent cultures or we can say that influential countries, which have power to shape, reform and controls the ideology of others dependent societies by introducing the way of communication in all over the world through globalization.