Unit 4: A World of Ideas: Learning Compass

UNIT 4: A WORLD OF IDEAS
LEARNING COMPASS
At the end of unit 4, the students will be able to:

1. Analyse how media drives various forms of global integration.
2. Explain the dynamic between local and global cultural production.
3. Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.
4. Understand the relationship between religion and global conflict.
According to various globalization theorists (i.e. Giddens, 1990; Harvey, 1989),

“globalization refers to the widening, deepening and speeding up of global interconnectedness.
It has been defined as “accelerating inter-dependence”, ‘action at a distance’ and ‘time space
compression’. As Harvey (1989) points out, throughout the latter half of the 19th century, there
was a radical readjustment in time space compression in economic, political and cultural
life.”. Baudrillard (1983) links postmodernism with globalization - reality has been replaced by a
“media-generated, hyper-reality”.
The twenty-first century is evolving into a time of technological advancements. There is
constant edit and addition to the available technological resources. As it advances, it also
spreads worldwide. The worldwide spread of technology creates vast connections that create
new opportunities on a larger scale. The current focus of the globalization of technology is the
connections created by networks of social media. Social media is a brilliant tool that can be
easily used by those who have access to it. As access is gained globally, it creates
opportunities to those who are first experiencing the use to outsource ideas. ― Jessica Bieber
The mass media are seen today as playing a key role in enhancing globalization,
facilitating culture exchange and multiple flows of information and images between countries
through social media sites, international news broadcasts, television programming, new
technologies, film, and music.
GLOBAL MEDIA CULTURES
The received view about the globalization of culture is one where the entire world has
been molded in the image of Western, mainly American, culture. The globalization of culture is
often chiefly imputed to international mass media. After all, contemporary media technologies
such as satellite television and the Internet have created a steady flow of transnational images
that connect audiences worldwide.
The role of the mass media in the globalization of culture is a contested issue in
international communication theory and research. Early theories of media influence, commonly
referred to as "magic bullet" or "hypodermic needle" theories, believed that the mass media
had powerful effects over audiences.
In international communication theory and research, cultural imperialism theory argued
that audiences across the globe are heavily affected by media messages emanating from the
Western industrialized countries. Although there are minor differences between "media
imperialism" and "cultural imperialism," most of the literature in international communication
treats the former as a category of the latter.
Although the media are undeniably one of the engines of cultural globalization, the size
and intensity of the effect of the media on the globalization of culture is a contested issue
revolving around the following question: Did the mass media trigger and create the
globalization of culture? Or is the globalization of culture an old phenomenon that has only
been intensified and made more obvious with the advent of transnational media technologies?
Like the age-old question about whether the egg came before the chicken or vice versa, the
question about the relationship between media and the globalization of culture is difficult to
answer.
The global media debate was launched during the 1973 General Conference of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Nairobi, Kenya.
As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the mission of UNESCO includes issues of
communication and culture. During the conference, strong differences arose between Western
industrialized nations and developing countries. Led by the United States, the first group
insisted on the "free flow of information" doctrine, advocating "free trade" in information and
media programs without any restrictions. The second group, concerned by the lack of balance
in international media flows, accused Western countries of invoking the free flow of information
ideology to justify their economic and cultural domination. They argued instead ·for a "free and
balanced flow" of information. The chasm between the two groups was too wide to be
reconciled. This eventually was one of the major reasons given for withdrawal from UNESCO
by the United States and the United Kingdom-which resulted in the de facto fall of the global
media debate.
THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION
As a contested term, globalization has many definitions, each worthy of merit.

Generally, globalization is first thought of “in economic and political terms, as a movement of
capitalism spreading across the globe.”
As goods and finance crisscross across the globe, globalization shifts the cultural
makeup of the globe and creates a homogenized “global culture.” Although not a new
phenomenon, the process of globalization has truly made the world a smaller place in which
political, social, and economic events elsewhere affect individuals anywhere. As a result,
individuals “search for constant time and space-bounded identities” in a world ever changing
by the day. One such identity is religion.
Generally, religion is a “system of beliefs and practices.” More specifically, the word
comes from the Latin “religare” which means “to bind together again that which was once
bound but has since been torn apart or broken.” Indeed, with the globalization of economics
and politics, individuals feel insecure “as the life they once led is being contested and changed
at the same time.” Hence, “in order for a person to maintain a sense of psychological well-
being and avoid existential anxiety,” individuals turn to scripture stories and teachings that
provide a vision about how they can be bound to a “meaningful world,” a world that is quickly
changing day-by-day.
Globalization Engendering Greater Religious Tolerance

Globalization brings a culture of pluralism, meaning religions “with overlapping but
distinctive ethics and interests” interact with one another. Essentially, the world’s leading
religious traditions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—teach values such
as human dignity, equality, freedom, peace, and solidarity. More specifically, religions maintain
the Golden Rule: “what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.” Therefore,
through such religious values, globalization engenders greater religious tolerance in such
areas as politics, economics, and society.
In short, globalization allows for religions previously isolated from one another to now
have regular and unavoidable contact. As a result, globalization brings to the light the fact that
since religions have similar values, not one of them is “correct” and, therefore, can be
changed. But as the next section shows, the same process that engenders greater religious
tolerance also creates a backlash of religious parochialism.
Globalization Creating Backlash of Religious Parochialism

Since globalization is considered as “the first truly world revolution,” “all revolutions
disrupt the traditions and customs of a people”—that is, “people’s very security, safety, and
identity.” As globalization disrupts traditional communities, causes economic marginalization,
and brings mental stress, individuals feel these fewer desirable consequences of globalization.
With religion’s power to “convey a picture of security, stability, and simple answers” through
stories and beliefs—unlike economic plans, political programs, or legal regulations—individuals
turn to religion.

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UNIT 4: A WORLD OF IDEAS

At the end of unit 4, the students will be able to:

According to various globalization theorists (i.e. Giddens, 1990; Harvey, 1989),

GLOBAL MEDIA CULTURES

THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION

As a contested term, globalization has many definitions, each worthy of merit.

Globalization Engendering Greater Religious Tolerance

Globalization Creating Backlash of Religious Parochialism

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