Globalization and Culture - Hardcover

Tomlinson, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226807673 ISBN 13: 9780226807676

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1999

Synopsis

Globalization is now widely discussed, but the debates often focus on economic issues. A lucid and engaging writer, John Tomlinson goes far beyond traditional discussions to analyze the wide-ranging cultural, social, and moral aspects of globalization.

Tomlinson begins this ambitious project by studying the relationship between globalization and contemporary culture, explaining the importance of time and space concerns, cultural imperialism, "deterritorialization," the impact of the media and communication technologies, and the possible growth of more cosmopolitan culture. We come to understand how someone may face unemployment as a result of downsizing decisions made at a company's head office on another continent, or how the food we find in our grocery stores is radically different today from twenty years ago. He discusses the uneven nature of the experience of global modernity in relation to first and third world countries, and concludes that a genuinely cosmopolitan culture is unlikely to emerge unless we respect cultural differences and share a common sense of commitment about the world.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Globalization is now widely discussed but the debates often remain locked within particular disciplinary discourses. This book brings together for the first time a social theory and cultural studies approach to the understanding of globalization.

The book starts with an analysis of the relationship between the globalization process and contemporary culture change and goes on to relate this to debates about social and cultural modernity. At the heart of the book is a far-reaching analysis of the complex, ambiguous "lived experience" of global modernity. Tomlinson argues that we can now see a general pattern of the dissolution between cultural experience and territorial location. The "uneven" nature of this experience is discussed in relation to first and third world societies, along with arguments about the hybridization of cultures, and special role of communications and media technologies in this process of "deterritorialization". Globalization and Cultureconcludes with a discussion of the cultural politics of cosmopolitanism.

Accessibly written, this book will be of interest to second year undergraduates and above in sociology, media studies, cultural and communication studies, and anyone interested in globalization.

About the Author:

John Tomlinson is Professor of Cultural Sociology and Director of the Centre for Research in International Communication and Culture, Nottingham Trent University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0226807673
• ISBN 13: 9780226807676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248