Globalization, Culture and Identity

The course will examine social and cultural aspects of the globalization process. On the one hand, the intensification of global interconnectedness entails increased standardization, homogenization and universalization as Western ideologies circulate more widely. On the other hand, this process is given heterogeneous local expression, resulting in hybridization, creolization and various forms of resistance and accomodation to unifying impulses. The deterritorialization of culture , and the flow of commodities, advertising and media have established new premises for the construction of meaning and the formation of identities. New subjectivites and identities emerge, along with new social imaginaries and cultural repertoirs. Through a survey of theories of globalization and an examination of several cases, the course will examine the variety of ways in which this occurs.
The students will be required to participate in discussion fora on It’s Learning. The evaluation will be based on a term paper (15 pages long). The paper may be based on assigned readings, library research or their own experience of globalization, analyzed in terms of concepts and theories provided by the readings.

The students will become versed in the concepts and forms of analysis which anthropology brings to globalization. They will acquire analytical skills which will enable them to more fully understand the social and cultural aspects of globalization.

Lectures and discussion groups on It's Learning.