UNST 139A: Global Culture Prof, Rodney Koeneke TAKE-HOME WRITING: What Is Global Culture? DUE: WED., 3/30 in Main Session ¢. 2 pages, 1” margins, Times New Roman font, single-spaced INTRODUCTION Now that we're in our final quarter of Globalization, there should be a number of familiar anchor points in the course. You'll be writing another thesis-based essay; leading a discussion; conducting independent research on topics of your choice; and preparing a group presentation. The dynamics and expectations of seminar discussion of the kind you're likely to meet with in your SINQs next year should also feel familiar by now. At the same time, with each new quarter of FRINQ, we should be moving into newer, more complex territory. Discussions should become more text-based and sophisticated. ‘The range of readings should expand (we'll be reading works this term, for example, by a cultural theorist and a philosopher). The course will also rely more on you to provide us with examples of “global culture,” and to analyze those examples for us as we work toward a set of propositions about the impact of globalization on cultural expression. ASSIGNMENT For this first assignment, I'd like to ask you to consider what ideas of global culture you bring to the class. What kinds of topics do you imagine we'll explore? Given the work we've gone on globalization so far, what sort of questions or critiques do you image will come up? In.a.c.500 word writing, please consider the following questions. You don’t have to answer these in any particular order, but the writing you submit on Wednesday should respond to all of them. 1) What’s your PROVISIONAL DEFINITION of “Global Culture”? What, in your view, is “global culture”? What distinguishes it from plain old “culture,” without the ‘global’ in front of it? What markers or signs do you think we should look for in deciding whether a piece of music, film, art, or literature shows the influence of globalization?2) What's your best CONCRETE EXAMPLE of “Global Culture”? Please provide one example of global culture. It could be a song, film, story, or artist you're already familiar with, or one that you've researched for this assignment. Take some time to introduce your example, explain what itis. 3) What’s your ANALYSIS of this instance of global culture? Why did you choose this particular example? What specific features, for you, makes it a good instance of cultural globalization? How does it show the benefits of globalization? (We've discussed many of these benefits in the past two quarters, so you shouldn’t feel like you're going in cold here.) What questions or criticisms about globalization might it raise? (Here, too, you can rely on earlier critiques we've discussed to get you started.) 4) What's your PROVISIONAL CONCLUSION about global culture, given this example of it you've selected? Last quarter, we worked together on a rubric of what makes a “global person."We considered features like education level, living abroad, a dislocation from the village to the city, the kinds of career paths followed, attitudes to popular culture, opportunities for social mobility, and sources of disappointment. Help us make a start to our rubric of what makes “global culture.” In the example you've described above, what generalizations can you draw about cultural globalization more broadly? Which clement(s) in the example you've chosen might become part of our working definition of “global culture”? NOTE: Much of Wednesday's Main Session will be devoted to discussing this assignment and comparing our range of examples. Like so much of your education at PSU, this will be a “garbage in, garbage out’ kind of affair; the quality of the class session will depend on the quality of your work in thinking through these questions. I’m eager to see what examples you come up with....Aaron Salazar UNST 139A Professor Koeneke Global Culture vs. Culture With the impact of globalization weighing in on cultures across the world it is apparent that the diffusion of different cultures, some which often conflict, is redefining the traditional concept of culture, With cultures becoming diversified the traditions, history, ethnic backgrounds, and identities are also being redefined, No longer is a person only “German” ot “French”, but rather a person ean be composed of German and French culture...and be American on top of that, which adds American culture into that equation as well. Globalization is creating the new term ‘we will come to know as “Global Culture”, which also goes hand in hand with the creation of the “Global identity”. Global culture can be defined as the merging of distinctively differentiating cultures while simultaneously embracing the outcome and the impact this newly formed culture will have in the world. An example of this would be the movement of people from the Middle East into the United States that is currently occurring. While this is an example that is not minimized to one person or very easily detailed as far as specification goes—it is a concrete example of globalization and how the impact affects a large majority, rather than just one person, or one piece of music, film, story, ete. Consider this, as people from the middle cast are relocated into the United States, there will no doubt be a clash in culture; American culture, which includes values, customs, ideals... are without a doubt different from the culture from the middle east, which will also be coming to the United States with the influx of people from the region. As T said before there will be a clash due to the distinct differences in these cultures; but throughout the chaos and resentment held by BOTH groups of individuals, a new culture will be formed—a culture that combines both aspects of the middle eastern culture as well as American; the definition of what it means to be a Saudi-Arabian American, or a Iranian American, will be fundamentally and forevermore changed. This yill only occur when the people embrace their newly formed identity composed of new values and ideals that were forged throughout the trials and tribulations that are still yet to come. But as we've seen with global people such as Maryjane Satrapi or Teju Cole, it is pos It is obvious as to why I chose to use this example as it i situation that is occurring at this very moment, and it is a situation which is causing a lot of uproar, controversy, and resentment; ey if t didn’t then it wouldn’t really be considered “Global Culture” anyway. Personally this m situation is very meaningful to me in terms of global culture, as we are witnessing the diffusion O-4@ and backlash between two different types of people and their cultures, and the creation of imac something new (a culture) and never seen before, something that would have been heavily (ebay frowned upon given stage of globalization 15-20 years ago. You also can’t help but wonder, or I can’t at least, as to which aspects of the two cultures will be kept, which aspects will be ow eliminated, and what new ideas or new things will be presented to the world—a new religion fa 4%: pethaps? I am especially interested in the aspect of Middle Eastern culture which is Islam and Whether or not it will find a place, or even survive, in American culture which is incredibly secularized in comparison, and holds values and ideals which obviously conflict with that aspect. To describe it easily, Islam does not diffuse well with American culture, or westem culture for that matter