The Contemporary World

Nowena Baracheta Joung

Instructor I

2020
 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

The Contemporary World

A. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
 analyze the various contemporary drivers of globalizatio
n; and  describe the emergence of global economic and
political systems.

B. PRE-TEST
 What do you understand about globalization? (Explain your answer)

C. CONTENT

INTRODUCTION
Why do you need to study the world? At first glance, the world, as a concept, is abstract. Aft
er all, your daily experiences are considered interactions with your country. When you read
the news, you read about the Philippines. When you engage in an official transaction like pa
ying taxes, you deal with the Philippine government. Almost all of your classmates and teac
hers are Filipino.

However, you only need to step back a little bit to see that the world "out there" is already h
ere. For example, you likely have relatives who are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Ever
y time these relatives visit or send something home, they are bringing part of the world with
them. Even if you have not traveled outside the Philippines, you have likely heard stories ab
out foreign countries from these family members. Some relatives might have told you about
the wonders of Rome. Others may have shown you pictures of San Francisco's Golden Gat
e Bridge. Others may have described the lights and towering buildings of Shinjuku.

Needless to say, the media and the internet are also your windows to the contemporary wor
ld. You watch American movies and can probably sing at least one K-pop song. If a major p
olitical event occurs, you don't even need to go to CNN.com to find out more details; friends
are already posting articles on Facebook.

Finally, your consumption habits are global. You have dined in a McDonald's, ridden in a Ja
panese car, maybe owned a Korean mobile phone, and eaten Australian beef.

You are already a citizen of the world whether you are aware of it or not. Just by living your l
ife, you automatically think about the contemporary world. This course will be your guide.

The Structures of Globalization will introduce you to the various drivers of the globalization p
rocess, with specific focus on economics and politics. Although it emphasizes that you expe
rience globalization on an "everyday" level, you must also realize that there are big institutio
ns that create large-scale changes.

What is Globalization?
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
 agree on a working definition of globalization for the c
ourse;  differentiate the competing conceptions of glo
balization; and  narrate a personal experience of glob
alization.

A Story: Gio, Latif, and the Laksa

When Gio was a second-year international affairs student in a university in Cebu City, he ob
tained funding to join the school team participating in an international Model UN competition
in Sydney, Australia. At the height of the competition, Gio made plenty of new friends and b
ecame particularly close to Latif from the Malaysian team. The two first started talking when
Latif asked Gio where he was from. Upon discovering that the Gio was from the Philippines,
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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

The Contemporary World

Latif lit up and declared that he was a big fan of Filipino actors Jericho Rosales and Kristine
Hermosa. Gio was pleasantly surprised to learn that Latif had seen every episode of the AB
S-CBN telenovela Pangako sa 'Yo (II The Promise"). The show had aired on Malaysian TV
a few years back, and its two stars had developed a modest following.

Ashamed that he did not know as much about Malaysia as Latif knew about the Philippines,
Gio asked Latif what his country was like. Latif, he discovered, was from a Muslim university
in Kuala Lumpur. Gio asked him what he liked best about living in "KL," and Latif immediatel
y mentioned the food. Latif explained that in Kuala Lumpur, one can find Chinese, Indian, a
nd Malay cuisines. He told Gio that this assortment of foodways was the result of how the B
ritish reorganized Malaysian society during the colonial times. The British did little to change
the way of life of the Malays who were the original residents, but brought in Chinese laborer
s to work in the rubber plantations and tin mines, and Indians to help manage the bureaucra
cy and serve as the initial professional core of a potential middle class. One of the ways that
these ethnic groups were identified was through their foodways.

According to Latif, Malaysia eventually became famous for these cuisines which can be fou
nd in the various "hawker centers" across the nation's cities and towns. These food stands
are located in outdoor food parks where locals and tourists taste the best of Malaysia, from
nasi lemak to laksa.

Gio interrupted Latif and asked, "What is laksa?" He felt more ashamed at his lack of knowl
edge. "Ahh.. .let me show you what it is and how it is prepared!" replied Latif.

The next day, Latif took Gio to a Malaysian restaurant a few blocks away from the universit
y. Gio was surprised to discover that Malaysian food was .readily available in Sydney. Havi
ng noticed this, Latif explained to his Filipino friend that, over the years, as more and more
Malaysian students moved to Sydney to study, Malaysian restaurants followed suit. Soon af
ter, they were catering not only to these students, but to Australia-born "Sydneysiders" as w
ell, whose culinary tastes were becoming more and more diverse.

Gio finally had his first taste of laksa—a rice noodle soup in a spicy coconut curry sauce. He
found the flavors intense since, like most Filipinos, he was not used to spicy food. However,
in deference to his friend, he persisted and eventually found himself enjoying the hot dish.

After the meal, Gio and Latif went to a nearby café and ordered "flat whites"—an espresso d
rink similar to latte, which is usually served in cafés in Australia and New Zealand. Both kne
w what flat whites were since there were Australian-inspired cafés in both Kuala Lumpur an
d Cebu.

Laksa: a rich and spicy rice noodle soup. The new friends promised to stay in touch after th
e competition, and added each other on Facebook and Instagram. Over the next two years,
they exchanged e-mails and posts, congratulated each other for their achievements, and co
mmented on and liked each other's photos. Latif sent his mother's recipe to Gio and the latt
er began cooking Malaysian food in his home.

A few years after graduation, Gio moved to Singapore, joining many other overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) in the city-state. The culture was new to him, but one thing was familiar: th
e food served in Singapore was no different from the Malaysian food he had discovered thr
ough Latif. He would later learn from Singaporean colleagues that the island country was on
ce part of the British colony of Malay and the postwar independent Federation of Malaysia.
Singapore, however, separated from the Federation in August 1965 and became a nation-st
ate. Today, they may be two distinct countries in this part of the world, but Singapore and M
alaysia still share the same cuisine.

After he settled down in his apartment, Gio sought out and found a favorite laksa stall in Ne
wton Hawker Center. He would spend his weekends there with with friends eating laksa and
other dishes.

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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

The Contemporary World

One Saturday, while Gio was checking his Facebook feed along the very busy Orchard Roa
d—Singapore's main commercial road—he noticed that Latif had just posted something 5 m
inutes earlier. It was a picture from Orchard Road. Surprised but also excited, Gio sent Latif
a private message. Latif replied immediately saying that he too had moved to Singapore an
d was, at that moment, standing in front a department store just a few blocks away from wh
ere Gio was. The two friends met up, and after a long hug and quick questions as to what e
ach was up to, they ducked into a café and renewed their international friendship.. .by orderi
ng a pair of flat whites.

Global Experiences
Gio and Latif's story is fictional but very plausible since it is, in fact, based on the real-life ex
perience of one of the authors. It was through such friendships that one was able to appreci
ate the meaning and impact of globalization.

We begin our definition of globalization with this narrative to illustrate how concrete the phe
nomenon is. The story shows how globalization operates at multiple, intersecting levels. Th
e spread of Filipino TV into Malaysia suggests how fast this popular culture has proliferated
and criss-crossed all over Asia.

The Model UN activity that Gio and Latif participated in is an -international competition abou
t-internationalpolitics.-Gio met Latif (a Malaysian involved in the model UN) in Sydney, a glo
bal city that derives its wealth and influence from the global capital that flows through it. Syd
ney is also a metropolis of families of international immigrants or foreigners working in the in
dustries that also sell their products abroad. After the two had gone back to their home coun
tries, Gio and Latif kept in touch through Facebook, a global social networking site that provi
des instantaneous communication across countries and continents. They preserved their fri
endship online and then rekindled this face-to-face in Singapore, another hub for global co
mmerce, with 40 percent of the population being classified as "foreign talents." What other h
ints of globalization did you find in the story?

Some Description
Our discussion should begin with this intuitive sense that something is happening, and it is n
ot affecting everyone in the same way. Gio's story is a very privileged way of experiencing g
lobal flows, but for other people, the shrinking of the world may not be as exciting and edifyi
ng. For example, it is very common for young women in developing countries to be recruite
d in the internet as "mail-order brides" for foreign men living in other countries. After being p
romised a good life once married to a kind husband in a rich city, they end up becoming sex
ual and domestic servants in foreign lands. Some were even sold off by their "husbands" to
gangs which run prostitute rings in these cities. Like Gio, they too have experienced the shri
nking of the world, albeit negatively.

Governments that decide to welcome the foreign investments on the belief that they provide
jobs and capital for the country offer public lands as factory or industrial sites. In the proces
s, poor people living in these lands, also called "urban poor communities," are being evicted
by the government. The irony is that these people forcibly removed from their "slums" are al
so the labor force sought by foreign companies. They had to be kicked out of their homes, a
nd then told that they could take an hour or two of bus travel from their relocated communiti
es back to the "old home" for minimum-wage work.

Because different people encounter globalization in a variety of ways, it is deemed useful to

ask simple questions like: "Is globalization good or bad? Is it beneficial or detrimental?" 'The
discussion begins with two premises. First, globalization is a complex phenomenon that occ
urs at multiple levels. Second, it is an uneven process that affected people differently.

Globalization: A Working Definition

Most accounts view globalization as primarily an economic process. When a newspaper rep
orts that nationalists are resisting "globalization," it usually refers to the national markets to
a wider global market signified by the increased free trade. When activists refer to the "anti-
globalization" movement of the 1990s, they mean resisting the trade deals among countries
facilitated and promoted by global organizations like the World Trade Organization.
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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

The Contemporary World

Globalization scholars do not necessarily disagree with people who criticize unfair internatio
nal trade deals or global economic organizations. In fact, many are sympathetic to the critiq
ue of economic globalization. Academics differ from journalists and political activists, howev
er, because they see globalization in much broader terms. They view the process through v
arious lenses that consider multiple theories and perspectives. Academics call this an interd
isciplinary approach, and it is this approach used by the general education (GE) courses tha
t you will be taking alongside this one.

The best scholarly description of globalization is provided by Manfred Steger who described
the process as "the expansion of social relations and consciousness across and world-time
and across world-space." Expansion refers to “both the creation of new social networks and
multiplication of existing connections that cut across traditional political, economic, cultural a
nd geographic boundaries" These various connections occur at different levels. Social medi
a, for example, establish new global connections between people, while international group
s of (NGOs) are networks that connect a more specific group—social workers and activists
— from different corners of the globe. In the story, Gio was able to join a Model UN competi
tion because his university was part of an international network.

Intensification refers to the expansion, stretching, and acceleration of these networks.3 Not
only are global connections multiplying, but they are also becoming more closely-knit and e
xpanding their reach. For example, there has always been a strong financial market connec
ting London and New York. With the advent of electronic trading, however, the volume of th
at trade increases exponentially, since traders can now trade more at higher speeds. The c
onnection is thus accelerating. Apart from this acceleration, however, as the world becomes
more financially integrated, the intensified trading network between London and New York
may expand and stretch to cover more and more cities. After China committed itself to the g
lobal economy in the 1980s, for example, Shanghai steadily returned to its old role as a maj
or trading post.

It is not only in financial matters that you can find these connections. In 2012, when the mon
soon rains flooded much of Bangkok, the Honda plant making s e of the critical car parts te
mporarily ceased production. This had a strong negative effect on Honda-USA which relied
heavily on the parts being imported from Thailand. Not only was it unable to reach the sales
targets it laid out, but the ability of the service centers nationwide to assist Honda owners al
so suffered. As a result, the Japanese car company's global profits also fell?'

The final attribute of this definition relates to the way people perceive time and space. Stege
r notes that "globalization processes do not occur merely at an objective, material level but t
hey also involve the subjective lane of human consciousness." In other e words, people beg
in to feel that the world has become a smaller place and distance has collapsed from thous
ands of miles to just a mouse-click away. One can now e-mail a friend in another country an
d get reply instantaneously, and as a result, begins to perceive their distance as less conse
quential. Cable TV and the internet has also exposed one to news from across t e globe, so
now, he/she has this greater sense of what is happening in other places.

Steger posits that his definition of globalization must be differentiated with an ideology he ca
lls globalism. If globalization represents the many processes that allow for the expansion a
nd intensification of global connections, globalism is a widespread belief among powerful pe
ople .that the global integration of economic since it spreads freedom and democracy acros
s the world. It is a common belief forwarded in media and policy circles. In the next lesson,
you will realize why it is problematic.

For now, what is crucial to note is that when activists and journalists criticize "globalization,"
they are, more often than not, criticizing some manifestations of globalism. Often, these criti
cisms are warranted. Nevertheless, it is crucial to insist that "globalization" as a process ref
ers to a larger phenomenon that cannot simply be reduced to the ways in which global mark
ets have been integrated.

Conclusion: Globalization from the Ground Up

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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

The Contemporary World

All this talk of large, intersecting processes may be confusing. Indeed, it may be hard to ass
ess globalization or comment on it because it is so diffuse and almost fleeting. Some schola
rs have, therefore, found it simpler to avoid talking about globalization as a whole. Instead, t
hey want to discuss "multiple globalizations," instead of just one process.

For anthropologist Arjun Appadurai, different—kinds of globalization occur on multiple and i

ntersecting dimensions of integration that he calls "scapes." An "ethnoscape," for exampl
e, refers to the global movement of people, while a "mediascape" is about the flow of cultur
e. A "technoscape" refers to the circulation of mechanical goods and software; a "finance
scape" denotes the global circulation of money; and an "ideoscape" is the realm where pol
itical ideas move around. Although they intersect, these various scapes have differing logic
s. They are thus distinct windows into the broader phenomenon of globalization.

Appadurai's argument is simple: there are multiple globalizations. Hence, even if one does
not agree that globalization can be divided into the five "scapes," it is hard to deny Appadu
rai's central thrust of viewing globalization through various lenses.

Depending on what is being globalized, a different dynamic (or dynamics) may emerge. So
while it is important to ask "What is globalization?" it is likewise important to ask "What is/ar
e being globalized?" Depending on what is being globalized, the vista and conclusions chan
ge.

The structure of the lessons that follow will reflect this multidimensional understanding of glo
balization. Each of the lessons will focus on a particular kind of globalization. Every one of t
hem will be about different networks and connections that are expanding and intensifying in
the contemporary world.
Treat each lesson not as an end in itself but as window to the broader phenomenon of glob
alization.

D. LEARNING ACTIVITY:
How Globalized is Your Home?
1. Go to your room and do an inventory of everything you have in your possession.
You will find out that the most essential among the "things" in your room are foot
wear, clothes, computers (if any), cell phones, television (if possible), and mayb
e a radio. If you are a student, you may also notice books, newspapers, news m
agazines, not to mention school supplies and equipment.
2. Organize your inventory into two types: first, "things" that are made in the Philip
pines and second, those that are of foreign brands. List the countries of origin of
your foreign-brand items.
3. In the process, discuss why certain products are made in the Philippines while o
thers are produced abroad.

E. ASSESSMENT
Instruction: Answer the following Guide questions. (10 points each)
1. How have you experienced globalization?
2. Why is it crucial to emphasize that globalization is uneven?
3. What is the difference between globalization and globalism?

F. REFERENCE:
Claudio, L.E., & Abinales, P.N. (2018). The Contemporary World. C&E Publishing, Inc. Qu
ezon City

G. RUBRICS
Criteria 5 4 2 1 Inadequa
te
Exceeds Expecta Meets expectatio Needs improve
tion n ment
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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

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Quality of Wr Piece was written Piece was written i Piece had little sty Piece had no style o
iting in an extraordinar n an interesting st le or voice r voice
y style and voice yle and voice
Gives some new i Gives no new inform
Very informative a Somewhat inform nformation but po ation and very poorl
nd well-organized ative and organize orly organized y organized
d
Grammar, Us Virtually no spel Few spelling and A number of spe So many spelling, p
age & ling, punctuatio punctuation error lling, punctuatio unctuation and gram
Mechanics n or grammatica s, minor grammati n or grammatica matical errors that
l errors cal errors l errors it interferes with the
meaning

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 Chapter 1: What is Globalization?

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ANSWER SHEET
Instruction: Answer the following Guide questions. (5 points each)
1. How have you experienced globalization?
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2. Why is it crucial to emphasize that globalization is uneven?

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3. What is the difference between globalization and globalism.

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Note: The spaces above are just examples wherein you will put your answers. Additional p
apers or bond papers are advised.

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