Department of Social Sciences

CENTRAL MINDANAO UNIVERSITY

UNIT 1: Structures of Globalization
At the end of this Unit, the students should be able to analyze the various drivers of globalization, and
describe the emergence of global economic and political system.
Lesson 1: Globalization
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
a. Agree on a working definition of globalization for the course;
b. Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalizations; and
c. Narrate a personal experience of globalization.

Some Description
● Gio’s story is a very privilege way of experiencing global flows, but for other
people, the shrinking of the world may not be as exciting and edifying.
● 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.
● 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 occurs at multiple levels. Second, it is an
uneven process that affects people differently.

Globalization: A ● Most accounts view globalization as primarily an economic process.

working definition (Markets, trade deals)
(process) There are disagreements of the definition of globalization because different
●
individuals such as in the academics, journalists and political activists view
this this process through different lenses that consider multiple theories and
perspectives.

Manfred Steger ● Described the process as “the expansion and intensification of social
relations and consciousness across world-time and across world-space.
a. Expansion – refers to “both the creation of new social network and the
multiplication of both existing connections that cut across traditional,
political, economic, cultural, and geographic boundaries.”
⮚ Social media for example establish new global connections
between people, while international groups of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are networks that
connect a more specific group (social workers and activists)
from different corners of the globe.
b. Intensification – refers to the expansion, stretching, and acceleration
of these networks (social networks)
⮚ For example, there has always been a strong financial market
connecting London and New York. With the advent of
electronic trading, however, the volume of that trade increases
exponentially, since traders can now trade more at higher
speed.
⮚ In 2012, when the monsoon rains flooded much of Bangkok,
the Honda plant making some of the crucial car parts
temporarily ceased production. This had a string negative
effect on Honda-USA which relied heavily on the parts being
imported from Thailand.
c. The perception of time and space – Steger notes that “globalization
processes do not occur merely at an objective, material level but they
also involve the subjective plane of human consciousness.
⮚ People begin to feel that the world has become a smaller place
and distance has collapsed from thousands of miles to just a
mouse-click away.
Globalization VS Globalism Globalization
Globalism (Ideology) a widespread belief among Represents the many processes that allow
powerful people that the global for the expansion and intensification of
integration of economic markets is global connections
beneficial for everyone, since it spreads
freedom and democracy across the
world.
Underlying context:
● It is critical to insist that “globalization” as a process refers to a larger
phenomenon that cannot simply be reduced to the ways in which global
markets have been integrated.
● Intersecting process may be confusing and it may be hard to assess
globalization or comment on it because it is so diffuse and almost fleeting.
● Some scholars have found it simpler to avoid talking about globalization as a
whole. Instead, they want to discuss “multiple globalizations,” instead of just
one process.

Arjun Appadurai – An anthropologist, different kinds of globalization occur on multiple and intersecting dimensions
of integration that he calls “SCAPES.”
Ethnoscape Global movement of people
Mediascape Flow of culture
Technoscape Circulation of mechanical goods and software
Financescape Global circulation of money
Ideoscape Realm where political ideas move around
● Although they intersect, these various scapes have differing logics. They are this distinct windows into
the broader phenomenon of globalization.

Conclusion ● So while it is important to ask “what is/are being globalized?’

Depending on what is being globalized, the vista and conclusions change.
● The structure of the lessons that follow will reflect this multidimensional
understanding of globalization.
⮚ Each of the lessons will focus on a particular kind of globalization.
⮚ Treat each lesson not as an end in itself but as window to the
broader phenomenon of globalization.

Guide Questions to test your understanding of this Lesson:

1. How have you experienced globalization? Can you relate to the definitions offered during class
discussions?
2. Why it is crucial to emphasize that globalization is uneven? You may base your answer on the
reflections we had using a set of pictures during our class discussion.
3. What is the difference between globalization and globalism?

Feel free to share your answers/thoughts regarding these questions during our class, preferably before
the discussion proper starts.