debate continued in my head

Some writers in GR and some people in class (via debate) raised the question of whether globalization really exists as a phenomenon in the first place. In some existentialist way (think French Satre), the fact that everyone is talking about it at least makes you have to confront it on some level.

In a drawing of lots, I found myself in the pro-globalization group in our class debate. Things that we didn’t get to that I was thinking of for my group’s position include:
-If there is cultural strife in places dealing with globalization factors, it’s because the people there have new choices due to globalization. If you only knew one or two ways to go about life, there wouldn’t be so many clashes over how people in a given area all live their lives. But if you get exposed to many different viewpoints, you might find yourself wanting to explore them and then a homogenous culture shifts towards heterogeneity – and its subsequent, unavoidable strife between differences.
-One country is not solely dumping on another. Globalization entails an exchange on a variety of levels, rather than a one-way transfer.
-Don’t like it? Don’t buy it. Fundamentalists are afraid of losing power over individuals and the broader perspectives and choices they are exposed to via globalization.

I believe in coincidences

Having just watched the 9/11/01 movie, I am reminded by a strange and creepy coincidence. Most Americans knows what they were doing on 9/11/01, and I’m no exception. But, okay, in my last blog I wrote about Hoffer’s “The True Believer.” Well, in fact, it was the very week we were studying the fanaticism of true believers that the 9/11 terrorist act was committed. Coincidence that suicide bombing exactly fit into our discussions. We hadn’t at that point had a really good example to relate to in our lives as such, but suddenly there it was. It really was creepy that all the ups and downs of globalization and the reactions of true believers we were in the midst of studying became so vitally relevant to us young high-schoolers. Okay, this was just a quick, musing blog. Back to work….

Global Lit post 1

Week 1

I first encountered Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” in a high school political science class. As bleak as it was, I remember writing both in support and rejection of the main ideas he put forth. If I can get a copy of that high school paper, I think it would be interesting to compare my first reaction towards globalization in an academic setting to my understanding of globalization by the end of this class.
I would also today like to provide a link to Eric Hoffer’s “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movement” at Amazon.com. I read this short book several years ago, and basically it gives an approach to understanding fanaticism and fanatics, i.e., in this case, true believers. As our discussion moves to include an understanding of fundamentalism (possibly on the rise in light of globalizing factors – we’ll examine this more probably), I think it’s fascinating to look at the figure, the identity, of who the radical fundamentalists are and why they do what they do. I recommend Hoffer’s quick read:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060916125/002-6590089-2195256?v=glance&n=283155

Intro to CompLit Journal for Globalization Literature

From this point, I will be posting journal entries relevant to my class on the literature of globalization.