ONE WORLD OR MANY? ONE WORLD OR MANY? THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

OF THE FUTUREOF THE FUTURE

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I. Introduction

• The Paradox:– Globalization: growth of something to a global or world-wide

scale• Mass media, internet, etc.• Expanding supranational organizations: European Union,

NAFTA, etc.– Devolution: the breakdown of larger

cultural/political/economic units into smaller ones• Peaceful resurgent nationalism: Czech Rep., Slovakia,

former Soviet Union republics, etc.• Violent resurgent nationalism: Bosnia, Kosovo, Basques,

etc.2

1818thth & 19 & 19thth Century Globalism Century Globalism

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Colonialism – Imperialism!Colonialism – Imperialism!

I. Introduction

• Multinational corporations– Many have greater economic power than most

countries– Operate beyond the power of any one country:

• To regulate• To moderate• To influence• To balance interests

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Detroit - G.M. Headquarters

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Toyota Headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan

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Economic power of Global Corporations

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Actually Six Defining Features of Globalization

1. Involves global scale interactions among cultural, economic, political and environmental phenomena.

2. Relentless movement – money, people, info. Etc.3. The effects are felt unevenly4. Transnational corps. are the main driving force5. Local and national efforts to restrain it6. While rooted in internationalism, it is

qualitatively different from it.8

II. Globalization: the end of geography?

• The case for one world– Quotes from those that believe we

will become one world• 1951: George Kimble, In the future there would be,

“no independent, discrete units . . . No worlds within world.”

• 50 years later: Joel Swerdlow, used these terms – “Global culture,” “vanishing cultures,” “a world together,” and “ we are all in each other’s backyard.”

• Pico Iyer notes that, “everywhere is so made up of everywhere else.” 9

II. Globalization: the end of geography?

• The case for one world– Acculturation and assimilation- Acculturation: a culture adapts to a new cultural

trait – technology, food, sport, architecture, religion

- Assimilation: a smaller group adapts to/becomes part of a larger group: people move to U.S. and eat McDonalds and speak English

– Urbanization – more and more people are moving to cities.

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Blending of Cultures

• Australian Aboriginal children play with a laptop computer. Will this reduce the world’s cultural heterogeneity?

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Local resistance to globalization

• Zapotista commandos negotiating with the Mexican government over cultural & economic rights.

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International Ladies Garment Workers Union

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II. Globalization: the end of geography?

• Many worlds– Most geographers believe many

worlds will continue to exist– Interaction with outside influences

produces new cultural expressions– Globalization produces different results in

different lands

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Interaction with outside influences

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Interaction with outside influences

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Diffusion

• A process by which something spreads from one place to another over time.

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Diffusion of Religion

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