The Phenomenon Of Globality - Essay Example

The Phenomenon Of Globality Cohen, Paul and Maud describeg lobality as the phenomenon that makes it possible for humans to have a shared personal and reflexive connectivity with each other transcending ethnic, political and geopolitical divisions. In a sense, the context very much like globalization, which describes the unity of the world in terms of a global village where people can travel and easily communicate with each other. However, Global thinking is focused on people sharing a universal respect appreciation for each other’s unique social, cultural identity and ultimately creating a world capable of acting for itself. Such as scenario, should it ever occur would be reflected in a universal consciousness and sense of value as a human beings. This nevertheless requires that people expand their loyalties and concerns past people of their immediate geographical or ethical circles. While admitting that humanity is quite far from achieving a global “intellect”,the writers concede that in the last few years major steps have been made in this direction in a clear break from the recent past. For example in the late 80’s and early 90’s, people from all over the world united albeit in different forums to express their outrage over the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. The world felt that his incarceration represented the abuse of basic human rights to freedom as well as amounted to racial discrimination. Cohen, Paul and Maud argue that although imperialism had retrospectively being used to bring about “civilization” by western cultures through oppressive policies this era was at an end. The union with which apartheid was collectively decried proves this. The argument for globality is further supported by the fact that the fact that the world is becoming more tolerant to different cultural identities and practices. The reasons systems like South Africa’s apartheid were opposed are because, in the contemporary globalized world, it is possible for governance to be shared rather than imposed. The concept of superior and inferior culture was only a tool used by imperial powers to subjugated subjects and acquired new territory by forcing their way of life and governance on people. Cohen, Paul and Maud propose that there is a rise in the number of individuals who practice reflective thinking. This is the sort of thinking that promotes the appreciation of diverse culture, “reflexive people are tend to be self-conscious and knowledgeable and they plan to shape their own lives while redefining the world around them” (Cohen, Paul and Maud 60). With an increase in the number of people who share this mindset, the world is gradually opening up to the idea of globality where people can get a significant amount of personal freedom in choosing how to define themselves in the context of the larger world. Instead of the early cultural melting point model of a society where minority groups were expected to assimilate the culture of the majority, globality encourages people to retain the aspects of their culture they deem important. A “thinking world” will accept people irrespective of their social, cultural differences and each culture can then assimilate whatever elements they chose in different cultures. This way there can be some semblance of a universal culture where people can express themselves without being limited by the constraints of traditions social identity labels. Cohen, Paul and Maud propose the term Glocalisation to be used to describe how the global can be modified because of the contact with the local (Cohen, Paul and Maud 62). They borrow from the Japanese concept where global products are localized and apply the same on culture. People from different cultures cannot live in the modern world without interacting with each other; therefore, they chose to pick the elements of foreign culture they met and integrated it in their own. The ultimate result is a society where numerous social, cultural constructs are meshed together existing both independently and interdependently. An individual committed to the culture of thinking globally will find that they have a much wider scope when approaching controversial issues that have global significance because they are capable of thinking beyond their particular culture. An example of such an issue is the Stop and Frisk Law that allows police to stop anyone they suspect could be harboring criminal intentions question and frisk them without requiring a warrant. Someone thinking from a localized perspective would likely take the stand against the practice because it has been frequently used to target specific racial groups. However, a globally thinking person my look at the practice in the context of the nature of citizen’s interactions with the police outside the United States and make comparisons. It may be that the US police need to be sensitized against the inclination to profile certain racial groups negatively more than the practice needs to be stopped. In any case, the real underlying problem is actually the racism, not the searches, therefore, the best long-term solution would be to address the racism in the practice rather than outlaw it altogether. Another issue that would benefit from a global thinking perspective is academic traditions that various students bring to the table when they study in international educational institutions. In many American colleges and universities, there is a high number of Asian students, majority of whom are from China. Given that the educational system is very different from that of the Unites states, they tend to stand out in terms of generally being better in technical and science oriented courses while the locals excel in languages and the arts. This has however given rise to stereotypes portraying Asians and “nerds”(bright but lacking social competence) and this has negatively affected their interactions and adaptation in the US since they tend to be treated differently thanks to the nerdy tag. This is often portrayed in Hollywood college movies with the Asian student often cast as a supporting character with all the answers in the exams while their white counterparts have fun and wholesome if not excessive social lives. However, this can be approached from a less discriminatory and mutually beneficial point of view. The American students should be encouraged to interact with their Asian counterparts so they can both share the elements of their retrospective education system that are lacking in their own. Through such engagements, they can get to understand each other and appreciated the different ideas they bring to the table making each group more open minded and ultimately “global-minded.” Works Cited Cohen, Robin, Paul M. Kennedy, and Maud Perrier. Global sociology. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000. Print. Read More