Teaching and Learning Guide for: The Globalization of Self: Role and Identity Transformation from Above and Below
Authors: Callero Peter 
Published: March 2009

Author's introduction

The process of globalization can be defined in neutral terms as the increasing cross‐border flows of goods (e.g., coca‐cola, cocaine), services (e.g., McDonalds, prostitution), money (e.g. family cash, corporate banking), people (e.g., migration, vacation), information (e.g., internet, movies), and culture (e.g., fashion, religion), resulting in greater economic and political interdependence. Defined in this way, globalization appears rather benign – even positive. But in truth, the ‘interdependence’ that is being created is not one of equality or hope for most people in the world. Multinational corporations are certainly benefiting from globalization, but ordinary workers are not. In this article, I explore the way in which globalization is altering social identities in ways that are both exploitive and liberating.

Author recommends

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2002).

This is an important and influential critique of globalization written by a Nobel Prize winning economist. During his career as an academic, Stiglitz was a strong advocate of economic globalization, but after serving as a White House advisor and Chief economist at the World Bank, his opinion changed. He wrote this book in an attempt to publicize the devastating effect of globalization on developing countries. Written for a general audience, Stiglitz explains how globalization managed from the top down must be radically revised before the poor will benefit from global economic policies.

Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Eds, Global Women: Nannies. Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2002).

This research anthology offers extensive documentation of the real world impact of economic globalization on women and their families. Fifteen chapters cover a range of penetrating investigations of women from across the globe who migrate, suffer and sometimes surrender in their quest for economic security. A common theme is the immense sacrifice made by mothers and children who are struggling to carve out a life amidst the powerful forces of a new global economy. The studies provide heart‐wrenching evidence that economic policies managed from the top, serve to exploit the poor, alter women's lives, and change the meaning of family.

Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004).

The potential impact of globalization on world cultures is explored in this brief but highly instructive book. Jan Nervenn Pieterse offers an accurate summary of competing theories of cultural globalization and artfully guides the reader through important intellectual debates. Does globalization lead to greater cultural integration? Are unique cultural identities and practices dissolving under the pressure of globalization? Is the world becoming uniform, standardized, and homogenized? There are no certain answers to these questions, but the author argues forcefully that globalization is leading to hybrid cultures with greater diversification and cultural mixing – a global mélange.

Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello and Brendan Smith, Globalization from Below: The Power of Solidarity (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000).

The worldwide movement of resistance to top‐down globalization is reviewed, defended and advocated in this powerful little book. This inspirational volume is much more than an academic analysis of the anti‐globalization movement; it is an answer to all those who ask, ‘What can be done?’ The historical power of social movements is a guiding theme from start to finish. Chapters examine a global program for change, practical policy initiatives, and opportunities for participating in grassroots democracy. This is an outline for hope and a pragmatic strategy for how globalization can be altered from the bottom‐up.

Hubert J. M. Hermans and Giancarlo Dimaggio, ‘Self, Identity, and Globalization in Times of Uncertainty: A Dialogical Analysis’, Review of General Psychology, 11(2007), 31–61.

This is an excellent review article that examines the psychological consequences of globalization. According to the authors, the social, cultural and economic changes associated with globalization have disrupted traditional life patterns and have called in to question normative expectations. As a consequence, many individuals are left with a powerful sense of psychological uncertainty that motivates individuals and groups to find local niches to construct a stable identity. The organizing argument is that the processes of globalization and localization (globalization's counterforce) require a conceptualization of self and identity in which global and local voices are involved in continuous interchanges and negotiations.

Jan E. Stets and Peter J. Burke, ‘A Sociological Approach to Self and Identity’. In: Mark Leary and June Tangney (Eds), Handbook of Self and Identity (Guilford Press), 128–152.

In this review article, the authors present a nice summary of a particular sociological view of self and identity. George Herbert Mead influences their approach, which falls within the theoretical tradition known as ‘structural symbolic interactionism’. A key insight is that our conceptions of self are organized by larger social structures, while at the same time, social structures emerge from individual actions. The review includes an examination of different types of identities, the influence of social roles, and the impact of emotions.

Online materials

George Herbert Mead

http://www.iep.utm.edu/m/mead.htm

Mead is one of the most influential theorists of the self. His life and work are reviewed in detail at this site.

Global Capitalism: The World Trade Organization

http://www.wto.org/

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most powerful economic institutions in modern history. It is the organization through which top‐down, capitalists, and powerful nation states implement global economic policy. At this site, the WTO defends its goals and explains its operations and strategies.

Fundamentalist Responses to Globalization

http://www.jihadunspun.com/index.php

This controversial web site represents the political and cultural interests of some Islamic fundamentalists. A significant portion of the site is devoted to news stories from the Middle East where Islamist groups are engaged in political and military battles with competing political parties and nation states. This particular web site illustrates both a fundamentalist response to globalization and the global communication tools employed by some fundamentalist groups.

Democratic Responses to Globalization

http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/index.php?cd_language=2&id_menu=

The World Social Forum is an excellent example of how democratic resistance to top‐down globalization is global in scope. At this site, one can see evidence of bottom‐up, grassroots organizing. Learn how social movements, NGOs, and other civil society organizations come together to debate ideas and formulate proposals for ending top‐down globalization.

http://www.globalexchange.org/index.html

Global Exchange is another organization committed to resisting the destructive effects of globalization. This site provides a bottom‐up perspective on international trade and a wide range of resources for democratic activists. Video links also offer illustrations of some recent protest actions.

http://www.topics‐mag.com/globalization/page‐resist.htm

This simple but instructive site gives a basic introduction to globalization and provides several examples of local people from across the globe who are working to resist the homogenizing and harmful effects of capitalist globalization. Examples include campaigns to protect regional cuisines in Korea, France, and Brazil by protesting fast food chains and advocating for a ‘slow food’ movement.

Sample syllabus

Globalization from Above and Below

Week 1: The Sociology of Globalization

Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives (New York, NY: Routledge, 2003).

Weeks 2–6: Globalization from Above

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2002).

Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise and Fall of Disaster Capitalism (New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2007).

Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Eds., Global Women: Nannies. Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2002).

Video: China Blue (Teddy Bear Films, 2006).

This breathtaking documentary of life in a Chinese sweatshop is an excellent illustration of how globalization from above connects and exploits workers from across the globe (88 minutes).

Weeks 7–10: Globalization and Culture

John Tomlinson, Globalization and Culture (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999).

Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004).

George Ritzer, The Globalization of Nothing (Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2004).

Video: Wal‐Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (Brave New Films, 2005).

This is a penetrating documentary that exposes the dark side of Wal‐Mart's ruthless global expansion (95 minutes).

Weeks 12–15: Globalization from Below

Jereny Brecher, Tim Costello and Brendan Smith, Globalization from Below: The Power of Solidarity, (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000).

Leslie Sklair, ‘Social Movements and Global Capitalism’, Sociology, 29 (1995), 495–512.

Walden Bello, Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World Economy (London, UK: Zed Books, 2005)

Video: This is What Democracy Looks Like (Big Noise Films, 2005).

Here, we find remarkable documentary examination of the ‘Battle in Seattle’ when 50,000 activists from across the globe effectively shut down the ministerial meetings of the World Trade Organization in 1999 (72 minutes).

Notes

* Correspondence address: Peter L. Callero, Western Oregon University, 345 North Monmouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR 97361, USA. Email: callerp@wou.edu