Globalisation is a concept that has encompassed confusion since
its emergence as a term in mid 20th century due to not having a
single definition. There are many ways to approach Globalisation such as
through a Media and Communication, Technological and Sociological approach. To
understand globalisation further then the general idea that it is the
connectedness of the world, scholars have looked at five different flows that
when applied teeth out a better understanding. Rockefeller (2011, p.560) comments
flow had become a term useful for talking about large-scale, even global
cultural and economic phenomena, it was a word that allowed writers to
highlight formal commonalities in the movement of people, ideas, money, images
and goods.
This post will focus on an
interview conducted with my mother on the impact of the Physical flow on her
life. This post is timely as she is from New Zealand and is in the process of
renewing her passport to travel to America. So a Kiwi born Australian is
renewing her passport to travel to America, yep, that’s a physical flow of
globalisation.
Even though my mother has lived
in Australia since she was 3, she still has many Kiwi traits. This being the
love for kiwi sporting teams and the love for different food then the country she
is now living and grew up in such as Yams and Perky Nanas (it’s a chocolate
bar). This reminds my of Giddens definition of Globalisation presented in
Rantanen where he states “as the intensification of world-wide social
relations, which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings
are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. (Giddens, 1990,
p. 64 Cited in Rantanen, 2005, p. 6). When interviewing my mother it was evident
that this flow has affected her life. She expressed that the Physical Flow of
Globalisation has changed her life completely. She states this is due to
growing up as an Australian rather then a New Zealander. I asked her the
question do you feel more like an Aussie or Kiwi and she replied with Aussie.
She further commented that this is due to growing up and being educated and
recognizing herself as an Australian. She states that being Australian is all
she has known throughout her life.
By conducting this quick
interview with my mother on Physical Flows of Globalisation it is evident that
this flow has impacted her life directly as through this flow she grew up and
recognizes her self with a different country then where she was born.
Reference List:
-Rantanen, T
2005, The Media and Globalization, Sage,
London.
-Rockefeller,
S A 2011, ‘”Flow”’, Current Anthropology,
vol. 52, no. 4, p. 560.
-Interview with
Mitchell, L. 26/7/2013.
I enjoyed reading this piece as it is straightforward and easy to follow. I found that your general discussion about what globalisation is and your personal take on it at the start of your piece helped me get my bearings about what globalisation is. We had similar case studies (my mum migrated from England when she was four) so I liked how I could compare my mother’s experience of physical flows of globalisation with yours. Relevant use of scholarly material (the use of Giddens is strong) and good call for listing your interview as a source – I forgot that!
ReplyDeleteWell written Andrew! Introducing the concept of physical flows in globalisation before the discussion made it easy to understand the concept and the discussion afterwards, great idea to use your mother as the subject for this post too. I found the topic of public flows and identity really interesting, as I am also caught between several different cultures and identities. But like your mother, in the end I consider myself Australian, as it’s where the majority of my life is spent and where I feel the greatest connection.
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