Pre-class blog Appadurai

As Americans, we are often (rightly so) accused of living in a bubble. We tend to also live in a Eurocentric/Western world as well. I have constantly heard that we must prepare for this "ever-increasing globalized world and economy" throughout multiple forms of media. There is no doubt that with increasing migration and movement of people due to environmental and conflict causes, areas are becoming more globalized. We have access to people, resources, and cultures more than ever before as Appadurai notes. Society is being characterized with change and movement and Appadurai is saying that there is also a lot of cultural relativity involved with this and a changing of culture in both parties (not just on one end).

Despite living in a bubble, I have also commonly heard that the United States is quite diverse and like a "melting pot of cultures." I agree that the U.S. possesses a diversity of peoples (it also leaves out a lot of people from the narrative). However, it does not necessarily contain a diversity of imagination and ideas/opinions (maybe just a lot of polarization). Touching back on Marx and Althusser's ideas on ideology being natural and permeating of everything within a culture, we have become overwhelmed by capitalism's economical and political control. In some sense, all of the "scapes" that Appadurai mentions are governed by capitalism. For example, the mediascape of the U.S. is controlled by major companies and conglomerates. Our ideoscape is then impacted by the ideas and information we receive from these sources. In addition, the idea of the Imaginary as Appadurai brings up, is tied to the idea of the (imagined) American Dream (This can also then impact immigration and influence ethnoscapes). This dream as we know, is yearned for even more by those who don't have it and not achievable or accessible to all. These are only a few examples.

Although I have slight trouble grasping some of Appadurai's opinions on globalization, the framework of five landscapes is helpful in understanding the context and implications of our globalizing world.


On my honor, I have not given nor received nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.
Renee Sang