Everyday Globalization

Globalization and Everyday Life provides an accessible account of globalization by developing two themes in particular. First, globalization is an outcome of structural and cultural processes that manifest in different ways in economy, politics, culture and organizations. So the globalized world is increasingly heterogeneous, unequal and conflictual rather than integrated and ordered. Secondly, globalization is sustained and created by the everyday actions of people and institutions. Both of these have far-reaching consequences for everyday life and are fully explored in this volume. Larry Ray skilfully guides students through the various aspects of the globalization debate and illustrates key arguments with reference to specific topics including nation, state and cosmopolitanism, virtual societies, transnationals and development. This innovative book provides this information in a clear and concise manner suitable for the undergraduate student studying sociology, social geography, globalization and development studies.

Everyday Globalization is a micro-sociological study of immigrant neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Paris. Global flows of people bring together cultural practices from distant places and urban dwellers in global cities interpret the signs of collective identity in ascribing particular places as "immigrant neighborhoods." This book examines the spatial semiotics of identity in urban public space that make this possible. Unlike other studies of globalization and cities, this work brings together research on the social psychology of groups, linguistic landscapes, and quotidian mobility to explain how urban dwellers encounter cultural differences. Signs of social identity are always interpreted in the context of group boundaries and the appropriation of public space. The breadth of this analysis contributes to the literature in human geography on the meaningfulness of places. This book will also be of interest to scholars and students in visual sociology. In addition, this research demonstrates an innovative method for studying everyday urban experience.

Everyday Globalization is a micro-sociological study of immigrant neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Paris. Global flows of people bring together cultural practices from distant places and urban dwellers in global cities interpret the signs of collective identity in ascribing particular places as "immigrant neighborhoods." This book examines the spatial semiotics of identity in urban public space that make this possible. Unlike other studies of globalization and cities, this work brings together research on the social psychology of groups, linguistic landscapes, and quotidian mobility to explain how urban dwellers encounter cultural differences. Signs of social identity are always interpreted in the context of group boundaries and the appropriation of public space. The breadth of this analysis contributes to the literature in human geography on the meaningfulness of places. This book will also be of interest to scholars and students in visual sociology. In addition, this research demonstrates an innovative method for studying everyday urban experience.

In this elegant, lucidly argued account, Teresa Brennan argues that the evidence already exists that globalization has for years been harming not just the poor of the third world but also its alleged beneficiaries in the affluent west.

This powerful, unsettling book gives us a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of global financial institutions by the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. When it was first published, this national bestseller quickly became a touchstone in the globalization debate. Renowned economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz had a ringside seat for most of the major economic events of the last decade, including stints as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the World Bank. Particularly concerned with the plight of the developing nations, he became increasingly disillusioned as he saw the International Monetary Fund and other major institutions put the interests of Wall Street and the financial community ahead of the poorer nations. Those seeking to understand why globalization has engendered the hostility of protesters in Seattle and Genoa will find the reasons here. While this book includes no simple formula on how to make globalization work, Stiglitz provides a reform agenda that will provoke debate for years to come. Rarely do we get such an insider's analysis of the major institutions of globalization as in this penetrating book. With a new foreword for this paperback edition.

The internet has fundamentally transformed society in the past 25 years, yet existing theories of mass or interpersonal communication do not work well in understanding a digital world. Nor has this understanding been helped by disciplinary specialization and a continual focus on the latest innovations. Ralph Schroeder takes a longer-term view, synthesizing perspectives and findings from various social science disciplines in four countries: the United States, Sweden, India and China. His comparison highlights, among other observations, that smartphones are in many respects more important than PC-based internet uses. Social Theory after the Internet focuses on everyday uses and effects of the internet, including information seeking and big data, and explains how the internet has gone beyond traditional media in, for example, enabling Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to come to power. Schroeder puts forward a sophisticated theory of the role of the internet, and how both technological and social forces shape its significance. He provides a sweeping and penetrating study, theoretically ambitious and at the same time always empirically grounded.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media and society, the internet and politics, and the social implications of big data.

Larry Ray explains the meaning and significance of globalization as a concept and discusses the key debates, while pointing towards new ways of understanding the process.

What can comedy tell us about the politics of a nation? In this book, James Brassett builds on his prize-winning research to demonstrate how British comedy can provide intimate and vital understandings of the everyday politics of globalization in Britain. The book explores British comedy and Britain’s global politics from post-war imperial decline through to its awkward embrace of globalization, examining a wide variety of comedic mediums, such as the popular television show The Office and the online satire The Daily Mash. Touching on issues such as empire, the class system and capitalism, the author demonstrates how comedy offers valuable insights on how global market life is experienced, mediated, contested and accommodated.