Cultural exchange via the Silk Road Pictures of the Wind God (left to right) from Greece, Central Asia and Japan.

Two definitions of the term “globalization” A social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding. Malcolm Waters, Globalization (1995) “Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.” Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity (1991), p. 64

Malcolm Waters (1995): Three dimensions of globalization Economic globalization: the rise of world finance markets and free-trade zones, the global exchange of goods, and the rapid growth of transnational corporations Political globalization: the nation-state is being superseded by international organizations (e.g. the United Nations, the European Union, the WTO…) and the rise of global politics Cultural globalization: the flow of information, signs, and symbols around the world and reactions to that flow

Possible consequences of globalization Philip Smith, Cultural Theory (2001), p.231 Homogenization Hybridization Reaffirmation of difference and the local as a defensive reaction to globalization

In 1984, Iceland established the “Icelandic Language Institute” In 1984, Iceland established the “Icelandic Language Institute”. Its task should be to “preserve” the purity of the Icelandic language examples: sími - (long thread) > telephone skrifstofa  - (skrif writing + stofa small room) > office alnæmi – (al all + næmi sensitivity, responsiveness) > AIDS tölva – (tala number + völva soothsayer) > computer