1. Globalization Shifts (contd) Cultural Dimension Norms Values

2. Rationalism  Reflexivity The relevance of rationalism Types of knowledge; explanation and understanding The impact of critical thought

3. The return of religion? Cultural marker ”Reaction against the encroachments by global forces” The importance of context; examples: Iran, Eastern Europe

4. Ecocentrism Challenging the consequences of unreflecting rationality James Lovelock: Gaia Theory/Hypothesis Sustainable development The alternatives offered by traditional outlooks

5. Postmodernism Objective truths (fields of knowledge, again) Judging culture (objective criteria? High/elite/popular/accessible) The relevance of relativism (constructivism, once more)

6. Reflexive rationalism Solution or compromise? Self-questioning, self-critical Challenging instrumental rationality; the moral aspects ”Evagenlical scientism” (excessive faith in efficiency, productivity)

7. Ontology and Methodology Perceptions of Space/Time (expanding? Shrinking?) Interdisciplinarity (the rigidity of borders; the clarity of outline) Global learning

8. Globalization and culture (contd) Aspects of integration: world music, world literature, world art The return of world history: clarifying ongoing processes of cultural diffusion The relevance of the historical perspective (acceleration of earlier changes?)

9. Migration Revealing cracks in ethnic identity Process of homogenization or hybridization Nations states as a ”grid … temporarily superimposed upon a deeper and ongoing stratum of human migrations and diasporas” (Pieterse 34). The challenges of multiculturalism

10. Clash of civilizations Samuel Huntington (1993 paper Incommensurable systems (Christian, Chinese [Confucian-Taoist-Buddhist], Islamic, Hindu, Japanese [Shinto-Buddhist-Confucian], Latin American syncretism and non-Islamist African) Controversial (part of a longer tradition, A. Toynbee, etc)

11. McDonaldization Standardization? Integration/multiculturalism Glocalization Deterritorialization/reterritorialization

12. Globalizations Plural Uneven process Context-dependent (fields of knowledge, spheres of creation, types of activity) Global memory (the return of world-history as a genre); shared global experiences Cultural expressions/products facilitating this kind of sharing

13. The risks of backlash The beginning of a proces (possible reactions, real drawbacks, promising opportunities) The impact on issues of security, equality, democracy The importance of cultural diffusion and encounters; redefining aspects of assimilation, tolerance, hybridization