A pervasive force, globalization has come to represent the export and import of culture, the speed and intensity of which has increased to unprecedented levels in recent years. Here an international panel of intellectuals consider the process of globalization and how the global character of technology, communication networks, consumer culture, intellectual discourse, the arts, and mass entertainment have all been affected by recent worldwide trends. Photos.

Globalization is now widely discussed but the debates often remain locked within particular disciplinary discourses. This book brings together for the first time a social theory and cultural studies approach to the understanding of globalization. The book starts with an analysis of the relationship between the globalization process and contemporary culture change and goes on to relate this to debates about social and cultural modernity. At the heart of the book is a far-reaching analysis of the complex, ambiguous "lived experience" of global modernity. Tomlinson argues that we can now see a general pattern of the dissolution between cultural experience and territorial location. The "uneven" nature of this experience is discussed in relation to first and third world societies, along with arguments about the hybridization of cultures, and special role of communications and media technologies in this process of "deterritorialization". Globalization and Cultureconcludes with a discussion of the cultural politics of cosmopolitanism. Accessibly written, this book will be of interest to second year undergraduates and above in sociology, media studies, cultural and communication studies, and anyone interested in globalization.

Much has been written about the economic and political implications of the contemporary process of globalization. Much less has been written about the specific cultural implications. Previously published as a special issue of Globalizations, this book seeks to add to our knowledge of the latter by bringing together researchers from different disciplines with the common goal of exploring the emerging cultural relations among groups and individuals in terms of coherence and hybridity, identity and allegiance, and cooperation and conflict. As the world’s peoples increasingly travel, work, trade, recreate, and otherwise communicate with each other, relative cultural isolation (and isolationism) is becoming less and less possible. What does this mean for cultural coherence, stability and identity across the planet? What have been the cultural implications of, and reactions to, this increasing global interdependence among peoples? From more global and theoretical perspectives to more empirical and case-specific approaches, the various authors attempt to come to terms with the ever evolving and complex cultural content of contemporary globalization.

We live in a world that is marked by the twin processes of economic and cultural globalization. In this thought provoking book, Kumaravadivelu explores the impact of cultural globalization on second and foreign language education.

Paul Hopper leads the reader through the varied issues associated with globalization and culture, including deterritorialization, cosmopolitanism, cultural hybridization and homogenization as well as claims that aspects of globalization are provoking cultural resistance.

Globalization and “Minority” Cultures: The Role of “Minor” Cultural Groups in Shaping Our Global Future is a collective work which brings to the forefront of global studies new perspectives on the relationship between globalization and the experiences of cultural minorities worldwide.

This book is the first comprehensive account of how Anglo-American popular music transformed Italian cultural life. Drawing on neglected archival materials, the author explores the rise of new musical tastes and social divisions in late twentieth century Italy. The book reconstructs the emergence of pop music magazines in Italy and offers the first in-depth investigation of the role of critics in global music cultures. It explores how class, gender, race and geographical location shaped the production and consumption of music magazines, as well as critics’ struggle over notions of expertise, cultural value and cosmopolitanism. Globalization, Music and Cultures of Distinction provides an innovative framework for studying how globalization transforms cultural institutions and aesthetic hierarchies, thus breaking new ground for sociological and historical research. It will be essential reading for scholars and students interested in cultural sociology, popular music, globalization, media and cultural studies, social theory and contemporary Italy.