Information Technology and Cultural Imperialism
At what point does information technology become not merely convenient, but
indispensable in societies? That is, can countries that have previously been
isolated geographically, culturally, and / or economically continue to do so by
“opting-out” of the very technologies that are pulling the world together now? Do
countries have a right to national isolation, if they choose it? Can they still retain
the values and traditions of their culture if they instead opt to modernize and
embrace information technologies? Or, will such a convergence of similar
technologies gradually force more similarities between societies, potentially
resulting in a loss of cultural distinctiveness? These are questions that concern me.
In Society and Technological Change, Rudi Volti refers to these issues as
being ones of convergence theory. He states that, “Although the world’s nations
have different histories and cultural orientations, they are becoming more similar
to each other [that is, converging] as they make use of the same technologies”
(268). Essentially, he argues that in modern society, convergence theory is often
equated with Westernization by default, due to most technologically advanced
countries being from the West—with the notable exception of Japan. The problem
is that countries view the ongoing invasion of foreign media and technologies as
nothing less than an overt threat to their cultures and ways of life. They equate
modernization with Westernization with Americanization, and see their own
values continually being assimilated into and moulded by the U.S.
This phenomenon is often referred to as “cultural imperialism,” “lipstick
imperialism,” or “aping the West.”...
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Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony and Balkin’s theory of cultural software both examine the evolution of ideologies and their impact within a society through different perspectives. Gramsci’s approach focuses on the concept of hegemony, whereby gaining the consent of the people forms the means of gaining political and economical control. This approach is the point of contention in Balkin’s analysis, where Balkin criticises the concept of hegemony as being to monolithic and homogenous,. Instead, he puts forth his approach of studying ideology via the presence of injustice as a better alternative. This paper thus serves to look into the validities of Balkin’s claims with regards to Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony.
The Internet, originally arising from the American military, has grown to a main source of communication for millions around the world and has helped in creating a global village. The Internet started gaining fast acceptance in the 1990's especially in North America. Countries such as China however, still have limited access and control over the contents on the internet allowed ...
To understand cultural imperialism is to understand the diaspora of man across the globe along with the socially darwinistic interactions that follow. Modern homo-sapiens left the plains of Africa a mere sixty-thousand years ago. Today mankind populates six continents hundreds of islands with a seemingly endless ethnic diversity. But what comes of a culture that is antiquated on a global scale that comes to interact with a more advanced civilization. The Americas prior to 1492 where home to millions of indigenous people with wide spread and diverse cultures speaking over two-thousand languages. With western colonization of the Americas came disease and enslavement of the indigenous peoples. The enslavement, genocide and oppression the natives faced under the Europeans lasted for over five hundred years. Even the birth of civilized nations did little to stop the oppression as the United States military famously marched millions of natives to reserves in Oklahoma in what became known as the trail of tears. The innate nature of mankind is rather troublesome and largely counter-productive. We are extremely social animals yet instead of
In today's society, the way in which information is spread drastically differs from that of yesterday, especially in different parts of the world - more specifically, the Commonwealth of Nations.
The definition of the cultural imperialism in the Cambridge dictionary is simply as one “culture of a large and powerful country, organization, etc. having a great influence on another less powerful country." Yet to get the real and important meaning of cultural imperialism, we have to know more than its basic dictionary definition.
Gorman, Siobhan. "China Singled Out for Cyberspying." The Wall Street Journal 4 Nov. 2011. Print. (Source E)
As an amateur reporter for the school newspaper, I have had the opportunity to interview quite a variety of people on many different topics. One of my favorite questions to ask is, "What do you think has had the most influence on American culture?" Why do I like asking this particular question? The answer is simple: the variety and range of responses. While some answers are more interesting than others, I must say that I've learned quite a bit from all of them.
The aim of this study is to determine the differences between the Internet in China and the United States. China was chosen due to the restrictive and closely scrutinized nature of its Internet, in contrast to the internet in United States which has significantly more freedom and protected by the freedom of speech and expression. This study will include:
Grimes, R. (2012.), The 5 cyber-attacks you're most likely to face, Retrieved on February 28,
Since the 1990’s, the Chinese government has had systems in place that block, monitor, and filter the Internet inside/outside of China (Guobin 52). The ‘Great Firewall’, very well is the largest internet filte...
Crowther, G. Alexander, and Shaheen Ghori. "Detangling the web: a screenshot of U.S. government cyber activity." Joint Force Quarterly July 2015: 75+. War and Terrorism Collection. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "China Lists Controls To Restrict the Use Of E-mail and Web." The New York Times, 27 January 2000. Retrieved 26 April 2004.
been in many wars and conquest previous to this encounter allowing their wealth, territory, and
Technology and Culture have both influenced each other equally. The dictionary definition of culture is "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group." Any of the social forms or beliefs of a group may influence or in turn be influenced by a new technology. All technologies develop in a particular cultural context as the result of changing needs or constraints. However, once developed, a technology changes the culture that gave it birth. When a technology spreads to another culture, the cultural context affects the speed or way in which the technology is adopted and how it is used. The diffusion of technologies to other cultures changes those other cultures as well. The changes in culture