CHAPTER ONE: CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY



CHAPTER 1: CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY

Questions for discussion

1. In what ways is the global village concept of today different from that originally conceptualized by Marshall McLuhan? What are the positive and negative consequences of a ‘global village’?

2. Think about the actions and activities which you have participated in today, such as getting up, checking your email, coming to university, and so forth. What evidence of cultural diversity do they reveal? (e.g., drove Korean car, eating Thai food, working on a group project with international students, etc.). What challenges does cultural diversity create for our lives today?

3. Held and McGrew identified three perspectives on globalization: a globalist perspective, a traditional perspective and a transformationalist perspective. Which perspective(s) do you prefer to take? Why?

4. Globalization raises many questions and challenges. Have information and communication technologies brought us closer together or encouraged diversification based upon our differences? What challenges do we face now as members of a global village?

5. In what ways do you believe immigrants bring changes to the culture of their host society? Provide examples based on your own experience. Do immigrants have to be accepted into the mainstream society for the mainstream culture to be affected? Why or why not?

6. To what extent do you think migrants should maintain their ethnic cultural traditions and practices? To what extent should they adapt to their new society?

7. (About the Case Study): Australia has welcome migrants from a range of cultures, particularly European and Asian cultures. What effect do you think this has had on Australian society?

8. (About the Case Study): Indigenous Australians are still largely discriminated against, and consistently have lower life expectancies, lower educational levels and poor health than many other Australians. Do you think this is different to migrants? Why do you think this might be?

Activities

1. Examine the first few pages of a newspaper or the headlines of a local news website. What does the newspaper reveal about issues of cultural diversity in your society? Is it accepted or encouraged? What evidence in the newspaper supports this?

2. What potential problems or difficulties might occur in a multi-cultural workplace? In groups, brainstorm a list then chose one from the list. What solutions can you suggest for this problem?

3. If you are an international student, you can probably draw upon your own experiences for this activity. Otherwise, imagine you are going to spend a year at a university in a country quite different from your own. What cultural information would you want to know about your destination when you arrive? Come up with a list of ideas then rank order them. Discuss your list with your classmates and justify your ranking for each item.

4. Divide the class into two groups. One group believes that immigrants should be encouraged to maintain their heritage culture. The other group believes immigrants should all assimilate into the host culture. Have the two groups debate the two perspectives.

5. Name one type of cultural customs or rituals from your culture, which might seem strange or be misinterpreted by people outside your culture. Share this information with the class.

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