THE

CONTEMPORARY WORLD
A Modular Approach

Angeline G. Regalado, Ph.D. þ Aphrile L. De Angel

DISCLAIMER/NON-DISCLOSURE:

This learning material is developed for the students of Aklan State University-College of Industrial
Technology for academic purposes only. Reproduction and distribution, e.g., photocopying and sharing
and forwarding of softcopy to Group Chat in Messenger, without the consent of the authors is
STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Preface

The CTCW, The Contemporary World, is a three-unit course that focuses on the
examination of the multifaceted phenomenon of globalization. Using the various disciplines of
the social sciences, it examines the economic, social, political, technological, and other
transformations that have created an increasing awareness of the interconnectedness of peoples
and places around the globe.

The core to the study of the world is the concept of globalization. The first module will
tackle this concept further. As the study of globalization progresses, we will bring your
concentration intentionally away from the Philippines. Many of the core courses of the new GE
curriculum, e.g., Philippine History, Rizal, Understanding Self, ask questions about yourself in a
national context. However, this course will challenge you to think beyond your country and ask
what it means to be a citizen of the world.

After each lesson, we provide questions to test your understanding and lesson retention
which you may wish to answer before the class. While you answer these questions on your
notebook or yellow paper, please do not lose the sight of the main question of the course: What
does it mean to be a citizen of the world? Please keep in mind as well that your answers will be
graded including your outputs. The assessment rubrics are found in the appendices page. As for
classroom activities, it will be up to your professor to integrate, conduct, and facilitate them.
 The majority of the materials you will discover are new and unfamiliar; this course will
be challenging! In spite of this, we hope that you will enjoy using this instructional material and
taking this course. May this material pose as a challenge to you, to go beyond the limit of our
country, and as you travel along the lessons, we encourage you to think of yourselves as a citizen
of the world.

ý The Authors

Table of Contents
Page

Module 1: Structures of Globalization

Lesson 1: Defining Globalization 6

Lesson 2: The World Economics and Globalization 10

Lesson 3: Global Politics: History to International Order 22

Lesson 4: The Contemporary Global Governance 35

Lesson 5: A World of Regions 43

References 53
Module 2: A World of Ideas: Cultures of Globalization

Lesson 6: The Globalization of Religion 57

Lesson 7: Global Media Culture 69

Lesson 8: The Global City 79

References 88

Module 3: Mobility & Sustainability

Lesson 9: Global Demography 90

Lesson 10: Global Migration 105

Lesson 11: Towards a Sustainable Development 117

Lesson 12: Global Citizenship 128

References 136

Appendices

Assessment Rubrics 138

 Module 1 will present you the different forces of the globalization process, with specific
focus on economics and politics as there are big institutions that create large-scale changes. This
module will first trace the emergence of these institutions historically. How they affect the
countries and people today will then further explain.

Module 1 Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Distinguish the different current strong forces of globalization; and

2. Evaluate the emergence of global economic and political systems.

þ Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 1. Specify the conceptions of globalization; and
2. Provide a personal experience of globalization.

· Time: 3 hours

A Working Definition Globalization

Globalization, in most accounts, is viewed as primarily an economic process. When a
newspaper reports that nationalists are resisting “globalization,” it usually refers to the
integration of the national markets to a wider global market signified by the increased free trade.
When activist refer to the “anti-globalization” movement of the 1990s, they mean resisting the
trade deals among countries facilitated and promoted by global organizations like the World
Trade Organization.

Many are sympathetic to the critique of economic globalization. Academic differ from
journalists and political activists, however, because they see globalization in much broader
terms. They view the process through various lenses that consider multiple theories and
perspectives. Academics call this an interdisciplinary approach, and it is this approach used by
the general education (GE) courses that you will be taking alongside this one.

The description of globalization, considered the best one by globalization scholars, is

provided by Manfred Steger (2005) who described the process as “the expansion and
intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and across world-space.”
Expansion refers to “both the creation of new social networks and the multiplication of existing
connections that cut across traditional political, economic, cultural, and geographical
boundaries.” These various connections occur at different levels.

Social media, for example, establish new global connections between people, while international
groups of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are networks that connect a more specific
group – social workers and activists – from different corners of the globe.

Not only the global connections multiplying, but they are also becoming more closely-
knit and expanding their reach. For example, there are always been a strong financial market
connecting London and New York. With the advent of electronic trading, however, the volume
of that trade increases exponentially, since traders can now trade more at higher speeds. The
connection is this accelerating. Apart from this acceleration, however, as the world becomes
more financially integrated, the intensified trading network between London and New York may
expand and stretch to cover more and more cities. After China, committed itself to the global
economy in the 1980s, for example, Shanghai steadily returned to its old role as a major trading
post.

It is not only financial matters that you can find these connections. In 2012, when the
monsoon rains flooded much of Bangkok, the Honda plant making some of the critical car parts
temporarily ceased production. This had a strong negative effect on Honda-USA which relied
heavily on the parts being imported from Thailand. Not only was it unable to reach the sales
targets it laid out, but the ability of the service centers nationwide to assist Honda owners also
suffered. As a result, the Japanese car company’s global profits also fell (BBC News, 2012).

The final attribute of this definition relates to the way people perceive time and space.
Steger notes that “globalization processes do not occur merely at an objective, material level but
they also involve the subjective plane of human consciousness.” In other words, people begin to
feel that the world has become a smaller place and distance has collapsed from thousands of
miles to just a mouse-click away. One can now e-mail a friend in another country and get a reply
instantaneously, and as a result, begins to perceive their distance as less consequential. Cable TY
and the internet has also exposed one to news from across the globe, so now, he/she has this
greater sense of what is happening on other places.

Steger’s definition of globalization must be differentiated with an ideology he calls

globalism. In globalization represents the many processes that allow for the expansion and
intensification of global connections, globalism is a widespread belief among powerful people
that the global integration of economic markets is beneficial for everyone, since it spreads
freedom and democracy across the world (International Monetary Fund Staff, 2008). It is a
common belief forwarded in media and policy circles.

In the next lesson, you will realize why it is problematic.

It is essential note is that when activists and journalists criticize “globalization,” they are,
more often than not, criticizing some manifestations of globalism. Often, these criticisms are
warranted. Nevertheless, it is crucial to insist that “globalization as a process refers to a larger
phenomenon that cannot simply be reduced to the ways in which global markets have been
assimilated.

Conclusion
These intersecting processes may be confusing. It is difficult to assess globalization or
comment on it because it is so diffuse and almost fleeting. Some scholars have, therefore, found
it simpler to avoid talking about globalization as a whole. Instead, they want to discuss “multiple
globalizations,” instead of just one process.

According to Arjun Appadurai, an anthropologist, different kinds of globalization occur

on multiple and intersecting dimensions of integration that he calls “scapes.” An “ethnoscape,”
for example, refers to the global movement of people, while a “mediascape” is about the flow
culture. A “technoscape” refers to the circulation of mechanical goods and software; a
“financescape” denotes the global circulation of money; and an “ideoscape” is the realm where
political ideas move around. Although they intersect, these various scapes have differing logics.
They are thus distinct windows into the broader phenomenon of globalization.

The argument is simple: there are multiple globalizations. Hence, even if one does not
agree that globalization can be divided into the five “scapes,” it is hard to deny Appadurai’s
central thrust of viewing globalization through various lenses.

A different dynamic/s may emerge, depending on what is being globalized. So while it is

important to ask “What is globalization?” it is likewise to ask “What is/are being globalized?”
Depending on what is being globalized, the vista and conclusions change.

 
´ COMPREHENSION CHECK

Date __________________

Name ____________________________ Course, Year, & Section ______________________

DISCUSSION

Instructions: On this answer sheet, answer the following questions. Five (5) points each
number. Please be guided by the rubrics for short answer test.

1. How have you experienced globalization? Please narrate your experience.

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2. Why it is important to emphasize that the concepts of globalization vary?

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3. What is the difference between globalization and globalism?

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“Is your home globalized?”

Steps:
1. Do a list of everything you have in your living room, for example, TV, sofa, magazines,
etc.

2. Classify to your list into two types: first “things” that are made in the Philippines and
second, those that are foreign brands. List the countries of origin of your foreign-brand
items.

3. Do the same thing for the kitchen and bedroom.

4. On your paper, preferably on a long bond paper, write and determine which countries
make the most household and personal needs you and your families have. Make a similar
list for Philippine-made stuff.

5. Lastly, discourse why certain items are made in the Philippines while others are from
abroad.