Blogging through Media Trends and Globalization (2026)

1. What I Understood from the Reading and Class Before reading Tomlinson, I thought of culture as something that just gets affected by globalization. The economy moves first, and culture follows. Tomlinson says this is not really right. He argues that economic activity is also cultural, because when people buy things like jeans or a phone, they are choosing based on how they want to see themselves. And when a lot of people make those kinds of choices, it actually changes the global market. So culture is not only influenced by globalization, it also pushes globalization. He also disagrees with the idea that globalization will turn the whole world into one Western or American culture. His point is that selling a product everywhere is different from people actually living the culture behind it. People take the same product and use it in their own way. He also says that many old ideas of a "global culture" were actually one culture thinking it was the whole world. One example was...

1. What I Learned from the Reading From this article, I learned that political globalization is changing how politics works.  Today, many political issues involve more than one country. As countries become more connected, some issues also need different  countries and organizations to work together. Political globalization is not only  about closer connections between countries. It also changes the relationships  between states, individuals, and different organizations. Globalization has not made states unimportant. States are still an important  part of politics, but they cannot deal with every issue on their own. States still  have political power and their own systems, but many activities and issues  now cross national borders. International organizations, NGOs, and social  movements also take part in political activities, so governments are no longer  the only actors. Citizenship, political communication, and global civil society are ...

  1. Summary Before reading about political globalization, I mostly thought politics was something decided inside each country. A government makes its own laws and policies, and other countries cannot simply tell it what to do. After reading this topic, I still think states are very important, but I understand more clearly that politics today does not stop at national borders. Globalization makes countries much more connected than before. A country can decide its own immigration policy, visa rules or economic policy, but these decisions can affect other countries and sometimes lead to a response. For example, if one country changes its visa policy or raises visa fees for another country, the other government may also change its own policy. The two countries are still making separate decisions, but those decisions are influencing each other. For me, this is one simple way to understand political globalization. Another important point is that politics is no longer only about governme...

Summary of the Reading In “Cultural Globalization,” John Tomlinson explains that globalization is a growing network of connections among people and societies. These connections involve the economy, politics, technology, the environment, and culture. He argues that culture is not simply affected by globalization. Culture also helps create it. People make choices based on what they value and how they understand themselves, and many individual choices together can shape global markets and relationships. Tomlinson questions the idea that globalization will produce one uniform world culture. The spread of the same brands or entertainment across countries does not mean that everyone accepts the same values. People interpret cultural products through their own experiences. He also introduces “deterritorialization”: culture is becoming less tightly tied to one geographical place. Through travel and media, distant events and ideas enter everyday local life. This changes how people experience th...

1. Summary After reading “What Is Globalization?” by Roland Robertson and Kathleen E. White, I learned that globalization means people and countries around the world are becoming more connected. It is not only about business and trade. It is also about culture, technology, travel, and communication. Today, we can easily learn about other countries through the internet and social media. For example, we can watch foreign movies, listen to music from other countries, and talk to people who live far away. Many products are also made in one country and sold in another. However, globalization does not always bring good results for everyone. Some people and countries can get more opportunities, but others may have difficulties. Different people also have different opinions about globalization. I think globalization makes the world more connected, but it also brings some problems. 2. What I Learned Before this class, I thought globalization was mostly about business and money. Now I unde...

1. Summary After reading John Tomlinson’s chapter “Cultural Globalization” and thinking about what we have learned in class, I think culture and globalization are closely connected. Globalization allows people from different countries to communicate with each other more easily. Through the internet, movies, music, social media, and international travel, people can learn about different cultures without visiting other countries. At the same time, culture also influences how globalization develops. People do not always accept foreign ideas and lifestyles in the same way. They understand new cultural influences based on their own traditions, values, and experiences. For example, when people watch foreign movies or listen to foreign music, they may enjoy them but still keep their own cultural habits. Globalization can also make some cultural products popular around the world. For example, Korean music, Japanese animation, and American movies have audiences in many countries. This shows...

  1. Summary Affer rading Roland Robertson and Kathleen E. White’s chapter, I think globalization is an essentially contested concept, which means scholars cannot fully agree on one single definition across different regions and academic fields. Perspectives towards globalization also vary between developing and developed societies, so some scholars even prefer to use the plural “globalizations” to highlight these diverging viewpoints. Lots of people I know only see globalization as nothing more than free ‑ trade policies and the operations of large multinational companies. However, the authors point out that this one ‑ sided, purely economic understanding is too narrow. It leaves out important cultural, social and political shifts that come along with global development, which are frequently ignored in popular public discussions and media reports. Learing from the PDF, Globalization is a long ‑ running social process built on two key elements: connectivity and global conscious...