Essay #3-Keitris Weathersbe-A Globalized Culture within a 'Subtle' Empire

A Globalized Culture within a ?Subtle? Empire

            Questions have been raised as to whether a global culture exists.  This single question was explored by Mike Featherstone in his article Global Culture: An Introduction.  In regards to New York City, several cultures are meshed together to form one entity; one city.  From this, we have a globalization of several cultures, meaning the various cultures of New York City influence other areas of the world.  These influences range from technological to mediated to cultural.  As supported by Featherstone, ?it therefore may be possible to point to trans-societal cultural process which take a variety of forms? (Featherstone, 1990, p. 1).  Featherstone characterized these processes as sustaining ?the exchange and flow of goods, people, information knowledge and images which give rise to communication processes which gain some autonomy on a global level? (Featherstone, 1990, p. 1).  To expand on Featherstone?s claim, New York City has adapted to globalization.  However, an overall ?global? culture does not exist.  Each city, state, nation, etcetera, has its own cultural identity; e.g. New York City.  Featherstone (1990) refers to King (1990) and Hannerz (1989) in regards to global cultural centers.  New York City functions as a political, financial and popular culture global center.  Being a global cultural center, New York City is placed in position where globalization is inevitable. 

            New York City could be considered a globalized culture within a subtle empire; the United States being the empire.   As discussed by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri (2000), ?many locate the ultimate authority that rules over the process of globalization and the new world order in the United States? (p. xii).  A remaining question is whether or not the U.S. as an authority hinders or encourages the globalization processes of New York City.  For starters, since the large movement of over 20 million immigrants through Ellis Island from the 1890s to 1950s, New York City with the help of the U.S., has embraced diversity and cultural differences within its city borders (history.com ?Ellis Island?).  From this embrace comes an increasing population, an increase in scholars and technological innovators from different cultural and intellectual backgrounds to the city, and the opportunity for New York City?s influence on the rest of the world.  Ellis Island and what it once represented was disputed by the United States Supreme Court in 1998, in regards to its jurisdiction (Wikipedia ?Ellis Island?). 

Again, there was a question over sovereignty and the United State?s role in New York City affairs.  Hardt and Negri (2000) discuss a new ?global form of sovereignty? as an empire (p. xii).  According to the two authors, empire is seen as concept and its ?rule has no limits? (p. xiv).  In once an imperialistic form, the United States has for some time controlled several areas of its territories or states.  Each state, of course, has its own ?set of rules, or government, but it is the central authoritative power of the U.S. government that holds these "united states" together.  In relation to New York City and the rest of the world, the United States ?does indeed occupy a privileged position in Empire? (Hardt and Negri, 2000, p. xiv).  The U.S. as a ?free? nation provides its citizens and individual states the opportunity to network with other nations of the world, creating flows of global exchanges of culture, media, money and technology.

References

Featherstone, M.  (1990). Global Culture:  An Introduction.  In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global Culture:  Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity, 7, 1-14.

Hardt, Michael, and Negri, Antonio (2000).  ?Preface? (pp.xi-xvii) and Part I  (pp. 1-66), Empire.  Cambridge, MA and London, England:  Harvard University Press.  Online:  http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/~wiley/courses/447/hardtnegri2000.pdf.

http://www.history.com/minisites/ellisisland/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Island#Immigration

Posted at 09:15PM Jun 07, 2007 by WEATHERSBE, KEITRIS in General  |  Comments[3]