LESSON 6:

GLOBAL IMAGINARY
AND GLOBAL VILLAGE
GLOBAL IMAGINARY
AND GLOBAL VILLAGE
As we have seen, one of the most
important consequences of
communication media for
globalization has been: through
media, the people of the world
came to know of the world.
GLOBAL IMAGINARY
AND GLOBAL VILLAGE
That is, people have needed to be able
to truly imagine the world – and
imagine themselves acting in the world
– for globalization to proceed.
Globalization and
Communication Media
Globalization refers to the
increasing interconnectedness
and interdependence of countries
and societies worldwide,
encompassing economic, political,
cultural, and social aspects.
 For globalization to advance,
individuals need to have a genuine
understanding and awareness of the
world beyond their immediate
surroundings.
Globalization and
Communication Media
Communication media have
provided a means for people to
access information, news, and
perspectives from various parts
of the world.
AGENTS OF CHANGE
For individuals to actively participate in the process of
globalization, they need to be able to envision
themselves as agents of change in the global context.
"Agents of change" refers to individuals
or groups who actively contribute to
and drive the processes and
transformations associated with
globalization.
Communication media, by providing information
and enabling communication across borders, have
allowed people to imagine themselves engaging
with the world, understanding their role in shaping
global processes, and influencing global issues.
HOW CAN AGENTS OF
CHANGE TRANSFORM
GLOBALIZATION?
 AGENTS OF CHANGE CAN TRANSFORM
GLOBALIZATION IN SEVERAL WAYS
Shaping policies and Encouraging sustainable
1 institutions 4 development

Promoting inclusivity and Empowering local

2 equity 5 communities

Fostering cross-cultural Utilizing technology and

3 understanding 6 connectivity
Greta Thunberg:
The Swedish environmental activist Greta
Thunberg has become a prominent agent of
change in the global movement against climate
change. Through her Fridays for Future
campaign and powerful speeches, she has
mobilized millions of young people worldwide
to demand action from governments and
corporations to address the climate crisis.
Cosmopolitanism
In this perspective, the media have not only physically
linked the globe with cables, broadband, and wireless
networks,
but have also linked the globe with stories,
images, myths, and metaphors.
Cosmopolitanism
The media are helping to bring about a
fundamentally new imaginary, what scholar
Manfred Steger (2008) has called a "rising
global imaginary" – the globe itself as
imagined community.
Cosmopolitanism
In the past, only a few, privileged people thought of
themselves as ‘cosmopolitan’ – citizens of the world.
"Cosmopolitan" refers to a perspective or attitude that is
characterized by a recognition and embrace of diverse cultures,
ideas, and identities from around the world. Cosmopolitanism is
now a feature of modern life. People imagine themselves
as part of the world.
WHY IN THE PAST, ONLY A FEW,
PRIVILEGED PEOPLE THOUGHT
OF THEMSELVES AS
‘COSMOPOLITAN’?
IN THE PAST, ONLY A FEW PRIVILEGED PEOPLE
THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES AS 'COSMOPOLITAN' OR
CITIZENS OF THE WORLD DUE TO SEVERAL REASONS:

• Limited Access to Information

• Geographical and Cultural Barriers
• Nationalistic Sentiments
• Limited Exposure to Global Issues
• Socioeconomic Factors
Cosmopolitanism
This shared understanding of the world as an imagined
community promotes cosmopolitanism, where individuals see
themselves as part of a global society.
The ability of media to disseminate diverse perspectives and
experiences contributes to this collective imagination and
encourages individuals to actively engage in global affairs.
GLOBAL IMAGINARY
Imagined Community
Benedict Anderson is political
scientist and historian who
lived and taught in the United
States. He wrote the book
'Imagined Communities' which
focuses on nations and
nationalism
Nationalism and Imagined
Communities
According to Anderson's theory of
imagined communities, the main
causes of nationalism are the
movement to abolish the
Nationalism and Imagined
Communities
ideas of rule by divine right and
hereditary monarchy, and the
emergence of printing press
capitalism.
Nationalism and Imagined
Communities
Initially, the history of society
and politics were based on the
existence of a common
religion.
Nationalism and Imagined Communities

From this, Anderson argues that in the presence and

development of technology, people started to think what
really is history and politics.
With the emergence of the printing press and
capitalism, people gained national consciousness
regarding the common values that bring those
people together.
Nationalism and Imagined Communities

The Imagined Communities started with the creation of

their own nation print-languages that each individual
spoke. That helped develop the first forms of
known nation-states, who then created their own
form of art, novels, publications, mass media, and
communications.
 Nation as an Imagined Community
Anderson defined a nation as "an imagined political
community." As Anderson puts it, a nation "is
imagined because the members of even the smallest
nation will never know most of their fellow-members,
meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each
lives the image of their communion."
 Global Imaginary
The concept of “global imaginary” as
coined by Manfred Steger, refers to the
consciousness of belonging to a
global community—a
consciousness that has emerged in
recent decades with the rapid rise
of communication technologies and
the decline of nation-based political
ideologies.
 Global Imaginary
The concept builds on Benedict
Anderson’s theories of “imagined
communities,” but while Anderson
used the term to refer to shared
ideologies within nations, Steger
posits that globalization is breaking
down the imagined walls of
nationhood and bringing about “a
shared sense of a thickening world
community.”
 Global Imaginary
One artist and scholar has focused on visual culture as a
way to understand the concept of “global imaginary.”
Tommaso Durante’s project, the Visual Archive Project of the
Global Imaginary, explores the visual evidence, through
photographs, of the cultural changes happening worldwide
as a result of globalization. The photographs encompassing
the cultural dimension are full of people, advertisements,
storefronts, public spaces, and symbols that represent
merging nationalities and ideologies.
 Global Imaginary
Through the images, we see how symbols and cultural icons
stretch across the boundaries of nations and create a
shared global visual landscape.

Global imaginary refers to the belief that one is a member of a global

community and not just of one's own nation state
GLOBAL VILLAGE
• What is Global Village?
• What is its relation to
Globalization?
Global + Village
Global - of, relating to, or involving the
entire world: WORLDWIDE

Village - a settlement usually larger than a

hamlet and smaller than a town
an incorporated minor municipality
 What is Global Village?
The term global village has been used to express
the idea that people throughout the world are
interconnected through the use of new media
technologies. The term was coined in the early
1960s by Canadian media theorist Marshall
McLuhan, who was writing about the newer
technologies of his day, such as radio and
television.
"The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the
image of a global village."
-Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962)
A Methaporic Idea of Utopia
The global village,
McLuhan felt, would bring
about a utopia. Drawn
closely together by media,
people would be like
neighbors, living in ‘a
Pentecostal condition of
universal understanding Utopia means an ideal commonwealth whose
inhabitants exist under seemingly perfect
and unity’ (1964: 80). conditions. Hence, impossibly idealistic.
What is an ALMOST utopian
society for you?
PILIPINAS KUNG
Understanding the Implications of
Global Village
• Reach some sort of consensus as a
global village.
• Addressing issues that will benefit the
whole village.
• Further development of
communication.
• The world connects through global
resource and global economy.
• Better opportunities
 EXPECTATION vs REALITY
Aside from Mcluhan. Mumford too found
utopian hope in media technology. He too
hoped for a village like world of community
and grace. However, Mumford watched with
dismay as a media technology was used
instead for
CAPITALISM
MILITARISM
PROFIT
POWER
 However, globalization and media are
producing a macabre marriage of the visions
of Mumford and Mcluhan. As Mcluhan
predicted, media and globalization have
connected the world and its people from end
to end so that we can indeed imagine the
world as a village.