Topographies of Globalization : Politics, Culture and Language

by Valur Ingimundarson; Loftsdottir, Kristin; Irma Erlingsdottir

• ISBN13: 9789979545781
• ISBN10: 997954578X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: David Brown Book Co

Summary

The term 'globalization' has been used to describe the intensification of cross-border flows - whether in the realm of ideas, culture, finance/trade, or human mobility. Like many other vital ideas, such as nationalism and modernization, globalization is fraught with controversy. But no matter where one stands, it is a site of an ongoing intellectual endeavor of definition, interpretation and redefinition - a contested terrain that continues to have profound, if unequal, impact on people's lives around the world. Given the inherent tension between the global and local, this phenomenon is perhaps more accurately explained by the conceptual hybrid 'globalization'. The diverse contributions in this volume are an attempt to come to grips with some of the implications of this process by problematizing and engaging it. It grew out of an interdisciplinary conference on globalization held at the University of Iceland in late autumn 2002 as part of an international research project co-ordinated by GERM (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Mondialisations), involving a large group of academics, universities, and institutions. The volume emphasizes specific aspects of the globalization debate: politics, culture, gender, and language/translation. One focus - articulated among others by Zygmunt Bauman - is on the reconfigurations of political power relationships between the West and the Rest, the 'war on terror' and conflict resolution, whether in the name of peacekeeping, nation-building or identity changes. Another theme involves the problematization of the culture concept, its place in the public domain, and the redefinition of identities as a result of globalization. A third aspect dealswith attempts to illuminate how globalization processes may deepen gender, class and race inequalities in the absence of binding rules and collective social responsibility. Finally, the focus is on the changing attitudes toward

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 7
Introduction	p. 9
The Politics of 'Mutually Assured Vulnerability'
Living (Occasionally Dying) Together in a Full World	p. 33
From MAD to Nomad: 9-11 and the Future of the Western Alliance	p. 47
'The Last Colony in Europe': The New Empire, Democratization, and Nation-Building in Kosovo	p. 67
Conflict as a Way of Life, or the Irony of Conflict Resolution	p. 93
Ethics and Power: Problems Concerning the Foundations of Morals	p. 119
Cultures, Identities and Space
Mobilities and Cultural Difference: Immigrants' Experiences in Iceland	p. 133
'This Time It's Different': Globalization, Power and Mobility	p. 149
Privatization or Sharing of Cultural Identities and Diversity	p. 163
Global Cultural Economics	p. 171
Contextualizing Inequality and Gender
The Informalization of the Urban Space	p. 185
The European Employment Strategy from a Gender Perspective	p. 207
The Gendered Implications of Globalization: Vulnerability and Interdependence	p. 229
Language and Translation in a Mediatized World
A Somewhat New Concept of Concepts and Signs (and their Implications for Translating)	p. 247
Moving in-between: The [Community] Interpreter as Intercultural Negotiator	p. 255
Translating Translation	p. 267
English as a Dead Language	p. 279
Icelandic Language Policy and the Media	p. 291
Contributors	p. 303
Index	p. 309
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