ANTH 4701 Chapter 11: Consumption and Globalization
Document Summary
Citizenship is increasingly defined in terms of consumption rather than democratic participation. Leisure geographies: cognitive maps of the city that influence our understanding of who should consume, what, where, and when. "local culture" of a neighborhood becomes something to consume. "slum tourism": wealthy tourists travel to low-income neighborhoods in search of authentic experiences and desire to engage in "pro-poor tourism: commodification of urban misery. Globalization: stretching and deepening of social relations across national borders so that everyday activities are more influenced by events at greater distances. Contemporary forms modeled by increased trade and transnational economic activity, faster and denser communication networks, and increased tensions between (and within) cultural groups due to intensified mutual exposure. Increasing interconnectedness in social, economic, and cultural terms, growing significance of global networks as compared to nation-states: mcdonaldization (standardization of social life and homogenization of culture across different societies) versus local appropriations of what was glossed as.
