Lu – Living-English Work

Lu, Min-Zhan. “Living-English Work.” College English 68 6 (2006): 605-18. Print. Lu begins by acknowledging that most monolingualist English-only efforts are politically motivated and involve “geopolitical, economic, and cultural transactions” (605).  Individuals who hope to use English in monolingualist environments are preoccupied by two questions:  “What counts as correct usage in the eyes of those in positions... Read More

Said – The Clash of Ignorance

Said, Edward. “The Clash of Ignorance.” The Nation. 4 Oct. 2001. Said first recognizes that Huntington’s 1993 article “The Clash of Civilizations” did much to articulate the new phase of global politics that would follow on the heels of the cold war.  Said then begins his (appropriate!) indictment of Huntington taking him to task for the sorts of oversimplification and binarism characteristic of Bernard Lewis’ article “The Roots... Read More

Huntington – The Clash of Civilizations?

Huntington, Samuel. “The Clash of Civilizations?.” Foreign Affairs 72 (1993): 22-50. In this controversial piece Huntington offers one central thesis:  “It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic.  The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural.  Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in... Read More

Appiah – The Case for Contamination

Appiah, Kwame. “The Case for Contamination.” The New York Times Magazine. 1 Jan. 2006. Appiah’s piece highlights the “contamination” of often over-romanticized indigenous cultures by globalizing influences.  Interestingly, Appiah is writing this piece in the shadow of UNESCOs recently approved convention on the protection and promotion of cultural diversity – a document that seeks to preserve native identities in the face of a... Read More

Watson – McDonald’s in Hong Kong

James L. Watson – McDonald’s in Hong Kong: Consumerism, Dietary Change, and the Rise of a Children’s Culture Considering the incredible pride the Cantonese hold in their food, Watson is curious why McDonald’s is such a popular restaurant in the region.  In considering this problem, Watson poses a couple of central questions for discussions of McWorld or homogenizing Western culture:  Is local culture under siege?  Are food changes creating... Read More