All posts by David Lewis

Media Reflection Group 1

Media Reflections

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/07/1085013070/how-one-international-student-fled-ukraine-and-brought-along-50-others

This podcast describes the quick reaction of Hasan Abu Zaanona, an international student from Palestine (Global South). His family fled from the Gaza Strip, to Yemen (Global South) then to Ukraine. When war threatened again, he quickly took fifty international students with him to Hungary. Hasan is safely in the Netherlands- but his educational work has been repeatedly uncredited due to bouncing from south-south to south- (poor) north.

He has made his first transition north-north, but faces uncertainty. However, “when confronted with economic restraints in host societies, [children of immigrants] have transnational cards to play not available to their less transnational Western counterparts” (Grasmuck & Hinze, 2016, p.1972). I extend this to Hasan, who migrated with his parents as a child

Hasan was able to mobilize resources and orchestrate movement for an already migratory group. I could attribute this feat to his association with other transnational international students or possibly social capital with a religious/ethnic population. The small population of Muslims in Ukraine live in Hasan’s region (Razumkov, 2016). This could’ve been a challenge, but also a unifying community. Such communities, exclusion or association with a homeland can influence the social position of migrants (Grasmuck & Hinze, 2016).

Unlike the heritage migrants in Grasmuck & Hinze (2016), Hasan’s credentials will not be readily credited in the Netherlands. His social position could also be difficult. “There is a general tendency to see religion, and specifically Islam, as one of the major obstacles to integration”, but the integration process of other groups often shows more parallels in educational performance and transnational activities (Thomson & Crul, 2007, p.1026). He can leverage his transnational networks and competencies into global opportunities or reap benefits from his kinship and transnational socialization upon returning to Palestine.

Grasmuck, S., & Hinze, A. M. (2016). Transnational heritage migrants in Istanbul: second-generation Turk-American and Turk-German “Returnees” in their parents’ homeland. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(12), 1959–1976. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2016.1142365

Razumkov Center. (2016). Religion, Church, Society and State: Two Years after Maidan (pp. 22, 27, 29, 31). Razumkov Center in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches.

Thomson, M., & Crul, M. (2007). The Second Generation in Europe and the United States: How is the Transatlantic Debate Relevant for Further Research on the European Second Generation? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33(7), 1025–1041. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830701541556

Collective Takeaway, Group 1, Feb 4

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Group 1: Colleen Burke, Oressa Gray-Mullen

How do the theoretical frameworks evolve and change from one to the other?

Starting with Modernization, this framework is a bit more narrow and highlights a divide between “civilized” and “uncivilized,” viewing certain societies (modern) as more productive. Within the Modernization framework, it is expected that in order to become modern, a nation or community must adopt the values and structure of a “modern” state and replace their traditions. This modern pursuit is a western ethnocentric ideal based upon the nation-state framework and was established during high American and Soviet influence after WWII. Modernization expects a radical but gradual and lengthy process towards homogeneousness as the third world countries move towards the first.

This moves forward into Dependency, with the idea that underdeveloped states are subordinate to the first world core. This concept was developed from neo-marxism and Keynes’ economic theory. However, one of the main differences and changes from Modernization to Dependency, is that within the Dependency framework it is believed that “peripheral nations experience most economic development when ties to the core are weakest.” The many are marginalized as social inequalities and economic growth rise during economic denationalization and domestic industrialization. 

Beyond this, we come to the World Systems Model, in which the economy and framework is viewed at a more macro level, looking at it as a global, dependent network rather than as separate nations/regions. As international communications developed and more multinational events and change occurred, the World Systems Model grew in the 1960s. 

Which ultimately leads us to Globalization, a framework that highlights social relations stretching facilitated by communications, media, and transportation and allows room for conditions to vary based on cultural factors within each nation. While also transcending the nation-state divides, globalization expects deterritorialization and radical new relationships. The goal of Globalization appears to be for more interconnectedness while attempting to “transcend homogenization” which is very far from Modernization, which assumes things must be replaced and taken over in a way.

How do the frameworks lack further explanations as to how people live their lives? 

Looking at theories of Modernization and Dependency, there is a clear ethnocentrism. However, there are ways of reaching modern ideals of success that do not match the ethnocentric view of modernization. Additionally, the fluctuation of wealth in third world countries diminish dependency theory. There is information missing on how the “periphery” nations or the third world countries maintain their own independence and cultural practices, as both theories call for them to essentially bow to “core” nation attributes in order to rise. There is a clear misunderstanding of the third world’s conditions and desires for progress and how that progress would look best for them (rather than assuming the “modern” Western states know best). It is

interesting to look at World Systems and Globalization and consider how we maintain and share individual cultures, communities, and practices while becoming so interconnected with technology and communication. Although this scale feels all encompassing, it is also too macroscopic to realistically reflect on people’s lives. 

How does the economics piece connect people in different ways through mobility and education?Over time, major changes in theory are due to political motion and human events both effecting or being the product of economic change internationally and within different regimes. Multinational economics has the capacity to strengthen bonds between nations through interdependent trade and a capitalist free flowing market. This can lead to denationalized economics; the capitalistic market is central to Globalization and Dependency theory rather than the nation-states bound geographically. This demands change in education or the thinking around people’s identities and goals. In the world systems theory, a nation’s economic system should be understood in relation to the world-system- a change in perception for economic gain. In modernization, the modern ideals are built around industrial progress for economic gain. To become “civilized” means to unlearn or leave behind the uncivilized. Depending on where you began, economics may be a motivation for people to migrate or seek out education in another space, specifically a wealthy first world country. It also has the capacity to connect people through jobs, or encourage movement to different nations in search of a new job or new opportunities for economic growth.

Media Reflection 2.3

Media Reflections

Oressa Gray-Mullen — Group 1

Should the Russia-US conflict be examined with a modernization or globalization lens?

BBC Article <— This was an article I read the other day when I was trying to understand the latest Russia-Ukraine tensions.

Note: Russian media screen capture from this article

I will never forget my two classmates from Russia and Ukraine screaming at each other in ~2015 history class. They were friends and related to each other culturally, but my friend from Russia seemed almost brainwashed as she spoke against the American media and swore that her friends overseas were piping the truth to her.

Media Reflection:

Russia and world leaders are mobilizing to confront this elusive tension politically, but Russia is fighting with media-based education. Russia’s story depends on misinformation, re-routing the narrative, and misdirection.

Since the Second World War, our government’s political movements have strategically clung to our global influence- both through actions and narratives- as the world changes and becomes globally interdependent. Putin has claimed that the United States uses Ukraine as a tool to control Russia’s influence. Russia utilizes the global network of communication and seemingly tosses aside the ethnocentric but gradually interconnected and economically fruitful vision shared by Modernization and Globalization (Reyes, 2001, p.11).

Reyes (2001) argues that through a globalization lens, the nation-state no longer serves as a unit of development analysis due to global communication scales (p.11). Globalization is a stretching transformation of people’s experience of space and time (Jones, 2010, p.5). The implication of this is an awareness to others beyond the classically know ways of measuring the world. The concept of globalization argues that the main modern elements for development interpretation are the cultural links among nations rather than economic or political ties- and in fact, dictating those ties (Reyes, 2001, p.11). Social relations are becoming stretched, “facilitated by information and communications technology, the global media, and transportation” (Jones, 2010, p.5). Though this has not yet taken on a radical reconfiguration of relationships or deterritorialization (Jones, 2010, p.6) – still exhibiting influence from last century’s relationships out of which the modernization theory was born.

From this conflict, a globalized world does not seem to encompass the current condition or progression of the world- despite technological connections and the culture of communications dictating political conduct. Globalized, free-for-all communications became a tool for Russia. However, the nation-states and national identity and power are very much alive for many- especially at the political level. A classical understanding of modernization is a systematic, lengthy, and revolutionary process that can only be partially felt at the current time due to friction between “traditional” and “modern” values (Reyes, 2001, p.3-4).

Therefore, I think modernization and globalization can both be utilized in this scenario. However, modernization still embodies the development of global relations, where the change is irreversible and yet slow movement toward homogeneousness (p.2) yet preserving assumptions based upon the nation-state (Reyes, 2001, p.7).

More if you’re curious: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589

Jones, A. (2010). Thinking About Globalization. In Globalization: Key Thinkers (pp. 1–18). Polity Press.

Reyes, G. (2001). Four Main Theories of Development: Modernization, Dependency, World-System, and Globalization. Revista Crítica de Ciencias Sociales Y Jurídicas, 4(2), 1016. Nómadas.

Practice Media Reflect Blog Post

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This is a picture of my Nana. She and my grandfather passed away in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. I chose this picture because Nana immigrated to the USA from Kinvarra, Galway Ireland. She wasn’t able to have children, so she adopted my dad. Before she died she kept asking to travel home to Kinvarra. My maternal grandfather also immigrated to the USA from Ballindoon, Sligo, Ireland. He’s not well right now, so family is very much on my mind. My grandfather now spends about half the year in Sligo on the family arbor farm. Unfortunately the pandemic has kept him in the States.

I cannot imagine the journey they went though. Lately my grandfather has been writing short stories about his childhood before emigrating. My mom loves it now because she is a genealogist. Although, my father and mother described being embarrassed by their parent’s accents or not normal habits as children. I can imagine it was very hard for them to be transplanted into a new culture. My grandfather’s siblings moved with him, but my grandmother’s sister stayed in Ireland. Also, as an older woman, I think my Nana probably had the hardest time adjusting and experienced the most pressure to blend in. Even today, its hard for me to imagine the challenging immigrant experience as I’ve only spent significant time in the USA. When I’m across the pond, I’m seen as the American. When my grandparents are here, they’re still seen as Irish after all this time.