Globalization and Identity
Who are you???
ALL OF THESE FORM YOUR
INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY
Who are you???
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•
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•
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The groups you belong to
Your family
Your position/occupation
Your community
Your heritage or ethnic
background
ALL OF THIS CREATES
YOUR
COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
Collective Identities
urban
Manitoban
conservative
East Indian
Albertan
I took part in a
river cleanup
YOU
I speak English
and Chinese
environmentalist
I play in a
band
I speak French
rural
I like chicken
soup
I play hockey
Individual Identities
A World of Choices
• Our identities are DYNAMIC…they
develop and evolve constantly, both through
our own expressions and through our
experience of others’ identities.
• Things, such as language and traditions,
all affect our identity…as does exposure to
different forms of media.
Choices…
• We all are constantly
making choices about
what will make up our
identity
• Our grandparents
probably had a much
easier time making
choices…why???
Back in the day…
• A hundred years ago, most people assumed they
would follow traditions passed on by their family,
their cultures, and their religion.
• They would have had a lot less contact with ideas,
ways of life, and beliefs outside of those they grew
up in.
• They might also have had a strong sense of their
collective identities – as a member of a family, a
religious community, or a citizen of a country, for
example.
But now…
• You, on the other hand, can visit a chat room with
people on the other side of the world everyday.
• You are surrounded by music, films, and
television shows from all over the world.
• You can eat in any number of restaurants that
feature foods from around the globe.
• The stores where you shop contain goods from far
away places.
And…
• We are now living in a PLURALISTIC
SOCIETY - a society made up of many
groups.
• This is because of immigration, and the fact
that people who live in abroad are
encouraged to retain their cultural and
language identities, while becoming apart of
their new culture and country.
Collective Identities
• Recent immigration has brought a large amount of
diversity of people and cultures to Canada
• Government policies encourage immigrants to
retain their sense of collective identity with their
ethnic or religious groupings
• Many groups maintain the key aspects of their
collective identity, while embracing opportunities
of globalization such as new technologies and
ways of doing business.
At the same time…
• The Canadian collective identity is also
developing.
• Canada’s participation in two world wars,
along with our growing economic ties to the
United States, weakened our ties to Britain
and made us a much more independent
nation.
So…
Collective Identity
and
Individual Identity
are all affected by
GLOBALIZATION
Assignment
• Page 39 Question #1 a and b