Media and globlization
Choose and answer any THREE of the seven short essay questions provided below.
Each answer should be between 2 to 2.5 pages in length.
1) Mattelart argues that networks were crucial to the establishment of contemporary
globalization through their embodiment of a specific set of cultural values. What values is
he referring to? How are they crucial to the formation of a network society?
2) One of the key cultural features of contemporary globalization is an historically specific
experience of time and space. How is the contemporary experience of time and space so
unique? How have networks fundamentally contributed to this? Be sure to use concrete
illustrative examples, as well as established conceptual models, in your answer.
3) How might we think of time as a network technology? How is such a conception
integral to the process of globalization?
4) Fuchs argues that the phrase “transnational informational capitalism” provides a better
understanding of contemporary globalized society than other terms such as post-industrial
society or network society. What case does he make for this?
5) Define and discuss at least three ways in which cities are crucial to the understanding of
network society.
6) The “digital divide”, and its attendant inequalities to network access, is a pernicious
problem for todays global network society. Describe what is meant by the “digital divide”,
how it might be historically rooted, and discuss its significance with respect to
contemporary globalization.
7) How is the telegraph crucial to our understanding of the process of globalization and
contemporary network society? Discuss this with reference to three specific reasons why
this is so.
