IP Communication Webinar Series #5: The Annual Globalization Workshop “The Future Globalization” (3)
On July 23, 2020, International Program of Communication Science Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) and Uniicoms TV invited Professor Chen and Dr. Masduki in The Annual Globalization Workshop (AGW) with the theme “The Future Globalization.” This workshop is the inaugural workshop program organized by the International Program of Communication UII. This writing is the second writing of Fitriana Ramadhany, our intersnship student, based on her reportage. This is her follow-up article.
The next session continued with a presentation delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Huey Rong Chen. Presentation by Professor Chen was entitled “Reflexivity of globalization: seeking dialogical transformation after the pandemic.” She began her presentation by explaining the concept of globality proposed by Roland Robertson, about the concept of the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the whole world. To explain the definition of globalization itself, she refers to Robertson who provided a basic definition of globalization. That globalization is the mass and intensified transportation of people, commodities, and information across national boarder globally. Then she added the definition of globalization from Anthony Giddens. Which says that globalization is a direct consequence or result of modernization.
In her presentation, Professor Chen focused more on the definition of globalization by Robertson. Especially in the consciousness mentioned there. She explained further about the consciousness her meant. That is related to global organizations that are often thought by many people related to globalization, such as ASEAN and G20. She explained that in 1992 when Robertson proposed his concept, the conditions of the community at that time were still focused on developing one country. It is different from the current condition where people cannot only think about developing one country or creating a superpower. She mentioned that today the people in a country also need to think of other countries, even other species, as a form of world consciousness.
Based on the definition of globalization by Giddens, Professor Chen believes that globality is not quite right when it is said to be an extension of modernity. Because modernity is not a system or value developed from a specific time and space. She gave an example that many parts of the world have various cultures and nations in their region. She explained that regions that have such cultures also have their development of the modernity and have their trajectory to the values of the modernity. Thus, globality is not simply the consequence of about modernity. Globality is the general condition which has facilitated the diffusion of the general modernity, which means the two processes going on at the same time.
In 1995, Robertson mentioned a new term through his book on modernity, the term global modernity which is an ‘s’ or plural modernity. Professor Chen explained that it means global modernity is not a singular phenomenon or singular system. She also explained that globalization had become a homogenized system. Because when talking about globalization, people will connect to how to reach out the whole world to sell their products.
Professor Chen chose the technique or concept of reflexivity in his presentation to be associated with the consciousness she had explained before. Using the semiotic definition by Greimas & Courtes, she explained that reflexivity is a concept of discursive semiotics, used to designated the syncretism of several actantial roles when the latter is invested in a single actor. Actantial roles here are how an actor plays his role in a story. She explained that this is a narrative technique used to help understand oneself. Referring to the next explanation, which states that one is able to use him / her / itself as the agency to understand him / her / itself through the inclusion of the other, she explains that the technique here has many different ways. That explanation leads to the next question about how to have consciousness of the whole world through reflectivity.
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Author and Reporter: Fitriana Ramadhany, Student internship of Department of Communication Science, UII. Batch 2016
Editor: A. Pambudi W
