GC1

This weekend's homework was similar in that it discussed global communication theories, but different in that it came out of a textbook rather than a database. The ideas in pages 16-31 of "Global Communications" dealt with theories on electronic colonialism and the spread of cultures through communication.

The section first introduced Electronic Colonialism Theory, better known as ECT. This idea of colonialism follows its predecessors Military colonialism, Christian colonialism, and Mercantile colonialism as a wave that sweeps over all nations and rapidly spreads the ideas of the inventors. Like the other forms of colonialism, viewers and subscribers to the electronic world see a new perspective on life, whether it be from watching an American-made TV show to get a view of how the free world works (Thanks David Hasselhoff), watching a foreign film to understand culture, or simply reading news sources from all around the world.

This information era notion is coupled with the World-System Theory to show that there is a transfer cycle in which ideas and cultures are "traded" throughout the globe. Core zones of the world dictate relationships, terms, materials, and information for sending, and other peripheral zones return the favor with labor, materials, or venues for which to showcase the core culture.

All in all, these theories do well to explain a world in which data that used to take weeks to transfer is now complete with a click of a mouse or a button on a remote control. I guess those Disney World designerss were on to something when they built that It's a Small World theme ride.