Chapter 6: Culture and Learning in the Context of Globalization: Research Directions

Abstract

T he United States has found itself again roiled in an immigration debate over past year as massive migration of labor, fueled by global economic restructuring, seemed to suddenly hit a red button in public consciousness. A more substantive policy discussion of economic basis of influx of labor across southern border was elided by get-tough policy initiatives that proposed criminalization of undocumented immigrants, heightened policing of U.S.-Mexico border, and fermented a symbolic legislative amendment to make national language of United States with aim to reaffirm the preeminence of English (Hulse, 2006). Debates in public arena across political spectrum abounded as to relative cost and benefit of immigration, debates that reflected deeper anxiety and uncertainty about changing demographics of labor pool and cultural transformation it is bringing to country. While anti-immigration discourse on undocumented immigrants is alienating Hispanics, by far largest immigrant and minority group in country, U.S. corporations and media companies have embraced Hispanic population as ideal and are targeting this group with customized advertising campaigns across country (Nightly Business Report, 2006; Richtel & Belson, 2006). In these corporate advertising maneuvers, multilingualism becomes less of a threat than a resource and leverage to garner trust and buying power of this fastestgrowing demographic group. Cell-phone companies, such as Verizon and Sprint, are sponsoring concert tours of Latin American pop singers and promoting multimedia functions on their phones that include viewing television and downloading songs in Spanish. The fact that Hispanics often have families that span international borders becomes rallying point of transnational companies such as Sprint-Nextel, which is mining this market with its push-to-talk walkie-talkie service that allows subscribers in United States to communicate instantly with other Sprint-Nextel customers in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Peru. On other side of Atlantic, a similar commercial and media embrace of migrant and minority populations can be found in, among other places, Germany,