Global Commodification Research Articles

Green in blue

The global commodification of jazz (and indeed culture more generally) has contributed to significant and enduring environmental consequences. The various physical formats through which it has been disseminated have each employed by-products of the petrochemical industry in their production and distribution, and the environmental cost of digital streaming platforms has more recently been observed as contributing further to the carbon footprints of music producers and consumers. International and regional travel by touring artists and festival audiences has similarly been recognized as having negative environmental impacts through associated air, sea, and land transport emissions and through increased burden on host-location infrastructures. The environmental implications of culture have come increasingly under scrutiny as society becomes conscious of individual and collective contributions to, and imperative mitigations against, critical anthropogenic climate change. This article seeks to explore the machineries of jazz dissemination, foregrounding the festival as a place of coming together in celebration of music and community, and considers how the road ahead may look as we attempt to green our engagement with culture while safeguarding its intrinsic values and modes of experience. It questions, therefore, whether the art form that spearheaded the ways in which we currently interact with live and recorded music can similarly lead us in addressing urgent and necessary paradigm shifts in the means and methods of cultural production and consumption.

Black Cosmofeminism: Commodity, Sexuality, and the Transnational Mixed-Race Subject in Nella Larsen's Quicksand

Abstract: Nella Larsen's Quicksand (1928) demonstrates a situated form of Black cosmofeminism to capture the difficult process through which a deviant mixed-race heroine negotiates her place in the Black community. At core, Black cosmofeminism interrogates oppressive racial and sexual politics enacted in domestic, local, and national spheres to envision a more inclusive cosmopolitan US Black community open to sexually, racially, and nationally "impure" subjects. However, far from advocating the erasure of local identities, such a reimagining of the domestic Black community as cosmofeminist instead foregrounds group identification and communal bonding developed in response to transnational displacement and discrimination. Working in tandem with consumer cosmopolitanism, Black cosmofeminism places the African American woman consumer center stage and traces how her desire, body, and identity are not only constructed alongside globally circulated commodities but also made localized and resistant to the global commodification and sexualization of Black and mixed-raced women.

Black Cosmofeminism: Commodity, Sexuality, and the Transnational Mixed-Race Subject in Nella Larsen's Quicksand

Abstract: Nella Larsen's Quicksand (1928) demonstrates a situated form of Black cosmofeminism to capture the difficult process through which a deviant mixed-race heroine negotiates her place in the Black community. At core, Black cosmofeminism interrogates oppressive racial and sexual politics enacted in domestic, local, and national spheres to envision a more inclusive cosmopolitan US Black community open to sexually, racially, and nationally "impure" subjects. However, far from advocating the erasure of local identities, such a reimagining of the domestic Black community as cosmofeminist instead foregrounds group identification and communal bonding developed in response to transnational displacement and discrimination. Working in tandem with consumer cosmopolitanism, Black cosmofeminism places the African American woman consumer center stage and traces how her desire, body, and identity are not only constructed alongside globally circulated commodities but also made localized and resistant to the global commodification and sexualization of Black and mixed-raced women.

The Arabian Nights in Contemporary World Cultures: Global Commodification, Translation, and the Culture Industry, written by Muhsin Al-Musawi

The Arabian Nights in Contemporary World Cultures: Global Commodification, Translation, and the Culture Industry, written by Muhsin Al-Musawi

De-colonising the right to housing, one new city at a time: Seeing housing development from Palestine/Israel

The right to housing is generally understood as a local struggle against the global commodification of housing. While useful for recognising overarching urbanisation processes, such understanding risks washing over the distinctive politics that produce the housing crisis and its ostensible solutions in different contexts around the globe. Situated in a settler-colonial context, this paper bridges recent comparative urban studies with Indigenous narratives of urbanisation, to re-think housing crisis solutions from the point of view of the colonised. Based on in-depth interviews with Palestinian citizens of Israel, the paper compares two cases of state-initiated, privatised housing developments, one in Israel and one in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: the new cities Tantour and Rawabi. Each case is examined as a singularity, distinctive formations of the spatialities of Zionist settlement in Palestine, which are now being transformed through privatised housing development. The paper presents these developments as mutually constituted through a colonial-settler project and Palestinian sumud resistance, the praxis of remaining on the land. The paper utilises comparison as a strategy, exploring each new city in turn, to reveal the range of directions in sumud. Thus, by seeing housing development as site for negotiating de-colonisation on the ground, the paper contributes to recent debates over the power of comparative urbanism to re-think global phenomena through treating urban terrains as singularities.

Biogeographies: Transcending anthropocentrism in the Anthropocene

Biogeographies: Transcending anthropocentrism in the Anthropocene

Mediterranean Style Gated Communities around the World: Architecture, Globalization, and Transnational Elites

Mediterranean style houses, mansions, and villas are found in elite enclaves around the world. There is a large literature on gated communities. However, the ubiquity of this Mediterranean style as a global and cross–cultural phenomenon has been underexamined. Enclaves in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East often look the same suggesting the global commodification of this aesthetic ideal. Examining the Toskana Vadisi, or Tuscan Valley gated community in Istanbul, Turkey, this article argues such spaces represent global cultural processes, as well the habitus of transnational elites in aspiring global cities. Also, by focusing on a non–Western city, I am able to analyze how aesthetic ideals are linked to city–building, in an increasingly competitive world, where cities seek world–class status by developing amenities for transnational elites.

Mitsui Bussan and the Manchurian soybean trade: Geopolitics and economic strategies in China’s Northeast, ca. 1870s–1920s

This article examines how soybeans became a global commodity, by focusing on the intermediary role of the Japanese trading company Mitsui Bussan. In the early twentieth century, soybeans were almost exclusively grown in Northeast China, also known as Manchuria. Their global commodification was a result of complex imperial rivalries among China, Japan, and Russia in northeast China as well as the rapid rise of vegetable oil consumption in Europe. We demonstrate how Mitsui Bussan navigated the shifting geopolitical terrain by taking advantage of the competition between the Russian and Japanese empires, utilizing Chinese middlemen effectively, and securing support from the Japanese government and military. By placing the soybean trade in a geopolitical context, we shed light on how global commodity markets, trade, and international relations were intertwined.

The real estate foothold in the Holy Land: Transnational gentrification in Jerusalem

Gentrification theory blames the widening and transnationalisation of the phenomenon on the global commodification of housing and the emergence of a ‘planetary rent gap’. This article draws on fieldwork in the UK and Israel and argues that while transnational gentrification is economically driven, in the sense of an unequal global division of labour, we need to reinstate the cultural context into the core of gentrification theory and pay more attention to what motivates people to purchase homes in particular foreign locations. I argue that these motivations can be emotional, and adopt the concept of the ‘real estate as foothold’– a way of holding onto an emotionally laden space through the acquisition of property. Tying together gentrification and lifestyle migration literatures and using the case study of British Jews with second homes in Israel, I explore such motivations and connect them with Israel’s political and economic quest to attract diaspora Jews. Israel’s neoliberalisation made it a second-home destination for wealthy Jews, part of the second-homes trend, who favour Israel due to emotional, national and religious ties. I focus on the case of Jerusalem, the Israeli city most affected by the phenomenon, to explore the intersecting outcomes of top-down policies and bottom-up lifestyle demands on the upscaling of the inner city and the displacement of Israeli residents. Residents’ displacement results in their replacement in cheaper areas, often beyond the ‘Green Line’ in the Occupied Territories, a problematic outcome to any peace negotiations, but one that follows the agenda of municipal and state-level policymakers.

Manos del Uruguay: Exploring the Inherent Tensions between Localism and the Global Craft Economy

This paper is a discussion of the tensions between localism and globalism and their subsequent effects on the artisanal craft industry within the prevailing dynamics of the hegemonic capitalist market place. Global demand for artisanal craft has enabled a spatial relationship between producer and consumer, creating a sense of place that transcends traditional localities. Drawing from the Sumak Kawsay cosmology, this study suggests alternative, non-market-based solutions in achieving a “rooted sense of place” that encourages economic and environmental sustainability for textile cooperatives in Latin America. Through extensive participatory observation and interviews, this study presents an in-depth case study of the Uruguayan textiles cooperative Manos del Uruguay in order to understand how the lives of artisans are affected by the global commodification of local crafts. While navigating the global market and establishing a human connection between the artisans and consumers, Manos del Uruguay has succeeded in remaining adaptive and crafting a global sense of place. However, there is a fundamental need to reconnect artisans to their means of production and lessen the dependence on Western consumers and market forces to ensure ethical distribution and management of natural resources.

Care migration: The connectivity between care chains, care circulation and transnational social inequality

One of the features of the global commodification of care is the outsourcing of care work to migrants. The aim of this article is to investigate theoretical responses to the incorporation of migrant care workers in transnational care arrangements. After a description of the scope of migrant care labour and the global care economy, the article summarizes the challenges posed by this empirical phenomenon and asks to what extent care migrations on a global scale have common denominators. The author discusses three topical concepts dealing with the impact of care migration for migrant caregivers and for their significant others who stay behind. The first is the Global Care Chain Concept, with its particular importance for transnational parenting; the second is the Care Circulation Concept. In different ways, both of them shed light on the contradictory characteristics of care migration. I then argue that the third concept, the theory of Transnational Social Inequality, is a necessary addition. By focusing on migrant care workers’ contradictory position, this concept aims at understanding the new features of asymmetrical resource distribution in their global manifestation. Taken together, these concepts are considered helpful tools to analyse the commonalities and differences of a large range of specific cases. Many examples used in this article are concerned with care migration in Europe.

Thailand's International Meditation Centers: Tourism and the Global Commodification of Religious Practices

Thailand's International Meditation Centers: Tourism and the Global Commodification of Religious Practices

A mexicanidade encontra o americanismo: A circulação de imaginários nacionais e os regimes de gênero entre o Western e a Comedia Ranchera

Este ensaio discute os fluxos cinematográficos transregionais entre Hollywood e a indústria cinematográfica mexicana, usando o exemplo de dois grandes gêneros: o western estadunidense e sua contrapartida mexicana, a comedia ranchera. Como um estudo científico de “glocalização” (ver RO- BERTSON), este ensaio traça algumas das complexas interconexões entre esses dois gêneros e o “capital midiático” (CURTIN) investido, que será espe- cificado de acordo com “lógicas de acumulação”, “forças socioculturais vari- áveis” e “trajetórias de migração criativa” particulares, incluindo não somente as equipes de filmagem, como diz Curtin, mas, particularmente, padrões de gênero. Portanto, aqui se examina a circulação de estrelas e outras pessoas da equipe de filmagem, sinergias crossmedia entre as indústrias de cinema e de música, bem como intervenções políticas de governos e inter-relações econômicas entre as respectivas indústrias culturais (trans)nacionais. Dá-se uma atenção específica às negociações de identidades de gênero e culturais vis-à-vis os processos misturados de globalização e localização.

Book review: Norman K Denzin, Indians on Display: Global Commodification of Native America in Performance, Art, and Museums

Book review: Norman K Denzin, <i>Indians on Display: Global Commodification of Native America in Performance, Art, and Museums</i>

Porter’s five competitive forces framework and other factors that influence the choice of response strategies adopted by public universities in Kenya

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which Porter’s five competitive forces (PFCF) framework, among other factors drive the choice of response strategies adopted by public universities in Kenya. Design/methodology/approach – The study design was descriptive and utilized a cross-sectional survey of all the public universities in Kenya by administering a structured questionnaire to the top management team. Additional primary data were collected through observations and interviews. Secondary data were also collected in order to corroborate the data collected from the primary sources. Findings – PFCF framework influenced the choice of response strategies adopted by the public universities “to a great extent”, the most influence being the threat from new entrants. The influence of the choice of response strategies by PFCF framework was independent of the age and category of the universities. Pressure from stakeholders, changes in government policies and regulations, reforms in higher education, unethical response strategies by some universities and university location also influenced the choice of response strategies. Research limitations/implications – The study collected data from the top management team only; however, other stakeholders could have given additional information not reported here. Further, the research only considered public universities and not all higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kenya, and was cross-sectional, hence generalization and application of the results over a long time, respectively, may be limited. Practical implications – The value of this study lies in HEIs achieving a competitive advantage and shaping strategic policy direction in the face of changing environment and global commodification of higher education. Originality/value – Current public universities in Kenya have adopted a business-like approach in their operations in view of changing environment and have adopted coping strategies. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence the choice of response strategies is important for improvement of quality, efficiency and effectiveness as well as in policy formulation and serve as a guide to strategic management.

Manufacturing risk: reframing the discourse of safety of commodified potent substances

Ethnopharmalogical relevanceThe rapid commodification of plant-based medicines has led to the development of regulatory guidelines and standards by the World Health Organization to ensure the safety of these products. However, these standards have been identified to be selectively implemented, if implemented at all, in many contexts. A primary concern for proving the safety of intrinsic factors of plant-based medicines, may result in less attention paid to the often more problematic extrinsic factors of mass production. This article critically examines the normative global discourse of safety concerning plant-based medicines and problematises many of the assumptions identified in this discourse. Materials and methodsThis qualitative research was conducted in the Traditional Medicine Unit of the Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) and in field work in the rural Philippines. Data was collected through archival research, analysis of WHO data sets, semi-structured and structured interviews and surveys, participant observation concerning local plant-based medicine use in the Philippines and participant observation in WHO meetings regarding future strategies for traditional Asian medicines. ResultsAlthough informants reported concerns of safety for every aspect of the production, marketing and sales of plant-based medicines, this research has identified that the implementation (WHO guidelines) has been uneven and inconsistent over the past ten years in the Western Pacific Region of the WHO. Differences in local contexts that are not consistent with global guidelines and standards were reported by informants. Issues have also been identified in the inconsistent regulation of plant-based medicines as pharmaceuticals within only certain, rather than all, processes of production. ConclusionsIt is imperative to understand plant-based medicines as the potent substances they are, whose rapid global commodification may affect both their potency and safety. The WHO discourse of the need for safety in the use of plant-based medicines has justified the need for biomedical oversight through processes of commodification. Yet, it is often through these very processes of commodification and mass production that safety may be compromised. This research suggests that the discourse concerning the safety of the plant-based medicines needs to be reframed from a primary focus on the intrinsic factors of plant-based medicines to a greater focus on the extrinsic factors of global commodification.

Cultural Crisis in Postcolonial Pacific Theatre: John Kneubuhl's Mele Kanikau: A Pageant

Afakasi (half-caste) American Samoan playwright John Kneubuhl (1920–1992) had a profound influence on Polynesian theatre throughout the Pacific. In his trilogy of plays, Think of a Garden, Mele Kanikau: A Pageant, and A Play: A Play, he presents cultures in crisis, at risk not only because of the ongoing and enormous impact of colonization, but also because of new dangers in the form of global commodification, the burgeoning demands of tourism, and the more critical, and much more subtle, threat from within: Polynesian people themselves. As a polycultural, pan-Pacific dramatist, in his work Kneubuhl engages with postcolonial discourses, power structures, and social and cultural hierarchies. A playwright also concerned with authenticity, Kneubuhl writes from both inside and outside these contesting dialectics of power and his unique dramatic voice fuses the best of modernist Western drama with the ancient Samoan performance tradition of Fale Aitu.

Gender Gap in the EFL Classroom in East Asia

The present brief discussion is stimulated by recent research publications (Appleby 2013; Hicks 2013; Stanley 2013) on discrimination against female native English speaker teachers in east Asia where native white males have long dominated the English teaching positions at language schools and colleges. Not only the global commodification of native English speakers but also the internationally known male-oriented hiring practices in east Asia and other unexplored factors appear to be working in favor of young male native speakers from the West. The present discussion explores gender gap in the EFL classroom in east Asia from the perspective of global ELT community's political sensitivity to its professionalism.

Networking the globe: culture, technologies, globalization

Contemporary events have highlighted important connections between technology, globalization and cultural production. Information technologies in particular have impacted the global commodification...

From a colonial reinvention to postcolonial heritage and a global commodity: performing and re-enacting Angkor Wat and the Royal Khmer Ballet

It is a commonplace that cultural heritage is not only a highly contested concept of modern times, full of nationalistic undertones, cultural stereotypes and essentialist topoi such as past grandeur and enduring cultural purity. Cultural heritage has also become the easiest and most profitable prey for today’s global tourism industry. These observations apply with particularly dramatic consequences to young emerging, postcolonial nation states with a rich repertoire of built (tangible) and performed (intangible) culture – especially if elements of this repertoire are branded ‘UNESCO World Heritage’ without considering their contested formation histories. Few other iconic heritage sites are more instructive in showcasing these observations than the temple site of Angkor, by charting the transcultural trajectories of Cambodia’s heritage construction through the processes of French colonial reinvention, postcolonial/nationalist essentialisation, and global commodification. This paper focuses on the ‘Royal Khmer Ballet’ as cultural performance and heritage re-enactment in combination with the twelfth-century temple of Angkor Wat as architectural stage. References to similar ‘heritagisation’ processes in the (post)colonial Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) will help to anchor this transcultural enquiry.