rafaymcmaster

[rafaymcmaster]

Group Assignment 3 - Group 6

Although post-structuralism and post-modernism are individual approaches to sociological theory, they share fundamental views on understanding social phenomenon. Post-structuralism is premised on the rejection of singular and absolute truths focusing on the social context in which these truths are supported, while post-modernism is premised on the rejection of singular and absolute truths while focusing on the existence of multiple narratives. It is through this common rejection that a clear connection can be made between two sociologists representing each theoretical approach, Michel Foucault and Jean-François Lyotard, respectively.

Michel Foucault focused his sociological efforts within a post-structuralist approach. Through his research he examined the relationship between human behaviour and the control from governing bodies. He extended his research to examine how the control from our governing bodies succeeds in shaping society’s thought patterns. As summarized in ‘What would Foucault say about fake news?’, Foucault’s work was largely focused around knowledge, truth and power, and he rejected the idea of an absolute theory to explain the world (BBC Ideas, 2018). Instead, Foucault offered two separate approaches to explain the relationship between society, government, and power. Through the archaeological method Foucault posits that our use of language shapes our viewpoint and is how we understand our surroundings. Through the genealogical method Foucault posits that power dynamics at play shape the relationship between our perceived power structures and knowledge (BBC Ideas, 2018). It is through a combination of these two methods that we can understand the premise of Foucault’s theory surrounding the power-structure of modern-day social media. Foucault viewed social media as having the ability to imprison society unknowingly by way of constant surveillance (BBC Ideas, 2018). He suggested that with the increase in power-structure surveillance, we start to constantly analyze ourselves (BBC Ideas, 2018). What this means is that we as a society consume the information being communicated to us through different means and begin to apply it to ourselves by modifying our behaviour in order to accommodate the governing bodies, such as social media.

Jean-François Lyotard focused his sociological efforts within a post-modernist approach. Much of his research surrounded clarifying the existence of multiple truths. He believed that there was a great deal of post-modern confusion around what is true and sought to reject one absolute truth. Lyotard suggested, rather, that there are multiple truths all shaped by powerful forces. As summarized in ‘UNBOXED: Lyotard, Postmodernism & the Metanarrative’, Lyotard argues that society legitimizes themselves through a telling and re-telling of narratives (Gerlach, 2013). Lyotard acknowledges what he refers to as the metanarrative as the central narrative responsible for creating most meaning within our society today. This metanarrative is also responsible for creating the illusion of truth accepted by society. Instead of accepting this absolute metanarrative as truth, however, Lyotard explains that micronarratives introduced by counter-cultures in society challenge this larger story passively accepted for so long. While without a metanarrative much of society would lack existential understanding, micronarrative authors risk being classified as deviant or threatening our society’s safety (Gerlach, 2013). Despite the existing micronarratives, however, Lyotard argues that the original metanarrative remains very much active within our society today and has resisted many of the counter narratives meant to break it. He argues that this indestructibility of this metanarrative is due either to an overly unquestioning society or to an overall lack of faith in an alternative.

While separated by sociological theoretical approaches, both Foucault and Lyotard share some fundamental beliefs. Most prevalent is their mutual rejection of an absolute truth that is valid across society as a whole. Foucault’s belief that the power over society is held within governing bodies is adjacent to Lyotard’s belief that the power over society is held within a core unchallenged metanarrative. While Foucault argued that the ability to impose truth emerged from power, Lyotard suggested that the imposed truth itself is what holds power over society. Another commonality between Foucault and Lyotard is the concept of communication being a catalyst for control. Foucault placed emphasis on what he referred to as an archaeological method where the language received from power-structures are used to understand our surroundings and Lyotard referred to every understanding as individual narratives that are shared across society. Both believed that for this reason movement away from a singular narrative or belief is essential for societal development. Through their works, Foucault and Lyotard sought to encourage movement away from a singular belief system and encourage a more multi-level understanding of society.

The theories of Foucault and Lyotard can be used to identify the terrifying reality that society faces today with the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, most of Canada sits in it’s thirteenth month of  some form of public safety restrictions in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Frequently our government provides us with new statistics surrounding the virus, as well as new restrictions, fears, and theories. This communication of information coming from our government is much like the archaeological method posited by Foucault and the metanarrative posited by Lyotard. The information that we are provided by our government is communicated to us through strategic language by our government, requiring us to make sense of the information based on our understanding. This is problematic since we do not have access to all information needed to make thorough judgements, we as society accept this delivery of communication as a virus-relevant metanarrative. Accepting such a metanarrative creates an environment where, as posited by Foucault, society begins to anticipate the surveillance and statistics from our government and instill fear within ourselves. This fear is the very thing that holds us as a society back from challenging the virus-relevant metanarrative. As stated by Lyotard, the metanarrative remains indestructible due either to an overly unquestioning society or to an overall lack of faith in an alternative. Either way, based on the theories of Foucault and Lyotard, we can discover the cycle which society today is trapped within: being held back from challenging the virus-relevant metanarrative due to the lack of real information communicated to us through our government.

REFERENCES

BBC Ideas. [BBC IDEAS]. (2018, November 12). What would Foucault say about fake news?. [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JG_O0Iav18

Gerlach, E. [Eric Gerlach]. (2013, March 27). UNBOXED: Lyotard, Postmodernism & the Metanarrative. [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEpZJ0NpxH8

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[rafaymcmaster]

Blog Post 4

The picture displayed shows a glimpse of the cultural event in India known as Holi, which is the festival of colours. This is just one cultural gathering but across the world there are countless different cultures which have their own practices. In the modern world, there is a phenomenon known as cultural globalization. This is the idea of a shared set of norms and knowledge with which people attach their own identities to. Canada can be seen as being part of cultural globalization since their is a collective majority attitude which is accepting of people regardless of their heritage or background. Not only do (most) Canadians accept people of all cultures, they encourage integration of the positive aspects of non-Canadian cultures into Canadian society. This is evident in the countless Middle Eastern shawarma restaurants which have sprung rampant across the greater Toronto area. Clearly, Canada has a separate, collective culture which actually includes the view of accepting other people’s cultures. Culture plays a significant role in today’s globalized world. For example, an immigrant from Pakistan living in Canada may feel uneasy with the fact that they are no longer living in their homeland. However, cultural things such as drinking a cup of chai, going to an Eid bazaar or playing some cricket may help such an immigrant feel happier. This scenario describes the immigrant keeping a sense of their home with them even though they are halfway across the world and it is only through the idea of cultures is this possible. So culture can be seen as a tool of integration with regards to immigrant families. Another aspect of culture with regard to globalization is the economic aspect. Due to technological advancements in the recent years, people from virtually every place on Earth can become involved with a certain culture. The new technology also allows businesses who are involved in a certain culture to sell products which when purchased would enable the the buyer to immerse themselves into the culture. An example would be if someone ordered a “dholki”, an Indian drum, off of Amazon and being able to sing cultural songs using a real cultural instrument while not being in India. Another example could be a group of people coming together to form a band and then start creating music. The music can be streamed online worldwide, which would get the band maximal streams and therefore, maximal profits. A real life example of this is the recent trending Korean “K-pop” stars, which is very popular among the youth across the world, regardless of their ethnicity or race. Clearly, culture and globalization are intertwined and this combination has many beneficial effects on the world today.

[rafaymcmaster]

The picture displayed above shows the icons of the applications of some of the most popular social media platforms in the world today. Social media networks which operate using the internet have become a vital part of globalization in present day. A massive example of this is the Arab Spring. It started as a demand for democracy in Tunisia and led to the people overthrowing the corrupt government in Egypt, a civil war against an oppressive regime in Syria and most recently violent protests in Iran. One thing all the examples in the Arab Spring movement have in common was that they were able to organize mass gatherings through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Although in many of the cases of these Middle Eastern countries, after such social movements took place, positive change has not been stabilized. However, the fact that these movements took place and the people involved recorded and uploaded the movements onto social media has created an awareness in humans all across the world. In fact, without the technology of social media, many brutal atrocities would never become known to others in the world. Therefore, without social media, international intervention may never have occurred in the cases of the Arab Spring. Another way in which social media and globalization coincide is our ability to respond to disastrous situations across the world. This is ability to better respond is due to the fact that social media can broadcast what is happening, where it is happening and what needs to be done to help. Besides creating an awareness across the world which leads other governments and countries to assist in humanitarian care, social media can benefit those endangered by certain situations by simply creating a “gofundme” account, which can raise enormous amounts of currency that can be used to support those who need support. Businesses across the world can also benefit from the social media and globalization relationship. Using social media as a platform to promote business can be an extremely effective strategy as in modern day many people check social media more often than they watch television. Furthermore, certain businesses can use social media to gain insight of the preferences of the market. For example, if Nike is releasing a new colorway for a basketball shoe, it may put up pictures of potential designs, and create a poll on social media which is open to a worldwide market that asks consumers which colorway would be most desirable. Using such a strategy, businesses can adjust to the desires of consumers better and can understand what consumers really want. Clearly, social media is intertwined with an ever increasing globalized world and has created a new approach to tackling hard tasks such as defending human rights, reacting to dangerous situations and boosting the economy. 

[rafaymcmaster]

The picture shown above is a political image, and it refers to the idea that American influence has spread to be a dominant mindset for people all across the world. This relates to the concept of Americanization and globalization, in the way that humans all across the world have strong connections to American culture, values, and beliefs. The first most noticeable example is the way in which news and media delivery organizations inform the public regarding certain events. One individual news article from the BBC was describing an attack in Yemen from Saudi Arabia. The title read something along the line of, “Missile attack hits Yemen town occupied by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels”. Immediately, the reader sees that the Houthi rebels are backed by Iran. However, this is merely a claim and there has been no real evidence proving Iran supports the rebels in Yemen. Yet, the BBC informs the public that these rebels are supported by Iran. Another point to be made is that these rebels may have been living through oppression, and them forming rebel groups is just to escape corruption. But this is not mentioned in news articles rather they simply view the rebels as dangerous. This also serves the American purpose since America is against Iran politically and if people read this, it further enforces that Iran is a threat to American interests, which in this case is protecting their ally, Saudi Arabia. Thus, if the time came where America launches something against Iran, they would have had sufficient reasons provided by these news outlets so that the American population is ok with the fact that America may be going to war with a country. The BBC is a European outlet, and this shows that in Europe they are trying to help sway the population in favour of America too. Clearly, just by the way situations are described, the reader of a massive news outlet will get the side in favour of America and its allies. This will further their connection to America and its values and beliefs. 

[rafaymcmaster]

The picture shown is my favourite airlines when travelling. Every summer up until a couple of years ago I would fly on Emirates airlines to go visit my family in Dubai and also Pakistan. These trips were all possible due to the invention of the plane and its evolution. Transportation in present times has made the world more connected than ever before and is a major part of globalization. One aspect that I personally experienced which is due to transportation is that I could maintain a relationship with my uncle, aunt and grandparents living in the Middle East. One hundred years ago, if I lived in Canada and my family in the Middle East, there would be no way I could just easily fly over there every summer in 16 hours. It would have taken me about a month in travel. The methods of being able to travel the Earth in 2019 creates opportunities that were never imaginable in terms of economy, culture and education. The economy is greatly benefited; for example, using very large cargo ships for trading decreases the cost of transporting goods between countries. This is just one way, but it has created a global economy, in the sense that goods and services from around the world can be accessible to anyone, anywhere. Another way that transportation and globalization coincide is in regards to culture. By immigration, culture is diffusing into places it has never originally been. For example, when families from Pakistan move to Canada, they bring their “cultural suitcase”, which could be their ability to cook traditional meals, cultural clothing attires and the spread of different faiths depending on their religion. Evidence of the spread of culture are places such as Chinatown in Canada, which has all the culture of the Chinese people in a certain area of space. Clearly, culture has become international and is no longer only present in its place of origin. This is all part of globalization, and was only possible due to transportation. One more opportunity which has become available due to transportation is education. McMaster University, an institution widely recognized as top level education, welcomed about 1500 international students to the school in 2018. People are now able to attend the top schools even if they live on the other side of the planet. Clearly, transportation in present times has led to interconnections like never before, which has created opportunities like never before. With technology advancing and new ideas in transportation arising, who knows what kind of opportunities the future holds!