Department of Communication

Inaugural Seminar

New Times, New Keywords
Media and Global Communication in the 21st Century

The Inaugural seminar of the Media and Global Communication Master's Programme "New Times, New Keywords – Media and Global Communication in the 21st Century" was held on Friday October 23, 2009, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Unioninkatu 37 auditorium.
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Media and Global Communication in the 21st Century: New Times? New Theory?
Ryan Warner

The Media and Global Communication Masters program at the University of Helsinki proudly hosted three distinguished scholars on Friday, October 23rd. Colin Sparks, Terhi Rantanen, and Katharine Sarikakis gave their thoughts on the current issues and challenges facing media and global communication studies. The theme for the seminar was: ‘New Times, New Keywords – Media and Global Communication in the 21st Century’. Each of our guests brought their own unique perspective to this topic. And in the end, while everyone agreed that Media and Global Communication studies in the 21st century has ‘new keywords’, not everyone agreed that we have entered ‘new times’.

Professor Sparks feels that globalization theory ignores important political and economic realities. Information and cultural flows are technically capable of travelling across physical space in an uninhibited manner, but does this actually cause the breakdown of national borders? Contrary to the claims of many globalization scholars, Professor Sparks argues that the nation state is still a powerful economic and physical entity. He points out that tight border security is a predominant feature of the post 9/11 world and that the state still has the ability to imprison its citizens and wage war. In addition, the legislative and economic power of the nation state means that it can choose to either undermine or support the media products that its citizens are exposed to. Government regulation still dictates the terms through which a media company does business in a particular country.

For Professor Sparks, the debates that surround cultural hybridity and autonomous cultural formation fail to address the political and economic factors that are an important part of cultural production. Culture and economics are still connected. For example, international media and culture policy is directly influenced by WTO decisions. This line of thinking reminds us that while globalization contains new possibilities, it is perhaps not an entirely new phenomenon that can be separated from the political and economic logic of the past. The continued presence of the nation state and the strong connection between cultural production and economic logic means that globalization is perhaps a long running historical process that is difficult to separate from the issues raised by political economy.

Unlike Colin Sparks, Professor Terhi Rantanen focused more on change than continuity. She identified three phases in the development of media and global communication thought and attempted to show how each one is different from the last. The first phase is called ‘internationalization’ and it emerges after the Second World War. This period of scholarship focuses on relations between what were assumed to be homogenous groups of people contained within clearly defined national borders. The work done on mass communication and cultural imperialism tended to focus on media effects. It was based on a mostly quantitative exploration of the broad political and social concerns of the day. For Professor Rantanen, this phase ends with the work on new theories of globalization in the 1990s.

The second phase is then aptly called ‘globalization’. It is different from Internationalization because it focuses on smaller units of analysis like local and regional cultural groups. With this type of analysis, the emphasis shifts to cultural heterogeneity. Micro-politics, global cities, and diasporic groups become the focus of qualitative studies on what it means to be part of a cultural group in a world of global cultural flows. For Professor Rantanen, this type of approach was useful, but has now given way to cosmopolitanization theory.

Rantanen argues that cosmopolitanization or ‘globalization from below’ is now the dominant type of media and global communication theory. It is different from globalization theory because it focuses on the everyday experiences of the individual. For Professor Rantanen, cosmopolitanization attempts to come to terms with the power of the individual in a world where identity and moral questions have become personal issues. This marks a new turn in the scholarly debates. Cosmopolitanization is then a new keyword designed to help us come to terms with what Professor Rantanen sees as new times. 

Dr. Katharine Sarikakis presented a paper that attempts to come to terms with both socio-economic forces and the ways that ‘globalization’ has been experienced in different ways with regards to race, gender, and culture. Her paper was an interesting attempt to identify the role of both structural forces and individual agency in a globalized world.

The seminar was a success. A wide range of issues were covered. Not all of our visiting scholars agreed with one another, but it made for a lively panel discussion. New keywords were discussed and the idea of ‘new times’ was debated. In the end, it was up to the audience to decide where they stand on globalization and what it means to them.

Links to presentations:

Professor Colin Sparks' Powerpoint Presentation:

"What is Wrong with Globalization?"

Dr. Katharine Sarikakis' speech:

"Regulation, Regularisation and Change in the Era of Global Integration"

Links that are related to the theme of the seminar:

Idealism, Aggression, Apology, and Criticism: The Four Traditions of Research on 'International Communication' by Heikki Hellman:
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/tiedotus/laitos/HeikkiHellman_10_9_081.pdf

The League of Nations and the Mass Media:
The Rediscovery of a Forgotten Story by Kaarle Nordenstreng & Tarja Seppä:
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/tiedotus/laitos/The_League_of_Nations_and_the_Mass_Media.pdf

The forgotten history of global communication negotiations at the League of Nations by Kaarle Nordenstreng:
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/tiedotus/laitos/WSIS_kirjan_liite.rtf

From NWICO to WSIS: another world information and communication order? By Claudia Padovani and Kaarle Nordenstreng:
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/tiedotus/laitos/From_NWICO_to_WSIS.pdf

Great Media and Communication Debates: WSIS and the MacBride Report by Robin Mansell and Kaarle Nordenstreng:
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/tiedotus/laitos/Mansell%20&%20Nordenstreng.pdf

 

The inaugural seminar was hosted by the department of communication in co-operation with Helsingin Sanomat Foundation