The Social Process of Globalization: Return Migration and Cultural Change in Kazakhstan - Hardcover

Blum, Douglas W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107129680 ISBN 13: 9781107129689

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

It is often argued that globalization fosters 'hybridity', as some cultural imports are accepted, while others are 'localized', and others still are rejected outright. Yet we know relatively little about the social processes and mechanisms involved in cultural globalization. This book offers an empirically rich and theoretically compelling analysis of how cultural globalization occurs, including the structural conditions, personal meanings and social interactions associated with various outcomes. Providing a detailed analysis of the experiences of young people from Kazakhstan who lived in the United States temporarily, the author asks, how do return migrants react to cultural differences in America, and what changes do they try to incorporate into their lives back in Kazakhstan? What kinds of negotiations ensue, and what explains their success or failure? In answering these questions, Douglas W. Blum combines insights from sociology and anthropology along with specialized research on globalization, migration and post-Soviet studies.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas W. Blum is Professor of Political Science at Providence College. His current research focuses on the connections between globalization and identity in the former USSR, and his publications include National Identity and Globalization: Youth, State, and Society in Post-Soviet Eurasia (Cambridge, 2007).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1107129680
• ISBN 13: 9781107129689
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224