Blog #5

In "Identities as Multimedia Spectacle," Nestor Garcia Canclini considers how globalized media, information technologies, and the global circulation of cultural commodities challenges traditional models of national identity formation. Canclini writes:

"One of the greatest challenges for rethinking identity and citizenship today is finding a way to study how relations of continuity, discontinuity, and hybridization are produced among local and global, traditional and ultramodern systems of cultural development." (Canclini, 96).

Review Multiplicity's Solid Sea 04: (m)re-tourism on Moroccan residents abroad (http://www.multiplicity.it/index2.htm). Using one of the eight testimonies on page 3 (select an image to read text) and the Canclini article, explain how the selected testimony is an example of how the MRE's sense of national identity is transformed through their movement between Morocco and Europe (as temporary residents, tourists, or permanent residents), the development of space, and use of commodities (for instance, homes and tourist resorts).

Blog #4

Still, Western Union: Small Boats (Isaac Julien, 2006/7)

Our readings for Week 9 take us to the Mediterranean border between Europe (the European Union) and north Africa, a border zone explored in Isaac Julien's Western Union: Small Boats (2006/7) that we will view in class next week. From your reading of F. La Cecla's "A border made of mirrors: Mazara del Vallo/Tunis: Osmosis," answer the following:

Discuss two ways in which the relation between the towns of Marzara del Vallo (Sicily) and La Goulette (Tunisia) undermines the traditional definition of the border as "a line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it." How does the experience of Mohammed Beshir (fisherman) illustrate the permeability of the border and the transformations in our understanding of fixed, national identities that are brought about by border crossings?

Blog Post #3

For your third blog assignment, review the selection of photographs by Sebastiao Salgado (link to D2L by clicking the image above) and read the introduction and image descriptions to "Migrations: Humanity in Transition" in the course reader. Referring to pgs. 28-29; 34/35 and 116/117, address the following:

In his introduction, Salgado writes at one point of his experiences documenting displaced persons and exiles:

"This experience of Latin America made the sprawling cities of Asia seem strangely familiar. There were differences: Sao Paulo and Mexico City are more violent places, but environmental degradation seems even worse in Asia. Yet at times I would forget where I was. Cairo? Jakarta? Mexico City? Everywhere there are those same islands of wealth amid the poverty..." (CR: 173)

1. How does Salgado's choice of medium (photography) support his narrative of "sameness-in-difference" that he uses to connect diverse migratory experiences from Mexico/US, Croatia and Spain? Provide two examples from the images on the pages listed above.

2. In your opinion, is photography an adequate medium for documenting migration in our current era of globalization? Provide at least one pro or con. How does Salgado's photojournalistic aesthetic and his approach to global migration highlight current globalization debates concerning homogeneity vs. heterogeneity?

Blog Post #2

For next week, please view Sonali Gulati's Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night (link located on the course D2L site).

1. From your viewing of the documentary and referring to A. Aneesh's chapter "Virtual Migration", briefly answer the following:

How does the call center training and work conditions transform one’s sense of having a regional and national identity? In other words, how does Gulati call attention to the ways in which globalization and the creation of a virtual labor force transform formerly geographically bounded identities? (Your answer must include at least one reference to A. Aneesh's chapter)

2. Review the "Reading Room: the economics of outsourcing" essay in the course reader. Visit "Alladeen" -- the website for The Builders Association's theatrical production Alladeen Bangalore-London-New York.


Go to the "cyber immigrants" section and view the videos in:


My Strangest Phone Call
Perceptions of America and American Culture
Aspirations for the Future
(move your cursor over the "blue diamonds" on the left hand side of the screen to get section titles)

How does the "Alladeen" site, through its design (magic lamp motif), and its use and organization of video and sound clips, allow us, the users, to confront and challenge our expectations of call center workers and their lived experience as virtual laborers? (Provide one example from the video sections listed above)

Blog Post #1

Read the NYT article "Rural South Koreans' Global Links Grow, Nourished by a Satellite Crop" and answer the following question based on the assigned Appadurai readings.

Identify and briefly describe two ways the article illustrates Appadurai's argument concerning electronic and post-electronic media and migration as marking new ways in which to construct "imagined worlds and imagined selves."


Review the guidelines for blog posts listed on the course syllabus. Select the "Comments" link below the post and enter your response. It is suggested that you write your response in your word processing application, save it, then cut and paste it into the "Comments" section. Remember to write your name and section number (301 or 314) in your "Comments" post.