In Pursuit of English

Author(s):  
Joseph Sung-Yul Park

This book presents subjectivity as a theoretical and analytic perspective for studying the intersection of language and political economy. It makes this point by arguing that the way English comes to be valorized as a language of economic opportunity in the context of neoliberalism must be understood with reference to subjectivity—the dimensions of affect, morality, and desire that shape how we, as human beings, understand ourselves as actors in the world. Focusing on South Korea’s ‘English fever’ that took place in the 1990s and 2000s, this book traces how English became an object of heated pursuit amidst the country’s rapid neoliberalization, demonstrating that English gained prominence in this process not because of the language’s supposed economic value, but because of the anxieties, insecurities, and moral desire that neoliberal Korean society inculcated—which led English to be seen as an index of an ideal neoliberal subject who willingly engages in constant self-management and self-development in response to the changing conditions of the global economy. Bringing together ethnographically oriented perspectives on subjectivity, critical analysis of conditions of contemporary capitalism, theories of neoliberal governmentality, and sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological frameworks of metapragmatic analysis, this book suggests an innovative new direction for research on language and political economy, challenging the field to consider the emotionally charged experiences we have as language users as the key for understanding the place of language in neoliberalism.

1984 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Cumings

Theories of the product cycle, hegemony, and the world system are used to analyze the creation and development of the Northeast Asian political economy in this century. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have each developed in a particular relationship with the others; the three taken together form a hierarchical, constantly interacting political-economic unit. During the period of colonial rule Japan was unique in building an imperial economic unit marked by a strong role for the state (whether in Tokyo or Taipei), by a tight, integral Unking of all three nations into a communications and transport network running toward the metropole, and by a strategy of both using the colonies for agricultural surpluses and then locating industries there. After 1945 a diffuse American hegemony replaced Japan's unilateral system, but elements of the prewar model have survived: strong states direct economic development in South Korea and Taiwan (here termed “bureaucratic-authoritarian industrializing regimes”); both countries are receptacles for Japan's declining industries; and both countries develop in tandem, if in competition, with each other. The most recent export-led competition has seen Taiwan succeed where South Korea has (temporarily?) failed, leaving Seoul in an export-led “trap,” burdened with rapidly increasing external debt. Taiwan, furthermore, has industrialized relatively free of social disruption, whereas Korean society resisted its transformation at Japanese hands and remains more rebellious today. There can be one Japan and one Taiwan, but not two or many of either, in the world economy.


Author(s):  
Lisa L. Martin

In a comparison of today’s global political economy with that of the last great era of globalization, the late nineteenth century, the most prominent distinction is be the high degree of institutionalization in today’s system. While the nineteenth-century system did have some important international institutions—in particular the gold standard and an emerging network of trade agreements—it had nothing like the scope and depth of today’s powerful international economic institutions. We cannot understand the functioning of today’s global political economy without understanding the sources and consequences of these institutions. Why were international organizations (IOs) such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) or International Monetary Fund (IMF) created? How have they gained so much influence? What difference do they make for the functioning of the global economy and the well-being of individuals around the world? In large part, understanding IOs requires a focus on the tension between the use of power, and rules that are intended to constrain the use of power. IOs are rules-based creatures. They create and embody rules for gaining membership, for how members should behave, for monitoring, for punishment if members renege on their commitments, etc. However, these rules-based bodies exist in the anarchical international system, in which there is no authority above states, and states continue to exercise power when it is in their self-interest to do so. While states create and join IOs in order to make behavior more rule-bound and predictable, the rules themselves reflect the global distribution of power at the time of their creation; and they only constrain to the extent that states find that the benefits of constraint exceed the costs of the loss of autonomy. The tension between rules and power shapes the ways in which international institutions function, and therefore the impact that they have on the global economy. For all their faults, international economic institutions have proven themselves to be an indispensable part of the modern global political economy, and their study represents an especially vibrant research agenda.


Author(s):  
Seungeun Choi ◽  

The number of foreigners residing in Korea exceeded 2.5 million for the first time ever. As the ratio of foreigners to the total population approaches 5%, it is evaluated that Korea has actually entered a multicultural society. It is known that among the types of foreigners staying there are many young foreigners who visit Korea for the purpose of employment. The number of marriage immigrants was 16,025, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year. Of these, 82.6% were women. Entering a multicultural society in a situation where empathy for each other is insufficient can lead to social conflict. In particular, in the COVID-19 pandemic, hostility toward foreigners is more prevalent, and hatred for strangers is increasing. This study critically analyzes these social phenomena and seeks to raise the philosophical basis for multicultural education by establishing a concept with a new perspective on the other. This paper focuses on the philosophy of Buber and Levinas. By establishing 'I and You' as a meeting, Buber presented a new relationship with others. Meanwhile, Levinas emphasized human ethics and responsibility as the absolute and infinite being of the other. According to Buber, in the world there is a relationship between 'I-You' and 'I-It', and in order to live a true life, you must establish a relationship between 'I and you'. The relationship between 'I and it' is a temporary and mechanical relationship where objects can be replaced at any time by looking at the world from an instrumental point of view. However, the relationship between 'I and You' is a relationship that faces each other personally, and the only 'I' that cannot be changed with anything and the 'You' that cannot be replaced exist in deep trust. In phenomenology of otherness, Levinas intends to describe the encounter with the something outside the subject. The concepts of possession, distinctiveness and understanding are replaced by those of approaches, proximity, care and fecundity. In Korean society, a policy that seeks to use foreigners as human resources and, especially in the case of marriage immigrant women, as a solution to a society with low birthrates along with the labor force, shows how society treats others. Therefore, multicultural education must rethink the existence and dignity of human beings through the perspective of the other as asserted in the philosophy of Buber and Levinas.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erich Weede

AbstractGlobalization may be defined by a worldwide division of labor and increasing trade between nations. This is inconceivable without expanding economic freedom across the world. Free trade and globalization increase competition, productivity, and economic growth rates. In spite of increasing inequality within many large economies – including the US, China, and Russia – inequality between human beings and households has been reduced. Since catch-up growth in big Asian economies contributes to Schumpeterian “creative destruction,” it necessitates rich economies to adapt, to become ever more entrepreneurial and innovative. This generates resentment and strengthens protectionist excesses which might serve some special interests. But protectionism harms the global economy, the prospects of the poor to grow out of poverty and, worse still, likely increases the risk of war.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Dal Gobbo ◽  
Emanuele Leonardi

The discourse of the ‘Anthropocene’ has quickly become pervasive, cross-cutting different fields of knowledge. However, it is also a deeply contested category. In the critical light shed by political ecology, we reflect on the conceptual blindspots that mark its narrative, identifying it as a symptom of a broader impasse of the neoliberal governmentality of nature and of the ecological crisis today. On the one hand, the Anthropocene narrative proposes a post-humanist vision, which potentially de-centres anthropocentrism. On the other hand, this same vision becomes an alibi for ever deeper and less reflective interventions of human beings on the biosphere, in particular through technoscientific developments. This paradox responds to a specific need for capitalist valorization of ‘Nature’ and, at the same time, does not seem capable to elaborate solutions to the ecological crisis as a whole. However, if the Anthropocene becomes visible only in the present historical contingency and due to specific kinds of knowledge, we suggest that reflecting on epistemological issues is key to the search for more ecological ways of situating in the world. Which forms of knowledge allow us to understand the emancipatory potential of post-humanism within the Anthropocene while avoiding new predatory effects on the biosphere?


SIMAK ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 167-181
Author(s):  
Ely Steven Ingratubun ◽  
Wihalminus Sombolayuk

The dynamics of globalization and liberalization of the world economy are moving so fast, encouraging increased openness of economic relations between nations. Through various trade agreements, such as APEC, AFTA and CAFTA, competition is increasing. According to the World Economic Forum on global competitiveness, Indonesia was ranked 69th (among 177 countries studied) in 2004 and fell to 74th in 2005 .. The development of industrialization in the global economy is a step strategy in response to economical globalization. The involvement of Indonesia in the global economic cooperation has increased its national commitment, both in undergoing economic liberalization and in developing its national economic competitiveness. This research illustrates Indonesia's political challenges in responding to the dynamic changes of the global economy. So this research is in the form of a literature review of the literature on political economy about the development of global industries as one of the central economies of a country, especially Indonesia in order to stabilize future economic fundamentals. This study aims to find out and explore the role of political economy in the development of global industries in each country, both developing and developed countries and this research to determine the extent to which the role of global industrialization affects the economy of a country in the future.


2020 ◽  
pp. 130-166
Author(s):  
Daniel Layman

John Bray, whose transatlantic career reached its height around 1840, follows Locke in arguing that all people have a natural common right to the world and a natural private right to the fruits of their labor. But unlike the libertarian radicals, Hodgskin and Spooner, Bray interprets our common right to the world in strongly positive terms. According to him, the world is common in much the way that a public library is common: We all have an equal right to use it for our own purposes so long as everyone else is equally able to use it for their own. In practice, this requires people to form political communities wherein the means of production are public, but in which people maintain private ownership in their share of what the community produces. Thus, Bray attempts to solves Locke’s property problem through socialist political economy, which provides an avenue to reconstitute common ownership under advanced economic conditions. Although Bray’s left-Lockean picture has several attractive features, it stumbles on Bray’s implausible conception of economic value, on which he relies in his argument against incorporating market competition into his left-Lockean picture. According to Bray, all economic value is accumulated labor, which in turn means that economic transactions are zero-sum and that someone (usually workers) must leave market exchanges worse off. Thus, Bray’s Lockean socialism raises, but does not answer, an important question: Is there room for an egalitarian resolution of Locke’s property problem that does not rely on a mistake about economic value?


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 40-74
Author(s):  
D. S. Mahdy ◽  
H. S. Zaghloul

Introduction. The universities around the world attach great importance to acquiring self-management skills for students while training at the university. Recent studies have proven that these skills have a major role in the development of human personality and academic competencies. Communication and thinking skills are considered to be one of the most important skills that have become taught and have been included in the curricula in almost all Saudi universities. This process involves both theoretical and practical aspects, aiming to provide the student with the necessary knowledge to deal with the other, to use new technologies, to be able to think positively, and to solve problems.The aim of the present research is to assess the impact of communication and thinking skills formation on the development of self-management skills among male and female students of the preparatory year in Northern Border University (Arar, Saudi Arabia).Methodology and research methods. In the course of the research, the survey method was applied. The survey received responses from 400 students of eight faculties from the Northern Border University (200 male and 200 female students). To draw comparisons between male and female students’ perspectives, the Student’s t-test was used. The research hypotheses were validated, and the obtained data were statistically processed.Results. The survey results indicate that there is a substantial difference in male and female student perspectives regarding the impact of communication and thinking skills. It was found out that male students had a much more positive perspective while considering its impact on self-development, on the development of successful social circles, and the ability to teamwork. On the other hand, according to the female students, the development of communication and thinking skills has a positive impact on problem-solving ability, mental ability, intellectual development, creative thinking, and practical life application or life realism of students.Scientific novelty. The present study confirms the importance of the implication of academic programmes aimed at students’ self-development; as such training programmes allow students to cope with the challenges of the era of technology and remote communication. In addition to training programmes directed to positive thinking in the light of the challenges facing the world such as terrorism, extremist ideology, and racism, this study comes as an important step towards enhancing self-development skills in the field of communication and human reasoning for undergraduate students.Practical significance. The authors formulated the recommendations to reform the system of particular educational services, to improve their quality due to the fastest, synchronous implementation of technological innovations and modern equipment, and to support teachers’ competencies at the proper level. The importance of media education development actualises the creation of academic programmes at universities for the training of qualified teachers in the field of specific education, especially for countries, which do not have the same experience of training, since media education is becoming compulsory in the contemporary world, increasingly affecting the formation of individuals, culture, and society. Several proposals have been made to promote further research in this direction.


ARTMargins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
Ivana Bago

Branislav Jakovljević's study on performance and self-management in Yugoslavia and Armin Medosch's research on New Tendencies and post-Fordism share a number of analytical frameworks that the review argues partake in a broader shift towards political economy as a key framework for art historical inquiry. This shift elicits what could once again be called a world-historical perspective: both of these books anchor their narratives in post-war Yugoslavia but only in order to show that the telling of the story of Yugoslav art requires the telling of the story of the world, a story that is not simply an instance of global or transnational (art) history. Instead, these accounts affirm a certain political teleology; they (re)turn to Yugoslavia to recall something that is lost, a ruptural, future-bound history that never saw its future, and whose interrupted course they historicize, offering a recourse to historical understanding as a step towards a new strategy of resistance.


Author(s):  
SHRAVI SINGH ◽  
SHREYANSH SINGH ◽  
SHAILJA DOBRIYAL ◽  
SUNIL KUMAR ◽  
KUSUM DOBRIYAL

Novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously found in human beings. Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that is originated in Wuhan, China during December, 2019 from where it spread to all over the world in more than 205 countries. Approximately 99 lac peoples were infected, about 1.4 lac death in India out of which more than 94 lac were recovered till December 2020. It was declared pandemic by the World Health Organization in March, 2020. The virus was found to infect people of all ages. It has resulted into more than 7crore infection in people and approximately 16 lac deaths globally till December 2020 and is continuing to cause further mortality. Its mortality rate is high on aged or co-morbid patients suffering from cardiovascular, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer. In India mortality rate is less than 2% may be due to genetic variation, immunity, feeding habits and specific socio-cultural traditions. Covid-19 pandemic has changed global economy, medical system and geopolitics. The present communication deals with a review on this pandemic, its current status and future perspectives.


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