Reflective Post #1 - Reflecting on Castells' Theory of Globalization

After listening to the lecture on the theories of globalization, I was intrigued by what was discussed about Manuel Castells' contribution to the field of globalization. As discussed, he was writing more than two decades ago (Hagar, 2019) so I was interested in reading again about his work in Robinson's chapter, "Theories of Globalization" to see if I could see if a foundation of his theory was applicable to society as I know it two decades later.

 Robinson referred to Castells' theory of globalization as "representing a new 'age of information'" (Robinson, 2007) which struck a chord with me because I have frequently heard my generation described as living in the "information age." Castells' theory described the current economy as "informational, knowledge-based...global, in that production is organized on a global scale; and... networked, in that productivity is generated through global networks of interaction" (Robinson, 2007). Reading that description made me think of the popularity of social media and its use as a commodity. One example that is in line with his description is the prevalence of influencers and their use of information (posts) to make money. They work on a global scale, gaining followers across the globe and interacting with people real-time that are thousands of miles away.

 Reading more about Castells' theory of globalization after hearing it introduced in the lecture, I definitely found his work applicable to today's society even two decades after his work was published. His work intrigued me, especially when considering its applications to my own experience, and it warrants further, more in-depth study.

 References:

 Hagar, C. (2019). Theoretical perspectives of globalization [file format]. Retrieved from https://sjsu.zoom.us/recording/play/FdQRVF4bVUM9AeMCBSF7LSagvXrSHE7-lqmoGdTw7a577lJK3hdNCIKMolC4UkPz?continueMode=true

 Robinson, W.I. (2007). Theories of globalization. In G.Ritzer (Ed.), Blackwell companion to globalization (pp. 125-143) Malden, MA: Blackwell.

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