Introduction

In the contemporary world, characterized by an increasing interconnectedness among all human civilizations, it is vital to understand the phenomenon of globalization, what it means to live in a global culture, and what our roles are as transnational citizens of the world. As the abilities of our advancing human population increase to allow for a greater sense of connection between individual human civilizations—aided by technology, such as communication technologies (mass media and computerization) and transportation technologies^[1]—conflicts between the preservation of, and respect for, the particularities of individual cultures and the encroachment of outside values have become a significant part of our changing world. Though some theorists take opinionated stances encouraging the positive effects of a globalized world society—a hyperglobalist approach^[2]—and others take the opposing side, vilifying it for its detrimental effects on the uniqueness of human civilizations—a theorist of the cultural imperialism perspective would take this approach, potentially^[3]—the fact of the matter is that it is occurring and we are faced with the responsibility to understand what our role is in this new globalized society.