Session 2 (23/8) Reflections

Brief Overview

The first part of the class was focused on global dominance while the second half looked at human development.  Two videos were shown, one suggesting that China is already the world’s largest economy and the second introduced the Millennium Development Goals. Also, the first round of individual presentations took place.

Interesting ideas/observations

Global Dominance

The alternate perspective to the Eurocentric version of history as presented in reading 1 on the colonial holocaust was not new to me as I had previously read similar articles in junior college. However, it did serve as a useful reminder that history is indeed written by victors and we live in a world that is still very much affected by colonization. In particular, the idea that third world countries remain in poverty due to the policies and agreements imposed on them by first world countries and non-governmental organizations providing aid although counterintuitive, is probably true to a certain extent.

The third reading on the pollution of popular culture by American culture was an interesting read. The dominance of Hollywood and media giants does result in rather stagnate and formulaic programs being churned out, (e.g. the obsession with vampires, reality and talent shows). However, I believe that in Asia, there is still an abundant source of popular culture that is not derived from American sources. Media such as Chinese period dramas, Japanese anime, Korean music and Bollywood movies, do provide an alternate source to American popular culture. Of course there is still debate on whether these so called alternate sources are themselves influenced by American culture, but in general, I feel that Asia is rich enough in its own cultural diversity to carve out its own forms of popular culture independently from the American variety.

Prof’s chart and the discussion of whether a particular country was a falling or rising star was rather thought provoking.  It was mentioned that Singapore was ‘awaken’ from its complacent state due to the rise of China and India and hence its rising star mentality was revitalized. I thought this observation was very accurate and reflected the recent changes in Singapore, from the opening of the two integrated resorts (economic diversification) to the hosting of the Youth Olympic Games (raising our country’s profile in the global sporting arena).

Two presentations were done for this topic. The first by Dora looked at the US hegemony and the transfer of guided missiles to the NATO allies during the Cold War. In my opinion, this presentation served as an excellent example of how technology, in this case, military technology, could be used as leverage to assert one’s position of dominance over another. Daisy’s presentation on Henry Ford’s revolutionary assembly line was a gentle reminder that technology is not just about products but also about processes.

Technology and Human Development

The second reading introduced useful core concepts and was generally very informative. The third reading which considered human development from an Indian perspective tied up nicely with the first reading about the Human Development Index (HDI). Human development according to the first reading is about maximizing potential and it is measured by education and literacy, life expectancy and income. However, the third reading directly challenges this method of measuring human development, for example, arguing that it is not necessary to be literate to be developed. I believe that the third article raises some good points, it is true that human development cannot be measured so simply, having said that, the aim of the HDI is commendable as it already widens the scope of measurement of development from beyond GDP. Other indexes have emerged such as the Gender-related Development Index have expanded the method of calculating human development. Ultimately these indexes are just indications of human development in the world, they are merely a means to an end and are not an end in themselves.

We were also introduced to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) via a Youtube video. These goals are sort of an agenda to remind us what problems need to be tackled for human development to be achieved throughout the entire world so that progress is not limited to just the developed countries.

Of the three presentations, I felt that Cherrin’s presentation on globalization and the development of third world countries was very informative and most relevant to the topic of technology and human development. She explained the difficulties facing the transfer of technology to less developed countries.

Key Take Away Points

• Global dominance can be in many different areas, for example, economic, political and cultural. Technological dominance is only one facet of what it means to be a global power. However, technological prowess definitely can play a significant part in helping a country achieve global dominance as shown by Dora’s presentation.
• A country/company that wishes to remain dominant has to keep itself open to exchange of ideas and seek to continually renew and reinvent itself; a closed perspective can only lead to decline.
•  Development can be both positive and negative depending on the point of view, impact and method of measuring development.
• Technology is not just a set of blueprints, there is need for both hardware and software. The transfer of technology to less developed countries is therefore not an easy feat.

Issues for further discussion

Due to the lack of time we were not able to discuss about the last two presentations. I feel that Elizabeth’s presentation, which looked at the ‘human aspect’ of technology, could have led to a very interesting discussion on the impact of technology on people. What do people in less developed countries have to say about technology transfer? Are they always willing recipients?

Rating: 7/10