The Social Process of Globalization

Return Migration and Cultural Change in Kazakhstan

Douglas W. Blum

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781107129689
• eBook ISBN: 9781316474471
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

It is often argued that globalization fosters 'hybridity', as some cultural imports are accepted, while others are 'localized', and others still are rejected outright. Yet we know relatively little about the social processes and mechanisms involved in cultural globalization. This book offers an empirically rich and theoretically compelling analysis of how cultural globalization occurs, including the structural conditions, personal meanings and social interactions associated with various outcomes. Providing a detailed analysis of the experiences of young people from Kazakhstan who lived in the United States temporarily, the author asks, how do return migrants react to cultural differences in America, and what changes do they try to incorporate into their lives back in Kazakhstan? What kinds of negotiations ensue, and what explains their success or failure? In answering these questions, Douglas W. Blum combines insights from sociology and anthropology along with specialized research on globalization, migration and post-Soviet studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Moving beyond hybridity
• 2 Kazakhstan: The local context of globalization
• 3 Theory: Explaining cultural stability and change
• 4 Return migrants and the negotiation of cultural difference
• 5 Patterns of social and cultural change
• 6 Conclusions: Globalization, reflexivity, and return migration
• Bibliography
• Index