COMMUNICATION TRENDS FROM THE YEAR 1607 TO NOW

Communication Trends from the Year 1607 to Now

Communication Trends from the Year 1607 to Now

Introduction

In 1607, a deadly disease began to spread around Asia and most of Europe. After its beginning in China, it was quickly spread by trade boats and movement of people and goods from one place to another (Heywood, 2004). The bubonic plague has been blamed for the deaths of a third of the population of Europe at the time, and it is an early example of globalization. The trade links between countries, and increasing ease of travel made the spread of the disease possible, evidence that although it is thought of as a modern process, it has many long established trends, as well as the significant number of developments seen in recent years. This essay shall attempt to identify some of the origins of globalization, and show how they have developed to become worldwide processes affecting culture, business and the economy.

Communications in Roman Culture

It could be argued that the creation of the Roman Empire was the beginning of globalization. The Roman culture was spread to parts of the world other than Rome, and the various norms involved in their societies were universalized for the countries they conquered (Egoryan). Exploration became a very important process at the end of the fifteenth century, with the discovery of America, the 'New World', which was colonized by Western men, creating a society similar to that in another part of the world. As processes were globalized, capitalism was seen to emerge, empowering a new capitalist class all over the world, with similar ideas about society. This has led Marxists to claim that globalization has worked to increase power for capitalism, as it opens up new markets, of culture and knowledge, as well as economy. The World Wars are another example of globalization, as states worked together for common goals, and the results affected most parts of the globe. Knowledge about the wars was reasonably widespread across the developed world, as communication continued to develop (Bailey, 2006).

These trends of socialization, travel, and communication, have developed with increasing intensity to create the 'global village' we have today. The nature of labor and occupation has changed dramatically over time, and this has caused a great migration of people into cities. The concentration of wealth in developed countries has also meant that educated people from developing areas have moved towards the West. This has made communication into a process that affects the West much more profoundly than poorer countries, as it can take full advantage of the new processes and technologies that are developing. The mobility of tourism and business has enabled people to travel around the world in relatively minute spaces of time, increasing our awareness of the availability of alternative cultures and environments. Travel has become more of a way of life for people, as they no longer travel solely out of necessity, but for enjoyment. In the same breath, travel is almost less of an experience ...