Globalization and Cultural Flows: A Three-~Article Dissertation Exploring Implications for Education and Culture in India

Dwight Edward Boucher

Abstract

This dissertation follows a three-article format to examine ways in which distinct manifestations of globalization have engaged and manipulated education in India as colonizing initiatives. The articles are interrelated and examine historical, societal, and individual stories related to colonial and global impositions of Western epistemological, economic, and educational forms in India. The introductory chapter outlines the broad implications of globalization and globalizing narratives, and it is intended to demonstrate that while globalization has the capacity to improve the quality and equitability of lives around the world, it also has the potential to serve as a hegemonic conduit for the continuation of predatory colonization. The first of the three articles is a historical paper that explores the impact of colonial liberalism and global neoliberalism on education in India. The second article engages cultural studies methods to analyze media promotion and discourse on the topic of education initiatives and policies in India in the current era, and the third article is a qualitative ethnography that investigates both craft pedagogy and student motivations to pursue higher educational studies in traditional craft and design in Jaipur, India. The broad purpose of this dissertation, taken as a whole, is to explore the intersections of globalization, education, and culture in India and to provide information on how these complex intersections impact the lives of real people.