3.2 Changing Worldviews

3.2 Changing Worldviews

How should contemporary society respond to the legacies of historical globalization?

Perspective on changing world views in the Global Village.

We each have our own worldview, or understanding of what the world is all about, based on our background, culture, and experience. Our worldviews are constantly changing as we learn and grow as citizens of our planet.

Remember the concept of the global village in the course introduction? That is the idea that in today's world we are connected to each other through the mass media such as telecommunications and the Internet and through trade and travel. Today's technology enables us to know more about other people and other cultures in ways that were impossible for our ancestors. As we learn more about the world and its peoples, our worldviews change.

What's the difference between historical globalization and imperialism?

Understanding the difference between these terms is important. Imperialism occurs when a government (or corporation, with government approval) has an official policy to use deliberately the human and natural resources of another country with or without permission. It involves one nation extending its power, authority, or influence over another. Historical globalization can have many of the same effects as imperialism, but it is not official government policy. It involves people from different nations migrating, trading, and/or communicating with each other without one powerful nation trying to control or influence another. Today, technology extends the reach of the individual to a global scale without the dominating aspects of imperialism.

Theatrum Orbus Terrarum (Theatre of the World) is considered to be the first true modern atlas. It was written by Abraham Ortellius and originally printed on May 20, 1570, in Antwerp, but the cartographer believed that Europe, North America, and Asia were all one huge continent.

Today, when we look at this primary source, we may laugh at the ignorance of the mapmaker. Not long after this map was made, people began to realize that North America was a completely separate continent from Asia and their worldview began to change. However, in the historical context of that time, this map shows the known world.