I found our discussion on the possibility of an emerging global culture very interesting. As an anthrolopology major in undergrad, I spent quite a bit of time exploring the notion of globalization and culture. While I am not convinced that we will ever have what can be considered a global culture, I think it's important to look at the evolution of cultures around the world when we think about the future of the world's culture. I think there were some pretty strong adverse reactions to this idea in class the other day. Mia mentioned that she would never partake in a global culture if there was one. Others mentioned that it was inevitable. I think the reality falls somewhere in between. As technology has evolved, cultures inevitably become more integrated. Culture is the learned behavior of one human by another. As such, no culture ever exists in isolation. Studies of cultural groups that developed independent of one another show us that culture can and does evolve and change over time. Archaeological studies show that early migrations started in the northern regions of what is now Asia and traveled across a land bridge and down the coast of what is now North and eventually South America. The cultures, norms and mores of people in Mongolia and people in China evolved from the same small group of people. The divergence of these cultures can be attributed to the lack of communication between these peoples, but the similarities can be tied to a common heritage and the passing on of traditions and beliefs from one generation to another. Culture today emerges in a much different manner because we have such advanced methods of communication and we have instant access to people around the globe. Arguments have been made that this kills culture, and that the free flow of information makes people abandon their heritage and their "true" culture. I would argue that this exchange of information, while much more advanced than it used to be, is a) no different from how culture has always emerged and changed and b) inevitable. Will we ever become "one" culture? I don't think so. I believe that there are too many people in too many places for us all to become homogenous. However, I think if we look at the trajectory of human interaction over the history of the world, we will see that the interaction of one culture with another always results in a change or adaptation of both cultures.