Wikipedia as a Space for the Discursive Construction of Globalization

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Paper Session: Language and Social Interaction Interactive Paper Session

Abstract

The notion of globalization has yielded a rich literature, both scholarly and popular, that reveals the highly contested nature of the meaning of the term. This paper focuses on Wikipedia as one of the most popular reference sites worldwide, and compares, through computer-assisted text analysis and qualitative reading, entries for the word “globalization” in six major western languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Given Wikipedia’s model of open editing and open contribution, it would be logical to expect that definitions of globalization across different languages reflect variations related to diverse cultural contexts and collective writing. Results show, however, more similarities than differences across languages, demonstrated by an overall pattern of economic framing of the term, and an over-reliance on English language sources. Our findings support some scholars’ arguments about the inherent ambiguity of the idea of globalization, and highlight broader questions of linguistic, technological, and cultural hegemony.

Authors

• Gisela Gil-Egui, Fairfield U

• Rainer Rubira, King Juan Carlos U