Roland Robertson
Encyclopedia
Roland Robertson is a sociologist and theorist of globalization
, who lectures at the University of Aberdeen
in Scotland
, United Kingdom
.
Robertson's theories have focused significantly on a more phenomenological and psycho-social approach than that of more materialist oriented theorists such as Immanuel Wallerstein
or Fredric Jameson
. For Robertson, the most interesting aspect of our modern (or postmodern) era is the way in which a global consciousness has developed. He lays down a progression of "phases" that capture the central aspects of different eras in global history, asserting that we have entered the fifth phase, that of Global Uncertainty.
Robertson's main works are Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture (1992) and the edited volume Global Modernities. In Globalization... he was the first sociologist to define the term globalization
(as “the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole”). His definition was based on the Japanese business term glocalization, which he introduced into Western social science discourse.
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, who lectures at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Robertson's theories have focused significantly on a more phenomenological and psycho-social approach than that of more materialist oriented theorists such as Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
or Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
. For Robertson, the most interesting aspect of our modern (or postmodern) era is the way in which a global consciousness has developed. He lays down a progression of "phases" that capture the central aspects of different eras in global history, asserting that we have entered the fifth phase, that of Global Uncertainty.
Robertson's main works are Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture (1992) and the edited volume Global Modernities. In Globalization... he was the first sociologist to define the term globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
(as “the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole”). His definition was based on the Japanese business term glocalization, which he introduced into Western social science discourse.