Egypt: Continuity and Change in Cultural Norms I

Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians?, Chapters 3-5

What changes have occurred in Egyptian media and communications over the past half century?

What roles did economic development and adoption of new technologies play in causing cultural changes?

Why does Amin believe that newspapers and TV shows have declined in quality?

How have conversational patterns changed on Egyptian telephone conversations over the years?

Is “objective” or “subjective” culture changing?

Is Amin correct that this represents Americanization in the form of middle-class mass society (consumer culture)?

Do you see signs of clash of civilizations or glocalization/hybridization instead?

Continuity and change in cultural norms

Globalized objective culture

Newspaper, TV, telephone

Newspaper/TV

Continuity and change in subjective cultural norms

High-brow educational content, 1950-1975

Low-brow content since 1980s

*Yellow journalism

Sensationalism

New York World vs. New York Journal

Yellow Kid, New York World, 1895-98

Sex, violence, sports, "religious and moralistic" programming

$ales, $ubscriptions, adverti$ing

More eyes=more $$

Americanization or glocalization?

Telephone

Limited network, 1940s

Professional communications

Slow-growing, expensive network, 1950-1980

Professional communications

Upper middle class social communications

Expanding, cheap network since 1980s

Middle class social communications

Continuity in norms of conversation (Amin, p. 68)

Predicted change in norms (p. 70)

Americanization or glocalization?