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I really enjoyed reading this blog post, and I really liked the way in which Adichie's story was used, because while I read it mostly as a sad story, telling to woes of globalization that have been common in the course, it also pointed to the good that has come from globalization. I think that Lahiri's short stories can also be considered as examples for showing the positive along with the negative when it comes to the globalized world in which we live.

For example, the characters in "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," are connected in a way that may not otherwise be possible if it were not for globalization; Lillia's family is Hindu, while Mr. Pirzada himself is a Muslim, and in Pakistan and India, the two religious groups are not known to mesh well together. However, in America - away from the problems that their countries of heritage hold - the characters are able to become friends and Mr. Pirzada is given a sort of familial support when he is away from his own family and fears for their lives. It could also be argued, however, that this bond is created only through a mutual feeling of "otherness" in America, in which they are marginalized into a large group labelled "foreign," "Eastern," and "non-White." Nonetheless, the fact that two diverse groups can come together and find solidarity and friendship with each other can still be considered a positive side-effect of globalization, even if it is due to being marginalized by the same process from which that relationship stems.

Lahiri's "Sexy," also demonstrates that the offerings of globalization do not always have to be negative experiences, or suggest that good things at least exist amongst the bad. For instance, Dev - while not an ideal role model or tutor - does teach the white-privileged, fully-immersed Westernized lover - Miranda - more about the world around her, causing her own ideas about immigrants and non-Western cultures to be shaken. By the end of their affair, Dev no longer seems like a mythicized, exoticized and eroticized foreigner to Miranda - stereotypes that are often applied to those from Eastern countries such as India. Thus, it can be thought of by the end of the story (although the ending is open-ended and ambiguous), that Miranda has learned the danger of holding such beliefs and her illusion has been successfully shattered, showing her that there is nothing "sexy" in simply being non-White and originating from another part of the world. Again, this can be considered a positive of globalization; people are increasingly learning that their views on countries and areas other than their own are not necessarily true, because globalization has allowed for wide-spread mobility and has, in turn, created a multitude of diverse countries in which cultures live among each other and can learn from each other.

While globalization has created many problems, it has also created many solutions and opportunities. There is still much room for improvement, but as the article and my classmate have argued, more success in globalization can be reached as long as we look forward and actively work toward a better global community.

Hey CDawson! While I definitely see the virtues of globalization as you listed them, I also wonder if we can't read Nkem's luxuries as a negative spin, too? Particularly in regards to the Benin masks, Nkem often mentions that she imagines past uses for them. As cultural icons, they ought to carry some kind of special significance - but to Nkem, she seems unsure of their original purposes; to Obiora, their value is restricted to their financial worth. Commodification in "Imitation" seems to erase a lot of cultural meaning.

However, I think the argument could also be made that commodification can potentially be liberating, in a way. You're certainly right that the power of wealth allows Nkem better social and economic advantages; further, this freedom enables her to reevaluate her relationship as according to her wants, rather than the financial needs that informed her relationships prior to marriage. Beyond seeing the Benin masked as suffering from the erasure of commodification, we could also interpret them as becoming 'blank slates' through which Nkem can imprint her individualistic thoughts and ideas. Freed from their historic past, the masks as commercial items become culturally malleable, empty items that can adopt whatever meaning (or lack thereof) that the owner desires. Globalization may be rightly criticized as diminishing certain cultures, but I think it's also valid to possibly view this trend as making cultures transformative and adaptable in positive ways.