the dominant symbolic systems of meaning of our age such as individualism, consumerism, and various religious discourses-circulate more freely and widely than ever before. As images and ideas can be more easily and rapidly transmitted from one place to another, they profoundly impact the way people experience their everyday lives. Today, cultural practices frequently escape fixed localities such as town and nation, eventually acquiring new meanings in interaction with dominant global themes. The thematic landscape traversed by scholars of cultural globalization is vase and the questions they raise are too numerous to be fleshed out in this introduction. Rather than offering along laundry list of relevant topics, this chapter will focus on three important themes: the tension between sameness and difference in the emerging global culture : the crucial role of transnational media corporations in disseminating popular culture; and the globalization of languages.