Constructing the Global in Two Rural Communities in Australia and Japan

This article examines discursive constructions of the global in two rural communities, one in Australia and one in Japan. Based on an analysis of interviews with 195 Australians and Japanese, the article identifies a set of common themes and concerns associated with globalizing social changes in these two local contexts. Economics, immigration, and cultural change feature prominently in respondents’ discourses of the global. However, national and local conditions as well as the social locations of participants are shown to shape conceptions of the global in both communities.