Deconstructing Identity and Reconfiguring the Imaginary: A Socio-Anthropological Reading of Civilisational Specificity in the Age of Globalisation

Abstract

This study derives its significance from moving beyond a merely descriptive and superficial approach, instead offering a “semio-anthropological” perspective that deconstructs the mechanisms of epistemic and symbolic domination underpinning cultural globalisation. Cultural globalisation is no longer a transient phenomenon; rather, it has become a dominant, transnational reality that imposes a coercive flow of cultural values, social representations, and psychological sensibilities. This research reveals the existence of acute negative effects that threaten human cultural diversity in favour of tendencies toward global standardisation. Contemporary technological acceleration has likewise produced structural and functional displacement within societies, as digital spaces have become “alternative environments” that reshape collective consciousness and reconfigure the social imaginary, distancing them from the constants of national identities. This has placed individuals in a state of continuous alienation and cultural transformation.