ABSTRACT
The issue of globalization has spawned numerous debates in English Studies, resulting in a search for new pedagogies, theories, and methodologies that reflect the new sociocultural, political, and economic realities. It has led to the publication of monographs, essays, and special issues of journals on the subject, most recently the PMIA (January 2001) and the TESOL Quarterly (Autumn 2000). Globalization, the interconnectedness of the world in a single global marketplace, which shapes politics and international relations, is seen by many as an essentially liberating phenomenon that aids in the democratization of societies and individuals (Friedman, 1999; Markee, 2000; Warschauer, 2000). Although the United States is at the forefront of the globalization process, social inequities concerning unequal access to important resources such as education within the United States remain disquieting. At a university heavily supported by an infusion of funds as a result of a Mexican American Legal Defense Fund suit—a lawsuit against the state of Texas for its lack of facilities of higher education for underrepresented populations—we need to be more cautious in our celebration of globalization and instead foreground the problems of access and academic success.
