The project Cultural Roots of Globalization is a long-term research program where we seek to understand the reasons of being of globalization by consulting the given artistic, literary production and scientifical, philosophical theoretical discourses.

We start by acknowledging that there is no necessity at all to any phenomenon such as globalization. One has to question again at the beginning why we have laid a cable on the ground of the Atlantic Ocean to link Paris to New York in 1927.

In our perspective globalization develops itself from a double revolution which took place in the 16th century, that is the circumnavigation of the Earth by Magellan and the discovery of the infinity of the universe by Copernic. Since human beings can't anymore inhabit the celestial spheres (for the Sky has been descralized) and their local ontologies (because immense planetary spaces have been disclosed) as exposed by the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, globalization is therefore a challenge to our way of being. Humans need to manage these new global dimensions and have to recreate their habitat.

This kind of globalization has its foundations rooted in the Renaissance period. Today the phenomenon is inquiered by artistic and theoretical production (for example in the technoscientific art field). What for troubles these artists and theoreticians are producing in contrast to the official and predominant discours over globalization (which is rather economical and technological) ? Is it possible to question the phenomenon, along with theses artists and philosophers, in a more poetical way ? What for utopia and visions are they proposing us ? What has art in general to say about globalization ? In what measure theses artists and theoreticans are tackeling the question of the reasons of being of globalization ?

The project Cultural Roots of Globalization is organized around 6 axis :

1. A general bibliography which lists important works in the field of philosophy, literature, science and art in general, all questionning the reasons of being of globalization. This bibliography will allow us to replace artworks dealing with globalization in their intellectual background and help us to iniate a fruitful dialogue between artists and theoreticians (philosophers, art critics, historians, sociologists, engineers).

2. Research seminars gathering artists and theoreticians.

3. "Texts, Essays, Interviews ..." will present articles (hitherto unpublished and re-editions) on the subject.

4. The project is related to the other Leonardo/OLATS projects, such as the SpaceartS Database, the specialized bibliographies on space art, biological art and communication/net art, all adressing in their particular manner the phenomenon of globalization.

5. A section entitled "Planetary Art Workshop" will present artworks from artists in the technoscientific artfield adressing globalization as an artistic issue. The appellation "Planetary art" is only suggestive. The workshop should permit us to expose the different aspects of this artistic production. Around the workshop will gather different networks of individuals and institutions which will develop the discussion.

6. A last section entitled "Words of Globalization" insists on the linguistic repercussions of globalization. Philosophers, artists and human beings in general have created expressions and words to grasp the phenomenon. We will list and present certain of these words and expressions.