Why Global Objects Matter for Communication and Media Studies

Abstract: The goal of this article is to bring attention to the relevance of global objects in communication and media studies. Global objects are suspended and work in the multiple registers of globalization. They have three salient ontological properties: analytical foci, connectors, and representatives of essential dynamics of globalization. They are objects that matter amid the constant splitting of communication/media studies into porous and overlapping fields and subfields. Global objects provide a sense of orientation and ontological footing.