Cultural Challenges Faced by African and Asian Cultures - Essay Example

? Cultural Challenges Faced by Non- Western Cultures Cultural Challenges Faced by Non- Western Cultures Non- Western cultures (mainly Africa and Asia) are being influenced by the Western cultures (mainly America); however, quick on a superficial level. There is a threat to their cultural identities which can possibly be completely forgotten if the influenced is not recognized in the long run. Moreover, there can be an inauguration of a new culture composed of both non-western and western values. There are several reasons why such an influence is taking place and the main reason is the fact that America is currently the super power. The statement, “Worldwide, non-Western cultures faced fundamental challenges to their cultural identities—not so much a re-centering of culture but a de-centering of culture.” (Sayre, 2010, p.419), apparently holds true when we look at the present scenario of non-Western countries on a superficial level. For example, McDonalds which is an American company is also situated in many non-Western countries such as India, Egypt and others. The high percentage of popularity of McDonalds in these countries shows that it has had great influence on the non-Western cultures in the terms of food. But didn’t Indian Food Restaurants, open up in different parts of America in order to cater the Indians living on American ground? Americans would have tried the food also. Hence, we can say that apparently there is de-centering of culture mostly on the part of non-western people but looking at it the depths of the cultural values and beliefs gives a completely different scenario. Understanding the Aspects of Culture A culture defines the identity of a group of people living in a particular region or country. Culture covers the following aspects: dress, greetings, food, values: moral and religious, traditional events and the like. Among these: dress, greetings and food are superficial aspects which can change quickly but change at deeper levels is much slower. (Majid Tehranian, B. Jeannie Lum, Toda, 2006, p. 12). Understanding the Influence of Western Cultures Western cultural imperialism creating a unified globalised culture may be occurring on a superficial level. However, at deeper levels, cultural changes are slow and invisible. This suggests that though there is a global culture being formed where non – western cultures are being influenced by the western cultures, on deeper levels, though; the people continue to value their own diverse cultural aspects in their everyday lives. As moving to the future, people may move quickly as well as they may return back to their roots as they realize the importance of their cultures as their unique identities which should not be lost. People will, thus, stay connected in both ways: to their past and also look forward to the future. (Tehranian, Lum, 2006, p. 13). Taking example of the Indian Culture, there are a lot of cultural values and beliefs in this region. In this modern era, Indian culture has been influenced by the western cultures in terms of dressing, greetings, food and traditional events. Though, they have not forgotten their values but they have added on the western cultural values as a part of their existing culture. If we consider the dress aspect of the Indian culture, their traditional dress is the “saree”; currently, worn by the old Indian generation. One can also see many teenage youths wearing short skirts, pants and the like. The traditional greeting of Indians is the saying of the term “Namaste”, “Salaam” and others. However, one may hear people their say: “Hello”, “Hi”, and “Good Morning” which are greetings that belong to the western culture. The people of the West celebrate Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and more. The Indians along with the celebration of Diwali also celebrate the days celebrated by the West. (Venkateswara, 2010). If we look at the Indian culture before the European expansion and compare it with today’s scenario, we may observe certain changes. European expansion involves the ideas of trade, establishment of European Companies in the vicinity of non-western regions, the establishment of European Education in these areas and the like. Before the European things came into India, the people of the country followed only their culture. We can observe no western influence on their day to day lives at that time. For example, the Indian Hindus followed the caste system which was their cultural and religious aspect. But the coming of Europeans brought a slight change into their culture and the caste system vanished but still exists in deeper roots. (Venkateswara, 2010). Major Reasons of Influence The major reasons are: the need for globalization, expansion of media, electronic communication and education. Discussing each one at a time, there is a need for globalization because of the expansion in global economy that would be beneficial for the entire world. The America being super power has had a hold on the activities of globalization. Globalization has occurred through the technological advancement in communication through the internet and the existence of expanded media has also played a vital role in the development of globalization. The West has some influence and control over the non-western media. Hence, media being an influential source has affected the thoughts, beliefs and practices of the people. Taking for example, certain news channels in India, they are said to be under the influence and control of the West. Television shows, movies and other programs related to the West have had a stronger influence on the non-western mass as they are being shown to the people here. English has become the language of communication and education. Hence, people have started to learn the language from their younger ages. Furthermore, people go to the West for higher education and seek job employment there because of the fact that the West is financially powerful and holds lots of opportunities for a bright future for people. And thus, when people go there, they get education in a western style and tend to adopt it. Western culture has an impressive style which attracts people to adopt it if they are not strong in their cultural faiths and if they believe in liberalism. (Samoleit, 2007, p. 2). Foreign media, which in this case is the western media, existing in the non-western regions, has brought social change to some extent and in this modern era is the most influential source of change. There are many media organizations charged with bringing social change and aimed at making the world bond into a global culture. There has been a study which investigated how young Asians perceive the strength of US media effects on their culture The young generation had been studied because they held the future of their culture. Study took 1968 Asian and European student sample and they were asked how foreign media (U.S. Media) would affect their culture. Asian students answered that foreign media has positively affected their culture. However, in regards to U.S. mediated violence, the Asian students responded them to have had negative affect on their culture. Furthermore, the findings of this study show that the U.S. media tends to have no effect on their cultural values but tend to create a considerable effect on the cultural values of others. (Willnat, He,  Takeshita and Escobar, 2001). Hence, we can conclude that the non- western culture has apparently decentralized. But the roots and values of their culture still remains due to the presence of the older generation. Most of the decentralization has occurred due to the youth of today who are a part of this modern global village. They are required to be regularly educated and planted with the roots of their cultures. References Willnat, Lars. He, Zhou. Takeshita, Toshio. Escobar, Esteban Lopez. (2001). Perceptions of Foreign Media Influence in Asia and Europe: The Third?Person Effect and Media Imperialism. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 14(2). Samoleit, Alexandra. (2007). Globalisation and Media in the Arab World. Tehranian,Majid. Lum, Jeannie.B. (2006). Globalization and Identity: Cultural Diversity . Religion and Citizenship .United States of America: Transaction Publishers. Venkateswara, S.V. (2007). Indian Culture Through the Ages: Education and Propagation of Culture, Volume 1. Latin America and Culture Influences Latin America is the region that covers the Mexican- U.S. border and the regions of Antarctica under the claim by various Latin American countries. In Latin America, philosophy had existed from pre-Columbian period in Hispanic America and before 1500 in Brazil. Before the Europeans in America came into Latin America, autochthonous cultures present in Latin America produced complicated thought systems that gave rise to diversity in the philosophical sphere of the region and these were the Aztecs, Mayas, Tupi-Guarani and Incas. There existed a link between cosmology and the natural world which gave rise to such thoughts. Academic philosophy came into existence when Catholic Church brought education through schools which reflected the medieval values in the sixteenth century. Ethical writings began when Spain and Latin America came into contact giving rise to the findings of cultural differences and human rights. In the seventeenth century, the trend remained the same; however, more stress was given in protecting the Catholic faith from the influence of science and Protestantism by adopting Scholasticism. The eighteenth century experienced a change in philosophy when the Jesuits tried to break the thought of Aristotle and bring modernism in the thought. Due to political turmoil in various Latin American countries and Europe, the early nineteenth century did not allow the expansion of Academic philosophy. Philosophy became productive in the political sphere where non-academics wrote essays related to government, constitution and the like. During the end of this century, positivism came into Latin America and the importance of science in order to create a more organized and managed society was realized. Anti- positivist backlash came into Latin America through the Spanish people in the twentieth century affecting their philosophies that had developed up till now. Many concluded that Latin Americans were adapting, rather than adopting European philosophies to their own reality. (Oliver, 2009). References Oliver, Amy A. (1998). Latin America, Philosophy in. In Rout ledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Read More