Cultural Change Essay

For thousands of years, many cultural traditions have stood uninterrupted by one another. As culture inevitably changed, societies remained respected. However, with the influence of globalization in recent centuries, change has become intertwined with conflict. In many instances, a natural change is not enough. When two societies collide, acculturation can occur, as members of the “weaker” society acquire aspects of the dominant society. Despite acculturation’s oppressive nature, dominant cultures may seek the complete eradication of the other: genocide. An excerpt from The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide officially defined genocide: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” The focus of genocide in a modernized world is to the force the weaker culture to recognize the dominance of the stronger one through complete ethnic cleansing. Rather than allowing cultural change, the end goal of genocide is to cause cultural death. For several dominant cultures, the immediate and drastic effects of genocide outweigh slow cultural loss. Many genocides have occurred in both ancient times and recent history, but one of the most disastrous effects of genocide is the severe alteration in the lives of women caught among the ...

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...es, extreme caution should always be taken. Time should be spent examining differences between groups in order to be sure to maintain a harmonious society. Rape and sexual assault in Darfur has become one of the most crucial tactics in their genocide. Not only is the destruction of Darfuri women’s lives tolerated, but encouraged by the Sudanese government and Janjawid militia. Even if the Darfur society was able to prevail with some survivors, the chances of women having their same value and prominence are extremely slim. Rape has not only violated women, but violated the cultural norms within Darfur. Shame, traumatic impact, irrepable damage, and identity loss will outlive the actual events that have occurred. An institution of total intent to eliminate Darfur culture, the rape of women leaves behind an irreversible legacy of the negative impact of globalization.