Globalization Question
Kwame Anthony Appiah respond the following question:
QUESTION: "What roles does religion play in Appiah’s analysis? How is your approach similar to or different from his? (That is, do you agree with Appiah’s analysis or disagree?)
Religion=culture
Spread of religion decreases cultural homogeneity. Harder to preserve culture financially and socially.
Cultural appropriation is a good thing
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Appiah’s analysis of the impact of globalization on cultural homogeneity around the world is thought provoking to say the least. Being from a city in Ghana, he has first handedly witnessed the impact of globalization on his own culture and emphasises the important role of religion
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The isolation of man from diversity is unfair for both him and society. Without globalization, man would not have the opportunity to make his own decisions and grow to the best he can be. Instead, there is a fight of resistance against the West.
Enforcing universal truths has never worked in the past. The imposition of a new belief system is often met with much backlash. The Thirty Years War, French Wars of Religion, and the English Civil war are examples of much bloodshed due to religious conflict. It is with this knowledge that Appiah argues that we must let each other make personal decisions that directly correlate with how much one is affected by the impact of globalization. Thus the suggestion of ideas and the choice of whether or not to adopt them is much stronger and much more effective than forcing an idea upon
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Being Greek and Irish from the United States, I have made the choice to take Greek folk dance and Irish step dance classes. I have made the choice to attend Greek school. Everyday when I wake up, I get to choose whether or not I want to connect with my culture. I get to feel sincerely tied to my culture while rejoicing in western comforts. Like Appiah, my personal experience has shaped the way I feel about globalization. I see and live in the beauty of a heterogenous society with homogenous communities. I do believe that we should intervene in other countries that infringe on basic human rights, even though they don’t believe they are doing anything wrong. I think that the isolation of homogenous places can be dangerous because without the influx of new thought there is potential for oppressiveness and extremism. I agree that one’s intuition about right and wrong is based more off the conditions in which they have grown up in, and that religion is the biggest factor in the differences between people of different cultures. Different views shape what is considered and delivered by the media as news, who is elected into power, and family values. There is room for change, however. For example we can look to the United States and examine the changing role of women in the 21st century. Women have left the kitchen and the laundry room in exchange
Think of the term ‘globalization’. Your first thought may be of people from all corners of the Earth exchanging ideas, views, products, and so much more. Appiah introduces his article by describing a scene of a traditional Wednesday festival in the town of Kumasi. He allows the reader to visualize the traditions held by those in attendance, but begins his case by providing details of men on their cellphones and holding conversations on contemporary topics such as H.I.V/AIDS. When Appiah speaks of “contamination,” he highlights the way one culture is influenced by another accepting an exchange of ideas. In his article he asks, “why do people in these places sometimes feel that their identities are threatened?” (Appiah). This question raises a topic that is central to the unification of peoples’ ideals and cultures...
Globalization has it's obvious ups and downs. In Kwame Appiah's article "the case for contamination" he makes it clear that he favors globalization but doesn't ignore the contradictions and set backs that globalization brings. Globalization offers other countries different perspectives on life and cultural ideas. Kwame Appiah uses a story about visiting his home land to show how two cultures can merge successfully without one over imposing its views on the other. While waiting for the king to arrive, a very cultural and traditional ceremony, many people stood in business suits with phones in hand. Yet these modern westernized products did not change the overall customs and cultural beliefs of these people. They are not being over run with technology or westernized ideas. They have simply adapted them into their own culture. Appiah is very opinionated and uses his own religion as well as other religions as an example to get his point across but he never pushes or tries to influence the reader by these religions. He has travelled and had close relationships with people of different cultures, customs and places. This makes him appear knowledgeable in the field of cultural globalization and ethics in world affairs. Appiah illustrates his view on the difference of isolating a culture to preserve it and letting it choose its own path to evolve with the times. He uses this same idea in the way he writes ultimately letting the reader choose their own stance on the topic. Without any hesitation I agree with the authors point of view that giving a person the individual opportunity to chose what to adapt or exclude in there life is the most fair and beneficial situation.
Israel, the place call the holy land, the land, which Jesus walked, however, it is widely acknowledged that tensions between secular and religious sectors constitute a salient feature of Israeli society. If one were to try to summarize the relationship of Israel to Jewish religion, he would say that it is related but not equivalent to certain concepts of Israel. Most people think of the holy land when they hear the names Israel but one must ask the question is Israel truly the holy land. This essay will show the relationship between religion and Israel. Religion in the broadest sense may be defined as man's attitude towards the unseen, and the earliest forms of human thought furnish the clue from which must be traced the development of those great systems of religion that have at different time periods been professed by certain groups of people. The term religion must also include, not only beliefs in unseen spiritual agencies, but also numerous customs, superstitions, and myths which have usually been regarded by the people of the specific society or community. As far as, Jewish religion goes, there are many different opinions about the origin and history of people and the religion.
Kwame Appiah’s essay titled “The Case for Contamination” in The New York Times magazine describes the role of religion through multiple extensive examples and analysis. It is obvious he believes that most of the cultures outside of the western society feel that western cultural influences are equivalent to some sort of toxin that is deadly to spiritual life. Appiah tries to reach out to those who are scared of change and allow them to see that globalization is not necessarily a bad thing (Appiah). I did not realize how close-minded I was until I have read the thoughts and ideas of Appiah multiple times. I am proud to say that there are multiple realizations I have received about religion and culture.
Global Citizens Firoozeh Dumas calls herself a “global citizen” in her enlightening book. Before reading about Dumas’ experiences, I simply assumed the book would reveal how many different ethnicities she belonged to. However, I found that Dumas is an intelligent and witty Iranian writer from Abadan, Iran, who came to American and married a French man. I would never have thought that one woman could have encompassed so many different cultures in her lifetime. The description of a “global citizen” means that a person is culturally well-rounded; he or she is neither prejudice nor exclusive toward other cultures.
Volf argues that strongly held religious convictions about the standards of a good life are what globalization needs. “[F]aith of strong… convictions rather than provisionally held beliefs…will be able to inspire a social movement for cultural and political change” (Volf 160). When world religions have a strong hold on their convictions, it allows others to witness and accept that religion’s view of what constitutes a good life. According to Volf, the more people that grasp on to this idea, the better our world will
He first defines cosmopolitanism, and then moves to discuss the role of formal education in societies, saying that it is “only a small part of our socialization – the process by which our society shapes our ideas, our habits, our practices”(139). The reality is that very little is learned from formal education in comparison to the socialization of our cultures over a long period of time. Each society has different social rules, languages, and even belief sets that may not be taught in a classroom, but are undoubtedly learned and put into practice. This socialization has a huge impact on how people in a particular culture view the rest of the world, which is why Appiah claims that cosmopolitanism and engaging in discussion over differences is essential to cooperation. The goal of cosmopolitanism is not to criticize differences or to simply “agree to disagree,” but rather fully understand why the opposing side believes what they do. This is difficult to accomplish across countries, thus Appiah suggests we should be “encouraging young people to go abroad and work and study with young people in other nations, and inviting young people of other nations to study here” (142). Appiah considers that cross-cultural educational experiences will be a valuable aspect of the socialization process, making it easier to embrace differences rather than change them as fundamentalism aims to do. The author discusses “the fundamentalist challenge” (145) in claiming that it very distinctly opposes cosmopolitanism and calls for an extreme universalism. He eventually resolves to say that there is no reason that fundamentalist religions and their beliefs cannot also be cosmopolitan, it is just a matter of proper education with consideration of differences in
Religion can be viewed from many different perspectives. People throughout the world hold different religious values. One person’s religious value will not match the religious values of another person. Globalization as a whole has affected the way we view the different religions and our feelings towards them; it has moved towards a more symbolic representation of ideologies. Many have come to believe that the west is more superior to others. Martha Crenshaw argues that globalization is a key driver of terrorism because there is a comparison between countries having less access to means of production and others having more access. Furthermore, most religions go against each other’s beliefs and as for Islam; they have neglected the ideologies of the west. In order to understand how religious values are interconnected is through language games; we think in certain ways because of issues of power.
Over the years, society has come to evolve and progressively become more efficient as society’s viewpoints and perspectives on various aspects of life have also changed. However, the one aspect of life that has stayed constant has been religion. The impact of a constant religious opinion on a changing society has detrimental and benign effects on the populace of such a society.
Globalisation can be construed in many ways. Many sociologists describe it as an era in which national sovereignty is disappearing as a result of a technological revolution, causing space and time to be virtually irrelevant. It is an economic revolution, which Roland Robertson refers to in his book ‘Globalisation’ 1992 pg 8, as “the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole”. It is argued that globalisation allows the world to become increasingly more united, with people more conscious of ethnic, societal, civilizational and individual aspects of their lives.
Globalization refers to the absence of barriers that every country had. Yes, it has helped to demolish the walls that separated us .Globalization, which is the process of growing interdependence among every country in this planet, can be seen as a sign of hopeful and better future by some, but for others it represents a huge disaster for the whole world. That’s why we are going to see the negative effect that globalization has on culture then focus on the ethical disadvantage it brought, to finally talk about the damage it did to skilled workers.
Globalization is becoming one of the most controversial topics in today’s world. We see people arguing over the loss of a nation’s cultural identity, the terror of westernization, and the reign of cultural imperialism. Through topics such as these we explore the possibilities or the existence of hybridization of cultures and values, and what some feel is the exploitation of their heritage. One important aspect that is not explored is that such influences can also be more than just a burden and an overstepping of bounds. These factors can create an educational environment as well as a reaffirmation of one’s own culture.
When analyzing the consequences of breaking the barriers between diverse cultures the benefits great. The fact that globalization has brought diverse cultures into greater proximity could prove to be favorable in the process of spreading democracy and human rights. On the other hand, the consequences of globalization can prove to be unproductive, giving way for the rise of autocracy due to parochial backlashes and endangering the efforts to spread of democracy and human rights into developing
We cannot stop the phenomenon of globalization due to strong interdependence of our lives on those things which are a product of globalization. It has complicated the process of education but has also created many opportunities for countries to break out of the traditional models of education. The idea of global citizen is seen as a person who can act locally but think globally, is a goal that keeps an eye on maintaining cultural diversity while exposing a country’s citizen to the benefits of globalization. Cultural diversity can be strengthened through globalization by providing means and resources to support cultural groups attempting to make a difference in society while maintaining their distinctive set of values and
Those who support globalization believe it is a positive concept because it promotes the diffusion of wealth, culture, knowledge, and technology. Proponents argue that the dissemination of information and wealth of this type will only benefit citizens, from the poorest in developing countries, to the wealthiest in established countries. In addition, they claim the integration of cultures and economies leads to the spread of information, which also increases religious, cultural, and racial tolerance. However, in spite of all these well-intentioned ideas, globalization h...