...American Intercontinental University Social Structure HUMA 215 – Topics in Cultural Studies 9/8/12 Abstract Cultural syncretism has transformed and shaped our world today; because of encounters years and centuries before our time we have religion and even art. Our modern culture was contributed to by the happenings of yesterday. Social Structure Introduction The legacies of cultural syncretism in the Americas and Africa can be compared and contrasted with the resistance to cultural change that westerners experienced in China and India. These encounters have left many legacies of change and differences in the culture today. Had syncretism not occurred or if syncretism had taken root during earlier encounters in China or India the world today would be different. Various cultural factors in would affect the outcome of syncretism tremendously. Compare/ Contrast Cultural Syncretism Cultural syncretism was active in some societies but not in all; syncretism was not affective in more cultures because some cultures were simply more developed. With the expansion of cultural syncretism, it was easier for Africa and the Americas to adapt than China and India Westerners. Africa and the Americas separated into different tribes which caused them to be weaker than China, India, and the Westerners who created a nation (Sayre, 2013). An example of this cultural syncretism is the Aztec tribe, which was a fairly large tribe; the Aztecs had so many neighboring enemies because of...
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...Cultural Syncretism and its Impact Joanna Abele, Cassandra Drapeau, Amanda Lawson, Brandon Nelson, and Crystal Wooten American Intercontinental University – Online March 3, 2013 Abstract In gaining an understanding of how early civilizations lived, we can see what impact they have had as they migrated to the New World. By examining what they left behind we can also see the impact they have had on many diverse cultures and societies today. Cultural Syncretism and its Impact Introduction Cultural syncretism occurs when two opposite cultures mix and blend their cultural beliefs, whether they be political or religious, to produce or to start a new culture or religion. Historically, syncretism has been seen as an attempt to reconcile disparities between various cultures. Africa and the Americas both had help with other factors like weapons, religion, and technological advancements. When it came to cultural beliefs, China and India’s values were very different. They would operate from outside of the traditional beliefs, which made them much more resistant to syncretism. Compare and contrast the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. When different aspects of cultural philosophies or religions blend together and disparities are compromised, cultural syncretism occurs. According to the 1830 American census 2.3 million people were of African descent and there was only...
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...Compare and contrast the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. What cultural factors caused the differences in outcomes? What legacies have the differences in types of encounters and degrees of cultural change left today? Had syncretism not occurred in the Americas, how might modern culture be different? If cultural syncretism had taken root during early encounters in China or India, how might they be different today? The quest for wealth and power brought Europeans to Indian shores in 1498 when Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese voyager, arrived in Calicut (modern Kozhikode, Kerala) on the west coast. In their search for spices and Christian converts, the Portuguese challenged Arab supremacy in the Indian Ocean, and, with their galleons fitted with powerful cannons, set up a network of strategic trading posts along the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In 1510 the Portuguese took over the enclave of Goa, which became the center of their commercial and political power in India and which they controlled for nearly four and a half centuries. Economic competition among the European nations led to the founding of commercial companies in England (the East India Company, founded in 1600) and in the Netherlands (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie--the United East India Company, founded in 1602), whose primary aim was to capture the spice trade by breaking the Portuguese monopoly in Asia...
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...they brought to our civilization. The Migration of Cultures By 1830 the United States consisted of 2.3 million out of 12.8 million were of African descent and upon them settling after being brought here from Africa they brought many traditions and impacted the culture today. When they came to the United States they brought scientific and technological systems from the West and Central Africa as well as many food dishes such as; gumbo and rice, millet, sorghum, watermelon and black-eyed peas. They also brought tradition with them regarding funerals, celebration festivals, arts, music, dugout canoes, the banjo and language which also had an effect on the European culture as well and this is known as Africanism (Nps.gov, n.d.). Africanism is directly related to African American and Creolization which asks the question when you stop and give to the American or European culture. They point out that the African culture has direct impact on Africa, African-American, Creolization, African-Jamaican and European cultures and when examine the roots trace back to Africa. However, there has been some controversial stating that African roots to America were long lost in slavery as some believe but state the only strong culture they have still impacted are Latin America and the Caribbean (Nps.gov, n.d.). Many have...
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...Abstract In gaining an understanding of how early civilizations lived, we can see what impact they have had as they migrated to the New World. By examining what they left behind we can also see the impact they have had on many diverse cultures and societies today. Cultural Syncretism and its Impact Introduction Cultural syncretism occurs when two opposite cultures mix and blend their cultural beliefs, whether they be political or religious, to produce or to start a new culture or religion. Historically, syncretism has been seen as an attempt to reconcile disparities between various cultures. Africa and the Americas both had help with other factors like weapons, religion, and technological advancements. When it came to cultural beliefs, China and India’s values were very different. They would operate from outside of the traditional beliefs, which made them much more resistant to syncretism. Compare and contrast the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. When different aspects of cultural philosophies or religions blend together and disparities are compromised, cultural syncretism occurs. According to the 1830 American census 2.3 million people were of African descent and there was only 12.8 million in the country (Joyner, 2003). Also of that 12.8 million 2.44% were free Africans, 15.56% were enslaved Africans and 82% were free white people (Joyner, 2003). Within...
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...CULTURAL SYNCRETISM Everybody has heard and knows from the earliest human history that the people who populated this earth five-thousand years ago happened during the Bantu migration; now moving forward to more current times of African people displaced by political oppressions, famine, economic factors, and conflicts. The slave trade encompassed four continents: Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. When slaves were forced to North America had not only brought people but different cultures within North America, too. Aside from African’s forced to North America, to understand cultural syncretism, one must take into account Asia and the Indian Ocean that took place a couple of hundred years earlier. The coerced labor from 1500 (Asia and the Indian Ocean) was an earlier account of cultural syncretism but Europeans found it more difficult to mingle two different beliefs into one. Over-time the different cultures in North America would not be so much forced syncretism, but would rather create a melting pot of beliefs (Lindenfield, 2008). Cultural Mergence Looking at the two different worlds that were oceans apart in some aspects may have been only miles apart. Thinking of what causes two different cultures to merge is usually simply religion. When settlers found the New World, had settled it in the image of Christianity. Everybody who lived on the New World’s land was expected to take in the ideology of Christianity, just like the Pilgrims did to the Native Americans...
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...Abstract This essay will focus on the differences in types of encounters and the degrees of cultural change have left on the world today and what are the legacies of cultural change. You could almost call this the evolution of societies and cultures through cultural encounters. The first step of globalization actually began with the encounters of cultures. In the last few weeks leading to this week’s assignment is we discussed how early civilization influenced each other we seen how the Roman and Greek civilizations had an impact on each other to some degree. We are now exploring how specific countries have all seen and dealt with the topic of cultural syncretism. Cultural Syncretism Still Waiting on First Question From Trya….. What cultural factors caused the differences in outcomes? Some of the cultural factors that caused the different outcomes that the Westerners encountered in both China and India are that they each had very different beliefs. Each culture had its own power, control or dominance (Sayre, 2010). In China, the Chinese would have rather stayed isolated that to be influenced by the Mongolians. In the Song dynasty prospered with their production of iron and therefore their government ended up being controlled by the merchants, they were extremely wealthy. They also had intelligent citizens due to the fact that they had an advance on their printing. They were able to print books and these books helped them get ready for their exams. The Chinese...
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...We have previously discussed syncretism and its definition and meaning. However, what legacies have the differences in types of encounters and degrees of cultural change left today? If we consider syncretism within the arenas of philosophy and religion, we can see that the melding of earlier cultures has had a lasting effect, even today. As cultures recombine with one another, they often create a new blend of teaching and belief systems from the two different cultures. However, some western religious syncretism occurred in China during the mid-late 1800s, its hybrid form not only refashioned a new belief system but also coauthored a massive rebellion known as the Taiping rebellion. While Hung Hsiu-ch'üan and his cousin baptized themselves in a well and Hung Hsiu-ch'üan called himself the other son of God, they called upon (Hooker, 1996) gender equality and sobriety, absolutism in the government and hierarchy established and even in worship during the Opium wars and rebelled not only against the foreigners and the despots then arising in opposition to foreign extraterritoriality but also to the Manchu rulers they blamed for the burgeoning group of people in the poorest class. More importantly, perhaps, this syncretism combined with the numerous cultural forces and western religions in the land, became militarized and regrettably eventually took between 30-50 million lives (Hooker, 1996). Syncretism is a fascinating amalgam of different cultures that exist at various times. We...
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...American Intercontinental University Unit 3 - Cultural Syncretism Alisha Kinchen February 26th, 2012 Abstract This paper contains information regarding Cultural Syncretism. It is my contribution to the Unit Three Group Project. The information is provided for the group in order to explain the impact Syncretism has on individuals along with its aftermath. Cultural Syncretism When asked the question of what cultural factors caused the differences in outcomes regarding the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India there had to be research conducted explaining what the factors were with definitions suffice to examining each component along with correlating with the countries of topic found throughout the paper, so without further delay the source of this information is from the following: The University of Calgary (2000)Old World Contacts. Cultural Conversion Theory Page. Cultural Factors are listed as follows: * Conversion by Voluntary Association - Co-operation & Co-existence * Conversion by Pressure - Conflict, Conquest & Coercion * Conversion by Pressure - Migratory Pressures * Conversion by Assimilation - Adoption & Adaptation * Combinations of Modes of Conversion * Syncretism & * Cultural Resistance Having reviewed the list above let us look further into how each component caused differences in out comes to occur. According...
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...Compare and contrast the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. What cultural factors caused the differences in outcomes? What legacies have the differences in types of encounters and degrees of cultural change left today? Had syncretism not occurred in the Americas, how might modern culture be different? If cultural syncretism had taken root during early encounters in China or India, how might they be different today? The quest for wealth and power brought Europeans to Indian shores in 1498 when Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese voyager, arrived in Calicut (modern Kozhikode, Kerala) on the west coast. In their search for spices and Christian converts, the Portuguese challenged Arab supremacy in the Indian Ocean, and, with their galleons fitted with powerful cannons, set up a network of strategic trading posts along the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In 1510 the Portuguese took over the enclave of Goa, which became the center of their commercial and political power in India and which they controlled for nearly four and a half centuries. Economic competition among the European nations led to the founding of commercial companies in England (the East India Company, founded in 1600) and in the Netherlands (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie--the United East India Company, founded in 1602), whose primary aim was to capture the spice trade by breaking the Portuguese monopoly in Asia...
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...UNRISD U NITED N ATIONS R ESEARCH I NSTITUTE FOR S OCIAL D EVELOPMENT Religion, Fundamentalism and Ethnicity A Global Perspective Jeff Haynes UNRISD Discussion Paper 65 May 1995 UNRISD Discussion Papers are preliminary documents circulated in a limited number of copies to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous agency engaging in multidisciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Its work is guided by the conviction that, for effective development policies to be formulated, an understanding of the social and political context is crucial. The Institute attempts to provide governments, development agencies, grassroots organizations and scholars with a better understanding of how development policies and processes of economic, social and environmental change affect different social groups. Working through an extensive network of national research centres, UNRISD aims to promote original research and strengthen research capacity in developing countries. Current research themes include: Crisis, Adjustment and Social Change; Socio-Economic and Political Consequences of the International Trade in Illicit Drugs; Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Change; Integrating Gender into Development Policy; Participation and Changes in Property Relations in Communist and Post-Communist Societies; and Political Violence and Social...
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...beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence.[note 1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that aim to explain the meaning of life, the origin of life, or the Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people may derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. Many religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of a deity, gods, or goddesses), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain mythology.[1] The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or set of duties;[2] however, in the words of Émile Durkheim, religion differs from private belief in that it is "something eminently social".[3] A global 2012 poll reports 59% of the world's population as "religious" and 36% as not religious, including 13% who are atheists, with a 9% decrease in religious belief from 2005.[4] On average, women are "more religious" than men.[5] Some people follow multiple religions or multiple religious principles at the same time, regardless of whether or not the religious principles they follow traditionally allow for syncretism.[6][7][8] ...
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...from 1620; the arrival of the Evangelicals or nonconformist missionaries, Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians from the mid-eighteenth century; consolidation and growth of various European denominations in the region in uneasy tension with the proliferation of independent black Christian groups and African religions in the post-emancipation era from 1833; the contest for political, economic and religious independence after 1870, including the shift from British Imperial intervention and influence to those from North America, and national independence after 1962. Contemporary studies in anthropology and sociology of religion speak of 'religions on the move', or the process of transmigration and transculturation, as it refers to dynamic, reciprocal, transitory and multidimensional creations in shaping a 'poly-contextual world'. This implies that religions have to be regarded as cultural and spiritual phenomena whose 'taken-for granted' essence1 has resulted from transcultural and transnational processes of mutual 1 Klaus Hock, University of Rostock, abstract for an essay on the African Christian Diaspora in Europe, January 2002 (unpublished); R. Stephen Warner, and Judith G. Wittner (eds.), 1 influence, interaction and continuous adaptation to new environments, developments and encounters. The emphasis here is on 'a new model of understanding religion which emphasizes process and practitioners over form and content':...
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...NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSE CODE:POL 122 COURSE TITLE:INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS COURSE GUIDE POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS Course Writer/Developer Mr. Sikiru Lanre Nurudeen Department of Political Science and Conflict Resolution Al – Hikmah University, Ilorin Kwara State Course Editor Prof. M. Olarotimi Ajayi Faculty of Social Sciences Covenant University Otta Course Coordinator Mr. Abdul-Rahoof A. Bello National Open University of Nigeria ii POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Office No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street Off Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II, Abuja Nigeria e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published by National Open University of Nigeria Printed 2009 ISBN: 978-058-415-3 All Rights Reserved iii POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ………………………………………….…………… 1 Course Aims ……………………………………………………… 1 Course Objectives ………………………………………………... 1 Working through Course……………………………………. This 2 Course Materials………………………………………………….. 2 Study Units………………………………………………………. . 2 Text books and References……………………………………….. 3 Assessment File…………………………………………………… 3 Tutor-Marked Assignment ……………………….. ……………… 4 iv POL 122 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS Final Examination Grading…………………………………...
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...8 Creolization in Anthropological Theory and in Mauritius Thomas Hylland Eriksen A great amount of intellectual energy has been invested in cultural mixing during the last decades. Reacting against an idea of boundedness, internal homogeneity, and stability that has been associated with mainstream twentieth-century anthropology, hundreds—possibly thousands—of anthropologists have tried to redefine, reform, revolutionize, or even relinquish that abhorred “C” word—”culture.” The range of engagement is suggested in the apparent congruence between postmodernist American anthropologists (for example, Clifford & Marcus 1986) and their now classic critique of the Geertzian notion of cultural integration, and the older European critique of the structural-functionalist idea of social integration, which was led by people such as Barth (1966), whose rationalism and naturalism is everything but postmodernist. In both cases, presuppositions of integrated wholes, cultures or social structures, have been debunked. From being a discipline concentrating its efforts on understanding nonliterate societies, often implicitly positing the uncontaminated aborigine as its hero, anthropology increasingly studies cultural impurity and hybridity, and the dominant normative discourse in the field has shifted from defending the cultural rights of small peoples to combating essentialism and reifying identity politics. While this development has been important and necessary for a variety of reasons,...
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