Caroline
Snyder
International
Relations
Professor
Shirk
9
December 2015
Blog Post 5
The Todorov reading, while it
discusses only Christopher Columbus’ thoughts and experiences when he first
arrived in America, it reflects what is happening in today’s society. Columbus’
coming to America and interacting with Native Americans was one of the first
acts of globalization. The culture of the East and West were being introduced
to one another. Just as Columbus was confused and looked down upon the
traditions of the Native Americans, so do some people of today look down upon
races, religions, and groups of people that they are not a part of or
understand. There has always been the constant struggle between which culture
is “better” or “more civilized”.
One difference between the natives
and Columbus that he thought about often was religion. Since Columbus did not
understand the Native American’s ways of worship, he discredited them. This
continues to happen today with terrorist groups, but also with normal people
being ignorant of other religions. Some people are not willing to learn about
another religion and just condemn it for being “bad” or “wrong”. Also with
religion comes the constant battle of what is the “correct” name of certain
things. The name of God has been in debate between religions since two
religions first interacted with each other. Columbus renamed some of the
islands he discovered to give them “right names” even though they had already
been given names by the natives. He believed that he had the right to give the
islands the “correct” names. This is just as powerful as claiming land for a
country. As Todorov said, “nomination is equivalent to taking possession”. This
reflects today and how religious groups fight over the names of different
aspects of religion.
Columbus also discredited the
natives when he was unwilling to learn their language. He learned the basics so
that he could understand the nature of what they were saying, but “showed very
little interest in the rest of the vocabulary”. Since I attend Dickinson which
promotes a global education, I find it very sad when I see people who are
equally as unwilling as Columbus to attempt to learn a new language or about a
culture. People who travel to other countries that expect all of the citizens
to know English and be willing to speak it aggravate me. You do not necessarily
have to learn a whole new language in order to go to another country, but at
least respect the fact that not all humans know English. These are the same
people that brush off the foreigners who come to the United States to travel.
In my opinion, all people should be open minded enough to want to help others
who do not understand the language or culture. I know that if this dream were
to come true, I would be living in a utopian society. However, I do believe
that the world is becoming a more globalized place that is increasingly
becoming more accepting and promoting of other cultures. This is especially
true since Columbus’ time. Columbus was not willing to learn a new language and
today, being bilingual is a coveted skill that is beneficial in the work place.
We are getting there. Thanks to
Columbus, globalization is a driving force that is constantly changing our
world.
Caroline,
ReplyDeleteYour posts forces me to ask you Question #2 for the final paper. DO you think that globalization can get rid of the "other"? Can we ever truly understand and empathize with all cultures and all cultural practices?
Hi Prof. Shirk,
DeleteI actually plan on writing my paper about Question #2 so I will keep my answered more concise for my reply. No, I do think that globalization can get rid of the "other". However, with time, I think that different cultures will respect each other more so while "other" will still exist, but it will no longer have as much of a negative connotation. I do not think that a person can ever truly understand another culture that is not their own. Again, people can come to respect other cultures and understand most parts of them as long as they are open minded and willing to learn.
Hi Caroline!
ReplyDeleteI would argue that not only did Columbus discredit the natives by being unwilling to learn the language, but go further to say that he interpreted what they were saying to fit his agenda, which translates to today, with how the media, politicians, and corporations fit how they present information.
I agree with you that it is right to help foreigners learn your own culture and to make an effort to learn about the language and culture of the country you are living, but the world is moving closer everyday to a monolithic culture. I have traveled to China, Cambodia, and Haiti, and it is astounding how many people are completely or just conversationally fluent in English. Since culture and language go hand in hand, English music has permeated almost all cultures and reaches the top tens of almost every countries charts.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in China, I was teaching English in the rural southern Yunnan Provence, and all of the kids who were 5th and 6th graders were so eager to learn English. 5th and 6th graders wanted to learn English because they thought the language and the culture were cool. I have met very few Americans that can recall being eager to learn a language at that age. It's sad to see for people who love learning and studying other cultures (I am one of those people), but globalization is destroying unique cultures and replacing them with one western monolithic culture.
I have also reflected with a few of my friends who traveled to Europe about their experiences. They told me about how often times that would try to practice their language skills with strangers on the streets and get a response in English. This is a two way street, as culturally aware people are sometimes denied a learning experience when they go abroad.
It is sad, but we could potentially experience a monolithic culture in our lifetimes.
I agree with you that it is right to help foreigners learn your own culture and to make an effort to learn about the language and culture of the country you are living, but the world is moving closer everyday to a monolithic culture. I have traveled to China, Cambodia, and Haiti, and it is astounding how many people are completely or just conversationally fluent in English. Since culture and language go hand in hand, English music has permeated almost all cultures and reaches the top tens of almost every countries charts.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in China, I was teaching English in the rural southern Yunnan Provence, and all of the kids who were 5th and 6th graders were so eager to learn English. 5th and 6th graders wanted to learn English because they thought the language and the culture were cool. I have met very few Americans that can recall being eager to learn a language at that age. It's sad to see for people who love learning and studying other cultures (I am one of those people), but globalization is destroying unique cultures and replacing them with one western monolithic culture.
I have also reflected with a few of my friends who traveled to Europe about their experiences. They told me about how often times that would try to practice their language skills with strangers on the streets and get a response in English. This is a two way street, as culturally aware people are sometimes denied a learning experience when they go abroad.
It is sad, but we could potentially experience a monolithic culture in our lifetimes.