Cultural imperialism

Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting the culture or language of one nation in another. It is usually the case that the former is a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter is a smaller, less affluent one. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude.

Empires throughout history have been established using war and physical compulsion (military imperialism). In the long term, populations have tended to be absorbed into the dominant culture, or acquire its attributes indirectly.

Early history

One of the first known examples of cultural imperialism was extinction of the Etruscan culture and language caused by the influence of the Roman Empire.http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Museums/Archives/U_Penn.htm

The Greek culture built gyms, theatres and public baths in places that its adherents conquered (such as ancient Judea, where Greek cultural imperialism sparked a popular revolt), with the effect that the populations became immersed in that culture. The spread of the koine (common) Greek language was another large factor in this immersion.

As exploration of the Americas increased, European nations including England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal all raced to claim territory in hopes of generating increased economic wealth for themselves. In these new colonies, the European conquerors imposed their language and culture.

Similarly, policies of Russification were carried out in the Russian Empire throughout the 19th century.

English cultural imperialism

A revealing instance of cultural imperialism is the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549, where the English state sought to suppress non-English languages with the English language Book of Common Prayerhttp://satucket.com/lectionary/BCP.htm . In replacing Latin with English, and under the guise of suppressing Catholicism, English was effectively imposed as the language of the Church, with the intent of it becoming the language of the people. At the time people in many areas of Cornwall did not speak or understand English. Many speakers of the Cornish language were massacred by the King's army protesting against the imposition of an English Prayer book. Their leaders were executed and the people suffered numerous reprisals.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century the dominant British establishment promoted the English languages to the detriment of others within the British Isles (such as the Welsh language, Irish language and Scottish Gaelic language) by outlawing them or otherwise marginalising their speakers. Many other languages had almost or totally been wiped out by this point including Cornish and Manx. Scots Gaelic was confined to the Highlands and Islands of the north-west, and Irish speakers were only to be found on the western seaboard.

20th century cultural imperialism

Cultural imperialism in the twentieth century was primarily connected with the United States and with the Soviet Union (see Russification), and to a lesser extent with other countries that exert strong influence on neighboring nations. Some people in countries outside the US feel that the high degree of cultural export through business and popular culture--popular and academic books, films, music, and television--threatens their unique ways of life or moral values where such cultural exports are popular. Some countries, including France, have policies that actively oppose Americanisation. Some American cultural producers such as Reader's Digest have responded to or altogether avoided such resistance by adapting their content (or the surface of it) to local audiences.

China has, in various periods over the 20th century, pursued repressive policies towards the indigenous cultures and religions of Tibet and Xinjiang, and has encouraged Han Chinese immigration into those regions, for example, through the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. This has been widely viewed as cultural imperialism by exile and dissident groups abroad and their supporters. The nationwide promotion of a standardized Chinese language has also sparked debate, both in Mainland China and Taiwan, about whether this constitutes a form of cultural imperialism over regional dialects.

Canada is also affected by the influence of the United States. Aside from the fact that American businesses are purchasing Canadian industries and resources, the Canadian population is continuously exposed to the American media. Whether this can be fairly termed "cultural imperialism" or not is open to debate, as most Canadian media outlets broadcast American content voluntarily simply because it attracts higher viewership from Canadian audiences; the most popular music, movies, and television programs in Canada are frequently American. Whatever the label for US influence, various Canadian governments have practiced Canadian cultural protectionism in response.

Representatives of al-Qaida have stated that their attacks on US interests have been motivated in part by a reaction to perceived US cultural imperialism. The extent to which American cultural imperialism is an important source of hostility in the Middle East, and the corresponding implications for the American-led War on Terror is a matter of great controversy.

Cultural dissemination - international development

Though the majority of international service trips and other related voluntary organizations generally advocate the promotion of the socioeconomic advancement of developing nations overseas, little research has been conducted concerning the overall effectiveness of many of these programs. Some believe that ideas associated with cultural imperialism and the active promotion of one’s own language and culture pose positive as well as negative effects for those less affluent nations. A popular organization like the Peace Corps, for example, has been established for over forty-five years and continues to serve almost one hundred and forty impoverished nations worldwide. Although this particular organization endorses the growth of developing nations, two out of the three main goals comprising Peace Corps’ mission statement place a strong emphasis on promoting a better understanding and acceptance of American culture and the United States. Whether intentional or unintentional, researchers have found that local power and gender differences are often overlooked during a community’s participation in international development and funding organizations. Many modes of cultural imperialism have been analyzed but few studies have been conducted to test the effects associated with introducing elements of new culture, including technological advances and religious institutions.

The topic of information technology, in particular, has sparked a controversial debate as to whether technology actually facilitates economic growth and quality of life throughout the world. Arguments have been made that promoting the use of technology in developing nations may ultimately intensify global inequality, though studies have shown that access to information technology has increased economic expansion and decreased rates of child mortality in the developing world. Some studies have concluded that nationally and internationally funded projects with higher levels of participation have much better success rates and aid a broader section of the population.

Theory and debate

'Cultural imperialism' can refer to either the forced acculturation of a subject population, or to the voluntary embracing of a foreign culture by individuals who do so of their own free will. Since these are two very different referents, the validity of the term has been called into question. The term cultural imperialism is understood differently in particular discourses. E.g. as "media imperialism" or as "discourse of nationality" (Tomlinson, 1991).

Cultural influence can be seen by the "receiving" culture as either a threat to or an enrichment of its cultural identity. It seems therefore useful to distinguish between cultural imperialism as an (active or passive) attitude of superiority, and the position of a culture or group that seeks to complement its own cultural production, considered partly deficient, with imported products or values.

The imported products or services can themselves represent, or be associated with, certain values (such as consumerism). According to one argument, the "receiving" culture does not necessarily perceive this link, but instead absorbs the foreign culture passively through the use of the foreign goods and services. Due to its somewhat concealed, but very potent nature, this hypothetical idea is described by some experts as "banal imperialism." Some believe that the newly globalized economy of the late 20th and early 21st century has facilitated this process through the use of new information technology. This kind of cultural imperialism is derived from what is called "soft power."

Cultural diversity

One of the reasons often given for opposing any form of 'cultural imperialism,' voluntary or otherwise, is the preservation of cultural diversity, a goal seen by some as analogous to the preservation of ecological diversity. Proponents of this idea argue either that such diversity is valuable in itself, or instrumentally valuable because it makes available more ways of solving problems and responding to catastrophes, natural or otherwise.

Opponents of this idea deny the validity of the analogy to biodiversity, and/or the validity of the arguments for preserving biodiversity itself.

Cultural fascism

Some claim that the attempt to preserve the purity of a culture against noncoercive incursions is itself a far worse imposition. Proponents of this view argue that not only ought people have the right to choose what media and other products they consume, including those of external cultures, but also that the lack of such rights is part of a kind of nationalism that leads in a dangerous direction. Not only is "Cultural Imperialism" a misnomer and an intellectually invalid concept, proponents of this view say, but it is by nature a culturally fascist accusation or retort against cosmopolitanism, and, ultimately, racist. This is part of a larger world view known as Circular Political Theory (the farther you go to the extreme left, the closer you come to the extreme right, and vice versa), which interprets so-called "anti-imperialist" movements and the "new leftism" as merely superficial reworkings of classic fascism.

Opponents of this idea respond that it trivializes the idea of fascism, and that nationalism or cultural pride as such is not intrinsically dangerous. Some add that the root of its mistake is to mischaracterize fascism by its surface traits, ignoring the importance of its social base; similar rhetoric in the mouths of the powerful and the powerless has a different meaning. On the other hand, one could retort that the very idea of cultural imperialism itself trivializes imperialism, as revealed by a comparison of Japanese atrocities in China in the late 1930s to the influence of American jazz and film in Paris during that same period.

Said and post-colonial studies

The writer Edward Said, one of the founders of the field of post-colonial study, wrote extensively on the subject of cultural imperialism, and his work is considered by many to form an important cornerstone in this area of study. His work attempts to highlight the inaccuracies of many assumptions about cultures and societies and is largely informed by Michel Foucault's concepts of discourse and power. The relatively new academic field of post-colonial theory has been the source for most of the in-depth work on the idea of discursive and other non-military mechanisms of imperialism, and its validity is disputed by those who deny that these forms are genuinely imperialistic.

References

Footnotes

Cultural studies | Imperialism | Sociology

Imperialismo cultural | Cultuurimperialisme | Imperialismo cultural | Kulttuuri-imperialismi | Kulturimperialism

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