Culture Shock… The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes it as “a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation.”
Well this is certainly the feeling I had when I first stepped off the plane a few years ago in India. I can’t remember if it the highway strewn with wandering cattle, or the countless scooters laden with a family and their dog, but as we drove away from the airport towards Delhi, I had a sudden realization that I was in for a cultural surprise. However something hit me that night as I chowed down a ham and cheese toastie while watching The Simpsons in my hotel room. The process of globalization had entrenched western culture into India’s way of life.
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| http://ralphvelasco.com/blog/the-highway-code-of-india-2/ |
Globalisation can be defined as “the
closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world, which has been
brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and
communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of
goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people across borders” (Papa &
Wilkins, 2011, p. 177).
This got me thinking about how western culture has invaded
global boarders over the past several decades, and how my mum had been in this
exact same city about thirty years prior to me. If I was experiencing culture
shock in a westernized version of Delhi, how had it looked before the
infiltration?
Cultural flows are an expression of globalisation that refer
to “that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Embong, 2011, p. 12). According
to mum, back before globalization had pushed passed the barriers of India’s
boarders, the culture was richer and more prominent than it is today. Being a small, blonde, white woman, one
memory that stood out in her mind was the interminable stares she received from women, men, and children alike as they were not used to seeing western people touring their country. In a way that shows how globalisation and culture flows have effected both the culture and the curious traveller equally.
Embong, A 2011, 'THE
QUESTION OF CULTURE, IDENTITY AND GLOBALISATION: AN UNENDING DEBATE',
Kajian Malaysia: Journal Of Malaysian Studies, 29, pp. 11-22, Academic Search
Complete, EBSCOhost
Papa, M, & Wilkins, D 2011, 'Globalization, lawyers and India: toward a theoretical synthesis of
globalization studies and the sociology of the legal profession',
International Journal Of The Legal Profession, 18, 3, pp. 175-209, Business
Source Complete, EBSCOhost
Nice blog, I like the comparisons and how you used both your experiences and your mum's experiences, this makes it easy and most of all interesting to see how much globalisation has affected many parts of the world. Reading your blog also leaves me wondering whether the world is at some point going to become some sort of one culture because of the influence that the western world seems to have. overall your blog was very engaging which makes it interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love the way you have used your own experiences in travel to form a view of cultural globalisation as it allowed me to connect with your writing on a personal level. It's crazy how the experience you had can differ from your mums with only a 30 year gap between. It really shows how western culture has had such a big impact on a large and very cultural country such as India as well as many other countries as we know around the world.
Awesome blog! Its always so refreshing to read a blog where personal experiences are incorporated into it. You have really emphasised how globalisation has impacted places globally. I love your personal reference to India, as I have lived there for a couple years and have also identified how globalisation has impacted that society.
ReplyDeletekeep up the great work.
Although I agree that globalisation gives rise to the potential of cultural homogenisation I am not sure that I would refer to it as an ‘invasion’. Rather, I think that globalisation creates a two-way flow between cultures, even if this flow is skewed in favour of a dominant culture. Further, although it is clear that India has been significantly altered by Western influences, increasing ‘flows’ between India and countries like Australia mean that the West has also been influenced to an extent by Indian culture.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was extremely interesting to read, especially because of the way that I was able to connect to your writing on such a personal level due to your personal experiences whilst travelling to India. Whilst encorporating examples of your travel, you were able to emphasize the effect that globalisation has had on society, and how it has impacted countries all around the globe. Using examples such as the highway strewn with scooters carrying a whole family and their dog gave extra credibility to your argument that globalisation has 'invaded global borders over the past several decades'. Overall a great post, well done.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really engaging piece, i really appreciated the personal touch you put to it. I would have to agree with Stephanie's comment above on the sentiment of india being 'invaded' by westernisation. I would rather call it infiltration, a little more neutral.
ReplyDeleteHowever, semantics aside - I thought your comparison, of a traveller thirty years ago being subject to much more culture shock than a traveller in the 21st century - being comforted and eased into other cultures by familiarity, to be really accurate. A really great use of culture shock as a cultural flow and showing the origins of globalisation.
Hi, this was a very relatable post. Reason being is that I went through the same realisation when I visited the Philippines for the first time. I had the same experience when I realised that the Philippines felt more westernized than I had initially thought. You said that you were eating a ham and cheese toasty while watching simpsons on tv - which effectively is a very western thing to be doing in Dehli - but has now become accepted. I felt comfortable reading this with the knowledge that your discussion has been researched from the amount of scholarly references you had.
ReplyDeleteGreat read, keep up the good work.