Short Cultural Think-Pieces - Article Example

Name Course Tutor Date Short One Page Think Pieces Why we hate you: The Passions of National Identity and Ethnic Violence by Ronald Suny Suny begins by revealing how new approaches are being used to explain the issue of tribal hatred. He argues that recent writings on ethnic conflict are either on the side of emotion or reason. According to him, emotional approaches are based on primordialism. His core argument is that ethnic violence is a result of charged emotions. According to Suny, emotions play a big role in driving people into ethnic violence. These emotions include fear, resentment, hate and anger. Suny analyzes various theories on ethnic conflict in his article. The theories include that of Kaufman, and Roger Petersen. In his argument, he uses various practical examples of ethnic conflict and adopts the ideas of certain authors. Suny says that negative political emotions when used wrongly, can cause all the violence witnessed in the world. This article presents interesting information on the occurrence of ethnic violence in the world. Ethnic violence results from the state of people responding to certain emotions such as hatred, fear, anger and anxiety. For example in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, the biggest emotion that drove people to violence was hatred for the enemy tribe. This hatred was fueled by political undertones aimed at instilling fear, anger and anxiety. Dr. May Lim who is a researcher proposes an approach in which he says that ethnic violence is caused by past tensions (Santosh, 34). One group may refer to the past wrongs of the other ethnic group to fuel their own emotions. This then increases the possibility of violence in the future. This tends to happen in those places where ethnic violence has already existed before (Santosh, 56). Western and Eastern Nationalisms by Hans Kohn Hans Kohn begins his article by defining nationality as a state of mind. Kohn’s main argument revolves around nationality as he compares nationalism in the West and the East. He says that nationalism in the western world rose as a result of politics because it either coincided with or preceded the creation of a nation-state. In other parts of the world such as Asia, Eastern and central Europe, he says nationalism came later and it never coincided with the state which was already in place. Nationality conflicted with the pattern of the established state. He explains that this Eastern nationalism was first expressed through culture and its intention was to redraw political boundaries to conform to ethnographic demands. This article is both interesting and quite informative about the emergence of nationalisms around the world. The two main types of nationalisms namely; the Western and Eastern are totally different from one another. Some theorists however do not agree with Kohn on the view that there are two forms of nationalism in the world. They say that is all nationalisms the people have a belief that they have a common culture. However, this argument may be weak because it only presents the various manifestations of nationalism. Authors have therefore divided nationalism into ethnic, civic, cultural, romantic, left wing, liberal, liberation, national conservatism and anarchism (Suryadinata, 88). Others include religious, pan, Diaspora and post colonial nationalism. It is interesting that other parts of the world such as Africa and the Middle East are not classified under any of Kohn’s two nationalisms. Does it mean that all the states in these geographical regions have no nationalism? The Maladies of Development by Tom Nairn Tom Nairn begins his article by stating that there are certain features in the political economy of the world between the Industrial and French revolutions and the modern day that determine nationalism. He says that nationalism is a social necessity that is inwardly determined. According to him, nationalism is a stage of growth that exists between the traditional society and the future in which nationality factors will receive lesser prominence. He argues that nationalism as a stage of growth may go wrong. Nationalism as a stage of growth can be found in all idealist and materialist philosophies. Nationalism he says is a precondition to internationalism based on the views of idealists and materialists. Nairn goes on to explain the clues that bring a sense of nationalism. This article has various interesting points. The most profound part of his argument is that nationalism is a stage, and a bad one for that matter. However, Benedict Anderson in the book imagined communities; he says that nationalism resulted not as a stage but to fill the gap left by the collapse of dynastical and religious rule. Ernest Gellner, a theorist, does not share in Nairn’s view. He sees nationalism as having five stages namely: baseline, Nationalist Irredentism, Emergence of Nationalist States, Nacht and Nebel and Cultural Convergence. These two theorists however agree on the view proposed by Nairn that nationalism is a social necessity. It arises out of the desire that people may have to belong to their own nation (Breuilly 56). The Institutions of Culture by James Jupp James Jupp talks a lot about multiculturalism in Australia. He says multiculturalism is public policy development with specific reference to cultural dimensions in creative writing, media and arts. In this article he recounts the process of development of multiculturalism in Australia. Australia was declared a multicultural society in 1973. He shows that multiculturalism in Australia, contrary to other countries has a close relationship with the immigration department. Many of the institutions dealing with multiculturalism fall under immigration and multiculturalism has been divorced from culture in Australia for a long time. Jupp argues that those who support multiculturalism do not favor cultural relativism but they produce a liberal democratic defense. On the other hand, those who criticize multiculturalism may take an ideological position or look at official policy as a way of dealing with divisiveness. Jupp faults the practice commonly found in Australia whereby the immigration department is given control over multiculturalism. His argument may be valid but as other authors such as (Healy, 123) argue, it is not a must that Australia should follow what other countries are doing. The author argues that a country could want to forge its own design and way of doing things. Therefore, criticizing the choice that a particular country makes on how to run its affairs is misplaced. Islam versus Homosexuality by Win Lunsing The article was written by Win Lunsing. He seeks to discuss the point in the politics of the Netherlands where attitudes towards non western culture especially Islam have undergone a drastic change. He relates this period to the rising and the assassination of Pim Fortyun, a gay politician who stood in opposition to Islam. Lunsing exposes the controversy and conflict that exists in the Netherlands between the values of the Dutch and the laws of the Muslim Religion. He cites homosexuality and the position of women regarding the dress code as a controversial issue between the Muslims and non Muslims in the Netherlands. Lunsing shows how the Dutch government grapples with the issue of Islam and how it has decided to train Muslim clerics on Dutch values to avoid disputes and controversy. Wing Lunsing touches on the sensitive issue of Muslim law and homosexuality which is a volatile issue in many parts of the world where Muslims exist. Other authors on this issue argue that Muslims in the Netherlands are also homosexuals. They lead a double life. Lunsing does not touch on this though. He paints a picture of Muslims being on one side and gays on the other and that the two are in opposition. Both Muslim and non Muslim gays have a rough time though. However, the wrath of the straight Muslims is principally directed at the non Muslim gays because many straight Muslims would not accept that their own people are also gays (Kugle, 44). The other controversial issue of women and dressing, there is a lot of pressure on the Muslims from western culture. How I lost faith in multiculturalism | The Australian by Greg Sheridan Greg Sheridan narrates how his faith in multiculturalism got lost. He argues that even though Australia is reverting to multiculturalism, he does not think it is a wise decision. He cites the example of the US which does not have multiculturalism but is very successful as an immigrant society. He compares Australia as an immigrant society to Europe and says Australia is superior. In his argument he criticizes the Speech made by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen about multiculturalism in Australia in which he credits the success of Australia as opposed to Europe to the good multiculturalism policies Australia has. Sheridan does not agree with this. His view is that multiculturalism has failed and should be abolished because it lacks any agreed meaning. Sheridan disagrees with Bowen on his claims about Europe’s hesitance to welcome immigrants. In this article, Sheridan expresses his dislike for the use of the term multiculturalism in Australia. The fact is that Australia is a multicultural society; it is only the policies applied to multiculturalism that he dislikes. However in comparing Australia to other countries it is unwise for him to claim that because multiculturalism has failed in the past, it should not be revisited. Multiculturalism may have failed but it can still work because it is working in Canada. He claims that the US has no multiculturalism yet it is prospering. The US has policies that govern and favor the existence of many cultures in the country (Headley, 25). Multiculturalism is after all important because it makes people of different cultures to feel free in their country hence greater integration and cohesion among different cultures. Equality for Minority Cultures The author begins this article by suggesting that liberals should give cultural membership a significant part in their justice theories. His core argument is about minority cultures for which he explores the equality between them. He says that liberal equality should recognize that people have different cultural memberships. He argues that members of all the minority cultures should be given equal access to resources. He questions the wisdom behind giving the aborigines of Canada more resources and rights than other minority cultures to protect their own culture. He sees a situation where special rights granted to certain minority groups compromise the fairness of political and economic decision processes. He is of the view that there should be fairness and equality in distribution of resources and rights observance for all groups of people especially if one group is benefiting at the cost of the others. The author is right is his argument that minority cultures should be treated with equality for them to preserve themselves. Will Kymlica in the book Liberalism, Community and Culture says that liberals need to be concerned about the value in cultural structures. He sees a secure and rich cultural structure that people may value the options given to them. He argues that when a person’s culture flourishes, that person is able to make proper informed choices. Therefore, the value of minority cultures is important to personal autonomy and freedom (Bentley, 69). In all these views he agrees with the author of this article who believes in the protection of the rights of minority cultures and equitable distribution of resources to them. Indeed, when minority cultures are not given equal treatment the entire society may be losing it all together. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson In this article Benedict Anderson tries to discuss the origin of nationalism. He looks at the major suggestions about the origin of nationalism. He argues the imagination about the idea resulted from history when people stopped thinking about three important conceptions. These conceptions were; the belief that script language made ontological truth accessible, societal organization makes it operate under high centres and temporality in which history and cosmology could not be differentiated and that men and the origin of the world looked a like. Cosmology was separated from history through the break down on interlinked certainties. Anderson cites print capitalism as something that played a major role in precipitating the search to link fraternity. Printing of books and other written work has therefore been so instrumental in bringing change in the world such as the reformation led by Martin Luther. Anderson raises the point that nationalism relied heavily on print capitalism to thrive. It makes sense to believe this because languages grow from printing and a sense of togetherness as a nation is created. However, some authors taking a critical stance have questioned the slow pace at which print capitalism brought about nationalism. Anderson paints the picture of a powerful force in the name of print capitalism. He does not show its shortcomings in terms of time taken (Anderson, 49). This would suggest that there were other factors in play that contributed to the development of nationalism. These factors worked alongside print capitalism to create nationalism and internationalism. However, this is not to say that print capitalism was insignificant. It is just that it could not unite fraternity in isolation as Anderson would suggest. Works Cited Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of nationalism. Verso, 2006  Bentley, A. Kristina. Whose Right Is it Anyway?: Equality, Culture and Conflicts. HSRC Press, 2003. Breuilly, John. Nationalism and the State. Manchester University Press, 1993 Headley, M. John. The Problem with Multiculturalism: The Uniqueness and Universality of Western Civilization. Transaction Publishers, 2012. Healey, Justin. Multiculturalism in Australia. Spinney Press, 2005. Kugle A. Scott. Homosexuality in Islam, Islamic reflections on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Muslims. One World Publications, 2010. Saha, C. Santosh. The Politics of Ethnicity and National Identity. Peter Lang, 2007. Suryadinata, Leo. Nationalism and Globalization: East and West. Institute of SEA Studies, 2000. Read More

They say that is all nationalisms the people have a belief that they have a common culture. However, this argument may be weak because it only presents the various manifestations of nationalism. Authors have therefore divided nationalism into ethnic, civic, cultural, romantic, left wing, liberal, liberation, national conservatism and anarchism (Suryadinata, 88). Others include religious, pan, Diaspora and post colonial nationalism. It is interesting that other parts of the world such as Africa and the Middle East are not classified under any of Kohn’s two nationalisms.

Does it mean that all the states in these geographical regions have no nationalism? The Maladies of Development by Tom Nairn Tom Nairn begins his article by stating that there are certain features in the political economy of the world between the Industrial and French revolutions and the modern day that determine nationalism. He says that nationalism is a social necessity that is inwardly determined. According to him, nationalism is a stage of growth that exists between the traditional society and the future in which nationality factors will receive lesser prominence.

He argues that nationalism as a stage of growth may go wrong. Nationalism as a stage of growth can be found in all idealist and materialist philosophies. Nationalism he says is a precondition to internationalism based on the views of idealists and materialists. Nairn goes on to explain the clues that bring a sense of nationalism. This article has various interesting points. The most profound part of his argument is that nationalism is a stage, and a bad one for that matter. However, Benedict Anderson in the book imagined communities; he says that nationalism resulted not as a stage but to fill the gap left by the collapse of dynastical and religious rule.

Ernest Gellner, a theorist, does not share in Nairn’s view. He sees nationalism as having five stages namely: baseline, Nationalist Irredentism, Emergence of Nationalist States, Nacht and Nebel and Cultural Convergence. These two theorists however agree on the view proposed by Nairn that nationalism is a social necessity. It arises out of the desire that people may have to belong to their own nation (Breuilly 56). The Institutions of Culture by James Jupp James Jupp talks a lot about multiculturalism in Australia.

He says multiculturalism is public policy development with specific reference to cultural dimensions in creative writing, media and arts. In this article he recounts the process of development of multiculturalism in Australia. Australia was declared a multicultural society in 1973. He shows that multiculturalism in Australia, contrary to other countries has a close relationship with the immigration department. Many of the institutions dealing with multiculturalism fall under immigration and multiculturalism has been divorced from culture in Australia for a long time.

Jupp argues that those who support multiculturalism do not favor cultural relativism but they produce a liberal democratic defense. On the other hand, those who criticize multiculturalism may take an ideological position or look at official policy as a way of dealing with divisiveness. Jupp faults the practice commonly found in Australia whereby the immigration department is given control over multiculturalism. His argument may be valid but as other authors such as (Healy, 123) argue, it is not a must that Australia should follow what other countries are doing.

The author argues that a country could want to forge its own design and way of doing things. Therefore, criticizing the choice that a particular country makes on how to run its affairs is misplaced. Islam versus Homosexuality by Win Lunsing The article was written by Win Lunsing. He seeks to discuss the point in the politics of the Netherlands where attitudes towards non western culture especially Islam have undergone a drastic change.

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