Global Interactions on Cultural Diversity (HL IB Geography)

Cultural diffusion is the spreading of one culture into another

Historically, this was through trade, intermarriage, warfare and sport

• Tennis has evolved from hand games played by French monks in the Middle Ages to the modern game of tennis in England in the late 1800s and is now one of the most widely played sports in the world

Today, globalisation is the main driver of cultural diffusion through:

• TNCs spread aspects of their home culture around the world, such as Nike, Apple, Disney, etc.

  • Others have adapted their products to suit each country, reflecting local cultures, such as McDonalds

• World media exposes many different cultures, habits, tastes, etc. to the rest of the world

  • E.g. K-pop star Psy in 2012 referred to the hip Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea, in his video Gangnam Style, which went viral on YouTube within 5 months, reaching an unprecedented 1 billion views

• Tourism: when people visit a country, they expose that culture to their language, food, fashion and cultural habits and tastes

• Migration: people take their customs, language and food with them, creating a partial change or fusion of culture

  • Mexicans in California have brought their culture and food with them, fusing Mexican food with Californian tastes in what is termed Mexifornia

Some communities see cultural diffusion as a threat if it means the loss of their own local culture

Sometimes cultural change is achieved through deliberate coercion, referred to as cultural imperialism  and linked with empire-building and using resources for their own gain  

It dates back to the era of the industrial colonial phase, when colonial masters imposed their cultures on their colonies

Cultural imperialism didn't end with formal colonialism in the second-half of the 20th century; it changed

Today, cultural imperialism has taken on a new dimension by becoming a social, political or economic process

Facilitated by TNCs, it represent the interests of the rich and powerful, especially those of the west

Dominant economic forces such as the USA have cornered the market in goods and gained control and influence over the culture of the host country

• Coca-Cola and KFC have dominated the global food industry and are found on almost every continent

• KFC has more than 25 000 restaurants in over 145 countries

• In Japan, KFC is presented as an American holiday tradition and is the most widely eaten meal on Christmas Day

International media agencies have promoted cultural imperialism in the interest of western and non-western nations, such as CNN in the USA, BBC in the UK, and Al Jazeera in Qatar

Media-created desires and portrayals can break cultural roots and replace them with a false narrative

• Advertisers use the media to portray western cultural products as the best for everyone

Western countries promote democracy through funding elections in developing countries

• E.g. imposing democracy and western education on the people of Afghanistan after the US invasion in 2001 was a form of cultural imperialism

English is the most dominant language in the world, due to the influence of British colonialism in many parts of the world

• 'Globish' is adopted by many countries for two reasons:

  • It is the dominant language used on the internet

  • It has become the global language of business, technology and education

The criticisms of cultural imperialism have been that:

• It is one-way; one culture is imposed on another

• It leads to homogenisation of the landscape,

• Democracy is not always the best for illiterate societies; it can lead to the exploitation of the poor by the rich

Singapore is a port city and home to a range of cultures, ethnicities and religions due to its global trade links

Since the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants from India, China and around the Malay Archipelago have migrated to the island

Socially, Singapore has led the way in intermarriage, altered cultural forms and mixed-race communities

Today, Singapore’s ethnic makeup is predominantly Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Peranakan communities

Singapore has a diverse range of architecture

• Katong-Joo Chiat is a historic Peranakan neighbourhood, while the earliest Indian settlers laid their roots in what is known today as Little India

• Long before Singapore became a colony, the Indigenous Malay people have considered Kampong Gelam as their ancestral home

The different ethnicities have their own mother tongues that are still spoken but have coalesced into a local dialect called Singlish

• English and Singlish are the main languages spoken in Singapore

Singapore is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world

People of all faiths live, work and worship together in the city

Many communities have their own traditional festivities and practices but celebrate together as Singaporeans