School of Arts and Social Sciences

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Browsing School of Arts and Social Sciences by Subject "Cultural Identity"

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    Cultural identity and gloablisation among the contemporary Lugbara: towards plural cultural identity
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Ika, Lino
    This chapter acknowledges that the debate on cultural identity and globalisation continues to generate mixed outcomes both positive and negative. Imperatively, a natural and spontaneous growth and assimilation of cultures in the context of globalisation and other processes is not in itself a problem but rather a forced or misconceived mind-set (ethnocentric stance or cultural imperialism) that African culture is primitive thus has to be changed is problematic. Such culturally insensitive and de-meaning ethnocentric tendencies often result into clashes of identities manifested within communities and across cultures. For instance, on one account, the influence of "Western culture" is seen to substitute and/ or compete with local cultural identities, thus is often blames for risky behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption, increasing social conflict, and loss of locally rooted identity. On the other hand, Western influence has been applauded for bringing about cultural exchange that has increased tolerance, understanding, and positive social change such as access to information, better lifestyles, gender equality, and respect for human rights, among others (WHO 2016). This chapter thus contends that the ethnocentric stances or cultural imperialists' conceptualisation of globalisation as Western culture that must be adopted and practiced in Africa is problematic. Instead, a conscious recognition that from a variety of cultural identities comes diversity that must be shared among the differing cultural identities ought to be embraced. This way a desire for plural cultural identity is eminent. The chapter also tries to move away from one-way deliberation of looking at globalisation as Western versus African to the debate among the Africans within Africa. The central question this chapter seeks to answer is "How has African cultural identity been influenced through the process of globalisationin the formation of or move towards a plural-cultural identity?" To this central question, it becomes crucial to specifically establish how globalisation processes have been received and operationalised within the varied African cultures when presented with multiple cultural expressions, including their local culture and other cultures they may come into contact with via globalisation. This has been elaborated with illustrative reflection on the cultural identity experiences of the Lugbara people. Whereas there may be a lot of debate on the concept of African cultural identity in terms of whether there a thing called "African culture", this chapter chapter does note address itself to this question. Nonetheless, in trying to understand how a plural cultural identity can be arrived at, it uses the concent (African cultural identity) to denote how individuals or groups see and define themselves (and as defined by others) within Africa as a result of globalisation.