Grex Utne Conference

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Grex Utne Item 8: Cultural Identity Survey
Entered by mdukes1 on Tue Jul 7 19:23:35 UTC 1998:

I am a college student and I would like to conduct a survey of people's 
opinions and thoughts concerning the questions I have listed below.  
Please read them and reply to mdukes1@hotmail.com  Thank You.

1.What is your definition of cultural identity?
2.Do you think global identity is important? If so: Why? or Why not?
3.Do you believe identity was taken from the slaves? If so: 
  Why? or Why not?
4.What is the difference between blacks relearning or defining their 
  identity and other cultures already knowing their identity?
5.Do you think blacks stand out culturaly? If so: Why? or Why not?

4 responses total.

#1 of 4 by mta on Tue Jul 7 22:37:34 1998:

It would be much more suitable to post our answers here for discussion.

Let me think about ti some and I'll be back...

(Great to see activity here again!)

#2 of 4 by mta on Wed Jul 8 17:09:46 1998:

1.What is your definition of cultural identity?

Um, this is pretty vague.  I guess I'd define "cultural identity" as the
culture or subculture in which one feels most comfortable.

2.Do you think global identity is important? If so: Why? or Why not?

I'm not sure what "global identity" means, so I can't say whether it's
important.

If you mean a sense of being a citizen of the "glabal village", then yes, i
think it's very important and will become more so in the coming years as the
advance of technology brings us all closer.

If you mean a global, overall sense of where one fits into the culture(s) one
belongs to -- I suppose it's important to some people's psycological
well-being.  But it's not to others.  

3.Do you believe identity was taken from the slaves? If so:   Why? or Why not?

In what period?

In classical Greece slavery was often a temporary thing, and many slaves held
positions of relative responsibility and even some power.  No, I don't think
slavery deprived them of identity.

In the US in times past?  What kind of identity?

Personal identity?  To some degree, I suppose, but not really.  I don't think
it was possible to eradicate personal identity on so grand and disorganized a
scale.

Cultural identity?  Yes, of course.  By mixing people of many different
backgrounds and languages into one social class and denying them access to
others who knew their backgrounds and languages, while putting them under
severe psychological strain, slavers were able to break down all sense of
cultural identity except that of slave.

4.What is the difference between blacks relearning or defining their 
  identity and other cultures already knowing their identity?

I don't know.  I'm not black or well versed in African American social issues. 
It seems to me, as an outsider, that everyone in todays United States is busy
redefining their own personal relationship to our culture.

5.Do you think blacks stand out culturaly? If so: Why? or Why not?

Not particularly.  Black is a complexion and to a far lesser degree a culture. 
More correctly, there are many "black" cultures in the United States today and
they vary as widely amongst themselves as they do from any other culture.

#3 of 4 by nsiddall on Mon Jul 13 14:36:53 1998:

Thoughtful analysis, Misti.  Dunno who that college student is, but I'm
afraid he will be disappointed with his survey.  Actually, that seems less
a survey, and more a request for help with thinking the thing through.

I'm always surprised by attempts to purposely create culture, according to
some idea of what is needed.  It seems to typically have very bad results,
as with Nazi Germanic culture, and socialist culture in the PRC.
Afrocentrism seems well motivated, but I have an anxious feeling that it
is one of these artificial things that does more harm than good.  I would
prefer to just acknowledge that people have different complexions, and
then let their cultural identity rest on other things than that.  The
culture of American Blacks is part of American culture.  Of course,
understanding the historical reasons for that should be an essential part
of the education of all Americans.  But to try to create synthetic
Africans out of Americans, just because they are dark-skinned, seems a
little perverse.

#4 of 4 by mta on Mon Jul 13 23:21:14 1998:

I suspect you're right about the purpose of this item, but it was an
interesting question anyway.  ;)

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