I need to think of some examples to write about where a society borrows culture elements from another culture or where it was forced to do so.
Possible examples I'm thinking of include food, language, religion, economic institutions, political institutions, music, technology.
I think the USSR's spread of communism to China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam would be an example.
With the British and French empires in history, does anyone know if they spread the religion of their respective country?
Types of cultural borrowing are:
"Diffusion
Diffusion is the process by which cultural elements are borrowed from another society and incorporated into the culture of the recipient group. There are three different types of diffusion, namely: direct contact diffusion, intermediate contact diffusion and stimulus diffusion. Let's take a look at each of these forms of diffusion more closely:
Direct Contact Diffusion. This form of diffusion occurs when elements of a societies culture are taken up by neighboring societies and gradually spread farther and farther afield.. It may take a great deal of time for a cultural item to spread from one culture to another by way of direct contact diffusion. An example was the direct contact diffusion of paper from its origins in China in 105 AD to its acceptance in England in 1494.
Intermediate Contact Diffusion. This term is used to describe diffusion by contacts that occur through the agency of third parties, such as traders or soldiers. An example would be the European Crusaders who carried Christian culture to Muslim societies. Another example would be the diffusion of tobacco to Europe through intermediaries. Tobacco was brought from the new world into the old world through the actions of missionaries and soldiers.
Stimulus Diffusion: This type of diffusion occurs when the knowledge of something in one culture causes the invention or development of a local equivalent in a different society. For example, perhaps the development of atomic weapons in the late 1940s by the former Soviet Union was stimulated by the development of atomic weapons by the United States.
Characteristics of Diffusion:
The various forms of diffusion noted above share certain characteristics in common, some of which are as follows:
Diffusion occurs between societies that are somewhat equal in terms of power.
Societies are not forced to accept a particular trait or practice from another society.
Societies are selective as to what cultural items they will accept and reject. For example, a society that bans its citizens from gambling is very unlikely to accept a trait from a foreign source that in any way involves odd making, or gambling.
Societies often modify the cultural item that has been diffused from another culture. The form and function of the diffused item remains intact, but it may be modified slightly in appearance to make it more acceptable to the recipient culture. For example, pizza is a food that is derived by combining various Italian food sources. If you travel to some parts of the American midwest, you might be able to eat a pizza topped with pineapples, American cheese, and raw tomatoes. Though its form and function remain the same, I think you would agree that this version of a pizza has been greatly modified from its origins!
Reinterpretation: Once a cultural item has been accepted, it may take on an entirely new meaning for the recipient culture. The best example of a diffused trait that was completely reinterpreted is the picturing of Christian saints in terms of traditional gods in many cultures. In this case, the form remains the same, but the function has changed.
Rebellions and Revolts
Rebellions and revolts are most common in state societies. They are most often influenced by outsiders. For example, the American revolution was influenced by the French, who fought on the side of the America revolutionaries, and the Hessians (Germans), who fought on the side of the British. The one rebellion that was least influenced by outsiders was the French revolution.
The following are some of the characteristics that make a state society a candidate for revolt:
Loss of prestige. For example, the Russian revolution was influenced by the fact that the Russian nation was near collapse as a result of their involvement in World War I.
Indecision of Government: One might argue that British indecision, owing to Lord North's indifference toward the American colonies, combined with England's King George III apparent insanity, greatly assisted the American colonist's successful effort to become independent.
Loss of Support of the Intellectual Class.
A drastic decline in a state society's standard of living. "
"Acculturation
Acculturation is a term used by anthropologists to describe a situation in which there is extensive cultural borrowing in the context of superordinate-subordinate relations between societies (one of the societies in contact is much more powerful than the other).
Unlike diffusion, where the recipient society has an opportunity to reject, modify or change the diffused cultural element, acculturation is the borrowing of cultural elements under some sort of external pressure. The recipient culture rarely has an opportunity to change the cultural items brought in by the more powerful society. Indeed, they are often expected to accept the cultural practice in its entirety."
Topic: Aspects of Culture (Read 1991 times)