Compare & contrast ethnocide from genocide Compare & contrast assimilation from

Question

Compare & contrast ethnocide from genocide Compare & contrast assimilation from acculturation Compare & contrast achieved from ascribed status o Provide SPECIFIC examples from the U.S. Understand the connection between the Gullah/Geechee and AAE Key point/argument for each of the articles (see above) Linguistic revitalization o Irish & Saami (compare & contrast) yoik 5 basic features of a religion and examples Transculturation examples Cannibal Tours o Pros/Cons of Ethnic Tourism

Explanation / Answer

(1) Genocide is the systematic elimination of all, or a significant part of, a racial, ethnic, religious, cultural or national group. Well-known examples of genocide include the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, and more recently the Rwandan Genocide and the Bosnian Genocide. Genocide is more related to destroying a whole race/religious/national group whereas Ethnocide is focused on the destruction of a culture as opposed to the people themselves.The systematic killing of substantial numbers of people on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, social status, or other particularities.

Genocide is defined in various laws, and used in varying ways; characterization of an act as “genocide” is a strong condemnation, and may prove contentious. Narrowly speaking, genocide was coined to mean, and is generally used in law to mean, the destruction of an ethnic group qua group, whether killing of all members of the group or other means, such as dispersing the group. In common usage, “genocide” is often used to mean “systematic mass killing”, whether or not the purpose is the destruction of the group or some other purpose, such as terrorizing the group. Specific genocides are often capitalized, e.g. "Armenian G enocide".

Ethnocide is a concept related to genocide. Although "ethnocide" has been used as a replacement for cultural genocide, this usage confuses ethnicity and culture. Reviewing the legal and academic history of usage of the terms genocide and ethnocide, Bartolomé Clavero differentiates between them in that "Genocide kills people while ethnocide kills social cultures through the killing of individual souls". In addition, "since cultural genocide can only be the cultural dimension of genocide", the idea of ethnocide is more than just "cultural genocide", but also part of broader genocidal process.

Because concepts such as cultural genocide and ethnocide have been used in different contexts, the anthropology of genocide examines their inclusion and exclusion in law and policies.

As early as 1933, lawyer Raphael Lemkin proposed a cultural component to genocide, which he called "cultural genocide".[6] The term has since acquired rhetorical value as a phrase that is used to protest against the destruction of cultural heritage. It is also often misused as a catchphrase to condemn any destruction the user of the phrase disapproves of, without regard for the criterion of intent to destroy an affected group as such.

Proposed usage

The drafters of the 1948 Genocide Convention considered the use of the term, but dropped it from their consideration. The legal definition of genocide is left unspecific about the exact nature in which genocide is done only that it is destruction with intent to destroy a racial, religious, ethnic or national group as such.

Article 7 of a 1994 draft of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples uses both the word "ethnocide" and the phrase "cultural genocide" but does not define what they mean. The complete article reads as follows:

Indigenous peoples have the collective and individual right not to be subjected to ethnocide and cultural genocide, including prevention of and redress for:

(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;

(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;

(c) Any form of population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;

(d) Any form of assimilation or integration by other cultures or ways of life imposed on them by legislative, administrative or other measures;

(e) Any form of propaganda directed against them.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session at UN Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007, but only mentions "genocide", not "cultural genocide", although the article is otherwise unchanged.

(2)   Acculturation vs Assimilation ::--
                                                     Acculturation and assimilation are two very important concepts in sociology and anthropology that describe cross cultural effects on both minorities as well as majorities in societies that are multi ethnic and multi cultural in nature. Assimilation is a broader concept as described by sociologist Jean Piaget and refers to the manner in which people take new information. There are many people who think of the two concepts as same and even use them interchangeably. However, this is not correct as there are subtle differences that will be pointed out in this article.

Acculturation

If you belong to a minority community in a country and retain your own culture but cannot remain isolated and are affected by the majority culture in such a way that you adapt to some aspects of the majority culture, the process is referred to as acculturation. It can be said that the individual, or for that matter, most of the members of this community are bicultural. It so happens that the original customs remain, and the members of the community accept customs from the majority community. In a multi ethnic society such as US, a person who is Hispanic or has Chinese roots remains attached to his own culture while adapting and accepting some of the customs of the whites.

Meeting of cultures is never a one sided process as many believe and, though a person belonging to a minority culture may begin to dress and speak like those belonging to the majority culture, he still retains the beliefs and customs of his own culture thus reflecting the process of acculturation. Acculturation process has many outcomes of which important ones are assimilation, rejection, integration, and marginalization. The importance of acculturation can never be overemphasized in the study of cross cultural influences and the ways peoples of different ethnic identities learn to adapt and accept the cultural traits of a majority community in a multiethnic society.

Assimilation

Assimilation is a process whereby people of a culture learn to adapt to the ways of the majority culture. There is a loss of one’s own culture as a person gives more value to the cultural aspects of the majority community in the process of assimilation. This has been the case in the United States that has been the centre of attraction of immigrants from many different countries. When the original customs and traditions of a culture get lost when it is influenced by the majority culture of a country, the process is referred to as assimilation.

Assimilation is the process that inevitably takes place whenever there are immigrants arriving in a country from a foreign land. Assimilation is a process that can be in degrees, and full assimilation is said to have taken place when it becomes hard to tell that the person belongs to a minority culture or is from the majority culture.

What is the difference between Acculturation and Assimilation?

• Meeting of cultures always produces results in terms of changes in both the cultures, and acculturation and assimilation refer to two important and different changes in these cultures.

• Assimilation refers to the process where some of the majority community’s cultural aspects are absorbed in such a manner that the home cultural aspects get mitigated or lost.

• Acculturation is a process where the cultural aspects of the majority community are adapted without losing the traditions and customs of the minority community.

• Minority culture changes in the case of assimilation whereas it remains intact in the case of acculturation.

(3)     Ascribed status is the social status a person is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life. It is a position that is neither earned nor chosen but assigned.

Ascribed status is the social status a person is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life. It is a position that is neither earned nor chosen but assigned. These rigid social designators remain fixed throughout an individual's life and are inseparable from the positive or negative stereotypes that are linked with one's ascribed statuses. The practice of assigning such statuses to individuals exists cross-culturally within all societies and is based on gender, race, family origins, and ethnic backgrounds. For example, a person born into a wealthy family has a high ascribed status based solely on the social networks and economic advantages that one gains from being born into a family with more resources than others.

In contrast, an achieved status is a social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects both personal ability and merit. An individual's occupation tends to fall under the category of an achieved status; for example, a teacher or a firefighter.

Individuals have control over their achieved statuses insofar as there are no restrictions associated with their ascribed statuses that could potentially hinder their social growth. Ascribed status plays an important role in societies because it can provide the members with a defined and unified identity. No matter where an individual's ascribed status may place him or her in the social hierarchy, each has a set of roles and expectations that are directly linked to each ascribed status and thus, provides a social identity.

Example::-- Race, ethnicity, and the social class of our parents are examples of ascribed statuses. On the other hand, an achieved status is something we accomplish in the course of our lives. To some extent, achieved status reflects our work and effort.

In the United States of America, there is no difference in the opportunity given to both girls and boys to have access to education. After graduation comes the reality of the work world. In fact, according to Donald J. Treiman, a sociologist, at equal levels of education, women earn about 60 percent of what men earn. This is explained by the gender preference for men over women that prevails in the work place. Women’s potential seems to be undermined by their so called women to-do task. In fact, the work lives for many women are interrupted for childbearing. Consequently many corporations want to avoid the stress of training and hiring somebody else for her job to replace women whenever they have to be put on leave. Moreover when it comes to gender in American society, women and men are assigned predetermined cultural roles. Women assume the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and kids, while men are providers, protectors, and heads of the household. More and more, we see a change in society today regarding the gender roles. Indeed, in modern homes, husbands and wives work both outside of the house. Both are providers for their family and both do the housekeeping job for the well being of the all family.

(4) Gullah (also called Sea Island Creole English and Geechee) is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people (also called "Geechees" within the community), an African-American population living on the Sea Islands and in the coastal region of the US states of South Carolina, Georgia and northeast Florida. Dialects of essentially the same language are spoken in the Bahamas.

The Gullah language is based on English with strong influences from West and Central African languages.

Scholars have proposed two general theories about the origins of Gullah:

These two theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. While it is likely that some of the Gullahs’ ancestors came from Africa with a working knowledge of Guinea Coast Creole English, and this language influenced the development of Gullah in various ways, it is also clear that most slaves taken to America did not have prior knowledge of a creole language in Africa. It is also clear that the Gullah language evolved in unique circumstances in coastal South Carolina and Georgia, thus developing its own distinctive form in that new environment.

(5) Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one.Those involved can include parties such as linguists, cultural or community groups, or governments.

Often, multiple parties work together on the same project. Languages targeted for language revitalization include those in which the use and prominence is severely limited, called endangered or weakening, or those that have only a few elderly speakers and the language seems to be dying, called moribund. Sometimes various tactics of language revitalization can even be used to try and revive extinct languages. Though the goals of language revitalization vary greatly from case to case, they typically involve attempting to expand the number of speakers and use of a language, or trying to maintain the current level of use to protect the language from extinction or language death.

Some argue for a distinction between language revival (the resurrection of a "dead" language with no existing native speakers) and language revitalization (the rescue of a "dying" language). It has been pointed out that there has only been one successful instance of a complete language revival, that of the Hebrew language, creating a new generation of native speakers without any pre-existing native speakers as a model.

One of the best known European attempts at language revitalization concerns the Irish language. While English is dominant through most of Ireland, Irish, a Celtic language, is still spoken in certain areas called Gaeltachtaí, but there it is in serious decline. The challenges faced by the language over the last few centuries have included exclusion from important domains, social denigration, the death or emigration of many Irish speakers during the Irish famine of the 1840s, and continued emigration since. Efforts to revitalise Irish were being made, however, from the mid-1800s, and were associated with a desire for Irish political independence. Contemporary Irish language revitalization has chiefly involved teaching Irish as a compulsory language in mainstream English-speaking schools. But the failure to teach it in an effective and engaging way means (as linguist Andrew Carnie notes) that students do not acquire the fluency needed for the lasting viability of the language, and this leads to boredom and resentment. Carnie also noted a lack of media in Irish (2006), though this is no longer the case.

The Saami languages are Fenno-Ugrian languages spoken from central Sweden and Mid-Southern Norway to the tip of the Kola Peninsula in Russia by 25,000-35,000 speakers. The number of ethnic Saami is probably nearly 100,000. There are no deep linguistic boundaries within the language area between neighbouring dialects, but ten Saami languages can be distinguished, six of which have written standards (see map on page 29). Core areas are in the north of Norway, Sweden, and Finland; other speakers live interspersed among the majority population, even in the bigger cities, (Sammallahti, 1998) The Saami are one of the most described peoples in the world. Still, we have very little reliable data on the population and their languages.o avoid humiliation and to give their children better chances in life, indigenous and minority parents often decide to speak a dominant or official language with their children. Saami parents have not been an exception to this rule, especially in the past. "Optimistic" estimates suggest that at least half of today's oral languages might be dead or moribund -- no longer learned by children -- in a hundred years' time. Pessimistic but still realistic prognoses place the figure as high as 90 percent or even higher. Numerous factors influence attempts to maintain the Saami languages.

(6) The yoik is a unique form of cultural expression for the Sami people in the North of Sweden. The songs are not merely descriptive, but yearn to capture the subject in its living sense.

A yoik (also spelled joik) is a traditional Sami form of song.Originally, yoik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing.As yoik originats from the Sami culture which is not a text based culture, there are no references to how and where yoik originated. In the oral tradition legend tells that it was the faires and elfs of the arctic land that gave yoiks to the Sámi People. Just Quigstad who recorded the Sami oral tradition has documented that in several works.According to music researchers, yoik is one of the longest living music traditions in Europe, and is the folk music of the Sami people.

The sound of yoik is comparable to the traditional chanting of some Native American cultures, but non-verbal singing as such is by no means limited to these cultures.

With the Christianization of the Sami, yoiking was condemned as sinful. The Norwegianization assimilation policy and the church and ecclesiastical movement's views on joiking as sin have played important roles in the devaluation. In the 1950s, it was forbidden to use joiking in school in Sami areas, and one of the reasons that joiking was controversial may be its association with noaidi and pre-Christian mythology rituals. Meanwhile, yoiking was strongly rooted in culture and tradition was maintained. Today yoiking is still alive and is also used as a source of inspiration and an element in contemporary Sami music.

(7) Basic features of a religions

Judaism is the oldest Abrahamic religion, originating in the people of ancient Israel and Judea. The Torah is its foundational text, and is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. It is supplemented by oral tradition, set down in written form in later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism, which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah; historically, this assertion was challenged by various groups. The Jewish people were scattered after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Today there are about 13 million Jews, about 40 per cent living in Israel and 40 per cent in the United States. The largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism (Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism), Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism.

Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New Testament. The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and as Savior and Lord. Almost all Christians believe in the Trinity, which teaches the unity of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. Most Christians can describe their faith with the Nicene Creed. As the religion of Byzantine Empire in the first millennium and of Western Europe during the time of colonization, Christianity has been propagated throughout the world. The main divisions of Christianity are, according to the number of adherents:

There are also smaller groups, including:

Islam is based on the Quran, one of the holy books considered by Muslims to be revealed by God, and on the teachings (hadith) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a major political and religious figure of the 7th century CE. Islam is the most widely practiced religion of Southeast Asia, North Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia, while Muslim-majority countries also exist in parts of South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Europe. There are also several Islamic republics, including Iran, Pakistan, Mauritania, and Afghanistan.

Other denominations of Islam include Nation of Islam, Ibadi, Sufism, Quranism, Mahdavia, and non-denominational Muslims. Wahhabism is the dominant Muslim schools of thought in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Bahá'í Faith is an Abrahamic religion founded in 19th century Iran and since then has spread worldwide. It teaches unity of all religious philosophies and accepts all of the prophets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as additional prophets including its founder Bahá'u'lláh. One of its divisions is the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith. Smaller regional Abrahamic groups also exist, including Samaritanism (primarily in Israel and the West Bank), the Rastafari movement (primarily in Jamaica), and Druze (primarily in Syria and Lebanon).

Iranian

Iranian religions are ancient religions whose roots predate the Islamization of Greater Iran. Nowadays these religions are practiced only by minorities.

Zoroastrianism is based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster in the 6th century BC. Zoroastrians worship the creator Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrianism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil trying to destroy the creation of Mazda, and good trying to sustain it. Mandaeism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Mandaeans are sometime labeled as the "Last Gnostics". Kurdish religions include the traditional beliefs of the Yazidi, Alevi, and Ahl-e Haqq. Sometimes these are labeled Yazdânism.

India

Indian religions are practiced or were founded in the Indian subcontinent. They are sometimes classified as the dharmic religions, as they all feature dharma, the specific law of reality and duties expected according to the religion.

Hinduism is a synecdoche describing the similar philosophies of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and related groups practiced or founded in the Indian subcontinent. Concepts most of them share in common include karma, caste, reincarnation, mantras, yantras, and darana.[note 3] Hinduism is the most ancient of still-active religions, with origins perhaps as far back as prehistoric times. Hinduism is not a monolithic religion but a religious category containing dozens of separate philosophies amalgamated as Santana Dharma, which is the name by which Hinduism has been known throughout history by its followers.

Jainism, taught primarily by Parsva (9th century BCE) and Mahavira (6th century BCE), is an ancient Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Jains are found mostly in India.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhattha Gotama in the 6th century BCE. Buddhists generally agree that Gotama aimed to help sentient beings end their suffering (dukkha) by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (sasra), that is, achieving nirvana.

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak and ten successive Sikh gurus in 15th century Punjab. It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, with approximately 30 million Sikhs. Sikhs are expected to embody the qualities of a Sant-Siph—a saint-soldier, have control over one's internal vices and be able to be constantly immersed in virtues clarified in the Guru Granth Sahib. The principal beliefs of Sikhi are faith in Waheguru—represented by the phrase ik akr, meaning one God, who prevails in everything, along with a praxis in which the Sikh is enjoined to engage in social reform through the pursuit of justice for all human beings.

(8)   Transculturation encompasses more than transition from one culture to another; it does not consist merely of acquiring another culture (acculturation) or of losing or uprooting a previous culture (deculturation). Rather, it merges these concepts and additionally carries the idea of the consequent creation of new cultural phenomena (neoculturation).[2] Ortiz also referred to the devastating impact of Spanish colonialism on Cuba's indigenous peoples as a "failed transculturation." Transculturation can often be the result of colonial conquest and subjugation, especially in a postcolonial era as native peoples struggle to regain their own sense of identity.

In simple terms, transculturation reflects the natural tendency of people (in general) to resolve conflicts over time, rather than exacerbating them. (In the modern context, both conflicts and resolutions are amplified by communication and transportation technology —the ancient tendency of cultures drifting or remaining apart has been replaced by stronger forces for bringing societies together.) Where transculturation impacts ethnicity and ethnic issues the term "ethnoconvergence" is sometimes used.

In one general sense, transculturation covers war, ethnic conflict, racism, multiculturalism, cross-culturalism, interracial marriage, and any other of a number of contexts that deal with more than one culture. In the other general sense, transculturation is one aspect of global phenomena and human events.

The general processes of transculturation are extremely complex — steered by powerful forces at the macrosocial level, yet ultimately resolved at the interpersonal level. The driving force for conflict is simple proximity -- boundaries, once separating people (providing for a measure of isolation) become the issue of a conflict when societies encroach upon one another territorially. If a means to co-exist cannot be immediately found, then conflicts can be hostile, leading to a process by which contact between individuals leads to some resolution. Often, history shows us, the processes of co-existence begins with hostilities, and with the natural passing of polarist individuals, comes the passing of their polarist sentiments, and soon some resolution is achieved. Degrees of hostile conflict vary from outright genocidal conquest, to lukewarm infighting between differing political views within the same ethnic community.

Examples::--

White people going onto Native American reservations and teaching native american culture and history.transculturation is the process of cultural transformation marked by the influx of new culture elements an d the loss or alteration of exisiting ones. Therefore, when Spain and Portugal conquered Latin America and forcibly applied their new rules and regulations among the people, the indigenous culture and Spanish culture were mixed and as a result transculturation occured, as in the example of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Another example of transculturation in Latin American history is the architecture that took on a more European style.

Before the conquest, Latin American arcitecture was simple, yet intricate due to the systematic placement of stones to create towers, pyramids, and walls. For example, the Aztec pyramids were used as religious centers, as seen in the picture to the right. Housing varied by how wealthy the Aztec family was, but mainly consisted of thick stone walls plastered together with soil and straw roofs.

Once the Spanish took control and used the natives to build better housing for the conquistadors, as well as churches and other edifices, the style of architecture was similar to the style found in Spain and Portugal. Even today, these European influences can be seen in Latin American architecure and in North American architecure with the movement style of Spanish Colonial Revival.

(9) Cannibal Tours is a 1988 documentary film by Australian director and cinematographer Dennis O'Rourke. While it borrows heavily from ethnographic modes of representation, the film is a biting commentary on the nature of modernity. The film documents a cruise ship tour down the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea as wealthy European and American tourists go in search of “primitive” cultures. The film captures cross-cultural miscommunication as tourists and hosts misunderstand one another, usually comically, often disturbingly.

The film follows a number of European and American ecotourists as they travel from village to village throughout the Sepik River area in Papua New Guinea, driving hard bargains for local handcrafted items, paying to view formerly sacred ceremonies and taking photographs of every aspect of "primitive" life. With some prodding, the tourists unwittingly reveal an unattractive and pervasive ethnocentrism to O'Rourke's cameras. The tourists thus become somewhat dehumanized by the camera, even as the tourists themselves are busy exoticizing even the most mundane aspects of Sepik River life.

The Pros of Tourism

Tourism brings in foreign currency and investments. A country’s booming tourist industry ensures the country of an excellent reputation among foreign people. A booming tourist industry means the country is safe for travel and investment, and these days it is a large factor to consider. In addition, tourism creates more jobs for the locals. More tourists entering the country, calls for more hotels, resorts, and restaurants thereby creating more jobs. It also provides a good opportunity for the locals to interact with foreigners and get to know their culture better.

The Cons of Tourism

Now, let’s take a look at the disadvantages of tourism. Firstly, a country may not be ready for big tourist arrivals which can cause all sorts of problems. This can result in crowded streets, heavy traffic and pollution. An influx of tourism on a country can also cause loss privacy for the locals. A village with many foreigners roaming around can disturb the peaceful lives of the locals. Governments can also pay too much attention to foreigners and thereby neglect the locals. For example, hotel accommodation can be costly, for locals in many countries, which means, locals are unable to use these facilities. Prices of goods too can be high and locals will be unable to purchase these goods.

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