Cultural Imperialism Research Articles

Cultural Imperialism and Popular Culture: Unveiling the Influence of Salmah Ismail @ Saloma in the Federation of Malaya

Salmah Ismail @ Saloma has been greatly influenced by imperialism, which led her to achieve such a fame in Federation of Malaya and also in the neighbouring countries. The influence of imperialism on the development of her career as an artist seems to be unnoticed even by Saloma herself and previous studies on her only conclude that Saloma was merely a singer with a melodious voice, actress, fashion icon, and a wife to a renowned artist, P. Ramlee. Cultural imperialism in Malaya is deemed to have influenced Saloma until she sparks the birth of popular culture in the Federation of Malaya. Therefore, this research would scrutinise the extent to which cultural imperialism in the Federation of Malaya has influenced Saloma in shaping popular culture in the country from the colonialism era until the post-independence era in the Federated Malay States. The results of this research show that Saloma had certainly brought a dominant image of imperialism in Malaya through culture imperialism. Saloma has successfully introduced a popular culture in the Federation of Malaya through her sense of music, media and fashion, and lifestyle. The finding of this study contributes significantly to the history of our country in relation to how the contribution of artists, which in this context referring to Saloma, had given an impact on our country's civilization. The findings of the current study can be used as a guide to highlight the role and contribution of artists that is less recognized in the civilization and history of the country. Keywords: Saloma, popular culture, imperialism, cultural imperialism, Malaya.

Advertising Literacy and Fast Food Purchasing Behavior of Youth in Pakistan: An Experimental Study

Today, the role of advertising appealing to young people is very important in the task of influencing their consumer behavior in the sphere of fast food. Therefore, this research investigates the moderating effect of advertising literacy on the actual choice of fast foods by young consumers through an experimental design. This research sample comprised seventy participants and used a pre-test/post-test design within a single-subject group. Specifically, the present research intended to evaluate the utility of an intervention that intended to improve the extent of advertising literacy and its manifold impact on the behaviors of the subjects. The results highlighted awfully low level of advertising literacy among the respondents, meaning that a significant portion of young consumers lack critical thinking skills regarding advertisements or even the possibility of the negative consequences of the effects of fast food consumption portrayed in the commercials. The intention of the intervention was quite simple: to make people think more critically about what is being advertised and to make them aware of the impact of the advertisements being aired; but as the post-test indicated, there was only a marginal change in participants' fast food consumption behavior. It could be said that even though the level of advertising literacy is high, this is not enough to bring some profound changes in consumption behavior, at least in the context where time convenience and the pleasure of tasting are the cultural imperatives. These results stress the need for more adequate educational campaigns aimed at enhancing youth advertising literacy and point at the need for integrating information on the purpose and potential consequences of fast foods advertising into the campaigns. Furthermore, it should urge legislators to pass further regulations that would prevent the usage of misleading ads to target young consumers.

Negotiating the night: How nightclub promoters attune their curatorial practices to the intra-urban dispersal of nightlife in Amsterdam

Night-time economies have traditionally clustered in city centres and nightlife districts. Yet, due to regulation, urban regeneration and gentrification, nightlife activities and spaces, including nightclubs and club nights, are increasingly located across cities. However, the significance and spatial dynamics of this diffusion and the relationships between different nocturnal spaces and scales remain poorly understood. This paper examines the intra-urban dispersal of nightclubs in Amsterdam and the ways in which nightclub promoters attune their curatorial practices to urban processes through genre-based commercial and cultural imperatives. Drawing on interviews with 36 nightclub promoters, 111 hours of participant observation at clubs and document-based analysis, it demonstrates how these reflexive actors respond and contribute to intra-urban dispersal by (1) spatialising music genres, (2) staging affective atmospheres at different scales and (3) spatialising audiences. The paper contributes to studies which focus on nocturnal spaces, actors and activities and the evolving urban geography within cities.

Taking innovative humanising pedagogy towards Thirdness: sustaining the development of intercultural competence

ABSTRACT To facilitate intercultural communicative competence, language learners are invited into the triadic capacity of Thirdness, where the social and critical interpretations of intercultural dialogue are explored. Little is known of the specific pedagogical stages to create such a terrain for the development of students’ sustainable intercultural competence. Situated within a tertiary-level English classroom in China, this study reveals how teachers can employ five pedagogical stages and humanised pedagogy to decentre cultural imperialism and promote plural values, behaviours and ways of knowing, and how students relativise their own beliefs to those of the target language culture.

Image Creation about Africa Within the State-Owned Media Space: A Content Analysis of the Ghanaian Times Newspaper

This study attempted to find out the various images or themes that the Ghanaian Times as a State-owned Print Media in Ghana portrays about Africa through its reportage. Utilizing the gatekeeping, cultural imperialist, and framing theories, the study looked at the selection of stories by the editors and the final images that were portrayed about Africa per the stories selected for publication for five (5) years. Through content analysis, the study sampled 225 stories from the Ghanaian Times newspaper. The study hypothesized that the newspaper would frame Africa positively but the findings did not support that hypothesis. The study further delved into the sources of the African news as it was hypothesized that the Ghanaian state-owned newspaper would also pick the majority of its stories from indigenous African news agencies. The results again caused the claim to be rejected as the newspaper indeed relied more on Western media particularly the British Broadcasting Corporation for news on Africa. While there is the need to periodically research to find out about the state of Africa’s image in the media, it was recommended that the African media must reduce its dependence on foreign news agencies for stories on Africa as the tone of such stories is largely negative. The study contributes to the existing literature regarding Africa’s image in the media especially how Ghanaian media frames Africa. Keywords – Africa, Image, Media Framing, News Sources

“Oh, it’s just them Indians”: Indigenous Case Study toward interrupting the manifestations of native student oppression

This study introduces Indigenous Case Study (ICS) as a methodology poised to foster decolonized and anti-racist spaces. ICS is a weaving of TribalCrit, critical and Indigenous methodological approaches, and considers contemporary and historical contexts, simultaneously. In the current manuscript, ICS helps reimage campuses through revised policies and practices that work toward the creation of decolonized and inclusive institutions for Native students and communities. ICS allows for deeper analyses as we interrogate the dissonance between university president’s statements about race and inclusion, institutional policies and practices, and the experiences of Native students as shared through student stories. We explore historical documents, president speeches, campus events, individual interviews, and researcher auto-narratives in Sharing Circles over the course of five years. The findings situate historical and contemporary campus contexts as we reveal five manifestations of oppression experienced by Native students: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. ICS provides circular and methodical methods that offer the opportunity to think in more complex ways as we offer findings and discussions on the cultivation of decolonized and anti-racist spaces.

Out of Sight, Out of Catalogue: The Neglected Grey Collection Medical MS G.4.c.14, Its Problematic Provenance, and Its Colonial Context

Cape Town National Library of South Africa’s Grey Collection MS G.4.c.14 is a fifteenth-century paper manuscript that contains three medical works and a series of recipes. This article briefly explores MS G.4.c.14’s contents before examining the story of the manuscript itself. Containing commentaries on Book IV, fen 4 of Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine by well-known instructor of surgery Leonardo di Bertipaglia (d. 1448), and by the more obscure Maffeus di Laudi (fl. 1392–1417), and a summary of Benevenutus de Grassus’s De oculis (ca. 11–13th c.), MS G.4.c.14 has the potential to add greatly to our understanding of medieval medicine. However, medieval manuscripts also have histories outside the texts they contain. An exploration of the provenance and history of MS G.4.c.14 brought to light how it moved from Rome to Cape Town, through the antics of an infamous book thief, Guglielmo Libri (1802–69), and its purchase by Sir George Grey, colonial governor of the Cape Colony in South Africa between 1854 and 1861. Although neither British in origin nor explicitly Christian in content, like many other European manuscripts, MS G.4.c.14 played an important role in informal processes of colonialism and cultural imperialism. We examine why MS G.4.c.14 had been ignored in research and catalogues of medieval medical and ophthalmological works for decades, despite being digitized and available at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in 1990 and being included in a modern catalogue of the Grey Collection since 2002. We suggest that looking outside Europe to find manuscripts like MS G.4.c.14 requires scholars to confront the colonialist history in the disciplines of medieval and manuscript studies. This has become even more important as technologies of digitization have made it possible to examine a manuscript without any recognition of its history or provenance.

Nurturing Faith and Enlightening Minds: Assumptionist Education in the Ottoman Empire

The text explores the educational activities of French Roman Catholic missions in the nineteenth century, as they evolved from serving local Catholic needs to becoming crucial assets in advancing France’s religious–cultural influences and the Holy See’s efforts to unify Eastern Christian Churches under Rome. Focused on the Mission d’Orient, initiated during Pius IX’s papacy, this study delves into the Assumptionists’ educational activities in the Ottoman Empire (1863–1914), which aimed to inculturate the Christian communities of the Ottoman Empire, achieve union with Rome, and build a bridge of knowledge between the Ottoman Orient and Europe. Employing a transnational historical approach, this research utilizes primary sources from the Holy See and the Assumptionist Order, examining religious and educational interactions with Ottoman millets. This article argues that Assumptionist institutions succeeded in inculturation and acted as bridges for cultural exchange. The context includes the French protectorate of the Ottoman Empire, the protégé system, and the Capitulations of 1740, demonstrating the Holy See’s use of political and religious alliances. The Assumptionists, influential in advancing the Holy See’s interests, are studied regarding their engagement in France and the Orient. Despite valuable insights from existing research, this article seeks to fill gaps by using Assumptionists as a case study, exploring the specific impacts of their education on various religious groups within the context of France’s religious–cultural imperialism.

Friendship and filial piety in Ming Neo-Confucianism

AbstractThis article discusses friendship and filial piety in Ming Neo-Confucianism, particularly the Yangming learning. I argue that the Yangming jianghui provided important social settings for elevating the value of friendship. True friendship was considered as a means for moral improvement, and to prevent the risk of moral subjectivism in the Yangming philosophy.I also revisit the question of whether Ming Neo-Confucians did challenge the order of the five cardinal relationships by elevating friendship as the most important one. Through the investigation of filial piety in imperial culture and the Yangming learning, I emphasize that filial piety was not only the basis of socio-political order, but also the essence of the true self. The importance of friendship lies in its capacity to aid moral cultivation and to become a better self. It could never surpass that of filial piety. It remained a supplement to familial ethics.

Media Representation and Cultural Identity

This article explores the dynamics of media representation and its profound impact on cultural identity and intercultural relations, exploring how various forms of media—television, films, and digital platforms—shape and are shaped by cultural identities globally. By employing key theoretical frameworks like cultural imperialism and representation theory, it examines the ways in which media influences cultural perceptions and identities across different regions, from the dominance of Western narratives to the cultural expressions in Eastern media. The review further investigates the role of modern media technologies, such as streaming platforms and social media, in facilitating global cultural exchange while also perpetuating stereotypes. Case studies of diverse media representations illustrate the dual role of media in challenging and reinforcing cultural norms and stereotypes. The findings highlight the necessity for media producers, policymakers, and educators to foster more accurate and inclusive representations to enhance cultural understanding and identity formation in an increasingly globalized world.

Searching for the Exotic: Textiles, Orientalism, and Identities

Textiles, with their economic, sartorial, and identity-constructing functions, have long been at the center of cultural discourses, whether narrative or visual. Objects of desire, but also objects of curiosity, textiles have been the topic of costume books, offered in diplomatic exchanges, collected by private collectors and museums alike, and have traveled, sometimes as sample books. Their Othering function did not only differentiate between members of different civilizations, but also the members of the same society, where clothing was used to signal rank and function. The case studies presented intend to elaborate further on the role and symbolism associated with textiles, by reiterating their centrality in their various forms, whether costume albums (Cabrera Lafuente), collected textile pieces (Coman), costumes created for the burgeoning film industry (Kulpa), or as samples for a society wardrobe (Parry-Williams). The common characteristics of the specific examples build on the use of textiles to signal Othering, exotic curiosity, and even sexually charged sensuality, or Orientalist interest in the Asia Minor populations. In many of the examples analyzed, the impact of Western and Western-influenced discourses is discernible, to the point of the self-fashioning of a collector originating from interwar Romania (a former Danubian Principalities tributary to the Ottoman Empire) who commissioned a portrait of himself wearing the clothing of what he calls an “Arab sheikh.” During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Western world embraced a broadly racialized perspective, Othering non-white peoples in the colonial context. Orientalism served as an intellectual justification for imperialism, portraying the Eastern world as ‘primitive’, and in need of modernization through the civilizing mission. Colonial empires thrived on essentialist representations, establishing a binary division between The Orient and The Occident, perpetuating the Western Self and the non-western Other. Orientalism played a role in cultural imperialism by promoting homogenization, feminization, and essentialization, reinforcing the perceived superiority of Western civilization. Even though we have been living in a postcolonial world for decades, the study of Exoticism, Othering, and Orientalism remains relevant, and demands scholarly inquiry. This brings forth the need for a specific methodology inherent to each case study and, at the same time, unites them in the nuanced approach to the main applied concepts.

Flags of Shame. Politics and Symbols in Contemporary Debates

Flags have become a battlefield of choice in politics. This state of affairs is, however, a relatively recent phenomenon. A visible turning point in the process of the desacralization of the flag has been the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Texas v. Johnson (1989). The social and intellectual threads that have led us here are numerous, including the nineteenth-century debates occasioned by the Confederate flag and the controversies regarding the symbols of the revolutionary Left. Ruth Benedict’s distinction (1946) between “shame cultures” and “guild cultures” has provided a conceptual frame to advance the understanding of the meaning of highly symbolic actions to desecrate the national flag. In the twenty-first century, after imperial cultures and identities decline, shaming the flag has become part of the narrative of political polarization in many democracies worldwide.

Female Beliefs in Roman Hispania

In addition to Greco-Roman literary sources and archaeological evidence, inscriptions are the only means of reconstructing the information of certain population groups that were interested in expressing their religious ideas and honourable positions through epigraphy, which was often shaped by very specific local circumstances. The epigraphy of Roman Hispania not only provides valuable information about the daily life, social organization and religious beliefs of the population, but also reflects the adaptation and integration of local communities into the vast Roman Empire. This work provides an overview of women’s beliefs in Hispania through the pedestals and votive altars dedicated by female devotees and priestesses (local and provincial), sometimes linked to the imperial cult, who made offerings to a divinity.

The Soft Power Synergy: Ayurveda and Yoga in Contemporary Diplomacy

Ayurveda and Yoga which are the part of ancient Indian system of life have become the symbols of India’s soft power diplomacy in international forum. These customs and patterns embody the core values of cultural norms and values and have great implications of enhancing overall health and harmony between the soul and the body. At first, Ayurveda and Yoga play the role of the link and communication between countries in terms of the shared cultural values and ethical standards, which are based on the ideas of health and relaxation. These activities consist of Ayurveda wellness facilities and Yoga diplomacy initiatives to strengthen the two countries’ relations while fostering the levels of consciousness and well-being of the global society. However, in addition to the cultural strategic relations, Ayurveda and Yoga are the other important economic diplomacy of India. The increasing global concern towards natural health remedies makes India, a major exporter of Ayurvedic antibiotics and other well-being products. At the same time, the demand for Yoga generates a lot of business: workshops, professional boot camps, and well-being tourism centres that positively affect India’s economy. Last, between their globalization, Ayurveda and Yoga have faced criticism of cultural imperialism, and between the quality of products and services and their becoming a commodity. India manages these threats through endorsing local culture and ethic, protecting the product originality and fostering proper cultural transfer. Thus, India meets these challenges and raises awareness of Ayurveda and Yoga as an Indian contribution to global health and cultural events and meetings. The abstract signifies how Ayurveda and Yoga symbiotically develop India’s soft power diplomacy, exceeding cultural, social, and economic dynamics. By influencing these old traditions and values, India improves its global impact. It promotes a more interrelated and cordial global society stranded in common and shared values of healthiness, knowledge, and consciousness.

CULTURAL CAPITALISM AND TODAY’S GLOBALIZED SOCIETY: AN ANALYSIS

The phenomena of cultural capitalism emerged from the complex junction of culture and capitalism in today's worldwide society. This abstract investigates the workings of cultural capitalism in the context of modern, globalized society, looking at its effects and implications. First, it explores the idea of cultural capitalism, explaining how the market shapes and commercializes cultural identities, practices, and expressions. It looks into how cultural symbols, stories, and experiences are appropriated for profit, emphasizing how the media, advertising, and consumerism contribute to this practice. The abstract also discusses how cultural capitalism affects societies all around the world. It talks on how the dominance of Western capitalist ideas leads to cultural imperialism and homogenization, which threatens cultural variety, authenticity, and the preservation of cultural heritage. It also closely examines how cultural capitalism exacerbates social differences, marginalizes particular groups, and maintains inequality. n conclusion, this abstract highlights the complexities of cultural capitalism in today's globalized society, emphasizing the need for critical inquiry and proactive measures to mitigate its negative impacts and foster more equitable, inclusive cultural environments.

Subtle Orientalism: Moroccan Self-Criticism and Poor Hygiene as Tools for Western Representations

By analyzing Jeffrey Tayler’s Glory in a Camel’s Eye (2003) and Tahir Shah’s The Caliph’s House (2006), this paper considers the more elusive elements of Orientalism in contemporary travel writing. While earlier colonial era writers were less subtle often in obvious terms suggesting backward and undeveloped narratives to the point of being almost negative these visceral accounts are bound up with the skillful deployment of local voices that serve as a weaponized device for endorsing Western constructions. They often use the self-critical words of Moroccans to disguise their prejudices, granting them an appearance of impartiality and legitimacy. The paper argues that even in its most nuanced form, teaching culture through such subtle comparison sustains Orientalist frameworks by comparing a “modern” West with the primitive East. Using a more subtle, strategic representation of Western dominance as instantiation enables the study to show in scrutinizing travelogue passages that local voices of Morocco had been weaponized to promote/propagate white supremacy and live among larger narration for cultural imperialism. This study also explores how these travelogues capitalize on representations of dirt, poor hygiene, and otherness in Moroccan life, serving to highlight how depictions of uncleanliness and animal-like imagery continue to dehumanize and exoticize non-Western peoples.

Vmeste i vroz. Metamorfozy obraza Tarasa Shevchenko v gody Pervoy mirovoy i Grazhdanskoy voyn

The article delves into the exploration of the formation of the Ukrainian nation within the backdrop of competing ideologies: imperial and socialist. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is Miroslav Hroch’s concept of nation-building phases, which centers around the generational shift from a limited national intelligentsia to a broader educated class, and eventually to a mass movement. Among the myriad factors influencing the propagation of the notion of nationhood, a relatively unexamined one is selected for analysis — the utilization of literature, specifically the works and image of Taras Shevchenko, by various political and public actors. This study draws on sources such as speeches, articles, political symbols, and accounts of visitors to Shevchenko’s grave. During the early 20th century in the Russian Empire, multiple attempts were made to integrate the image of the Ukrainian poet into various discourses. Firstly, he was portrayed as the progenitor of the nation, a supporter of Ukrainian emancipation. Secondly, within the realm of social discourse, Shevchenko was depicted as a political fighter against the monarchical regime. Thirdly, his works were viewed as a component of broader imperial culture. Interestingly, these interpretations could coexist even within the dialogues of political adversaries. The battle for the “appropriation” of Shevchenko’s image came to the fore during the tumultuous period of the First World War and the 1917 Revolution, being transformed into integral elements of the political strife. This symbol was harnessed for political mobilization by advocates of a unified state, proponents of national autonomy, and separatists alike.

Representation of the image of Russia's future in print media in the context of Russian society's consolidation

Acquiring current sociological information on the features of representing the image of the future in print media is a task that has been highlighted in the context of the integration and consolidation of Russian society in a hybrid reality. Drawing upon theories of the information society and communicative action, the authors examine the information and communicative sphere as determinants in constructing trends in social and political processes, with the media serving as a crucial institution for shaping public opinion. Methods and Empirical Basis: The empirical study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis of publications in three leading print media outlets during the years 2013-2014 and 20222023. The total sample consisted of 521 articles, with a selected sample of 174 articles published in periodicals such as “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, “Komsomolskaya Pravda,” and “Novaya Gazeta”. Results and Discussion: It was found that the construction of the image of future Russia is based on two groups of factors – internal (social policy, human capital, traditions, economic development, environmental preservation) and external (Russia’s confrontation, multipolar world). The emotional tone of articles from 2013 to 2023 has acquired more negative connotation; the number of articles containing long-term forecasts has decreased due to the implementation of Special Military Operations (SMO). Dominant discourses that construct the image of future Russia and are most actively propagated in the media were described: the “Russia - Eurasian Colossus” discourse, the breakthrough and overcoming discourse, the “besieged fortress” discourse, the discourse of justice, and the discourse of cancellation. In the future, the Russian Federation is presented as a Eurasian integrator based on cultural traditions, historical heritage, and ideological imperatives of a highly consolidated society. It is portrayed as a future leader in technological development, an economy based on import substitution and breakthrough production capacities, the advancement of science and innovation, effective educational and youth policies. Positive representations of the future create images of Russia as a saviour, a leader of a just world order, which is reflected in articles dedicated to the new multipolar world order. The “besieged fortress” and the discourse of cancellation construct both negative images of the country, incapable of responding to contemporary challenges and overcoming socio-economic development risks, as well as positive images where society and authority establish effective strategies to resist threats and external circumstances.

Knowing Myself

In recent decades, critical thinking in higher education has garnered more attention, due the prevailing sense that it is essential for the development of critical citizens. However, critical thinking largely appears to be characterized as originating from a Global Northern philosophical tradition and embodying abilities that lead to academic success. Perpetuating this hegemony of regional knowledge as universal devalues knowledge traditions of the Global South and often leads to ‘othering’ of knowledges and ways of knowing rooted in their cultures and philosophies, delimits the scope of critical thinking and makes it challenging for the subject to resonate with its learners. This research examines the critical thinking curriculum in British transnational higher education in Ghana, critically interrogating the student learning experience and the wider issue of cultural imperialism enacted by the Global North through transnational higher education, and offers some suggestions derived from participant interviews to reimagine the curriculum.

UKRAINIAN STUDIES ACTUALITIES OF THE MODERN TEACHER’S PEDAGOGICAL CULTURE

The article substantiates, defines, and discloses the current Ukrainian studies of the teacher’s pedagogical culture in the context of modern political, social, and cultural issues of national education system formation in Ukraine. Attention is focused on the fact that the current mission of the New Ukrainian School education is to strengthen and develop the national idea, which is the lifeblood of state growth and the way to victory. Thus, it is necessary to form a pedagogical culture based on Ukrainian studies, which should be everywhere in educational, cultural, artistic, scientific, and information environments. It has been proven that the cult of culture, primarily national, must be perceived as a methodology of modern education. It should serve not only historical truth, intellectualization, and humanization of the personality but also be a safeguard, caution, and protection against expansion in the future, strengthening the Spirit of the People, which is our indomitable strength. It has been found that, when forming the personality of a teacher, lecturer, and their pedagogical culture, it is necessary to pay attention to two key aspects – professional and cultural, because the institution of higher education should provide not only “knowledge” competencies, but also create a cultural teacher. Pedagogical culture is formed two-dimensionally – concordantly and logically, sensually and rationally, humanely and realistically, with heart and mind. It is a kind of synthesis of soul and reason (intellect). It has been established that Ukrainian studies should be considered an essential component in the education content, which makes it sound, intellectual, humane, and national, strengthening the social processes of state-nation creation. Since educational Ukrainian-centrism will make it impossible for the rudiments of “cultural and educational imperialism” of Moscovites to manifest, which has always tried to destroy the national-historical life of Ukrainians, planting the ideology of little russia and statelessness. They can realize the highest civic task of education, which is to cultivate respect for one’s own “I,” one’s Kindred, People, Ukraine, to serve as a spiritual, socio-political factor of consolidation and development of the Nation.