Multiculturalism and Australia (Extended Post)

Cultural Identity is how we define and come to understand different groups of people and individuals from around the world. It is through the different flows of globalization (e.g physical, culture, communication and economic) that countries are adapting and turning into what we call a nation of diasporas. Australia is a great example of a country that has been shaped into a nation of diasporas as we house one of the most multicultural communities in the world with over a quarter of our population (26%) being born overseas (Australian Census of Population 2011). As one of the most culturally rich nations in the world Australia’s cultural identity is difficult to define. In this extended blog post of my previous insert “Multiculturalism and Australia” I will attempt discuss the effects the different flows of globalization have on Australia and try to define what the countries true cultural identity is.

As mentioned above I believe that Australia is a great example of a nation of diasporas. The term diaspora is defined by dictionary.com as “any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland” (dictionary.com 2012). So what does this mean for Australia? Does being a nation of diasporas hold positive or negative implications?

When asked about being an Australian, the first thing that comes to mind is the long hot summers, beaches, BBQ’s and the outback. The Australian outback has been a prominent symbol of our countries culture for generations. Our large outback environments have shaped much of our countries agricultural and indigenous history. For example ancient tribes such as the Wongi, Yamatiji and Noongar people have been living in the western Australia for thousands of years and have helped shape and preserve the history of aboriginals and the outback in their respective areas. Also due to the gold rush era in the late 1800s many of Australians and in particular Western Australia’s rural towns “began life as gold rush settlements” (Outback History and Culture www.australiasgoldenoutback.com). On top of this with 70% of Australia’s land being either arid or semi arid (Desert Knowledge CRC Data project 2006) it is obvious to see why the outback has such a large influence on Australian culture identity.

So is this truly how Australia’s cultural identity can be described? Due to the flows of globalization and the convergence of nations across the world Australia can be considered as a Nation of diasporas. With what can be seen as an extremely large multi cultural society, Australia “is one of the most diverse countries in the world” (ABS 2012). As the convergence of technologies and communications around the globe continue to grow (e.g the internet) so does the interests of people to explore the world and experience different cultures. According to immigration writer Lindasy Wagner (8 Reasons why people migrate to Australia 2008) a few reasons why people choose to migrate to Australia is because of our climate, our low crime rate, education standards are high, broad religion demographics and an excellent health care system. I believe that due to an increase in globalization and convergence of technologies and communications through mediums such as the Internet, that such information about countries can be distributed with a click of a button. Increasing curiosity of people from around the world and effectively increasing the depth of physical flows between countries and cultures.

To further understand why Australia can be considered as a nation of Diasporas we must look at some specific statistics in regards to our population. According to the ABS (www.abs.gov.au 2011) the Australian Census of Population “revealed that over a quarter (26%) of Australia’s population was born overseas and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas-born parent” (www.abs.gov.au ‘Cultural Diversity in Australia’).

So after looking at these figures it is quite obvious that Australia is a nation of diasporas but does this mean that our cultural identity is diminishing or eve being shaped into a larger, hybrid culture. I was shocked to find that Australia indigenous population was only 2.5% (www.abs.gov.au ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’). With such a low number of indigenous people making up our total population, is it possible that diasporas are having a negative impact on Australians Indigenous inhabitants? Diasporas I believe are currently having no impact on Australians indigenous inhabitants as there are strict preservation and migration laws that people must now pass and consider to become an Australia resident. In saying that although diasporas are not currently having a negative impact on the Aboriginal people of Australia, they did back in the days of Western Colonization. Interactive schooling website Skwirk.com (2012) estimates that “Between 1788 and 1900, the Aboriginal population was reduced by 90%”(www.skwirk.com.au 2012) as a result of “direct fighting with the coloniesers” from Europe. So it is acceptable to say that centuries ago, yes diasporas heavily affected Aboriginal populations in Australia and had a large impact on Australia’s indigenous cultures.

“Diasporic movements and communities have the potential for “surfacing” a range of new cultural and ethnic identities” (Goh, R, Wong, S ‘Asian Diasporas, Cultures, Identities, Representations’ p.15). This statement by Goh can be closely related to the history of Australian colonization along with our current state of cultural identity. As a Nation of diasporas Australia can evidently be noticed as a country that has a large range of cultural identities ranging from our now well preserved indigenous cultures to our now largely popular multicultural society that accepts migrants from across the globe. It can be acceptable to say that Australia is a country made up of not just one cultural identity, but a range of identities. With a large range of diaspora communities (e.g Chinese, Greek, Arabic, European) Australia accepts multiculturalism to the highest of standards. An example of the way in which we provide for our diaspora communities is through television broadcasting or more specifically, narrowcasting. Narrow casting is a form of diaspora television that instead of reaching out to the general public instead attempts to attract audiences of a more specific demographic. Australian broadcast stations such as SBS and ABC attempt to reach out to diaspora communities of Australia through international programming. SBS is a main contributor to these efforts with daily news programs from across the world such as Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Greek news. These efforts of narrowcasting attempt to effectively persevere cultural values that diaspora communities in Australia left behind in their home countries. Also relating back to the convergence of communication and technologies between countries, a medium such as the Internet is another way in which diaspora communities in Australia and all around the world can keep up to date with the latest information and new from their original homes. So as narrowcasting and new technologies such as the Internet allows Australia’s multicultural society to stay diverse, our true cultural identity of being known as a country of large outback areas and long beautiful coastlines is preserved. Australia is truly a nation of diasporas and a country which holds many unique cultural identities.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, ‘2071.0 - Cultural Diversity in Australia, Reflecting a Nation:Stories from the 2011 census, 2012/2013', Last updated 27th June 2012, Retrieved August 17 2012.  <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013>

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, '2075.0 – Census of Population and Housing - Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Australians, 2011, 2011 Census Counts – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’, Last updated 22nd August 2012, Retrieved August 17 2012. <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2075.0main+features32011>

Edwards, R, Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, ‘1301.1 – Year Book Australia 2009-10, Feature Article 2: Australia’s Cultural and Linguistic Diversity’, Retrieved October 4 2012, <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article32009%E2%80%9310?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2009%9610&num=&view=>

Wagner, L 2008,  ‘8 Reasons Why People Migrate to Australia’ Australian Immigration unit, December 3 2008, Retrieved October 4 2012, < http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/8-reasons-why-people-migrate-to-australia-668625.html>

Red Apple Education LTD, 2012, ‘Consequences of British Colonisation for Aboriginal people’ Retrieved October 4 2012, < http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-17_u-504_t-1361_c-5239/consequences-of-british-colonisation-for-aboriginal-people/qld/consequences-of-british-colonisation-for-aboriginal-people/colonisation-resources-power-and-exploration/british-colonisation-of-australia>

Desert Knowledge CRC 2006, ‘Desert Knowledge CRC Data Project, Resource material on desert Australia, Last updated December 19 2006, Retrieved October 4 2012, <www.cazr.csiro.au/connect/resources.htm>

Australian Golden Outback 2012, ‘About the Golden Outback, Outback History and Culture’ Retrieved October 4 2012 <www.Australiangoldenoutback.com/About_the_Golden_Outback/Outback_history_and_culture>

Mifflin, H 2002,  ‘Dictionary.com, Diaspora’, retrieved October 4 2012, <www.dictionary.regerence.com/browse/diaspora?s=t>

Al Jazeera and Fox

As Al Jazeera is completely new to me this topic was initially a very tough one. But as I looked into the issue of Fox news vs Al Jazeera more closely. Both of these television networks oppose one another but they effectively have some common similarities. 

Most of us studying this unit understand the extent of western propaganda that is forced out into the world by the television network giant Fox. There has been an ongoing war of words between both Fox News and Al Jazeera as tensions are high between the two networks. Both claiming that one another is Bias to the different cultures with Fox even claiming that Al Jazeera is anti American and "Osama's mouthpiece". These allegations are extremely negative and could be seen as an attempt of deformation towards Al Jazeera. But why would the Americans believe that the Arabs are being Biased? 

The only time I remember seeing an Al Jazeera broadcast before this assignment was when fox news directly broadcasted a message from Osama Bin Laden that was a simple new report covered by the Al Jazeera network. The arab network is somewhat lost in translation in Western societies as people may not see it as a news breaking channel because of its little relevance to their lives.  "Al-Jazeera offers comprehensive news, news analysis, and talk show programs that even include confrontation" (El-Nawawy 2003, pg. 46)

To conclude this post i'll leave you with two questions. Do you think that Al Jazeera is only seen as biased by Fox due to its somewhat extreme cultural differential to the rest of the world? Or is the Fox Network just trying to shoot them down for their own benefit?


El-Nawawy, M 2003, 'The battle for the Arab mind', Al-Jazeera, the history of the network that is rattling the governments and redefining modern journalism 2003, Westview press, Boulder CO, pp. 45-69.

Multiculturalism and Australia

When asked about being an Australian, the first thing that comes to mind is the long hot summers, beaches, BBQ’s and the outback. Sitting back and watching the cricket or footy with a VB (Victorian Bitter) in hand can be seen as the norm. But is this truly how our cultural identity is defined? For many people it is but I like to think otherwise. Australia should be considered as a disporic nation as our multicultural society is one of the most diverse in the world. 

<http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/sport/cricket/news/blog/free-beer-for-everyone/20101116-akp8.html>

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2011 the Australian Census of Population “revealed that over a quarter (26%) of Australia’s population was born overseas and a further one fifth (20%) had at least one overseas-born parent” (www.abs.gov.au ‘Cultural Diversity in Australia’). Surprised by these stats I looked into the proportion of the population that was Aboriginal and was shocked to find that it was only 2.5% (www.abs.gov.au ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’). With such a low number of indigenous people making up our total population, it makes one wonder if diasporic cultures have a positive or negative effect on our country. 

2011 Census age and sex distribution: recent arrivals and Australian-born

'

<http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013>

This graph shows and compares the age and sex of Australian-born citizens with recent migrant arrivals. It is evident that with a much larger percentage of middle aged and younger recent arrivals that the cultural diversity within Australia will only continue to grow.

I now put forward a couple of questions, with such a large influx of diasporic cultures into our Australian society, are the cultural values that we grew up with slowly dissolving into nothing? Or could they even be getting shaped into something more unique and diverse, is Australia turning into a hub for diasporic cultures?

“Diasporic movements and communities have the potential for “surfacing” a range of new cultural and ethnic identities” 

(Goh, R, Wong, S ‘Asian Diasporas, Cultures, Identities, Representations’ p.15)

<http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/sport/cricket/news/blog/free-beer-for-everyone/20101116-akp8.html> Image Retrieved August 17 2012

<http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013> Australian Bureau of Statistics, 'Cultural Diversity in Australia, Reflecting a Nation:Stories from the 2011 census', Last updated 27th June 2012, Retrieved August 17 2012.  

<http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2075.0main+features32011> Australian Bureau of Statistics, '2011 Census counts - Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Peoples', Last updated 22nd August 2012, Retrieved August 17 2012.  

Goh, R, Wong, S ‘Asian Diasporas, Cultures, Identities, Representations’, Hong Kong Community Press, Hong Kong 2004, p.15

The Imperial Games. Olympic time!

Are the Olympic Games a truly global event? In my eyes, no they are not. Yes the Olympics pride them selves on bringing together nations of the world in what is seemingly a global event. But lets consider some of the issues that detach the Olympics for being global.

The 5 themes I would like you to consider when defining what a global event truly is are.

1. Culture
2. Economics
3. Informational flows
4. Media flows and
5. Demographic

The first two points, Culture and Economics go hand in hand. It is evident that over the long history of the Olympic games that major countries of the world dominate the medal tally's. For example The top 3 all-time medal leaders for the games are the U.S (2298 total medals), Soviet Union 1952-1988 (1010 total medals) and Great Britain (715 total medals)(<http://www.allcompetitions.com/og_medcnt.htm>). This domination by the great powers of the world can be related to their economic strength and cultural values that drive them to be the best in the world and allow them to feed money into sporting facilities and programs that aids the drive for Olympic Medals. This dominance separates the weaker, smaller countries of the world from those super powers widening the gap and raising the questions about the integrity of the games. Can the Olympics really be considered a global event when they are dominated by the most powerful nations of the world?

Another point to consider is that the games is a highly selective event. The Olympics will never be able to be hosted in countries such as Kenya or Togo (random examples) for they are poorly placed economically and lack the facilities to hold the games. If it was a global event, why not spread out all the different sports and proceedings to every country in the world? Well because that would be too inconvenient and an organizational disaster! If you ask me, the games are very unbalanced. Unfortunately Due to restrictions on word limit, I cannot discuss the other themes mention above in as much detail as I would like. So hopefully I future blog posts I will re-ignite my ramblings about the Olympic games and explain why they are not truly a global event!

There is one final thought that I will leave you with. It is obvious that the Olympics are an imperial competition that puts nation up against nation up against nation! But ask yourself, what would the games be like if we got rid of nations and made everything individual?


Reference:<http://www.allcompetitions.com/og_medcnt.htm> "summer olympics games/medal tally' Total medals by country, retrieved 8/8/12

Glocalization to the rescue!

As mentioned in my first post, cultural dominance of western nations such as the U.S. is causing a form of imbalance throughout the world. Globalisation is effectively deteriorating smaller cultures throughout the globe. Mass media and the large corporations can been seen as the ones to blame for this, as the spread of right winged proper-gander is causing the homogenization of countries with little international power. This is where the term Glocalization comes into the discussion. Commonly related to the phrase "Think globally and act locally", Glocalization is an attempt to constrict western influences and preserve cultural diversity.

"Like sand castles on a beach, local cultures are being eroded and flattened by the gradual impact of the endless tide of the U.S. and other Western media products."(Croteau, Hoynes, Milan 2012)

It is through the attempt to think globally and act locally that countries are able to maintain traditional values while continuing to progress forward in our even changing global society. A great example of this can be observed through Indian culture and their huge interest in Hollywood. Bollywood is India's local spin on Hollywood, which can be considered as one of the globes largest contributor to Americanization. The Indian film industry (Bollywood) protects local values and therefore puts a stop to the homogenization of India's culture. Although this is only one example of how global media has been altered to maintain cultural diversity, Glocalization is still living in the shadows of the all mighty Globalisation.

"Globalisation is about the export of a monoculture. It is the death of human Diversity"(Ricklefs 1998:B1).

I like to believe that no matter how much mass media is strangled by western societies and their large multinational corporations, that cultural diversity will always be protected by the concept of thinking globally, but acting locally.

Reference: Croteau, D Hoynesm W Milan, S 2012, 'Median/Society, Industries, Images, and Audiences, Fourth Edition' Globalization and the Future, Sage publications, California, pp.335-336.

Lets Consider Everyone

"Globalization refers to the growing interconnectedness of different parts of the world, a process which gives rise to complex forms of interaction and interdependency"(Thompson, 1995:149)

This second installment for my blog involves a more specific look at the scholarly definition of globalisation posted above. The question too be asked is what is missing from this definition? Although I agree with Thompson in that interconnectedness between different parts of the world does give rise to complex form of interaction and interdependency he has not highlighted the issue of global hierarchy.

While the technologies of the world have been evolving at a rapid pace over the past few decades, many countries have jumped the gates much faster than others and due to economic difference poorer countries of the world have been left in the shadows. With new forms of media such as Facebook, Twitter and online news, the ways in which the people of the world can interact with one another and gather information is extremely impressive. But when discussing the definition of globalisation, is it fair to exclude talks about how some third world countries haven't even got the simple resources to harness such technological mediums? I don't think so. Thompson definition is missing the consideration of these less fortunate countries which are not growing like other more built up areas of the world. So what do you think, does this definition of globalisation fit the criteria? Or is it too broad, not considering the world on a global scale?

Pre-game Run Down. What is Globalisation?

To kick off this blog once and for all, lets define globalisation. Many people in today’s modern society would have heard of the word, but continue to think twice about its meaning. To understand globalisation, one must reflect on the different interrelated processes and contexts of the subject. I have personally identified these topics to include the international growth of the economy and relative world organizations. The physical flows of people from country to country, Cultural expansion and dissipation, and finally the increased spread of modern technologies.
Although it is evident that these processes link with one another to form the basis of ones definition of globalisation, we must also consider association globalisation has with cultural imperialism and westernization.
The cultural dominance of countries such as the United States (US) is the best example of how physical, cultural and economic flows of smaller, less developed countries are affected by globalisation.

“Globalization is uneven” (Nederveen 2004)

 Westernization has seen poorer countries rely much more on the super powers for jobs and information. Therefore this results in the media and big corporations such as Nike and Coca-Cola too indirectly encouraging smaller countries of the world to follow western ideals and destroy their own cultures. “Globalization does not refer to a global level playing field or to symmetric or equal international relations” (Nederveen 2004). In saying this, the financial gain that some of these countries inherit due to job opportunities given to them by superpowers of the world are very beneficial to their quality of life.

It is through this example of cultural imperialism that one can understand the concept of globalisation and how it can be defined. Is globalisation a positive or a negative influence on our world? Yes and no. But that is for you to decide.
 
 Reference: Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004, 'Globalization: consensus and controversies', Globalization and culture: global melange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md., pp.7-21.

Test

Shooting for hoops.