Migration Help
4th February 2010, 05:13 PM
Here are some quick unreferenced and unrefined thoughts with no bibliography and no academic rigour.
All cultures shift throughout time - there is no static Australian culture.
Australian culture in 2010 might be characterised by say Master Chef, Indian bashings and baby bonuses (this is just a caricature). However, that wasn't Australian culture in the 1910. What is "Australian" now, is not necessarily what was Australian 100 years ago, nor what will be Australian in 100 years time. Culture is fluid.
So when people migrate to Australia, they take with them a migrant culture from a specific time in history and bring it to a particular Australian culture in time. Nevertheless, there are some core characteristics of a particular culture that endure time.
For example, when I migrated from Singapore to Australia in 1990, I carried the baggage of 1980's Singapore. If you were to go to Singapore now, it would be a different place. But, Singaporeans are big on food. The are now. They always have been. And they always will be. Probably.
Now... where are going with this?
Well, many migrants want to maintain their cultural heritage, which is great. However, it would be naïve to think that a migrant's home culture can be completely retained because even the home culture is slowly evolving. If the home culture was so good, why did they come to Australia? There must be something about Australia which made it desirable. But it is also insensitive to assume a migrant will completely assimilate.
So what then?
Well, usually there is a blending of cultures. A migrant could consider this blending as a dilution of their cultural heritage. In a sense it is, but since all cultures are fluid then it is perhaps better phrased as an integration of culture, rather than dilution. Additionally, the presence of a migrant to a community can be enriching. The migrant culture brings new food, traditions, smells, customs, languages, etc. Of course, people from different cultures are less likely to get along with each other but diversity is part of what it means to be human.
And just a little thought on how this plays into church life.
Well, if you're part of a migrant/ethnic church, then church offers a respite and sanctuary for maintaining your home culture. But often, the ethnic church culture remains static and gets stuck in the home culture of year 19XX - the year when the church was first planted. Meanwhile, the home culture has moved on, and Australian culture is racing along. The church then creates its own culture, based on an antiquated idea of what it really means to be of their culture. This means the church becomes out of date - more and more so.
The solution? I dunno. But it's something worth thinking about.
SOURCE (http://seamale.blogspot.com/2010/02/cultural-shift-assimilation-dilution.html)
Thanks for some interesting thoughts!
MH
All cultures shift throughout time - there is no static Australian culture.
Australian culture in 2010 might be characterised by say Master Chef, Indian bashings and baby bonuses (this is just a caricature). However, that wasn't Australian culture in the 1910. What is "Australian" now, is not necessarily what was Australian 100 years ago, nor what will be Australian in 100 years time. Culture is fluid.
So when people migrate to Australia, they take with them a migrant culture from a specific time in history and bring it to a particular Australian culture in time. Nevertheless, there are some core characteristics of a particular culture that endure time.
For example, when I migrated from Singapore to Australia in 1990, I carried the baggage of 1980's Singapore. If you were to go to Singapore now, it would be a different place. But, Singaporeans are big on food. The are now. They always have been. And they always will be. Probably.
Now... where are going with this?
Well, many migrants want to maintain their cultural heritage, which is great. However, it would be naïve to think that a migrant's home culture can be completely retained because even the home culture is slowly evolving. If the home culture was so good, why did they come to Australia? There must be something about Australia which made it desirable. But it is also insensitive to assume a migrant will completely assimilate.
So what then?
Well, usually there is a blending of cultures. A migrant could consider this blending as a dilution of their cultural heritage. In a sense it is, but since all cultures are fluid then it is perhaps better phrased as an integration of culture, rather than dilution. Additionally, the presence of a migrant to a community can be enriching. The migrant culture brings new food, traditions, smells, customs, languages, etc. Of course, people from different cultures are less likely to get along with each other but diversity is part of what it means to be human.
And just a little thought on how this plays into church life.
Well, if you're part of a migrant/ethnic church, then church offers a respite and sanctuary for maintaining your home culture. But often, the ethnic church culture remains static and gets stuck in the home culture of year 19XX - the year when the church was first planted. Meanwhile, the home culture has moved on, and Australian culture is racing along. The church then creates its own culture, based on an antiquated idea of what it really means to be of their culture. This means the church becomes out of date - more and more so.
The solution? I dunno. But it's something worth thinking about.
SOURCE (http://seamale.blogspot.com/2010/02/cultural-shift-assimilation-dilution.html)
Thanks for some interesting thoughts!
MH