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Challenge to Cultural Identity

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ABSTRACT

Cultural identity is one's perception of one's self and the group one belongs to. Culture is the way of life of a people consisting of aspects such as language, religion, music, clothing, food, traditions, customs and values. Typically, in any given culture, these aspects of culture are centered on a handful of basic foundational beliefs or values. In colonial America, for example, culture was centered on the concepts of religious freedom, individualism, a strong work ethic, and family. All aspects of culture were shaped by these core values. They provided the "center" upon which the society and its worldview were established.

“World wide, non western cultures faced fundamental challenges to their cultural identities- not so much a recentering of culture but a decentering of culture” (Sayre,2010, p.419). The recentering of culture could be described as adding more or intensifying the original values, norms, family configurations and other aspects of culture. On the other hand, the decentering of culture implies removing old values and adding new thoughts, philosophies ie changing old patterns for newer methods. Almost all non-Western cultures have been influenced by the mores of the West, including countries in Asia. In general, this means that many of these cultures are becoming influenced by Western cultures, namely that of America. For example, in many Asian nations McDonalds and other American influences like Starbucks and clothing stores are coming to their countries. They are being influenced by Western culture, hence the "decentering of culture." In Japan, it’s surprising to see such a predominance of Western society in an area that is far away from America.

However, the decentralization of Asian culture may go both ways, meaning that although we in the U.S. have

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