Cultural Conflict and Identity
The process of globalization develops an intermix of cultures, but along with such comes cultural clash and conflict. For example, one problem strikes from the lack of awareness for Taiwan, especially with China's overbearing influence on businesses and media. This in turn complicates the global perception of Taiwan. Concurrently, as there is little reinforcement and fortified basis for cultural identity, the term “Taiwanese” stands rather young and is in the works of breaking away from its dependency of China.
Meanwhile, America presents a complication of also being young yet at the same time prominently established in the world scheme. Where all nations are looking towards the U.S., there is an arrogant polarization between cultural ignorance and over-sensitivity. Lots of effort are put into accepting other cultures, however the turnout may appear to be mere acknowledgement of the existence of other cultures. The core issue of the matter here is that the resultant identity of American culture spans too many definitions. Aside from intercontinental struggles on identity, there are other aspects of one’s expression that factor into the equation. A spoken language and whether or not it is permitted in public environments contribute to a point of cultural contention and obscurity. Not too long ago, citizens of Taiwan were mandated to only speak the official Standard Mandarin in public, putting a damper on developing a homely culture with each passing generation. Conversely, America has no official language, yet there is still a population of Americans who reject the English Plus notion, and discriminate against those who speak their mother tongue from their home countries and not English. These seemingly contrastive phenomena amount to no progress for Taiwan and America’s respective identity. These unseen yet hurtful issues will hopefully be explored in the CCI Roundtable for TASC 2018. Through research and discussion, delegates will better their understanding of what it means to self-identify versus identify oneself. An example approach can be tackling the struggles of identification in regards to sociocultural norms. To add some perspective, both the US and Taiwan introduced a milestone for civil rights with their efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. Delegates will gain greater experience in intercultural communication, and not to mention everlasting friendships. We hope this Roundtable will help make a lasting and beneficial impact for a future generation of world leaders ready to help resolve the pressing social dilemmas of the world today. Roundtable Leaders: Elaine Chou and Chering Su |
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