I'm posting on behalf of Ben. --FL
The definitions of colonialism and imperialism, although assumed to be synonymous by most, are really very different. Colonialism is the action of a developed country making its presence known in a developing country for its own economic or political gain. Imperialism, on the other hand is going through the same actions for a different ideological reason.
Up until quite recently, developed countries such as England set up colonies all over the world. This was mostly for its own empirical desire to be great and powerful, making the action colonial (as opposed to imperial). By the late 19th century however, England’s and the United States’ motives seem to have shifted toward a more imperial approach. They wanted to bring the developing countries “civilization”, “education”, and “progress”. These noble sounding words of course come with a lot of side effects. Along with all the goodwill comes a severance from pure and ancient culture that many developing countries have a hard time living without.
Given both the positive and negative effects of colonialism and imperialism, what struck me as interesting about the article was the suggestion that the difference between the two really matter at all. Whatever the growing empires intentions are, the effects stay the same. For hundreds of years countries have been colonizing other countries, destroying their culture and giving them access to the modern world. Perhaps the motives have fluctuated over time, but the developing countries have been going through the same thing for as long as it has been going on. Perhaps a shift from colonialist toward imperialism really has been taking place, but significant changes to how colonized countries will be treated most likely will not take place at all.
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I actually want to take what Ben said and put it towards the book "This Earth of Mankind." I agree with what he says, when he talks about how there really isn't much of a difference between imperialism and colonialism because the impact is the same. There is always going to be a change in the culture, no matter how miniscule it may seem.
ReplyDeleteIn "This Earth of Mankind," the culture change is as evident as the character Minke. FOr one thing, when he meets Ann's father for the first time at dinner, he is ridiculed for being a native of the country. (Ann's father is not a native and natives are considered to be the lowest class in the city.) What's interesting about this particular scene is that although Minkeis accused of being a native, he speaks perfect Dutch to Ann's father and is not wearing native clothes. He is wearing clothes just like Ann's father and the rest of the family is. His language and his dress has been influenced by the foreigner. Minke too, also goes around to his friends' parents' houses and tries to sell them european style furniture because he is doing business with Jean Marais, a european tradesman.
I also would like to point out, although I dont want to go too much into it right now, but the way that Minke thinks about treating Nyai. There are a lot of comments that he makes to himself about how he shouldn't listen to her, greet her or even talk to her becasue he considers her to be of lower status than himself. Instead of treating her the way he was brought up to treat women, Minke actually is very polite and treats her better then his own mother. He actually says somewhere in the text that he felt more respect for her then his own mother.
These are just a few examples of how imperialism and colonialism have similar impacts on the people of the countries that they affect.
I kind of feel like your blog is more of a summation than your overall feelings about the text. This is especially true when you start your discussion. However I did find your mentioning of education, and progress interesting in relation to what it means to be civilized. Also I feel like the process of modernizing people can be applied to the term cultural diffusion. (The unloading of a more dominant culture on a more primitive one or the expansion of a certain aspect of a culture in a foreign country. Ie: Mc Donalds in a place like India or Japan) I also feel like there are certain things you may associate with being civilized an uncivilized, it is almost as if word choice or description places a bias on the way not only you but the text discusses things.
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