![]() Many North and South American countries publicly espoused versions of a “melt¬ing pot” ideology as a strategy of nation-building. Syncre¬tism became a term of abuse often applied to castigate colonial local churches that had burst out of the sphere of mission control and begun to “illegitimately” indigenize Chris¬tianity instead of properly reproducing the European form of Christianity they had origi¬nally been offered…In the New World a much more positive attitude toward the concept of syncretism has long prevailed among social scientists… Whereas most sub-Saharan African societies were still under colonial rule up through the 1950s, most New World societies had already gained independence in the preceding century and had long been engaged in attempts to consolidate national cultural identi¬ties. Even traditionalist movements mounted by minority groups or peripheral, postcolonial soci¬eties in the conscious, nativist effort to resist “Westernization” or “Americanization” cannot escape cultural hybridity…The Meanings of SyncretismThe term syncretism, originally coined with a positive sense… acquired overriding negative connotations in the seven¬teenth century… This negative view of syncretism would remain very much in place during the ensuing period of missionary expansion lasting well into the present century. Today’s hybridization will simply give way to tomorrow’s hybridization, the form of which will be dictated by historical-political events and contingencies… As Said expresses it: all cultures are-involved in one another, none is simple and pure, all are hybrid, heterogenous, extraordinarily differentiated and unmonolithic”. This has no doubt always been the case…Cultural borrowing and interpenetration are today seen as part of the very nature of cultures… To phrase it more accurately, syn¬cretism describes the process by which cultures constitute themselves at any given point in time. I see my approach instead as an attempt to illustrate historically that ‘syncretism has an objectionable but nevertheless instructive past…Current Discussions of MixtureCultures, if we still wish to retain this term (and I do), are porous they are open to intermixture with other, different cultures and they are subject to historical change pre-cisely on account of these influences. ![]() This increased awareness of cultural penetration has, furthermore, been instrumental in the cri¬tique of earlier conceptions of “culture” that cast it as too stable: bounded, and homoge¬neous to be useful in a world characterized by migrations (voluntary or forced), cheap travel, international marketing, and telecommunications… In this body of literature the word syncretism has begun to reappear alongside such related concepts as hybridization and creolization as a means of portraying the dynamics of global social developments.My purpose in considering the history of syn¬cretism up to the present is not to enforce a standard usage conformed to the domain of religion nor is it my goal to promote syncretism to a position of primus inter pares in the company of all other terms for mixture. The burgeoning literature on transnational flows of ideas, ¬global institutions, and cultural mixture reflects this shift of attention. Nowadays ethnographers rarely search for a stable or original form of cultures they are usually more concerned with revealing how local communities respond to historical change and global influences. and discuss why they meet the criteria for syncretism.SYNCRETISM AND ITS SYNONYMS: REFLECTIONS ON CULTURAL MIXTURE by CHARLES STEWART()The subject matter of anthropology has gradually changed over the last twenty years. Make sure to address ALL of the following questions:What is syncretism?Does it differ from the concept of the melting pot? If so, how? (Please use citations from the artcile to reinforce your argument).How are the experiences of racial and cultural mixture different in Brazil and Cuba versus the US experience?Please provide at least two of examples of syncretism in your own culture or in the U.S. Every response is valid, and all opinions will be respected. Next, write a 300-word response in English and post by Saturday. THIS IS A RESERCH PAPER PLEASE USE MLA OR APA FORMAT WITH WORK CITED.LOOKING FOR ONLY 100% ORIGINAL WORK NO PLAGERISM OR COPY AND PASTING.THANK YOU!Guatemala, Food and SyncretismPlease read the following article summary and questions. ![]() Chat with us, powered by LiveChat DUE: SATURDAY BY 10PM PACIFIC TIME. ![]()
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