Showing papers on "Westernization published in 1984"

Rangaku and Westernization

Abstract: The continuities between the study of the West through Dutch in Tokugawa Japan and the program of modernization in the Meiji period seem self evident. The influence of Holland through Deshima became the focus of the life work of Itazawa Takeo and others well before the war, and it received detailed discussion from Charles Boxer in 1936. Nevertheless issues of the importance and influence of Tokugawa rangaku continue to be debated, and that debate greatly enriches our feel for Japanese society then and now.

Impact of westernization and other factors on the changing status of Moslem women.

Abstract: PIP: Reform in the status of women in Islam results from factors external to Islam -- initiation of the West, industrialization, and urbanization -- as well as from the internal factors of Moslem reformers, education, and the formation of a middle class. Against the background of the Middle East's traditional social pattern, it is crucial to determine how the position of women is being affected by the new influences from the West, how they are reacting to the new influences, where they are making progress or encountering obstacles, and how they feel and look towards the future. Westernization brought about a chain of related phenomena -- a decline of parental authority, a breakdown of the extended family, and a conscious initiation of Western family structures and social reforms. A few contemporary official reactions of the Moslem Arabs show great sensitivity to the opinions of the West, especially to the Western disapproval of the traditional Arab treatment of women. In attempting to prove how much progress the Arab world has made, they emphasize the changes in the family legal codes during the last 20 years, giving far greater privileges to women. The propaganda in the form of frequent speechs and pamphlets suggesting realization of political equality is a great exaggeration. The reason behind such an inaccurate account of the amount of change is the focus on a proportionately small minority of educated Arab women. Yet, the propaganda serves as an index of the aims and attitudes of the Arab leaders who are directing the present society. There exists a steady, if undramatic move towards emancipation among women of the Moslem Middle East. Equally true is that there is no evidence of a militant crusade for women's rights. A genuine desire does exist for "freedom from" some of the traditional restrictions, yet this does not involve any real challenge to the traditional conception of women's role as mother. It only represents a desire that the life of women should not be limited to this role. There are also indications that education is more than a symbol of new position. It is broadening the horizons and fostering concerns about larger problems of the nation and society. The introduction of Western communications in the Moslem Middle East, embodied in modern mass media, is a new impetus for the small but progressively growing indigenous feminist movements. Modernization and its underlying tensions and clashes with the traditional way of life in the Moslem Middle East is already working itself out through an increasing number of individual lives.

Social Change in China's Frontier Areas During the Ch'ing Dynasty

Abstract: Since the nineteenth century, the influences of Western civilization have triggered in China proper a long process of social mutation. The shift of the social trend was in the direction of Westernization. Meanwhile, to cope with the territorial ambitions of the foreign powers, the Ch'ing government moved to tighten its grip over the frontiers, to encourage settlement, to establish provincial governments, and to promote education. As a result, these areas have undergone a process of sinicization, with customs and mentality patterned after those of China proper. Thanks to the remarkable success of this policy, the border provinces in Northeastern China (Manchuria) and Taiwan became an intregral part of the traditional Chinese society, joining China proper in customs and social mores. As for Sinkiang province, it did not go as far in sinicization as Manchuria and Taiwan. However, this newly created province has developed a close relationship with China proper and thus set itself apart from Tibet and Mongolia...