Westernization

About: Westernization is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1154 publications have been published within this topic receiving 15791 citations. The topic is also known as: occidentalization.

One Nation, One Brand? Nation Branding and Identity Reconstruction in Post-Communist Hungary

Abstract: Twenty years have passed since the onset of the post-communist transition, yet many former Eastern Bloc countries are still struggling with their emerging complex identities. In the aftermath of state socialism and its homogenizing political and cultural pressures, countries in Eastern Europe have had to redefi ne their national identities. This process has been infl uenced by two major forces. On the one hand, these countries rediscovered or reconstructed national and cultural traditions that, in turn, infl uenced societal discourses on national identity. In many cases, this resulted in efforts to construct national narratives around ideas of unity and uniformity, where most of the discourse was focused on who is (or can be) part of the nation. National identity was rearticulated against the perceived identities of internal and external “Others,” such as minorities and historical adversaries. On the other hand, the forces of globalization, Westernization, and Europeanization also infl uenced the redefi nition of national identities in Eastern Europe. These macro processes introduced such new concepts as diversity and multiculturalism into the discourses on national identity, resulting in additional conceptual complexity that was unfamiliar to many citizens in the region.

Re-Africanizing the educational system of Ethiopia

Abstract: This paper tries to show the evolutionary development of education in Ethiopia along with its historic dysfunctions on the prospect of social transformation. The historical backdrop that centered on traditional educational system, which was predominantly ecclesiastical, is also briefly outlined for the sake of coherent understanding of the link and the miss-link in the educational system of the country. Ethiopia had started indigenized education in the Pre-Christian Eraatin Aksum as we witnessed it from local tradition. However, systematized ecclesiastical traditional education enshrined following the adoption of Christianity and the rise of Islam. These Educational institutions were not bereft of scientific thinking in their essence as in the usually discourse. But due to this misconception, in late 19thcentury they had given way for the newly inaugurated western school system initiated by missionaries who plan to use it for religious proselytizing. Thus, Ethiopia had imported western education by sidelining its traditional education system instead of creating at least a synthesis. Therefore, the country failed to create a uniquely Ethiopian system of education. Hence, the educational system was de-Ethiopianized or de-Africanized and thereby produced intellectual dependency and mind colonization that triggers many social evils as it has been witnessed since 1960s. Thus, this paper attempts to show how the conviction of being tabula rasa, otherwise called a zero beginning, for the commencement of modern education in Ethiopia served for colonization of the non-colonized state and polarized mindset among its citizens. Key words: Africanization, colonization, education, Ethiopia, westernization

The Nazis' Gifts to Turkish Higher Education and Inadvertently to Us All: Modernization of Turkish Higher Education (1933-1945) and its Impact on Present Science and Culture

Abstract: The system of higher education inherited by the Republic of Turkey in 1923, consisted of a few hundred Ottoman vintage (Islamic) madrasas and three military academies, one of which was expanded into an engineering school. With secularization enshrined in its constitution, the new government recognized the need for modernization/westernization throughout Turkish society and established a number of policies for bringing this about. At government invitation and mandate to modernize higher education, starting in 1933 and running through WWII, Turkey provided safe-haven for many intellectuals and professionals fleeing Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, and other Nazi dominated lands. This paper discusses the impact of these emigre professors, not just on Turkey's higher education in the sciences, professions, and humanities, but also on its public health, library, legal, engineering, and administrative practices. The multi-faceted legacy of this impact on present Turkish society with all its richness is documented if but in part and some of the socio-economic reasons for Turkey's not taking full advantage of the second and third generation progenies of its modern higher educational system, and the ensuing brain drain, are analyzed. Lastly, the paper briefly addresses the impact on American science of the Turkey-saved professors, some of whom subsequently re-emigrated to the US.

Transformation of Turkish Politics: Socio-Political, Economic and Ethnic Peculiarities

Abstract: This article is based on a fieldwork conducted in the second half of October 2007. The sampling has been designed to represent whole of Turkey. Modern Turkey has reached its 85th anniversary and still deals with problems related to the discussion on ethnic and religious identities in Turkish society. By conducting this survey, we have portrayed general peculiarities of Turkish voters in terms of political, socio-economic, ethnic, and religious identities. We have obtained three main socio-political upper identities and called them Modernist-Kemalist, Conservative-Nationalist and Leftist-Social Democrat. The most common identities in Turkish society are lined up as Modernist-Kemalist, Conservative-Nationalist and Leftist-Social Democrat. It is interesting that the AKP has a high level of acceptance among all groups. This means that this party has moved to the center (center-right) and that the largest part of the Turkish population does not considered it a serious threat to the regime. The main divide within Turkish society, and the source of its conflict, is not so much among the majority of people, but rather between them and a traditional secular elite that continues to use its influence to deny those who do not share its particular vision of westernization access to the public sphere.