Culture: Then and Now
Culture: Then and Now
Europe is classified by the United Nations (2014) as one of the developed countries of the world together with Japan and the United States of America. The classification of a country is mainly based on its economy. However, Edwards (1991) stated that the economy of a country does not solely rely on the monetary factors. It is also affected by the changes in the social, political, and cultural elements of a country.
Europe has undergone many changes for the past decades. One of the things that have changed in Europe, like in any other countries, is the language. European language has adopted many changes and developments in words in the form of slang, and in Grammatical constructions as well.
At present, Europe has been working on strengthening and preserving its culture. This is through the creation of the European Commission which aims to address common challenges. Some of the goals of the Commission is the promotion of cultural diversity, protection of cultural heritage mitigating hindrances to the mobility of cultural professionals, and the management of the contributions of cultural and creative industries. In December 2014, EU culture ministers supported the 2015-18 Work Plan for Culture which expands the main preferences for European cooperation in cultural policy-making. This includes 1.) Accessible and inclusive culture, 2.) Cultural Heritage, 3.) Cultural and creative sectors: creative economy and innovation, and 4.) Promotion of cultural diversity, culture in EU external relations, and mobility. This is an important project for Europe since the cultural sector is progressively becoming a source of job, thus contributing to the overall growth of Europe (European Commission 2016).
Bringing about Change
Europe has undergone severe changes in itself in pursuit of development. This happened after the historical ending of the World War II. The levels of military violence against civilians remained very high thus, prolonging their misery thereof (Kershaw 2005). However, despite the wars and the tribulations, Europe can be looked at, at the more optimistic view. Looking beyond nuclear weapons, Europe was revived by advances in Science and technology, which was positively apprehended by the political world (Mowat 1968).
Another factor that brought about change in the culture of Europe, is Science and Technology. Most of the world’s most brilliants scientist such as Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sir Isaac Newton are from Europe. The development of innovative technologies has opened new fields of research and has provided practical new tools for scientists in space and in the “mainstream” sciences (European Science Foundation 2014). Most of the governments of developed countries consider science and technology very as an important tool on growth of economies. However, it is evident that science and technology affect culture greatly too.
Economic changes too, have brought about cultural changes in 20th century Europe. The whole developing world have been discarding the key assumptions of state-led-development. Many independent states have classified themselves as dependent economies during the Great Depression. Even the poorest countries have ratified the basic framework of modern capitalism by the end of the twentieth century (Sachs 1999). Beginning in the first half of the nineteenth century, modern capitalism has emerged as a social system in western Europe. The western capitalist societies were acclaimed through four features. These features are on economic grounds, political grounds, social grounds, and secularized outlook. These factors served as the challenge of European Capitalism.
Socio-cultural development has also brought forth changes in the culture of 20th century Europe. One of the most prominent social issue that has introduced change to Europe is the issue on gender equality and the rights of Lesbians, Gasy, Bisexuals, and Transgenders (LGBTs). The movie Pride by Matthew Warchus in 2014 shown how members of the LGBT Community were persecuted in Europe. Their rights are not recognized and their mere existence was condemned by many. They held pride marches in the streets of London though many people would bash them for their sexuality. This was also the time when former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher threatened the LGBT community. At the beginning of the movie, the main cause of the pride marches was only to fight for the rights of the LGBTs, until one of them decided to promote another cause. Mark Ashton was a gay Irish activist who happened to lead the group in London. Aside for the cause of fighting for their rights, Ashton decided to uphold another cause, which was to help the coal miners of South Wales who were on strike because the government decided to close their mining pit. They then named the cause “Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners” (LGSM). Their journey to helping the coal miners of South Wales was very arduous. They raised money to support the miners on their strike. The miners were also persecuted for accepting help from the LGSM. At the end of the movie, the miners unfortunately did not win the case against the government. The members of LGSM have continued their cause to fight for their rights. Then came the first Nationwide Pride March in London in 1985. Only members of the LGBT community was supposed to be part of the march, until the miners from South Wales supported them in their cause. A year after the strike, a motion was sent at the Labour Party Conference to support LGBT Rights. The motion was passed due to a block vote from the National Union of Mineworkers. This has been the beginning of the acceptance of the LGBTcommunity in the culture of Europe.
Production and Reproduction of Culture
Culture will always be interconnected with every aspect of social development. Communication is an innate part of every human being, and communication is way of producing and reproducing culture. Amidst all the turbulences that Europe has went through in all aspects, the changes in the economic, scientific, social, and political aspects have brought about good change in Europe. These changes have paved the way for the boost of its economy, for the discovery of greater bodies of knowledge, recognition of the rights of different sectors, and the development of the political ways of the country.
References
Edwards, S.E., 1991. Trade Orientation, Distortions, and Growth in Developing Countries. [pdf] National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w3716.pdf [Accessed 24 April 2016].
European Commission, 2016. Strategic Framework- European Agenda for Culture. [online] European Commission. Available at: <http://ec.europa.eu/culture/policy/strategic-framework/index_en.htm> [Accessed 24 April 2016].
European Science Foundation, 2014. ESF Forward Look: Technological Breakthroughs for Scientific Progress (TECHBREAK). [pdf] European Science Foundation. Available at: <http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/Public_documents/Publications/techbreak.pdf> [Accessed 24 April 2015].
Iaccarino, M., 2003.Science and Culture. EMBO Reports. [e-journal] 4(3). Summary only. Available through: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1315909/> [Accessed 24 April 2016].
Kershaw, I., 2005. War and Political Violence in Twentieth Century Europe. [pdf] Cambridge University Press. Available at: <http://users.clas.ufl.edu/gesenwei/violence20thcentury.pdf> [Accessed 24 April 2016].
Pride, 2014. [Film] Directed by Matthew Warchus. UK. Feature Film.
Sachs, J. D., 1999. Twentieth-Century Political Economy: A Brief History of Global Capitalism. Oxford Review of Economic Policy. [pdf] 15(4). Oxford University Press. Available at: <http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/about/director/pubs/Oxfordreview_winter99.pdf> [Accessed 24 April 2016].
United Nations, 2014. World Economic Situation and Prospects 2014. [pdf] United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf [Accessed 24 April 2016].
