1. Give five parts of an anthropological definition of culture. Describe each part in two sentences.
Beliefs-These are faiths about some societal aspects that are shaped by culture. Beliefs are strong convictions about someone, object or idea.
Practices-Practices are activities regularly performed by a given group of people. They may be social, political or economic.
Ideas-These are notions and ideologies upheld by a certain group of people. Again, these ideas are shaped and molded by culture.
Technology-This is the application of knowledge for practical reasons in various industries. Technology is the practical expression of skills of a people.
2. Are meanings natural or ‘necessary’ in their relationship to things? If not, how can we characterize the relationship between objects and meanings? Give two examples of things or actions that have two very different meanings in different cultural contexts (in at least two sentences).
The meanings are not natural. This implies that the meanings are “necessary”. Natural meanings do not bear different meanings when one moves from one context to another. Natural meanings retain their original meaning across different contexts. For meanings that are not natural, it is important to give them a contextual tag when one jumps from one context to another. For instance, “values” may bear different meanings when one moves out of the cultural context. It is important to add a contextual tags such religious, political to show a shift in context. To some cultures, initiation means that a person is ready to take roles that are more challenging in life such as marrying. In some cultures, initiation may carry a different meaning, for instance beginning of living an independent life. On the other hand, death in some cultural concepts means a beginning of a new life-spiritual life whereby in some cultures, death means the end of one generation and rising of a new generation.
3. Consider Muslim rappers in the UK. What is similar about the environments in which many Muslims live in the UK, and the environments out of which rap emerged in the US? What do you see as similarities between rap in the US and rap as practiced by a new generation of Muslim in the UK? What do you see as different?
Rap is a form music that roots from black Americans in the United States. “Rap” music has a globally accepted form of music across the globe. Islam fundamentals do not have space for music leave alone rap and other secular forms. The existence of groups such as Mecca2Medina is a testament to the fact that rap has reached the peak of globalization. Just like the black Americans, Muslims in the UK share similar environments and subsequently experiences .Environments from which rap emerged in the USA show sheer resemblance with the environments in which Muslims live in the UK. These environments are characterized by high unemployment rates, drugs, high crime rates, high degree racism and undignified lifestyles. Muslim youths in the UK adopted rap music as a way of expressing their political, social and religious bondages. As one of the minority groups in the UK, it is understood that they are subjected to high levels of religious, cultural and political alienation. Parallel to the rap in the United States, blacks used rap to express their dissatisfaction with the west lifestyles and mistreatment of the black. In the two contexts, it is apparent that rap is used to defy oppressive cultural, political and religious paradigms. However, a thin difference lies between rap practiced by the Muslim youths in the UK and black Americans in the United States. Rap practiced by Muslims in UK defy their own religion.
4. How does such rapping by British Muslims sit with the general political tendencies of Muslims in the UK? Where are the tensions, and what aspects of Muslim identity carry over relatively smoothly into rap’s message? What do you think about rap’s potential in a globalizing world? (hint: you might think about the political and economic dimensions of globalization and their social effects on thing like poverty)
Rap as used by British Muslims in the UK is perceived as an avenue to express political ideologies. Others have felt that the group has used rap to preach global terrorism. Artists like Fun-Da-Mental frontman Aki Nawaz drew a lot of controversy in 2006 after realizing an album titled “All is War”, which seemingly carried ideologies of Islamist radicals. A lot of tension lies with Rap from Muslims that preach terrorism. Other artists have been able to securely carry some aspects of Muslim identity such as racism. Racism is a global problem and as such, sentiments condemning racism are comfortably accepted in Rap music.
Rap music shows massive potential on the global arena if only used for the right purpose. Rap and hip-hop music has the capacity to turn the world into a peaceful place if only the message is intended to do so .Rap music has a large global following and for this reason can be used to preach global peace, co-existence and understanding. From an economic point of view, many artists have turned rap and hip-hop into a source of livelihood. Big names in the rap industry come from poor backgrounds such as slums. The late Tupac Shakur is atypical example of a personality who turned rap into a source of livelihood.
Works cited
"Move Over US Soaps, Telenovelas Seduce The Globe." YaleGlobal Online Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
"The Rise Of Islamic Rap." YaleGlobal Online Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Steger, Manfred B. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
