Reflect on the impact of globalism on ethnic identity

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Globalism, owing much to the worldwide connectivity made possible by the Internet, has become the new model or paradigm for the contemporary world. Although globalism can result in a homogenized culture, its inevitability offers a new, level playing field to all who choose to compete in the international marketplace.
Even so, many regions of the world have trouble balancing the effects globalism with their own unique ethnic and culture identities. In his short story "Dead Men's Path," Chinua Achebe examines the warp between premodern and modern traditions and the ongoing bicultural conflicts that plague many parts of Africa. At the same time, he probes the elusive, more universal tension between tradition and innovation, between spiritual and secular allegiance, and between faith and reason—polarities that continue to test human values in our time. The sculptures of the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui also reveal the intersection of traditional and contemporary African themes. Vibrant in color and complex in their patterns, El Anatsui's textiles have come to be associated with a pan-African identity, a unique response to globalism.
Writers, such as the Native American Marmon Silko and Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingston, reflect on how to maintain ethnic identity amidst an increasingly homogenized global culture. Dominican-American Junot Diaz has given voice to personal problems of adjustment in America's ethnic mosaic, and to the ways in which language and customs provide a vital sense of ethnic identity.