Globalization, Art, and Culture

            To understand the social life of objects, one must understand the multiple processes that affect how an object is perceived.  In the examples discussed in the reading, aboriginal/native art, the processes of globalization and its affects on the culture producing an object must not be ignored.  These representations are widely seen in anthropological study and, in class, we have seen multiple examples of the products of globalization affecting indigenous or native cultures.  Examples that come to mind are: the telephone-wire basket crafted by Zulu basket weavers, the changes in aboriginal art over time (in Waiting for Harry, the burial ritual would have usually been preformed at night, but because of the threats on Aboriginal Australian culture due to colonization and globalization, they must now have detailed records of their culture so it is not lost), and La Dia de Los Muertos, which has the hybridization of Aztec and Spanish culture from colonization, as well as the commoditization inherent from globalization.  As the reading says, we cannot treat a culture with boundaries that are not affecting by the current social, economic and political forces that currently present within the ever changing global arena, culture will be greatly altered and morphed along with the pressures of an evolving world, after all, the idea that culture changes over time is present within most anthropological definitions of the term.  That stagnation faced within anthropological theory is a malevolent force in understanding culture, as anthropologists, we must evolve along with culture, which seems to be the underlying theme from the reading.  Is this evolution being realized? I believe it is.  The presence of globalization undeniably alters culture and recent anthropological works indicate that the understanding of the affects of globalization is relatively strong. 

            The study of objects and participant observation are definitely not obsolete, on the contrary they are more crucial to the understanding of culture now more than ever.  One must participate in the activities of a society and culture to fully understand their significance to the people that are involved in expressing values present within their society and culture.  The study of objects can lead one to a further understanding of a culture through the symbolism present within it.  Through symbolic analysis and observing a culture through participation in significant activities of that society and culture, one may be able to gain a more holistic understanding of the pressures causing cultural change.