Cultural Diffusion and Convergence
Jaclyn Wallander
Cultural Diffusion
Cultural Diffusion can be defined as spreading ideas, customs, products, and sometimes disease from one place to another. Things like food and religion are brought from one place to another by someone or something.
Examples:
The Japanese culture has moved to America. They are home to sushi, and now America has sushi places around the country. There are also people in America who have moved here from Japan and can speak Japanease.
The Latin culture has moved to America. They are home of Mexican food and the sport soccer, and Americans love soccer and eat Mexican food all the time. Americans have also learned about the Spanish dances like the salsa dance and the tango.
Cultural Convergence
Cultural convergence is the growing similarity between national cultures. This includes the beliefs, values, aspirations, and the preferences of consumers, partly driven by global brands, media, and common global icons.
Examples:
Columbian Exchange
Europe and the Native Americans become similar because they share many of the same customs and products. They brought things like Catholicism and Native Americans gave them things like food- corn, tomatoes, chocolate. Europeans and the Native Americans share many of the same things, having their cultures change, sometimes very slightly, becoming more similar.
Triangle/Slave Trade
Enslaved men, women, children, and indigo were brought to the Caribbean. Sugar, rum, rice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton were brought to Britain, copper, pots, silk, guns were brought to Africa. Britain, Africa, and the Caribbean become similar because now they have the some of the same things.
Globalization
Is the creation of a common global culture. This is occurring due to air travel, newspapers, television, telecommunications, and the Internet.