Ethno-cultural self-identification of today's youth.
Baitursynov state-run
university of Kostanay.
The problem of identity rises sharply in
the periods of crisis development of society, when a person is not satisfied
with their living conditions and their development. The growth of ethnic
identity is regarded as one of the main features of human development in the
second half of the twentieth century. An interest of individuals and peoples to
its roots (origin) is manifested in various forms: from attempts to revive old
customs, folklore, etc. to the desire to create or restore their national
statehood. "Identity crisis" of individual is the result of the
crisis of society. Formation of ethno-cultural identity is especially important
for young people. It tends to have
certain standards for their development. It is believed that the ethnic,
cultural and personal identity, complementing each other, create a strong
potential for the development of the individual and the organization of
society.
What makes it difficult to identity for
youth in modern times? Social life in our country is complex and contradictory.
Historical changes are accelerated, and this undermines the traditional
identity. Today the widening interconnection and interdependence of different
countries, peoples and cultures became also apparent. An increasing number of
people transgress cultural barriers, which separated them early, as a result,
the boundaries between "native" and "foreign" in culture
are removed. In addition, the personal search of their identity (identity
itself) is difficult and ambiguous process. It reflects the search for the man
himself, the process of its formation, gaining personal experience, awareness
of belonging to any group or contrasting himself to it, all this allow him to
determine the level of development of the personality, its identity.
A necessary condition for social progress
is the interaction of cultures. Under its pressure the closed cultural
communities gradually are watered down. Representatives of one culture adopt
the norms, values and traditions of the other culture. As a
result of this, values, role behavior and attitudes of individuals change. In
dealing with other cultures each individual can be regarded as a kind of an
open system. The highest value for the person is a change in the structure of
knowledge, world view. Upon contact with a different culture people goes beyond
the familiar environment and the range of key concepts. Foreign culture
attracts by new knowledge, broadens the mind and enriches the experience.
Cultural diffusion, as a natural process
of spontaneous and uncontrolled borrowing of cultural values, has both positive
and negative aspects. On the one hand, it facilitates the transfer of cultural
values and bringing people closer together. On the other hand,
over-active communication and cultural borrowing risk of loss of identity. One
of the psychological reasons for the growth of ethnic identity in this century
is to find guidance and stability in a supersaturated by information and
uncertain world. The second psychological reason lies on the surface and does
not require any proof.
This one is an intensification of
interethnic contacts, both direct (labor migration, displacement of millions of
immigrants and refugees, tourism) and mediated by modern means of mass
communication. Duplicate contacts actualize ethnic identity, because only
through comparison "Russian identity", "Jew", etc. can be
interpreted the most clearly as something special. Psychological reasons for
the growth of ethnic identity are the same for all mankind, but an ethnic group
acquires a special significance in the era of radical social changes, which
lead to social instability. Under these conditions, ethnicity acts often as an
emergency support group.
However, in culture, there are areas
where the interaction and interpenetration are minimized. For example, these
are folklore, crafts, customs and traditions, home phraseology. People seek to
preserve cultural differences no less than to take advantage of their interest
innovations. The core of any culture is a system of values, based on the
traditions, manners and customs. Due to this system, people are attached to
different social groups and form categories of forms of community and
opposition of "native" - "foreign". Value system of society
ensures the integrity of the culture, the uniqueness.
Development of human culture occurs throughout
life in the process of communication with other people and objects of material
sphere, in everyday practice, becomes evident in his individual behavior.
Ethnic identification is easy, if a person is developing in a homogeneous
ethnic environment. In this case, he learns naturally the language, culture,
traditions, social norms and ethnic environment and is included in the various
forms of life. The need for cultural identity is necessitated by the fact that
each person needs a certain order in their life activity, which he can get only
in a community of other people. It reflects the understanding of the
"self" from the perspective of the cultural characteristics that are
accepted in this society. By comparing and contrasting positions of the various
groups and communities (in the process of interaction with them) a personal
human identity is going, which is a body of knowledge and opinions of a man
about his position and role as a member of a social or ethnic group, about his
abilities and professional qualities. Culture is mastered by man consciously
due to the socialization process through education and training, and
unconsciously, spontaneously under the influence of various everyday
circumstances and situations. This second part is shown only when there are
unusual situations connected with dealing with other cultures and their
representatives.
Today it is important for people to
understand the need to choose and implement the ethnic and cultural identity,
because there are the potentials of personality development and its adaptation
to the macro and subcultures.
Recognition of ambiguity of worldview can give a great help for a person concerning the
development of human culture. Because
of in the process of inculturation a
person develops values and norms of his culture. The usual man is aware of these differences in the relationships of people and their perception
of the world only when he confronts with the representatives of the other
cultures. Ideally a person of any ethnicity should feel himself
as if he were a representative of his culture, that is, his ethnic and cultural identity should be the same. But in today's world, many people
who belong to one nation and culture
in birth, with the passage of time, accumulating knowledge and experience,
change their ethnic and cultural
identity. The issue concerning an
ethnic and cultural identity is important for a person, because it is associated with his socialization,
self-realization, understanding of his place in society, awareness of the uniqueness of his ethnic group, connection
with people of different nationalities, tolerance to any foreign culture. The unevenness of the level of cultural
development of different peoples, which is a consequence of historical reasons, as well as globalization and
integration processes dictate the destruction of cultural foundations of
smaller nations by strong
cultures. In such circumstances, the inability of the individual to realize his own ethnicity and comprehend the
spiritual foundations of not only his culture but also other cultures which are interacting and coexisting in this multicultural environment, leads to serious consequences. At the macrolevel, these trends
may lead to religious, cultural, racial contradictions, and on a personal
level to ethnocentrism, views and
attitudes of the individual to
the other culture through stereotypes prism of his ethnic culture, the negation of the values of other cultures
and the exaltation of his
own culture. Ethnic groups which were coexisting for a long time in a
multicultural space, created not only the conditions of life together, but also
formed the conservation of the spiritual foundations of the identity of their
own cultures. And at the present stage of development of ethnic groups, need to preserve the cultural identity requires the
creation of specific conditions for ethnic and cultural identity of the
individual.
These conditions, that are
beyond the capabilities of an individual, are the elimination of stresses arising in the field of international
relations, preventing the ideas of ethnocentrism, forming
of pre-dissemination of spreading
of national cultures. In the world
migration processes
are intensified, the vast majority of societies are polyethnical. Therefore, many people are beginning to adopt the
values, behaviors, household items of other nations.
Regard to
different cultures,
the transition to the position of multiculturalism give a person a lot of
advantages. They are: expanding of outlook, perception of singularity of other peoples’
identity, help in choosing the ways of life, adaptation
in dynamic environment. Cultural pluralism presupposes that
a man would master another culture’s values. Multicultural personality is able to understand the many kinds of realities, deliberately act in a specific situation, and not just to act in accordance with the norms of his own culture.
Inner world and human outlook are based on values, and it is
a prerequisite for the determination of goals and ideals, the guarantor of his
spiritual development. The ability of the individual to the ethno-cultural
identity has a great importance, both for
himself and for society as a whole. Through the lenses of axiological understanding of ethnicity and culture the spiritual world
and the mentality of the individual are formed, storage, continuity,
transmission of specific original,
traditional, established values from generation to generation are provided, future vectors of development of the whole society
are defined. Destruction of cultural value bases leads to a crisis,
and the crisis at the level of both the individual and society as a whole.
Young people take an interest in the phenomena of culture, search ideals of identity. They face challenges to develop new values, because today it is clear that traditional ethnic values can not be
saved permanently. It begins to
change in accordance with the changes that are gradually taking place in our
society. And in this complex reality each young person should choose meaningful benchmarks of self identity.