Studies on Local Cultures During the Period of Encounters between Central and Peripheral Cultures : A new Area Studies in a Globalizing World ;

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This project examines functions of local cultures and their changing relations in a globalizing world, where encounter two culture-societies, namely "global center" and "local periphery" of the third world. A new area studies should emphasize on inquiry into value systems of local cultures concerned, "incompleteness and unstable" of mutual support of culture center and political center, and culture-oriented ethnic movements.This project selects three transnational cultural objects, textiles, glass beads and shadow puppet theaters as "vehicles" for representing culture relations and changes in a process of cultural encounters.Chapter I-II serves as searching for a framework of new area studies. According to the framework, European glass beads which began to infiltrate into areas of West Africa during sixteenth century, indicated how the center had exploited local people's wishes for eternity.Chapter III-IV concentrates on textiles motifs, and ascertains meanings of traditional motifs. In central Asia, their ethnic dresses of "Ikat" had implications that they resisted against Soviet cultural penetration. And a "central disk" motif of Suzani textile in Uzbekistan indicates their ancient values for sun worship despite of Islamic culture.Chapter V-VI shows that peoples of the world incline to insist their own culture and their popular culture via NGOs and voluntary associations. This inclination can be ascertained in Berber movements of Morocco, minority activities of Maya and Chiapas for ethnic textile weaving, recent resurgence of Inca solsticial festival of Inti Raimi since the 1940s. In conclusion, new area studies suggest global-local-regional approaches and comparative approaches as a tool for examine cultural relations and implications in the process of culture encounters in a globalizing world.