Today in some of our seminars we discussed some of the differences in thinking / worldview between people from the West and people from the East.  (Now for clarification, I’m not talking about the lands lying to the right and to the left of the Rocky Mountains, although there are definitely some worldview differences there that could be explored.)  In our discussions we were specifically looking at the ideology of Asia vs. that of the Western world. 

I actually took a class back in the States (notice that I say “the States” now…it’s another one of those cool international hipster terms like aircon) entitled Issues Across Cultures. That class explored many of the same concepts and topics we talked about today at a greater level of detail.  Some of the main concepts that usually come up are things such as individual vs. group focus, task-orientation vs. people-orientation, linear vs. cyclical view of time and reality, formality vs. informality, verbal vs. non-verbal communication, etc.  There are a lot of cooler and more snooty-sounding academic terms for many of these concepts (ex. power distance is my favorite), but our lecturers today just boiled it down to the basics (hey, we only had a few hours; not a semester).  It was a very good refresher and a very good reminder of what it will be like to live in a cross-cultural environment.

In reviewing a stereotypical list of characteristics exhibited by people from the East and West, Christa admitted that she is polarized pretty far West on the spectrum.  I can see myself as very western as well, but strangely I think I feel very eastern in some ways.   (Maybe because I was born in Kentucky…ha!)  I also felt constrained by the narrow categories and absolute identities.  (That’s the individuality breaking through!) 

A few of us were discussing this and the fact that as we feel the impacts of accelerating globalization these lines between East and West will continue to blur.  It also made me think of the some of the characteristics of this postmodern world we are allegedly living in.  Specifically, I was thinking about the quest for meaning as it pertains to language.  We were looking at two columns of descriptive words like: Logical, Linear, Rational, Arrogant, Humble, Cyclical, Seemingly Chaotic, Relational, etc.  These words were being applied to East or West in an effort to show the two as opposites.  In general, there is value in noticing these polarities, but in reality even the words themselves may not be helpful or adequate in revealing the complexity of culture.  For example, from what lens is the word “arrogant” being interpreted.  This word may have an entirely different meaning or nuance of meaning for the person using or hearing it.  A person from the West may ascribe a meaning or connotation to “arrogant” that a person from the East would not.  I think the fact that we would analyze (and even question) the interpretive meaning of these words says something about the time and world we are living in.  If we deconstruct a word (i.e. find its essence) from a specific perspective we may discover that the meaning we thought we had relayed was lost or distorted.  Even synonyms, that is words with similar meanings, are words that have a appropriate place and context for use.  There is a certain subjectivity in the meaning we assign to words, I guess is what I’m saying. 

Sorry to get all linguistic like that… (I really don’t even know the words to adequately relate how I was thinking through this topic today…)

All this to say that today was very thought-provoking and I enjoyed it.  I think the chasm of worldview, thinking, and philosophy from East to West is still quite immense and fascinating.  I’m excited to delve into it.  But I also think the depth and quality of the chasm has perhaps transformed in pace with the changes to the broader world in the last 10 to 20 years.