Centuries ago, people were isolated from other cultures due to the lack of communication and transportation. A person could live their whole life and never travel farther than ten miles from where they were born, keeping them from ever experiencing any culture but their own. Yet in today's high-tech society, we can visit places half a world away without ever leaving our homes via the Internet, movies, television, books, magazines, and radio. And if we choose to leave the comforts of our own homes, we can reach faraway lands in a matter of hours thanks to airplanes, automobiles, and high-speed ships.

Ever since a human first met another human with traditions and beliefs different than their own, the same question has arisen: do we keep our own culture, or integrate it with the others? With our ever-improving technology, we have the very real possibility of someday merging into one global mass culture. But is it a good or bad thing? Or instead, will there be a return to traditional culture, with the people of the world going back to their origins?

This website will explore the possibility of this integration, or syncretism, in our school. On a more personal level, I will also explore how syncretism has affected me.

 

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This site owned and maintained by Simone Chavoor. Created 3-27-00 and last updated 3-30-00 for the purposes of Ms. Winding's Honors American Literature class. © 2000 by Please Let Me Get a Good Grade Inc.