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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Plain Talk
By Mursi Saad El-Din
In my last column there was no space to deal with the second article I mentioned, "Culture and the masses," published in the last issue of The Open Eye, the organ of the British Open University. It discusses a "unique research programme" aiming to document modern multi-racial Britain. On 19 May, there will be an inaugural symposium where Culture Secretary Chris Smith will deliver a keynote address. Other leading academics and media men will participate in the event.
What is the premise of this programme? There is no doubt that with the unending influx into Britain of Commonwealth citizens, the country's cultural texture has undergone notable change. This has necessitated a fresh outlook on the part of both the government and academics. Ongoing research is carried out in different fields, with the object of putting the issue in its proper perspective. This new programme is a serious endeavour to study issues relating to this situation and perhaps come up with some workable proposals. The new collaborative programme of research will aim to create "the most comprehensive survey of the nation's cultural life." But what is culture as envisaged by The National Everyday Cultures Programme (NECP)?
According to Programme Research Director Elizabeth B Silva, "we will try to get an understanding of what matters to people, to look at real people's circumstances and what is meaningful to them." Professor Tony Bennett, programme director, insists that "culture is no longer something that is over there." Culture is rather an aspect of so many parts of everyday life, experience and behaviour, the main settings being "home, work, shops, the street."
Understanding everyday life, the cultural meanings and emotions that inform even its most routine aspects, is what the programme is ultimately about, the Open University being one of the participating institutions. It provides access to a network of researchers who will be at the heart of the programme, which will help to develop a truly national approach to the study -- a unique role made possible by the range of the Open University's users.
But to get to the programme's details. It is supposed to interpret everything "from the paint we put on our walls to the cars we drive and the way we plan our work and our intimate life." I wonder what sociologists think of this rather novel definition of culture! One aspect I find very important in the subjects to be discussed is that of "how different ethnic groups relate to mass media and technology -- from the vacuum cleaner to the computer -- in the home." Over and above the condescending tone, though, there is no doubt that a process of initiation is needed to accommodate these multiple identity newcomers -- a difficult issue that explains many unfortunate events that have lately occurred in Britain.
According to the programme's definition of culture, however, more activities are added: cooking, child care, photography, caring for the elderly, dancing, the gym, motorcycle racing and the Internet. But what about the manifestation of culture, music, theatre, ballet and other activities that are part and parcel of British culture? How can these new ethnic groups be accommodated within such creative manifestation?
The big question is this: will the British Government allow ethnic cultural practices to dominate? Will each ethnic group live an isolated life, with its moral code, its entertainment and schooling separate from those of every other group? Or will a time come when Jamaicans, Kenyans, Nigerians, etc. will appreciate the promenade concerts, the Sadler's Wells, the National Academy and other typically British manifestations of culture. Or will they stick with their own? This is, to my mind, the hundred millionth question.
