Copy of AREA STUDIES

Area Studies

What can we learn by comparing practices and customs in different societies around the world?

Photo credit: Britt Reints - Flickr


Posts tagged group identity
African Traditional Beliefs and Development

by Chris Ampadu

The African lives in a religious universe. Religious tradition influences thoughts and actions, determining practically every aspect of life, including moral behavior. This essay concludes with the observation that African indigenous cultures and traditions have generally not promoted scientific inquiry or the development and adaptation of new technologies. Because African cultures tend to emphasize communalism, the people have a hard time accumulating enough wealth to build large enterprises.

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The Threat of Compassion in an East Asian and Diaspora Context

by by Megan Geem

Why do East-Asians and their descendants find grace so challenging to understand and accept? This paper hopes to provide one answer to this question through exploring the relationship between two biblical concepts: compassion and grace. Research suggests that the two are deeply and symbiotically interconnected. The former, if understood in accordance to its original Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) context, is meant to inform and lead into the latter. Compassion, as result, may be a key piece for which believers from East-Asian honor-shame cultures need help in comprehending and receiving, so that they can show grace to themselves as well as others.

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