Chapter 13 of the the text book talk about how McDonalds have impacted parts of the world. Hong Kong and its relation with McDonalds was analyzed in reference to the cultural relevance of items on the menu. McDonalds is a typical burger joint in that the menu has a heavy focus on beef products. In Hong Kong such a meal is more of a snack than an actual meal due to the lack of rice and other traditional items. McDonalds had exchanged some cultural items like birthdays which in Hong Kong, was not celebrated till after the introduction of McDonalds. Chapter 14 discusses the transnational villages in the US. Focusing on Boston, MA there has been a great deal of transnational immigration from the Dominican Republic to a section of Boston called Miraflores. These types of villages pop up in social and economic hardships in their home countries and move to these cultural enclaves. Chapter 57 talks about Asian religions and how they can decontextualize with global religous views. One way this is done is through yoga and meditation. In Hinduism and Buddhism, yoga and meditation are used to connect one with nature. In the modern context both yoga and meditation are used around the world for multiple things. Some of these things are related to psychology, health, well-being, spiritual, and many more. This more modern approach relates to modern thinking of self-awareness and understanding science more than the original religious values of both the Hindu and Buddhist religions
1 comment:
I like that you touch on the "more modern" approach of practices like meditation. It's very interesting, that the popularity of meditation in recent years makes it appear modern. I do agree with that sentiment, but at the same time I disagree. Meditation is a practice that's very very old, but it has gained popularity recently making it "modern". I do not think that this more modern wave of self-awareness has re-contextualized and changed meditation, but plucked out a practice that already did that.
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