Threads of the East: Critical Debates on Cultural Thinking and Practices in Asia

Threads of the East traces the relationships among aesthetic, anthropological, and political-economic aspects of cultural production and reproduction. Cultural studies scholars and practitioners often begin their inquiries by questioning the common understandings, beliefs, and histories that shape our world. This approach helps explain the complexity of day-to-day life and the practice, habits, text, objects, rituals, and beliefs woven in the social matrix and laden with values and meaning. Culture is an umbrella covering many elements and conveying many meanings. In Asian societies, culture connotes value and respect as a religious duty; moreover, in Asian culture respect is centered around the family and formally demonstrated through language and gestures. The Asian concept of respect influences feelings of responsibility within the family and the ways in which Asian parents and children may set about making decisions. Knowing Asia is only possible from a multidimensional approach, where problems can arise from misunderstandings, especially because we live in a multicultural world. By learning and understanding different cultures, one can understand why people do things the way they do.