Active transport

So, recently, as per the past few insipid blog posts, I've been reading on the topic of culture and identity. So far, I've gone through works regarding the cultures of the Vikings, Mi'kmaq, "mixed-blood" Aboriginals, and a little bit on Chinese diaspora. I honestly wouldn't have minded reading more on the Aboriginal cultures but that, ultimately, is something that I won't be able to fully relate to.

And with that line of thinking I've begun reading this work on Chinese diaspora  ("At Home in the Chinese Diaspora: Memories, Identities, and Belongings", edited by Khun Eng & Davidson, 2008). One chapter spoke on the role of intergenerational transmission of memories in creating senses of nostalgia and belonging, particularly in those whom had never experienced it first-hand. I remember one phrase in particular: "culture is a discursive construct rather than a natural one". The idea is that memories of home are conveyed not en masse but are done so in a purposeful way in which only information that contributes to the narrative that the conveyer wants to construct is passed on. Well, that's my interpretation of what it means, this book is actually heavily academic so I really do feel out of my element as I go through it.

I took from that reading that the development of cultural knowledge is an active process. And so, if I do want to break out of the current cultural confusion, I'll need to start engaging the people around me that had at one point been immersed in "Chinese". It's not like I can just put a book under my pillow at night (not that I really use it nowadays) and hope that the information will enter my brain via passive diffusion, right?

And, no, it's not a particularly radical notion in that I have to exert effort in order for my will to be enacted. Still, I'm glad that I came across this. I really think there is a good chance this simple concept would've completely eluded me had I not encountered it. I'm not exactly the most critical of thinkers...