CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
TANZANIA, GLOBALIZATION, AND STUDY ABROAD
"I hope that during this semester, I will grow as a person and better understand myself and the world.” I was sitting in the dirt at Ndarakwai, a private wildlife reserve in Tanzania, contemplating what I wanted out of the semester when I wrote this line in my journal. I continued to fill the page with writing of how I would use my experience in Tanzania to better myself. I spoke about Tanzania as if it was one entity that was responsible for transforming who I am as a person. I did not mention the people I would encounter, the relationships I would make, or my role as an oppressor in this country. Ben Freinberg wrote an article, “What Students Don’t Learn Abroad” in which he highlights the idea that students use abroad experiences as a tool for personal growth with little interest in understanding the host country, its people, or global dynamics. In actuality, Tanzania is in a state of oppression by Western powers. When students studying abroad view the outside world as “no more than a fantasy playground whose only real inhabitants are obsessed with our commodities” they use their experience as an expression of cultural superiority and contribute to cementing these power dynamics (Freinberg 2002). The only way to renegotiate these oppressive relationships is for both the oppressed and the oppressors to reconstruct how they perceive the world and intercultural relationships.
Tanzania’s economic and political dependence on Western powers is undeniable. The IMF and World Bank dictate its economic policies and the tourism industry is controlled by these economic and political relationships. The dependency of Tanzania on Western powers is an expression of oppression. The tourism industry dictates national park borders, governs human-environment relations, and, as seen with the Maasai, contributes to shaping cultural identities. As Paulo Freire recognizes, the oppressed adopt these rules and guidelines set by the oppressors and internalize this power dynamic. This internalization is further demonstrated by Tanzanians’ idealization of Western culture and the adoption of the English language in secondary schools. Freire writes, “The very structure of their thought has been conditioned by the contradictions of the concrete, existential situation by which they were shaped” (Freire 2005). Therefore, the only way for the oppressed to free themselves is by changing the way they perceive the world. They need to recognize their ability to transform their own reality. One of the biggest obstacles to this is to approach the situation collectively, and not individually. However in Gossling’s article, “Human-environmental relations with tourism” he states that one of the effects of tourism in Tanzania is that the job opportunities associated with the industry combined with influences of Western culture results in the natives becoming more individualistic (Gossling 2002). In order to end oppression it is necessary to understand that human beings are not solitary beings living within a system but that our reality is constructed by human relationships.
It is also the duty of the oppressors’ to acknowledge their role in the oppression and alter how they perceive the world. Studying abroad plays an important aspect in this. As part of the study abroad experience, it is important to recognize the power dynamics you are participating in and contributing to, and how these dynamics affect the people with whom you are building relationships. Yelena Yershova and the contributing authors believe that with our changing and increasingly globalized world, we need a new approach to how we perceive and interact with other cultures. They caution against teaching intercultural competence and instead emphasize how intercultural competence can be achieved by the development approach through international education. They state that through the cultural immersion of a study abroad experience, the student shifts away from their prior assumptions toward a greater understanding of social contexts and different perspectives of reality. This change in how they perceive the world is a necessary aspect of becoming more inter-culturally competent (Yershova et al 2000). It is also our duty as cultural oppressors to view the oppressed as persons rather than an abstract category (Freire 2005). In Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson’s article, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference,” they recognize that as humans, we focus on cultural differences based on spacial divisions. However, it is impossible to remain in this previous perception of separation in our politically and economically connected world. In actuality, places and peoples are not naturally disconnected but hierarchically interconnected. It is therefore necessary to reevaluate how we approach issues of space and renegotiate our distinctions between “here” and “there” and “us” and “them.”
Ben Freinberg believes that when students study abroad they never leave the world in which they have always participated or alter their construction of reality. He holds that their position of power and privilege allow them to travel the globe while maintaining their cultural presuppositions and feelings of superiority. As seen in my initial journal entry, places, people, and experiences were perceived as things to be consumed for the benefit of the individual. These beliefs coincide with a worldview of disconnect and individualism. It is this perspective that manifests cultural differences and reinforces global oppressive relationships. However, as demonstrated with Yershova, studying abroad can play an important role in altering global perspectives. It is the duty of the student to be aware of how they are participating in the globalization process, not only through cultural interaction but also through how they portray the country once they return home. I found that through my study abroad experience, I am able to better understand the complexities of the relationships that create the world we live in. It is through this expansion of contextual understandings and the renegotiation of constructions of reality that we will be able to break down the barriers that separate and oppress.
Tanzania’s economic and political dependence on Western powers is undeniable. The IMF and World Bank dictate its economic policies and the tourism industry is controlled by these economic and political relationships. The dependency of Tanzania on Western powers is an expression of oppression. The tourism industry dictates national park borders, governs human-environment relations, and, as seen with the Maasai, contributes to shaping cultural identities. As Paulo Freire recognizes, the oppressed adopt these rules and guidelines set by the oppressors and internalize this power dynamic. This internalization is further demonstrated by Tanzanians’ idealization of Western culture and the adoption of the English language in secondary schools. Freire writes, “The very structure of their thought has been conditioned by the contradictions of the concrete, existential situation by which they were shaped” (Freire 2005). Therefore, the only way for the oppressed to free themselves is by changing the way they perceive the world. They need to recognize their ability to transform their own reality. One of the biggest obstacles to this is to approach the situation collectively, and not individually. However in Gossling’s article, “Human-environmental relations with tourism” he states that one of the effects of tourism in Tanzania is that the job opportunities associated with the industry combined with influences of Western culture results in the natives becoming more individualistic (Gossling 2002). In order to end oppression it is necessary to understand that human beings are not solitary beings living within a system but that our reality is constructed by human relationships.
It is also the duty of the oppressors’ to acknowledge their role in the oppression and alter how they perceive the world. Studying abroad plays an important aspect in this. As part of the study abroad experience, it is important to recognize the power dynamics you are participating in and contributing to, and how these dynamics affect the people with whom you are building relationships. Yelena Yershova and the contributing authors believe that with our changing and increasingly globalized world, we need a new approach to how we perceive and interact with other cultures. They caution against teaching intercultural competence and instead emphasize how intercultural competence can be achieved by the development approach through international education. They state that through the cultural immersion of a study abroad experience, the student shifts away from their prior assumptions toward a greater understanding of social contexts and different perspectives of reality. This change in how they perceive the world is a necessary aspect of becoming more inter-culturally competent (Yershova et al 2000). It is also our duty as cultural oppressors to view the oppressed as persons rather than an abstract category (Freire 2005). In Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson’s article, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference,” they recognize that as humans, we focus on cultural differences based on spacial divisions. However, it is impossible to remain in this previous perception of separation in our politically and economically connected world. In actuality, places and peoples are not naturally disconnected but hierarchically interconnected. It is therefore necessary to reevaluate how we approach issues of space and renegotiate our distinctions between “here” and “there” and “us” and “them.”
Ben Freinberg believes that when students study abroad they never leave the world in which they have always participated or alter their construction of reality. He holds that their position of power and privilege allow them to travel the globe while maintaining their cultural presuppositions and feelings of superiority. As seen in my initial journal entry, places, people, and experiences were perceived as things to be consumed for the benefit of the individual. These beliefs coincide with a worldview of disconnect and individualism. It is this perspective that manifests cultural differences and reinforces global oppressive relationships. However, as demonstrated with Yershova, studying abroad can play an important role in altering global perspectives. It is the duty of the student to be aware of how they are participating in the globalization process, not only through cultural interaction but also through how they portray the country once they return home. I found that through my study abroad experience, I am able to better understand the complexities of the relationships that create the world we live in. It is through this expansion of contextual understandings and the renegotiation of constructions of reality that we will be able to break down the barriers that separate and oppress.