NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGES

Historically, immigrants from ancient cultures have needed mediation to new social and political structures. This work of inculturating arriving peoples and enriching the host nation with their classical heritages has been taken up through national heritage organizations, religious institutions and universities, often with emphasis on a specific ethnic group or religion.

            Today the situation has evolved, but the task is even more crucial. As communities become more at home, they need to know how they can live their traditions more fully in the new circumstances; how they can enrich their new land with their own culture; how they can contribute to the welfare of their nations of origin; and how they can enable the new global culture to be inclusive of multiple peoples, rather than a homogenization of all. If a peoples' culture is the place where the Spirit dwells, then this rediscovery and articulation of their cultures must be central to their lives.

            The engagement of specialists in the various national and ethnic cultures is essential in order to identify the content and aid its adaptation. At the same time, interaction with universities in the countries of origin can assist those nations in their process of modernization and globalization in ways that enrich rather than impoverish their proper identity and hence humanity as a whole.

 Resources

A wide range of national ethnic organizations has worked to improve the understanding of their respective contributions to American life. Their communities possess rich cultural heritages, the experience of moving between cultures and concern for their homelands in the new global order. Occasionally they work together to combat discrimination and to share with other communities the richness each has brought. A university base provides a needed scientific backdrop for analyzing this experience and articulating the insights and concerns of the different communities. The National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (NCUEA) has focused particular attention on community values, urban policy, national and ethnic groups and intercultural cooperation. The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP) has focused on the development of such work especially in Second and Third World regions.

            The CUA Center for the Study of Culture and Values (CSCV) integrates these organizations with the following objectives:

1.      To gather and publish the value components of the various national heritages by teams of specialists in the studies of each culture;

2.      To analyze the relation of those heritages to their new cultural contexts;

3.      To lead a process of discussion within the national communities to explore how their cultures can be formative in the life of their families as they face the challenge of raising children in the new value context;

4.      To explore the impact of historic and contemporary interaction between cultural groups; and

To enhance the contribution of national cultural identity to attitudes and approaches to global development.

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