9Anthropological Study of Ideology and Practice on Chinese Civilization(Coordinator: Mio Yuko)Societies located around China looked on Chinese civilization as a model to emulate for a longtime and managed to preserve the authenticity of their cultures by absorbing elements of Chineseculture. In the process of modernization of these societies, however, national borders were demarcatedand each nation adopted western ideologies, such as capitalism, socialism and communism, whichsupplanted China-centered ideology, shaping people of diverse ethnic backgrounds into a nation. Inrecent years these nations, including China, achieved rapid economic growth and gained confidencepolitically and economically. Their governments tend to tolerate democratization in politics, andpermit a degree of multiculturalism. They also tolerate, or rather promote, economic and culturalexchanges among people with similar ethnic backgrounds but living in different nations, such as inter-border trade and cultural exchange related to Buddhism among Tai people residing in Thailand, Chinaand Burma. The purpose of this joint research project is to examine what kind of changes are broughtabout in the cultures of societies of this area in the process of more recent international development.To put it concretely: Does it lead to a revival in “folk culture” of ethnic groups in the periphery ofChinese civilization? Does this lead to new cultural centers created by people of the same ethnicbackground but now separated by national borders? What are the characteristics of this kind of newcenter? How have these cultures changed?Basic Studies on the Indian Ocean Area(Coordinator: Fukazawa Hideo)The Indian Ocean Area is a comprehensive historical arena comprising peoples with diverslanguages and cultures interacting over 2000 years. In other words, it is a world of pluralism andmulti-layeredness. The Indian Ocean Area existed before the 16th century when the modern worldsystem came into being. The Indian Ocean Area with the Indian subcontinent in between over timefrom the 8th to 16th centuries linked Arabia, the East African region and the Southeast Asian regionthrough trade and migration. The dynamism of this Area is now recognized to have exerted greatinfluence on the history, the formation of states and their cultures of the land areas in the IndianOcean. Furthermore, the Indian Ocean Area was enclosed by the modern world system dominated bythe West. Not only the land areas but sea areas were divided by the sovereign states or territorial states.During this time, however, traffic across the Ocean continued. Measures promoted by Western powerssuch as slave trade, the emigration of contract workers and their colonizing activities on a global scaleincreased the need of both human and material traffic across the Ocean Area. Thus, the network in thearea was further expanded. Participants in this joint research project are researchers specializing in society, language, culture,technique/technology, and agriculture in Oceania, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Arabia, East Africa, andthe Indian archipelago. With a common perspective of the Indian Ocean Area World, they will, for theinitial three years, discuss the feasibility of approaching this pluralistic and multi-layered world.
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