Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

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However, they are not always successful, as identities
are not only historically constituted but are also fluid
and often remain beyond the reach and control of the
state. Just as much as there is what is termed as “authoritydefined”
identity for which the state or other forces
serve as the definer, there is also the “everyday-defined”
identity, viz. the identity as constituted or constructed
through everyday interactions of the local communities,
groups and individuals with each other and/or with the
state and the outside world. Hence, the multifarious
forces that shape identity—namely Globalization, the
nation-state and the community—feature significantly
in any discourse on identity.
Engaging modernity and embarking on the modernist
project has been the agenda of various religious
communities and movements in recent decades, more
so under the impact of globalization. Religion is not
only a faith that provides a sense of salvation, solace and
certainty to the believers but it is also part of identity. With
its promise of certainty and solace in a world full of
uncertainties, contradictions and confusion created by
globalization, people all the more place their hopes for
salvation on religion. For more than three decades since
the 1970s, religious revivalism—Islam and others—has
been on the rise. While the September 11 incident
throws up an ugly image of Islam and Muslims,
creating Islamophobia with the attendant misperception
that Muslims are ‘militants’, it is important to look
beyond—that is, at the message of peace, pluralist
tolerance and compassion Islam teaches, and how it can
coexist with other religions. It is equally important to
understand and mediate contradictions and conflicts
involving religious movements, and have a proper grasp
of their project of—and engagement with— modernity.
Engaging modernity and globalization also requires an
examination of the question of gender and its various
dimensions. Gender and sexuality have today become
the primary modes of self-consciousness, very much
influencing gender roles in productive and reproductive
work. While gender sensitization is on the rise, gender
equality leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, more
and more women are entering the public domain, are
able to express themselves in the form they so choose,
and are increasingly recognized and respected by men.
The spread of new technologies and techniques, especially
those reflecting the state-of-the-art are not only a product
of technological revolution and globalization, but also
a manifestation of engagement with modernity. While
generally there is a serious technology-divide between
developed and developing countries, in some areas,
especially the ICT, attempts at ‘catching up’ or at
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
utilizing the technology and techniques to advance
local industry and its content are making some
headway. The field of art and animation appears to be
a promising domain for some Southeast Asian
countries. However, we can benefit from the state-ofthe-art
technology if workers in the field of art and
animation can express creative local content, and
define its own distinct identity, thus avoiding being
mere caricatures of what is produced in the developed
West. In other words, it should be able to produce
original content not only for the region but also for the
world. At the same time, while expressing its beauty
and identity, artistic forms also express the intricate
interplay of the ideology of gender and sexuality in our
region as it engages with globalization.
It has been argued that globalization as a historical
force cannot be stopped, but there is the possibility of it
being “captured”, restructured or redirected if there
is a common will and concerted collective action by
nations and peoples throughout the world. (Mittelman &
Norani, 2001) While the neoliberals have been advocating
their TINA mantera, that “There Is No Alternative” to
the current structure of neoliberal globalization and the
ideology of the free market, those countries, nations
and peoples that have suffered the pains of inequalities,
uncertainties and marginalization brought about by the
forces of neoliberal globalization have been advocating
change and alternatives. Forces in civil society, with
its whole gamut of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), have also been growing and expanding the
public space in which they are able to operate. They
have been engaging more actively with the state and
the forces of globalization on behalf of the people. The
position of the NGOs and other forces in civil society
ranges from that of anti-globalization at the end of
one continuum to that of what is termed as the
“ransformationalist” position, viz. that globalization
can be made to have a human face and human heart.
(Stiglitz, 2002) This means the multifarious dimensions
of globalization—economic, technology, trade,
advances in culture, democracy, human rights and so
on—a can be harnessed for the benefit not only of our
region, but also all of humanity if there is collective
political will and concerted action on the part of the
peoples and nations to translate such vision into reality.
(See, for example, Stiglitz, 2006)
ENGAGING GLOBALIZATION: CRITICAL
QUESTIONS
It is with the above understanding of the need to engage
with the forces of globalization and to improve the
human condition as outlined in the objectives of the