Abstract

No man is an island to himself. In the same logic, no nation is an island to herself. In the process of international interactions, there is an interaction of cultures and thus, a borrowing and diffusion of cultures amongst nations. This is in itself not unusual. But unusual and unfortunate is the domination of one culture over the other. This is an evil, an evil of forced acculturation. This is true of globalization which has generated a lot of controversy with regards to the rise of a global culture. In the rise of a global culture, Western norms and practices are gradually being transported across the globe as the standard and acceptable way of behavior. Africa is the hardest hit in this regard. The hitherto rich, cherished and dynamic African culture has been diluted if not totally eclipsed. This paper, therefore, is an attempt to outline and critically assess the impact of globalization on African culture. In its analysis, the paper concludes that, Africa is fast running the risk of cultural atrophy consequent of the current logic of globalization. Thereafter, the paper proposes strategies for stemming the tide of cultural atrophy of the African culture in the midst of the purported rise of a global culture.

Key words: African culture, globalization, global culture, cultural atrophy, Western norms