Tradition and Modernity
Tradition - A Critical Primer - Steven Engler
Steven Engler [+]
Mount Royal University
Description
Tradition is often opposed to modernity. Tradition’s status as a key source of authority was eroded in Europe over the past five hundred years. But it is misleading to divide history into two different periods, traditional and modern. On the one hand, political and religious uses of invented traditions as a source of authority were already prominent in ancient Rome (so, tradition’s authority was not some natural, automatic feature of pre-modern cultures). On the other hand, tradition continues alive and well in cultures around the world today (so, tradition is also modern). The tradition vs. modernity binary is a modern invention. Counter-Enlightenment reactions (trying to reclaim aspects of pre-modern, traditional worlds) started appearing at the same time that this binary began to have great influence. That is, important meanings of ‘tradition’ were invented at the same time that modernity and anti-modernity were invented. This is a sign that we see ideology at work. Scholars now talk of multiple, entangled and fragmented modernities, and religion is important to these discussions. Tradition is now used in many contexts, in differing, creative and unpredictable ways, especially by marginalized groups. For example, many Indigenous peoples resist, critique and reject colonial structures and ways of thinking by creatively reframing the idea of tradition for their own purposes. An emphasis on a plurality of modernities and traditions shifts our attention from over-generalized contrasts – like traditional vs. modern – to the wide variety of modernizing and traditionalizing moves that are beings shaped by local interests today.