Acculturation in Modern and Contemporary Arabic Critical Discourse

Acculturation is fundamentally a cross-disciplinary term, rooted initially in the human sciences. However, it was subsequently drawn into the wider discourse of cultural hegemony and the inherent motives of historical, political, and technological domination on a global scale. This incorporation occurred through its placement within an open trajectory that spans literature and literary criticism, driven by the inevitable interaction with modern innovations, specifically the critical methodologies and schools of thought imported from the West. Consequently, this intellectual engagement necessitated the exploration of appropriate means for interacting with and responding to these developments. Critical stances have diverged: one path involves passive critical receptivity, which often sanctifies every theoretical import from the West, absorbing its vision as the very essence of absolute knowledge and the long-awaited scientific salvation. The other involves attempts to establish an Arab intellectual/critical framework capable of scrutinizing what it receives from the writings of the Other and producing its own critical perspective. The ultimate objective is to lay the foundations for a genuine and constructive form of acculturation.