Education's Effect on Colonial Era's Changing Identity

What came with colonial rule was racism, exposure to European culture, and economic & social disputes, which led to a massive identity crisis to all living in the Colonial Era. Various aspects of everyday life included social status, the location in which one lived, etc; however the most vital factoring portion for the majority’s transforming identity was Western education.

“To previously illiterate people, the knowledge of reading and writing of any kind often suggested an almost magical power. Within the colonial setting, it could mean an escape from some of the most onerous obligations of living under European control, such as forced labor.” (Page 607, Ways of the World) The introduction of education opened doors to an abundance of those who were now provided with the opportunity to do something productive with their life. The ability to obtain better paying jobs such as government bureaucracies, mission organizations, or working for business firms. Education also “provided social mobility and elite status within their own communities and an opportunity to achieve, or at least approach, equality with whites in racially defined societies.” (Page 607, Ways of the World) Along with adopting the rapidly spreading fashion of engaging in education, people were also adopting European culture. They began “dressing in European clothes, speaking French or English, building European-style houses, getting married in long white dresses, and otherwise emulating European ways.” (page 607, Ways of the World)

Along with the immediate change that the exposure and acceptance of education brought, it also conveyed long term change. “Western-educated people organized a variety of reform societies, which sought a renewed Indian culture that was free of idolatry, child marriages, caste, and discrimination against women, while drawing inspirations from the class texts of Hinduism.” (Page 608, Ways of the World) This portrayed the involvement of education into society would result in great progress for those living in the Colonial Era. Subjects such as mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, anatomy, and other useful sciences were included into curriculum taught by European gentlemen to Indian natives. Although this raised the caliber of the everyday individual, the benefits of education failed to reach the regions of equality amongst blacks and whites. For the most part, Europeans rejected the idea of treating those of other races as equals, and the common misconception of the well educated was that their cultures were “primitive, backward, uncivilized, or savage.” (page 609, Ways of the World)

As one can see, the advancement of education and its spread throughout the Colonial Era caused both positive and negative effects to be thrust upon those experiencing this change. In the long run, my personal thoughts on the matter are that education did nothing but good for this time period, and I feel as though the majority would agree with me. Yes, those of higher caliber may have magnified discrimination more severely, however the controversy regarding equality amongst races can be brought up in nearly any circumstance. Education is not to blame for the prejudice feelings of those well educated, and instead acted as a wake up call to the world, allowing them to erase oblivion and naivety from their vocabularies and make something of themselves.