ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to offer the readers a thorough understanding of the interlinkage among globalization, urbanization, change agents, and cultural change; and to provide conceptual definitions and textual explanations of globalization, culture, and urban culture. The chapter defines ‘globalization’ as the movement of people, amplification of economic interrelations, and escalation of political trust throughout the world; ‘culture’ as the total way of people’s lives, the way they live, eat, worship, and create and recreate; and ‘urban culture’ as the culture of urban areas that have a specific set of behaviours and cultural elements separating them from others and comparable to rural areas. The chapter also entails the classification, characteristics, and components of key concepts. This chapter reveals that, though the history of Dhaka city is traced back to the pre-Mughal period (1205–1610), the city is considered as a gift of the Mughal period (1610–1757). Since then, Dhaka was ruled by the British (1757–1947) and Pakistani rulers (1947–1971). Dhaka has belonged to Bangladesh after independence in 1971 from the Pakistani oppressors. Historically, the development of Dhaka city started from the southern part, known as ‘Old Dhaka’ today, and the extension continued to the north and the west, known as ‘new Dhaka’. Over the 350 years, people of Old Dhaka have been practising distinctive culture in terms of dress, food consumption, festivals and ceremonies, language, religiosity, etc. The chapter gives an overview of how global forces like globalization, modernization, Americanization, Europeanization, or Indianization have been impacting Old Dhaka’s historical culture.
