Introduction
As a discourse, hospitality has enabled me to understand a personal experience in my life. Moreover, it has reinforced my belief that, as a discipline and a social reality, hospitality is one of the most fundamental societal concepts of our time.
As our modern day societies become more individualistic, I feel that a large number of persons in our societies are abandoned to experience the world and life in lonely and lonesome contexts. This phenomenon is due to the increasing negation of the long held beliefs of offering hospitality to friends, relatives, and even strangers; a notion that originated from our medieval societies (Selwyn 2000, p.14; Lomaine 2005, p.17; Heal 1990, p.7).
As I was studying the course, the social/cultural domain of hospitality struck a chord with me, and reinforced my belief that modern day society’s abandonment of the culture of hospitality has contributed to the overall decay in moral and behavioural levels within our societies (Lashley 2008, p.70).
The study of hospitality as a discourse brought to mind an act that our entire family engaged in during my childhood. There used to be a certain boy who walked around our neighbourhood mostly on weekends, and whose unkempt and dishevelled appearance earned him scorn and few friends. He mostly begged for food, and during the winter, he would ask to stay in various homes for warmth with little success. Our family, with the urging and initiative of my mother, resolved to take him in, and within a few years, our family adopted him.
Hospitality
In the course of studying hospitality as a discourse, the various definitions of appeared to vindicate my belief that, modern society is lacking a tremendously vital and noble principle. By negating social/cultural hospitality at the expense of individualism, and self-centred approaches to communal issues, the modern society missed the mark.
Our modern societies no longer take in guests as a matter of social duty, and many times guests, even family, are viewed as a bother. The generous reception of strangers into our homes is virtually nonexistent.
The Modern Society: A picture
One of the prices that modern society has to pay for the abandonment of a culture and spirit of hospitality is that more children end up in foster homes. These children, lacking parental love and care that families can offer, mostly end up being socially mal-adjusted adults, and many more engage in crime and other social vices due to a lack of proper upbringing (Richardson, Foster, & McAdams 1998, p.410; Curran 2008, p.430). The results are higher crime rates for our societies (Burman & Naude 1991, p.373).
The two principles of cultural and social hospitality are that the relationship of the host and guest is a natural one, and the second principle states that hospitality is noble.
Natural Nature of Social Cultural Hospitality
The study of hospitality has helped me understand the actions of my mother in her quest to accept, and later adopt that homeless child who is now my brother.
The study of social cultural hospitality has enabled me understand that her actions were born out of natural maternal instincts. It was only natural for her to desire to offer a home and maternal love to the child. Therefore, the advent of industrialism and the subsequent emergence of our individualistic societies have not necessarily distinguished the natural fire of hospitality that comes naturally to human beings.
Through the personal experience of having adopted a ‘stranger’ into our home, the study of cultural hospitality has enabled me to understand and celebrate that experience. True to medieval expectations of the blessings that hosting a guest, (similar to adopting our brother), brings blessings, as a family we are always grateful of the warmth, love, and insight our adopted brother has brought to our lives.
Noble Nature of Social Cultural Hospitality
The second principle of social cultural hospitality states that the act of hospitality, that of hosting a guest or stranger in one’s home, is a noble act. The study of social cultural hospitality has enabled me to redefine my beliefs and priorities in life. Previously, I believed that noble acts were mostly concerned with doing what was best for oneself; moreover, I thought by achieving goals that satisfied my inner cravings, I would have done a noble act.
However, the study of social cultural nobility has enabled me to set goals that focus and take cognizance of the well-being of other persons in society. Therefore, by taking in my brother, I now believe that my family was engaged in the noblest act of our times. The culture of opening our doors, our homes and our lives to others should be encouraged even in the face of increased individualistic tendencies of our times.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study of hospitality, and in particular socio-cultural hospitality, has given me a better understanding of my personal experience that involved our family adopting a child who has become a brother and friend to me.
In a larger context, I believe that our modern societies should re-adopt the principles and spirit of socio-cultural hospitality that existed in earlier agrarian societies. Not only is such a culture natural and noble, but in the end, such a culture will help reduce incidences of crime, foster communal well-being, and create holistic and healthy societies.
References
Burman, S., & Naude, M., 1991. Bearing a bastard: The social consequences of Illegitimacy in Cape Town, 1896-1939. Journal of Southern African Studies, 17(3), pp.371-74.
Curran, L., 2008. Longing to “belong”: foster children in mid-century Philadelphia (1946-1963). Journal of Social History, 42(2), pp. 425-445.
Heal, F., 1990. Hospitality in Early Modern England. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lashley, C., 2008. Studying Hospitality: Insights from Social Sciences. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 8(1), pp. 69–84.
Lomaine, A., 2005. Histories of Tourism. Cleveland: Channel View Publications.
Richardson, B., Foster, V., & McAdams, C., 1998. Parenting Attitudes and Moral Development of Treatment Foster Parents: Implications for Training and Supervision. Child & Youth Care Forum, 27(6), pp. 409-431.
Selwyn, T., 2000. An anthropology of hospitality. In: C. Lashley & A. Morrison (Eds.), In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates (pp. 10-21). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.