Micronesian Counselor, Issue 56

Hezel, Francis X. (2005-07-15). Micronesian Counselor, Issue 56. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–8.

• Has attachment: File:9YETL7GA.pdf

Abstract: The lead article, Loss of Culture: Threat? How Real Is It?, by Francis X. Hezel, S.J., examines concerns that Micronesian traditions are vanishing under the pressures of modernization. It reviews how globalization, new political systems, wage employment, and household change have altered traditional practices in family life, ceremonies, and subsistence. The essay questions whether such transformations truly amount to a “loss of culture” or rather represent cultural adaptation.

Additional material discusses changes in social institutions in Pohnpei and Chuuk, youth perspectives on tradition in Kosrae, and the persistence of customary authority in Yap. References to debates in the Marshall Islands and Palau provide regional context, showing both anxiety over cultural erosion and evidence of resilience in rituals, values, and identity.