What is ethnocentrism?
The belief in the inherent superiority of one's own cultural group.
Free Your Mind: Overcoming Ethnocentrism in Creative Writing
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own. In creative writing, this can manifest as a failure to accurately represent diverse perspectives and experiences. Writers who only write about characters that reflect their own culture or life experiences risk perpetuating stereotypes and limiting their creative potential.
One way to avoid ethnocentrism in writing is to actively seek out diverse perspectives and experiences. This can include reading literature from a variety of cultures, traveling, interviewing people with different backgrounds, and actively seeking out feedback from readers with different perspectives. Writing workshops can also be a great tool for challenging your assumptions and broadening your horizons.
Ultimately, overcoming ethnocentrism in your writing requires a willingness to be open-minded and to challenge your own assumptions. By doing so, you not only become a more well-rounded writer, but also contribute to a more inclusive and diverse literary landscape.
Published in 1902, Heart of Darkness is a novella that explores the effects of European colonialism in Africa. The author's depiction of African people has been criticized for promoting racist stereotypes and exhibiting ethnocentrism.
This 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is a response to the colonial literature that depicted Africa as a 'dark continent'. In the novel, Achebe portrays the complexity and humanity of an African culture before and after the arrival of Europeans.