A Keen Gaze on Adichies -The Danger of a Single Story

A Keen Gaze on Adichies -The Danger of a Single Story

A Keen Gaze on Adichie’s The Danger of a Single Story

What does the speaker’s experience mean to you?

When one pays close attention to what the speaker is trying to insinuate in this instance, it is clear that we all make assumptions about things that we are not even certain about. Doubtless, the speaker’s story brings the reader’s mind to the realization that these assumptions often conclude that we associate those people, degrade them, and even despise them just because of an essentially untrue assumption. The speaker’s experience is, without a doubt, thought-evoking to the extent that it made me marvel at what other aspects in the past I acted or thought ignorantly within the confines of society. In the recent past, there have been numerous allegations of these assumptions heightening the discrimination of “third-world countries.” For instance, there is a widely spread notion that Africa is a whole bunch of arid land ridden with poverty, diseases, tribal wars, and hunger, which is a dangerous assumption (Kelland & Sanchez, 2018). This stereotyping is even more prevalent in Hollywood films showing Africa to be entirely unstable and unsafe. The speaker’s experience made me realize that the society we live in is entirely ignorant of some facts. Linking one weakness or undoing a nation should not make it be assumed that nothing good can ever come out of that place. The speaker also made me realize that apart from being simply ignorant and stereotypical, the so-called third-world countries provide substantial raw materials to the rest of the world. If this region of the world is infested with diseases, war, and terror, it would be incapable of excelling in trade. As such, it suffices to posit that the speaker’s experience has been an eye-opener to me.

What 5 theories or course concepts help you to understand your experience?

The tripartite model of personal identity emphasizes that all persons, regardless of their background, are different in their way and unique (Constantine, 2005). This model helped my understanding that given that we are all unique and diverse in our culture, identity, and nationality, there is a need to be accommodative of all persons and avoid stereotyping. Another concept that bolstered my comprehension of the speaker’s experience is identity development, which talks about acceptance, tolerance, and accepting other persons as they are. Furthermore, the racial/ cultural identity model tremendously made me understand why the speaker, when growing up, thought that the Western culture was superior to hers from interactions with the literature from the West. Another concept that bolstered my understanding of this speaker’s experience is multiracial identity development, which talks of being aware of the racial divides and understanding that we should be accommodative of diverse cultures and not be the judgmental and biased race over which other people come from. Lastly, European American racial identity talks of the Europeans and how they are unaware of racism because they do not bear the brunt of racism. It explains why the speaker’s speech highlights this ignorance that makes the Europeans biased towards other persons of color due to their ignorance.

What have you learned from the experience?

From the speaker’s experience, I have learned that in human society, especially the Western world, the notion of cultural superiority is widespread, whereby people believe that their culture is way superior to that of others. As such, the West’s assumptions about the persons from the ‘third-world countries’ are essentially misplaced in that they are racial in every way. With this in mind, it suffices to posit that we should not be discriminatory and biased towards other people, regardless of their culture, and refrain from making preposterous claims about them, largely from ignorance.

How might you move forward from this point?

Henceforth, I will strive to be cautious of what I speak about to other persons, especially when it comes to matters pertaining to their cultures from a biased perspective. Furthermore, I would ensure that I refrain from making derogatory assumptions and advise friends and colleagues to fall into stereotyping.

How might the experience affect your thinking and practice?

From the speaker’s experience, I have gained insight into how stereotyping a culture, people, and nations would be detrimental to fostering cohesion and mutual respect across the cultural and racial divide, should be promoted. I would constantly enlighten my colleagues and friends about some of the common stereotypes that we engage in. Mio (2012) asserts that there should be cultural cohesion to bolster peace and unity. With this in mind, it suffices to say that this experience would guarantee that my future relations with diverse people are from an informed perspective.

How can you apply these new ideas in the future?

In the coming future, I would ensure that I create forums where I enlighten friends and family within the confines of the society where I speak to them concerning the adverse repercussions of stereotyping and assumptions about other cultures that they deem as lesser.

Identify three opportunities for future growth or engagement

This speech would open avenues for me as a motivational speaker, keen on speaking to society about some of the issues that promote bias and racism, such as stereotypes. Also, I would use this speech to form online groups to sensitize the public in the online community concerning matters of common assumptions that create racial barriers. Lastly, this experience would bolster my desire to join the political arena, where I would be part of the policymakers to help ameliorate this situation, escalating friction and animosity amongst nations and cultures.

References

Constantine, M. G., & Sue, D. W. (2005). Strategies for building multicultural competence in
Mental health and educational settings. Wiley & Sons

Kelland, Z., & Sanchez, E. (2018). Debunking 15 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Africa. Retrieved 5 June 2021, https://bit.ly/3pmjgZK

Mio, J. S., Barker, L. A., & Tumambing, J. S. (2012). Multicultural psychology: Understanding our diverse communities. Oxford University Press.

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Assignment: Self Reflection

enlightened. For this assignment, you will write a reflection paper on one of the following TED talks. In the Self Reflection assignment, examine the effect of course material on your assumptions and knowledge about the role of culture or your everyday interactions with others from a different culture, religion, or socio-economic group. While the reflection is subjective, the paper should integrate your experience and the course readings.

A Keen Gaze on Adichies -The Danger of a Single Story

Adichie, C. (2009, July). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Pariser, E. (2011, March). Eli Pariser: Beware online “filter bubbles” [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles

Rosling, H. & Rosling, O. (2014, June). Hans Rosling and Ola Rosling: How not to be ignorant about the world [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_and_ola_rosling_how_not_to_be_ignorant_about_the_world

Association for Psychological Science. (2015, January 29). Transgender kids show consistent gender identity across measures. Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/transgender-kids-show-consistent-gender-identity-across-measures.html

After referring to the TED talk, I will respond to the following questions.

What does the speaker’s experience mean to you?

What 5 theories or course concepts help you to understand your experience?

What you have learned from the experience?

How might you move forward from this point?

How might the experience affect your thinking and practice?

How can you apply these new ideas in the future?

Identify 3 opportunities for future growth or engagement.

The reflection paper should be formatted in APA style and include 3 scholarly references.