Watch this TED talk by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. What was something that struck you about Ms. Ngozi Adiche's lecture? What is an aspect of the single story we have of Africa that you think we, as travelers, should be especially aware of?
Something that surprised me in Ms. Ngozi Adiche's lecture, was that as a child she only read Western novels as African books were not easily found. I thought since she grew up in Nigeria she would have easy access to African literature. As travelers, we should keep in mind that Africans are not poor destitute people, but a people who are hardworking and trying to better their standard of living.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that surprised me was that power is associated with the single story and that countries that are regarded as more powerful have more of a single story of countries that are regarded as less powerful. I think that we tend to think of Africa as a very poor continent with a lot of disease but not every place is like that and not everyone is poor. As travelers we should just remember that not all stereotypes are true.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by Ms. Adiche's experiences when faced with stereotypes about her heritage. Not only did she seem in control when recounting them but her responses to misconceptions about African culture were respectful as well as powerful. For example her response to the student that generalized Nigerian men as wife beaters was cunning when she stated a generalization that all American men are serial killers. She handles the stereotypes well because of her own experience when she followed the "single story" during her trip to Mexico. It is easy to follow a general misconception if that is all the knowledge taught about that culture. For example, as Garrett stated even though large generalizations about Africa may seem to be general knowledge, as travelers we should keep a greater perspective. The "single story" may seem accurate but until you know first hand of its authenticity we as travelers cannot make such general statements.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Garrett, Maddy, and Georgia. During Awareness Day, we are shown films of starving and dying children in Africa, and then showed the food that they are supplied to eat (by a French organization, nonetheless). I think that that image is drummed into our minds, that a strong white community must help Africa. Not just a family or child, but a whole continent. I didn't realize how much we are impacted by the single story. Just as well, Ms. Adiche mentions how she never really grew up knowing a true single story of America. Why is it that our country doesn't have one? If we see Africa, a huge continent, as one thing, how are we seen as many? Why is it that we call the French unfriendly or the English proper? I, for one, have heard single stories about Americans, and I've lived in the same city for my whole life. The single story holds sway over how we see the world: in general statements and stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the words she used to describe herself. She says that other authors wrote about girls like her, "Girls with skin the color of chocolate who's kinky hair could not form pony tails, could also exist in literature." I also liked the story about the boy who lived with her. She talked about how her mother told her that his family was extremely poor right in front of him. In her mind, a poor family could have no valuable skills, but that boys family changed her view. I agree with Georgia that it is extremely easy to assume something about a group of people when that is all you know. Even I assume that all of Africa is a place where everyone is poor, sick, doesn't have a good education and doesn't have access to water. Of course there are industrialized cities and malls and a large consumer culture, but it's not the first thing i think of.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I found surprising that Ms. Adiche said was that when she was growing up, she didn't think that there were stories that had characters like her, for example resembling her skin. She was growing up reading western and British books, and automatically thought that all books were like the ones she was reading. She grew up sheltered from reading about her own culture. But she explained that when she found African books she had a whole new view on literature, and that it "saved her from having a single story of what books are". As travelers I think we should be aware of the fact that everyone has their own story and that some of the stereotypes that are made are not true.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting about the lecture is that Ms. Adiche was able to come to the conclusion that not only are people like her American roommate prone to making judgments based on a "single story," but that she has also judged people and places based on the single stories she has heard about them. We just have to be aware that the learning will go both ways when we travel, and we have to keep in mind that we have a "single story" we have heard about Africa, and to not come off as the “well-meaning” but “patronizing” Americans Ms. Adiche described.
ReplyDeleteSomething that struck me in Ms. Ngozi Adiche's lecture was that so many people in her experience alone make assumptions about an entire culture based on one novel. I was really inspired when she said that a single story does not make up something or someone, rather many stories and you cannot know a person or thing based on just a single story. I agree with Garrett in that as travelers we need to keep in mind that Africans are hard-working people just like us, who work, sleep, eat, read, etc. They do just as much as us and we shouldn't believe otherwise simply because one person said they do.
ReplyDeleteSomething that struck me re-watching Adiche's lecture was the fact that she had a taste of Western Life prior to her first visit to America. Adiche had a plan at such a young age without a lot of background. All of the information she consumed was from the number of books that she read. As travelers I think that we should be aware that what the media portrays of Modern Africa and what we think of Africa today isn't going to be the same. We should also realize that barriers of stereotypes have been broken by people like Adiche.
ReplyDeleteIt surprised me how beautifully articulate she was. This in itself is a "single story." The fact that I automatically thought that she wouldn't be fluent in English further proves her main point of Americans' tendencies to generalize African life. Something that I found eye opening but not necessarily shocking was when she recalled her experience on a plane and an American flight attendant referred to Africa as a country. This displays the unfortunate ignorance that we obtain as Americans in regard to Africa as a whole. We believe that because we live in America, that gives us a free pass to create "general statements and stereotypes," as Miranda puts it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with basically everyone here, and I think Georgia's point is really strong which was how well she dealt with the stereotypes formed from the single story. She was able to realize and understand why her roommate thought the things she thought, just as she did about Mexico and her family friend. I think what stroke me most was how right she was about how influenced we are by the single story, just like Miranda was saying. And just like everyone, I think we need to go into Kenya with no ideas before hand so that we can get the most out of the experience and then we will be able to come out of it with actual ideas and real images, rather than just a single story we had been told.
ReplyDeleteI think Adiche's lecture was very interesting. I agree with Chris I think it's really interesting that she had influences of Western Culture before coming to America. Hearing this speech makes me more aware about the common generalizations that everyone is guilty of making sometimes. For example when she was talking about her roommate and how she had pitied Adiche it reminded me that when we travel outside of America we need to keep an open mind to other cultures and not have preconceived ideas of cultures. I also like that Adiche pointed herself out as being guilty of making generalizations about Mexicans proving that everyone is capable of making accusations and it doesn't make them a bad person it just proves the point that you shouldn't generalize or stereotype certain countries based on what you've heard about them.
ReplyDeleteI can not help but to agree with most of the people here. I think the thing that I took away most in this video, is simply her perspective on life in the global sense. Especially in the beginning, when talking about her first interactions with foreign children books, and seeing the reoccurring traits of blonde hair and blue eyes, and an overall appearance very different form those and who she grew up with. Even the dialogue they had were different. I guess the main thing that strikes me from this is how differently we've been raised. Because I've been raised with educators who tell me that we are all equal. And I know that in the society I grew up in, it would be impossible to make the generalizations that she made when she grew up. This then sets up the thing we should be most aware of. Like in all situations, one has to be careful when making generalizations. Especially since we are foreigners entering into a country we have no experience assimilating with, it is just insulting to enter a separate culture and assume you can generalize about any person in there.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that surprised me is how much I relate to what she despises. My view of Africa as a continent is entirely based off of single stories. My knowledge of African history only goes as far back as the slave trade and colonization. I know nothing about the pre colonized continent of Africa. My knowledge is instead only of sporadic intervals in time: the arrival of westerners in West Africa, the first man to sail past the Cape of Good Hope, Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. As an American I have a very narrow view of Africa as a continent, and I believe it's fair to see that many other Americans have a similar view. Just as she said, I too have heard countless people refer to Africa as a country rather than a continent. I look forward too learning more about Kenya in this course so that I head into this trip feeling much less ignorant than I do now.
ReplyDeleteThe most compelling example of a single story that I believe many individuals in America have been subject to is one of the desperate Africa. A continent of violence, disease and perpetual poverty. While places such as this obviously do exist in some regions, Africa is also a place of multifarious development. We seem to fall victims to the single story when we subconsciously make the assumption that the issues in Africa discussed by our media are representative of the entire area. Africa then becomes the poster boy for third world countries and therefore carries all the negative connotations and misconceptions inherent with that tittle. The next logical perception would be that Africa is in dire need of aid. And who better than the privileged people of America to provide said help? I believe that it is then possible to adopt an air of superiority, one in which you become absorbed in the goodness you emanate since the role you play is of the rescuer. This parallels the comment Mr. Clarke made in class which is that we should not view ourselves as the white Park Slopians there to instill civilization back into Kenya (that is not a direct quote). This view is detrimental because it may cause us to deviate from the course that we pursue since it becomes about us and therefore alter the ends of our trip.
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