Single Stories
Submit a 1- to 2-page critical reflection on what you learned from your classmates’ discussion posts and whether you could relate on any level to their writings. Specifically:
What assumptions did you make earlier in the course about your classmates, and based on what? To what extent have those “single stories” broadened or changed with new information?
What shook or challenged you in the revised introductions? Why?
Whose experience did you most identify with? Whose experience did you not identify with, and why?
Do you think your classmates view you as belonging to the same group (dominant or subordinate) as you have assigned yourself? Why or why not?
Review all Learning Resources assigned for this week. Pay close attention to the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie video, The Danger of a Single Story.
Review your classmates’ posts on this week’s Discussion board. Consider your reactions to your classmates and with whom you identified.
Resources:
Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The danger of a single storyLinks to an external site. [Video]. TED. https://www(dot)ted(dot)com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
Week 3: Cultural Humility & Diversity
Student’s Name
College/University
Course
Professor’s Name
Due Date
I made several assumptions earlier in the course about my classmates concerning their families’ socioeconomic status. I was naïve to let the concept of perceived status control most of my interactions with classmates. I assumed some of my classmates came from poor social backgrounds because of their seemingly “low-status” behaviors, including submissive posture and verbal messages of compliance, acceptance, and agreement. In this vein, my classmates demonstrated many negative activities like taking a passive role in group work, avoiding offering insights during classroom engagements and portraying less confrontational mannerisms. In this vein, I was trapped in the negative influences of a “single story” that led to the misunderstanding or lack of sound information concerning my classmates’ status in the community (Nieto & Boyer, 2006). In this vein, my assumptions were subconsciously based on malicious intent to suppress other groups of people because of prejudice.
The “single stories” have changed with new information because I have learned to avoid making assumptions and generalizations about groups of individuals. After listening to Adichie’s story, I understood why people make generalizations. Reflecting on her childhood, she recollects how her college roommate held a misleading position of “well-meaning pity” towards her because of the prejudice that people from Africa are from poor and struggling backgrounds. Adichie also faulted herself for being influenced by the “single story” trap made wrong assumptions about others. In this vein, I have learned not to operate from the single-story perspective unconsciously solely. The risk of one perspective, or the single story, is t...