Moving From Cultural Appropriation to Cultural Appreciation – Hsiao-Cheng (Sandrine) Han
I think it’s important to distinguish cultural appreciation from appropriation because I get this confused and so do my peers.
Teaching cultural appropriation might be hard for me because I often don’t know where I stand, and feelings of discomfort that arise when I observe something that could potentially be cultural appropriation, or even observe myself engaging in appropriation. Especially in terms of capitalism, such as buying goods from a local artisan, am I able to respectfully wear or use the object in public? And is that dependent on where I go?
This article sort of illuminates the lightbulb. I wonder how my students would speak about appropriation, and if I could facilitate a critical discussion. After reading the article, I looked up an appropriation quiz that students could take (which was also uncomfortable to take, so I stopped mid-way.)
Question: When students make fun of their own culture, what does that do?
