"Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be especially controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures."
This subfield deals with the moral implications of cultural appropriation, including the exploitation of cultural knowledge by dominant cultures, and the risks of cultural genocide.
Cultural Appropriation: The act of taking elements or symbols from one culture and using them in another culture without permission or understanding the cultural significance.
Cultural Competence: The ability to understand and respond to the cultural beliefs and practices of others. It includes an understanding of one's own cultural identity and how it affects interactions with people from different backgrounds.
Social Justice: The fair and equal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges within society. This includes addressing systemic inequality and discrimination.
Multiculturalism: The coexistence of different cultural groups in one society. It involves recognizing and valuing diverse cultural practices and traditions.
Intersectionality: The interconnectedness of social identities such as race, gender, sexuality, and class. It acknowledges that individuals experience oppression and privilege in different ways depending on their intersectional identities.
Power Dynamics: The power imbalances that exist between different social groups, and how these imbalances affect interactions and relationships.
Colonialism: The practice of dominating and exploiting the resources and cultures of other nations or peoples. It has long-lasting impacts on the culture, history, and identity of colonized peoples.
Stereotypes: Generalized beliefs or assumptions about a particular group of people. They can be harmful and perpetuate inequality and discrimination.
Respect and Tolerance: The attitudes and behaviors necessary for understanding and respecting other cultures and perspectives. It involves recognizing and valuing diversity and avoiding judgment or criticism.
Appropriation vs. Appreciation: The difference between respectfully and ethically engaging with other cultures and appropriating or exploiting them. It involves understanding the cultural context and significance of the symbols or practices being used.
Utilitarianism: An Ethical theory that focuses on maximizing the overall happiness or utility of society as a whole. In the context of cultural appropriation, utilitarianism would prioritize the cultural benefits gained from cross-cultural exchange over the potential harms experienced by the source culture.
Deontology: A moral theory that emphasizes adherence to moral rules or duties. In the context of cultural appropriation, deontologists may argue that certain cultural practices are intrinsically valuable and that borrowing or stealing them is a violation of the source culture's autonomy.
Cultural Relativism: An Ethical theory that argues that moral truths are relative to a particular culture or society. In the context of cultural appropriation, cultural relativists may question whether it is possible for one culture to appropriate another's practices without imposing their own values and norms.
Feminist Ethics: A moral theory that emphasizes the importance of ethical care, empathy, and relationality. In the context of cultural appropriation, feminist Ethicists may argue that cultural appropriation perpetuates harmful power dynamics and undermines the voices and agency of marginalized communities.
Virtue Ethics: An ethical theory that emphasizes the development of virtuous character traits such as compassion, kindness, and integrity. In the context of cultural appropriation, Virtue Ethicists may stress the importance of building respectful and empathetic relationships across cultural divides, rather than simply taking what one wants without regard for others.
"Cultural appropriation differs from acculturation, assimilation, or equal cultural exchange in that this appropriation is a form of colonialism."
"Cultural appropriation is considered harmful by various groups and individuals, including Indigenous people working for cultural preservation, those who advocate for collective intellectual property rights of the originating, minority cultures, and those who have lived or are living under colonial rule."
"Cultural appropriation can include exploitation of another culture's religious and cultural traditions, dance steps, fashion, symbols, language, and music."
"Those who see this appropriation as exploitative state that cultural elements are lost or distorted when they are removed from their originating cultural contexts, and that such displays are disrespectful or even a form of desecration."
"The imitator, 'who does not experience that oppression is able to 'play', temporarily, an 'exotic' other, without experiencing any of the daily discriminations faced by other cultures'."
"The 'fetishising' of cultures, in fact, alienates those whose culture is being appropriated."
"Critics note that the concept is often misunderstood or misapplied by the general public, and that charges of 'cultural appropriation' are at times misapplied to situations such as trying food from a different culture or learning about different cultures."
"Others state that the act of cultural appropriation as it is usually defined does not meaningfully constitute social harm, or the term lacks conceptual coherence."
"Additionally, the term can set arbitrary limits on intellectual freedom, artists' self-expression..."
"Furthermore, the term can reinforce group divisions, or promote a feeling of enmity or grievance rather than of liberation." Note: As the paragraph does not contain 20 distinct study questions, some questions may require additional reflection or expanding upon the given information.