Information AboutEurocentrism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EUROCENTRISM | |
| sociology | |
| ethnocentrism | |
| prejudices | |
| political neologisms | |
| eurocentrismsociology | |
| ethnocentrism | |
| prejudices | |
| political neologisms | |
| eurocentrism | |
| ethnocentrism | |
|
Eurocentrism is an instance of Ethnocentrism , perhaps especially relevant because of its alignment with current and past real power structures in the world. It can be a less overt form of White Supremacy . Eurocentrism often involved claiming cultures that were not white or European as being such, or denying their existence at all. The source of a cultural tradition can be seen in the balance of emphasis given to various thinkers and ideas in discussing a subject. In the 1960 s a reaction against the priority given to a Canon of " Dead White European Males " provided a slogan which neatly sums up the charge of eurocentrism (alongside other important -centrisms). In Britain, eurocentric or '''eurocentrist''' may occasionally be used in political discourse to mean Europhile . EXAMPLES OF PURPORTED EUROCENTRISM
ORIGINS Assumptions of European Superiority arose during the period of European Imperialism , which started slowly in the 16th Century , accelerated in the 17th and 18th centuries and reached its zenith in the 19th Century . The progressive character of European culture was contrasted with traditional hunting, farming and herding societies in many of the areas of the world being newly explored by Europeans, such as The Americas , most of Africa , and later the Pacific and Australasia . Even the complex civilizations of the Islamic World , India , China and Japan were considered to be underdeveloped relative to Europe, and were often characterised as static. For many European writers of this time the history of Europe became paradigmatic for the rest of the world. Other cultures were identified as having reached a stage through which Europe itself had already passed – primitive Hunter-gatherer ; Farming ; early Civilization ; Feudalism ; modern liberal-capitalism. Only Europe had achieved the last stage. It was thus thought to be uniquely responsible for the scientific, technological and cultural achievements that constitute the Modern World . Furthermore, scientific models for understanding the world were deemed to have replaced religious or speculative accounts. The extent to which science itself can be considered to be specifically "European" still debated. For some writers, such as and other forms of political and economic exploitation, even being used to validate Genocide . The colonising period involved the widespread settlement of parts of the Americas and Australasia with European people, and also the establishment of outposts and colonial administrations in parts of Asia and Africa . As a result, the majority populations of the Americas, Australia and New Zealand typically trace their ancestry to Europe. For this reason a Europe-centered history may be taught in such countries, even though their populations are now far removed from Europe itself, but have nevertheless been brought up into what may be regarded as mainly European cultural traditions. CHALLENGING EUROCENTRIC MODELS During the same period that European writers were claiming paradigmatic status for their own history, European scholars were also beginning to develop a knowledge of the histories and cultures of other peoples. In some cases the locally established histories were accepted, in other cases new models were developed, such as the Aryan Invasion Theory of the origin of Vedic culture in India, which has been criticised for having at one time been modelled in such a way as to support claims for European superiority. At the same time the intellectual traditions of Eastern cultures were becoming more widely known in the West, mediated by figures such as Rabindranath Tagore . By the early 20th century some historians such as Arnold J. Toynbee were attempting to construct multi-focal models of world civilizations. Toynbee also drew attention in Europe to non-European historians such as the medieval Tunisian scholar Ibn Khaldun . He also established links with Asian thinkers, for example through his dialogues with Daisaku Ikeda of Soka Gakkai International . At the same time, non-European historians were involved in complex engagements with European models of history as contrasted with their own traditions. Historical models centering on China, Japan, India and other nations existed within those cultures, which to varying degrees maintained their own cultural traditions, though countries that were directly controlled by European powers were more affected by eurocentric models than were others. Thus Japan absorbed Western ideas while maintaining its own cultural identity, while India under British rule was subjected to a highly Anglocentric model of history and culture. Even in the nineteenth century anti-colonial movements had developed claims about national traditions and values that were set against those of Europe. In some cases, as with China, local cultural values and traditions were so powerful that Westernisation did not overwhelm long-established Chinese attitudes to its own cultural centrality. In contrast, countries such as Australia defined their nationhood entirely in terms of an overseas extension of European history. It was, until recently, thought to have had no history or serious culture before colonization. The history of the native inhabitants was subsumed by the Western disciplines of Ethnology and Archaeology . In central and South America a merger of immigrant and native histories was constructed. Nationalist movements appropriated the history of native civilizations such as the Mayans and Incas to construct models of cultural identity that claimed a fusion between immigrant and native identity. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|