Kristin Christoffersen Essays (224 words) - Igbo People, Ethnicity

Kristin Christoffersen Honors English pd 1 9/27/14 Ethnocentrism paper Ethnocentrism is based on the on the belief that your culture is the best; therefore it causes one group to stereotype another group. Ken Barger , an anthropologist with Indiana University, explains that it is "Judging other groups as inferiors to one's own," ( Barger 1). As a result, a person will often judge someone based on their background or ethnicity without actually knowing the individual. People are ethnocentric and do not realize it. Barger goes on to insist, "Everyone is ethnocentric, and there is no way not to be ethnocentric it cannot be avoided" Barger 1). Since we can't avoid it, we most be aware of it. Our beliefs an ethnocentrism comes from what we experience everyday, and what we learn growing up. Being ethnocentric can affect the way you think of a person. Chimamanda Adichie shares her story of being a victim of ethnocentrism and also being a culprit of ethnocentrism, "All I had heard of them was how poor they were, so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor," ( Adichie 1). With only hearing one side of a story all Adicihie knew was what she thought to be true and she judged them based on her beliefs.