Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism, coined by William Graham Sumner, is the viewpoint that one's ethnic group is superior to others and its cultural norms are universal. Within this ideology, an individual will judge other groups in relation to his own particular culture, especially with concern to language, behaviour, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to carve out each ethnicity's unique cultural identity.
A paradigm of the academic community in the United States, particularily among anthropologists, is that enthnocentrism adversely affects one's understanding and assessment of culture, and should therefore always be avoided. However, the extent to which education can engage enthnocentrism is debated, because education by definition is a cultural construct. Moreover, many anthropologists contend that almost every opinion and insight held by an individual is influenced by their culture, hence ethnocentrism cannot always be avoided.
In general, however, anthropologists and socialogists attempt to remove their unique cultural lens when studying culture, and express a loyalty to the academic tenet of cultural relativism. This theory is illustrated by anthropologist Phillippe Bourgois: "cultures are neither good nor bad; they simply are historical constructs which have an internal logic."
In the modern world, a global economy has resulted in a great increase in inter-cultural contact. Technological advances in communication have progressively overcome previous obstacles to communication - physical obstacles that once helped to keep ethnic distinctions distinct. Ethnic lines still exist, and co-exist, and cultures of the world often find that their central concern, that of maintaining an identity despite rapid transculturation, or a merging between cultures, is still possible. Ethnocentric ideology still exists throughout the world, however, and influences group policy and diplomacy between cultures - often resulting in war, genocide, or slavery. More often than not, the underlying cause of conflict between nations, enthnic groups, or cultures is ethnocentrism. There are many current and historical examples of this, such as African Slavery, the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, and the current conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland.
The reasons for maintaining an ethnicity are often personal, and relate to the cohesion of familiar personal and social elements - in other words, attachment or accustoment. We all are born into a human culture, and it is the culture that shapes our self-awareness and understanding of other individuals. It also reflects, depending on the cultural teaching, customs or patterns of behaviour in relating to other cultures. This behaviour can range from universal acceptance or feelings of inferiority compared with other cultures, to racism, which many consider an aspect of xenophobia.
Some examples of ethnocentric behaviours are represented by such social phenomena as economic isolationism, counter-cultures, anti-establishmentism, and widespread social patterns of interpersonal abusive behaviours as ostracization, prejudice, and discrimination.
Examples of Ethnocentrism
- Afrocentrism
- Americentrism
- Anglocentrism
- Germanocentrism
- Judeocentrism
- Eurocentrism