Indiv. In Society
LMHS
Spring 2008
Montaigne
Culture and Subcultures: Ethnocentrism
Your textbook defines ethnocentrism as judging others by one’s own
cultural standards. You’re informed that it has both advantages and
disadvantages. This seems simple enough, but there are two areas of
confusion.
Like culture and civilization, the way sociologists use the term
ethnocentrism is different than, and in this rare case more general than, the
way a layman would use it. To a layman, preferring the behavior of blacks to
that of whites is racism, preferring the behavior of women to that of men is
sexism, preferring the behavior of Southerners to that of Yankees is
regionalism, and preferring the behavior of Christians to that of Jews is
religious bias. Only ethnic preferences (preferring the behavior of Irish over
Italians) might be called ethnocentrism. But to a sociologist, these are all
examples of it. So is the pride and positive feeling one develops for the “ingroup” and the disdain and negative feeling one develops for the “outgroup(s)”.
Another area of confusion concerns the advantages and disadvantages
of an ethnocentric belief. It seems pretty obvious that there could be either.
What’s true, but less apparent, is that there are always both, and that whether
it’s helpful or harmful depends not on the specific ethnocentric belief but the
degree to which it’s taken. A little ethnocentrism can promote stability and
positive self-image with little risk of rigidity and conflict. But a lot of
ethnocentrism can promote hatred and violence with almost no advantage to
compensate.
To make sure you understand these sociological nuances, let’s answer
some questions about ethnocentrism:
1) Saul, a Jewish-American economics student, says, “Of course the
Russian economy is failing. From the Egyptians to the Moors, every
society that lost its Jews went downhill.” In what way is this statement
ethnocentric? In what ways could Saul’s belief benefit him/others? In
what ways could it harm him/others?
2) Susie, a Korean-American World Studies student, says, “I hate it
when people call me Asian! After what the Japanese did to Koreans
and Chinese in the war, I’m offended when people group me together
with them.” In what way is this statement ethnocentric? In what ways
could Susie’s belief benefit her/others? In what ways could it harm
her/others?
3) Mario, an Italian-American sociology student, says, “Most of this
ethnocentrism business is so much b.s. But I know one thing for a
fact: Italians make the best lovers.” In what way is this statement
ethnocentric? In what ways could Mario’s belief benefit him/others?
In what ways could it harm him/others?
4) Alma, an elderly African-American seamstress, tells her greatgranddaughter, “Never trust a white person. The nicest one can turn
into the Devil all of a sudden!” In what way is this statement
ethnocentric? In what ways could Alma’s belief benefit her/others? In
what ways could it harm her/others?
5) Mokhtar, an Egyptian-American grandfather, warns his grandson,
“From the picture, I agree that Shoshana’s a beautiful girl. Of course,
take her to the prom. But don’t forget that there’s been trouble
between our people for generations. I don’t want you to get hurt if she
says something in anger about you being Egyptian/Arab/Muslim.” In
what way is this statement ethnocentric? In what ways could
Mokhtar’s belief benefit him/others? In what ways could it harm
him/others?