Literacy and Cultural Authenticity

-The following entry is written as a response to the week's provocations/questions provided by K. Kenny-

(K. Kenny)

My first question that I would like to put to you is how do we know when a book is culturally authentic? Susan Guevara (2003) argues that an authentic work is one that feels "alive" and it is something that cultural authenticity is related to the way the reader interacts with the books. She states, "What is cultural authenticity? I believe if we look to what rings true for each of us as individuals; if we look to what we see ring true for our students and colleagues, this is a good guideline" (Guevara, p.59). It is that feeling of trueness for the reader that is important. Seeing an affirmation of ones lived experience is a way to judge cultural authenticity.

Check out this blog by someone serving on the Children’s Literature Assembly for the National Council of Teachers of English Committee for Notables Books in English Language Arts.

http://wowlit.org/blog/2009/09/21/culturally-authentic-fairy-tales/

What happens when you believe that a work is culturally authentic? If you are coming from an outside culture, and have no firsthand knowledge of a culture are you able to feel that "trueness?" What if that story contains stereotypes that you are unaware of?

Is "cultural authenticity" defined subjectively? I asked this question because while the idea of culture can be defined in a collective sense, the experiences within can be personal and be very subjective.  When Guevara (2003) states that authenticity of literature and arts lies in its ability to provoke the feeling of "aliveness", "emotional intuitive connection" and an "affirmation of...existence" (p. 57-58), I feel that these are or can be very subjectively defined.  When I read Rohinton Mistry's (1995) A Fine Balance, I can confidently say that I felt these features but I cannot confidently admit that from here I now know enough about the Indian culture.  If I had read more of his work or other stories of the same genre would it change this?  Will it equip me with more information about the culture to warrant that I can say that it is authentic enough?  

It is a challenge for me to claim a written or an art piece to be culturally authentic and I question the existence of review panels (one that is referenced in your provocation and by Alison from NV library).  As I've asked previously, does the question of cultural authenticity a safety/protective/or corrective measure which makes sure that cultural ideas/traditions/beliefs are expressed/portrayed in a politically correct way so not to "offend" those in the culture or others in general?  A line in your provocation also speaks to this questioning, "no matter how imaginative and how well written a story is, it should be rejected if it seriously violates the integrity of a culture”. I wonder if this is more directed to an "outsider" writing about a particular culture or of an "insider" who is expressing their own experience of their culture.  I see the merits of the statement presented but would it be fair to silence ones thoughts and experiences, especially if it is that of an "insider", because it challenges the culture's integrity?  Or is the focus or the analysis of cultural authenticity simply a way for observers or readers (insiders or outsiders of a culture) to critically think about what they are reading or seeing so that they don't become victims of the dangers of a "single story" (Adichie, 2009)?  Short and Fox (2003) seems to affirm this when they say that, “the discussions [of cultural authenticity] invite the field into new conversations and questions about cultural authenticity instead of continuing to repeat old conversations” (p. 22).  Is the idea then to create and encourage critical thinkers and readers so that they are open “to other points of view” and promote “democracy” and “social justice” (Short and Fox, 2003, p. 23)?

(K. Kenny)

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Many of you have watched the video, The Danger of a Single Story but please take another look, and think in terms of cultural authenticity. She tells of the fact that a professor tells her that her novel is not 'authentically African' because the characters do not behave in a way that he is used to. He had a stereotyped view of Africa and her story did not fit that view. His was a single story.

At the library it was talked about when we see stereotyped images in books, such as a Mexican person wearing a poncho, and why was it not okay to have books with these images in it if that culture really does wear that cultural dress. I keep coming back to this idea of a single story. In our libraries we have so few books with Spanish, French, Italian, Mexican, Inuit, etc, etc people depicted. In the ones that we do see often the people are depicted a certain way. Thus we gain a single story of an entire culture.

Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.

Thoughts?

In your first question/provocation, I ended my response by asking whether questioning “cultural authenticity” is something that will perhaps, diminish or prevent the “danger(s) of a single story” (Adichie, 2009) – I think it is more relevant to ask that question in this discussion.  Upon watching the clip and reviewing the readings, particularly Aronson’s (2003) A mess of stories, I think about some possible ideas he presents to answer my question:

if we take away the false certitudes of ethnic essentialism, if we are honest, rigorous, and thorough enough to look deeply at peoples myths and ways of life around the world, we will find….We have a mess of stories and then we write our own

….

we must be rigorous, attuned to the complexity of cultures, willing to recognize the limitations of our own points of view (p. 82)

Within the complexities are the stories that Adichie (2009) challenges us to tell and listen to:

people…are eager to tell…many stories.  Stories matter.  Many stories matter.  Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign.  But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.  Stories can break the dignity of a people.  But stories can also repair that broken dignity.

Does the question then change to not necessarily defining what is culturally authentic within one or each story but how (true) authenticity lies in the relationships/connections we have with the “many stories” or "mess of stories" (Aronson, 2003) that people of the world have as a whole?

Some other questions to consider:

~do we only question cultural authenticity in literacy (or even in art) or are we more provoked to respond and critically analyse cultural authenticity when it portrays an idea or image that might pigeonhole or stereotype a group of individual?

~is the attempt for literacy material to be culturally authentic the same as to be politically correct so that it avoids potentially “offending” someone or some groups?

~is the definition of culture authenticity a subjective one?

~who defines cultural authenticity - person/people from the particular culture portrayed in the literature?

~in order to prove the author or artist's claim for authenticity does s/he have to be subjected to questions on the validity of their cultural background?

References:

Adichie, C.  (2009, October).  The danger of a single story [Video file].  Retrived from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Fox, D., & Short, K.  (Eds.).  (2003).  Stories matter: the complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature.  Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.


Mistry, R.  (1995).  A fine balance.  Toronto, ON: McLelland & Stewart Ltd.