I think that I can find places where almost all of these things are acceptable and where they're not. And for me, I suspect what may contribute strongly to that line is the sense of "will it bring us together, or will it set us further apart?" Ironically, it's a concept I've possibly appropriated from the Amish, having spent most of my life in "Amish country" (but then, is that appropriation? hmmm).
I think some things, like food, lend themselves to coming together ("I'm trying to make this interesting Moroccan dish, can I get your expertise?") while others require more work - I can't think of a particularly good way, for example, for me to wear the native clothing of most countries without making myself look posturing.
For most things, I think I'd have to decide on an individual basis, depending on how the topic is approached. It's one thing, for example, to experiment with cooking ethnic cuisines, and even to get really good at it, perhaps even become an expert. It's another to pretend expertise, or to somehow equate expertise in a particular food preparation technique with a deep understanding of the culture in which it is developed.
At what point does the acquisition of knowledge about a culture make you less of a foreigner? Is it even possible to ever get beyond "deeply educated expert, and therefore accepted outsider"? At what point does it no longer matter? I think a lot of these things hinge on humility and respect, rather than the actual quantity of knowledge.
Then again, is appropriation a bad thing in all cases? In any case? Again, to what end is the appropriation being used? Will it bring us together, and is that inherently good? I think it's all very fuzzy.
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Date: 2008-09-27 06:26 pm (UTC)I think some things, like food, lend themselves to coming together ("I'm trying to make this interesting Moroccan dish, can I get your expertise?") while others require more work - I can't think of a particularly good way, for example, for me to wear the native clothing of most countries without making myself look posturing.
For most things, I think I'd have to decide on an individual basis, depending on how the topic is approached. It's one thing, for example, to experiment with cooking ethnic cuisines, and even to get really good at it, perhaps even become an expert. It's another to pretend expertise, or to somehow equate expertise in a particular food preparation technique with a deep understanding of the culture in which it is developed.
At what point does the acquisition of knowledge about a culture make you less of a foreigner? Is it even possible to ever get beyond "deeply educated expert, and therefore accepted outsider"? At what point does it no longer matter? I think a lot of these things hinge on humility and respect, rather than the actual quantity of knowledge.
Then again, is appropriation a bad thing in all cases? In any case? Again, to what end is the appropriation being used? Will it bring us together, and is that inherently good? I think it's all very fuzzy.