Discussion: Cultural Borders and the Single Story

Discussion: Cultural Borders and the Single Story

For our TED discussion this week, I want us to watch one of my favorite talks by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This talk is pretty widely seen, so you may have even watched it before. This TED talk doesn’t necessarily clearly define cultural borders, but it does speak to culture and the way we view each other and can help us define cultural borders.

After watching the following TED Talk by Adichie, please answer the following questions:

  1. Write down one definition of Adichie’s concept of a “single story.” What is a single story of someone?
  2. Describe one time when you had a single story of another person? What happened? How did it affect your relationship with that person?
  3. Describe on time someone else had a single story of you? How did you know? How do you think their treatment of you was affected by this single story?
  4. What was your biggest takeaway or AHA moment from this Talk?
  5. Now that you have a better idea about what a cultural border is from the journal entry and the TED this week, tell us about one cultural border you cross in your life (remember this is not a physical border, but rather a change is a cultural aspect). Please describe the way you cross this border and what each side of the border looks like.

“The Danger of a Single Story” | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(Transcript of Adichie’s Talk: Adichie_Chimamanda_The Danger of a Single Story.pdfPreview the document)Links to an external site.

blob:https://embed.ted.com/ea5ae65d-df5a-4c48-af90-f1aecc2bdb3e

  Requirements:

  • Your initial response should be 150-300 words per question.

Answer preview:

word limit:900