Mod 12 Danger of a Single Story (Adichie)

Question 1

“I recently spoke at a university where a student told me that it was such a shame that Nigerian men were physical abusers like the father character in my novel. I told him that I had just read a novel called “American Psycho” – – and that it was such a shame that young Americans were serial murderers. Now, obviously I said this in a fit of mild irritation. But it would never have occurred to me to think that just because I had read a novel in which a character was a serial killer that he was somehow representative of all Americans. This is not because I am a better person than that student, but because of America’s cultural and economic power, I had many stories of America. I had read Tyler and Updike and Steinbeck and Gaitskill. I did not have a single story of America.”

Who speaks for all autistic people?

(Select all that apply)

No one speaks for every autistic person.
Only each individual can speak for themselves.
Only scholars understand the needs of autistic people.
Only autistic scholars understand the needs of all autistic people.

Answer 1

No one speaks for every autistic person.
Only each individual can speak for themselves.

Question 2

When we speak of people or cultures that are different from our own, we must be very careful not to fall into stereotypes and not focus on what?

negatives
positives
good things
everything

Answer 2

negatives

Question 3

The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are ________. They make one story become the only story.

Answer 3

incomplete

Question 4

I’ve always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of __________. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.

Answer 4

dignity

Question 5

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. When trying to understand the needs of a population, how many voices should we consider?

multiple
one
any number as long as they are peer reviewed
any number as long as they are autistic

Answer 5

multiple