Cultural Appropriation Without Cultural Essentialism?

Social Theory and Practice 42 (2):343-366 (2016)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Is there something morally wrong with cultural appropriation in the arts? I argue that the little philosophical work on this topic has been overly dismissive of moral objections to cultural appropriation. Nevertheless, I argue that philosophers working on epistemic injustice have developed powerful conceptual tools that can aid in our understanding of objections that have been levied by other scholars and artists. I then consider the relationship between these objections and the harms of cultural essentialism. I argue that focusing on the systematic nature of appropriative harms may allow us to sidestep the problem of essentialism, but not without cost.

Author's Profile

Erich Hatala Matthes
Wellesley College

Analytics

Added to PP
2015-10-08

Downloads
3,988 (#1,379)

6 months
523 (#2,415)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?