TED Talks Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

[Igboamaeze]

-----------

You can join Chima on Facebook...

[emj]

Originally Posted by Igboamaeze

-----------

You can join Chima on Facebook...

Eherm, tell ILN to bogoff from dia..just saw him thanking her on FB...


All...buy her books, encourage and support ur own...she is ours....and do ur bit...dont allow anyone to put u down


PS>>....she's way above par value.....above the category someone is proposing there...she's in a class of her own abegy.

[I Love Nigeria]

Big K thank you for highlighting our daughter on the front-page of NVS!

Igboamaeze Thank you as well for Chimamanda's Facebook links.... we should support her through the extolling of her books and spreading her fascinating presentations...

She is brilliant and wondrously gorgeous, all at once!

[I Love Nigeria]

Chimamanda Adichie: Comes to New York City LIVE!



The New Yorker Festival Host: Chimamanda Adichie

Type: Music/Arts - Performance

Network: Global

Date: Friday, October 16, 2009

Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Location: (LE) POISSON ROUGE

Street: 158 BLEECKER STREET ($25)

City/Town: New York, NY

View Map
Google
MapQuest
Microsoft
Yahoo

[Ebe]

She's incredibly well-spoken, infinitely insightful, and infectiously inspirational. What a treasure! I will defintely find a way to work this talk into my syllabus next semester. And I'll start working on inviting this golden voice to our campus. We all would be edified and deeply enriched if she came and gave us a talk.

Thanks, guys, for sharing.

[Ayomide]

Those who can should make it possible for our children to watch this video at home and abroad, repeatedly, so that they too can have bigger dreams and feel proud as Nigerians.

Without a doubt, she is the epitome of the quintessential Nigerian. I’m so totally wowed, totally!

[Ranter]

Now that I have seen all ya comment , lemme go play the video and see how meself feel.










I am speechless and I am not the kind thats easily impressed, I can listen to this woman a whole week and not get bored..

[EezeeBee]

Her ability to express her thoughts is sublime. Hers is the supreme example of what our youth can and should do when given opportunity and an attentive audience. Without being strident, caustic, abrasive and anti- anybody, she captures attention, earns affection and merits adulation.

The message was most palatable to me considering that I already seem to have a reputation here on NVS for rejecting the 'popular' single story in most instances, and thus making 'some' people perennially challenge my input!

[netotse]

i've been in love with her ever since i read 'purple hibiscus' and after 'half of a yellow sun' it became official we're getting married, this babe is beyond good!. . .i cant wait to read 'the thing around our neck'. . .this talk just goes to prove that my love is not in vain!

i'm off to spread the word about this talk o!

[chrisife]

...'stories can also be used to empower...' Nice speech Ms Adichie!

[Gladiator]

An unimpeachable case against the one-dimensional approach of sharing experiences, the telling of stories, and the formation of perceptions; delightfully delivered with impeccable simplicity but with "laser-guided" effectiveness. She effortlessly bypasses one's instinctive critique defences and speaks directly to the soul!

Absolutely wonderful! Bravo!

[Shoko Loko Bangoshe]

Originally Posted by Big-K

The import of the topic - THE DANGER OF SINGLE STORIES - should not be lost on us Nigerians.

We should all individually and corporately fight against stereotyping.

And how do we fight?

We could reject stories that we don't like - but that would be a flawed approach. The problem is that those stories may be true (even if they are sometimes inaccurately or sensationally reported); rejecting them just makes us look defensive.

Or we could try telling our own stories (and diluting the 'single story' effect), as I've advocated here:

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...tories-19.html

Sadly, as I've noted in the article, we seem to spend more time talking about news items de jour (which have a short shelf life and give outsiders very little idea of what is going on in Nigeria), and not enough time 'evangelising' the complete picture of the country.

I think that one major vector for spreading multiple stories about Nigeria will be the Nigerian home video industry. I believe that many African (and black) people already have alternate images of Nigeria; however, I'm not sure if people who live in the West are likely to consume these videos.

But at the end of the day, it really is all down to power; people spend more time getting to you know you (and all your multiple stories) if they perceive that you are powerful (and could be useful to them).

[tengallons]

The funny thing is, by her steady commitment to her calling (writing) and her speaking to the best in humanity, this young woman is doing more for Nigeria than all our apparatchik concerned with information, foreign affairs, rebranding, etc have achieved. Soft power at its best. Walk good Chimamanda.

[Big-K]

Originally Posted by Shoko Loko Bangoshe

And how do we fight?

Fight, yes. You'll notice my comment is not about fighting external stereotypes (i.e the stereotyping of Blacks, Africans, or Nigerians, etc) but the internal ones (Yoruba people are this, fulani people are that).

In fact, maybe start a movement called WASTE (War Against STEreotyping) on NVS, whereby we should call people to order when they generalize, instead of hitting the thank you button. A TOTAL WASTE

[Yetty]

Wow! I am so impressed. What an amazing, intelligent, confident woman. I am so proud of her.

[twumbaah77]

Wow! Very very true Ngozi. I like the part about the retort of Young Americans being serial murderers in response to Nigerian men being abusers. That was funny.

Seriously, you inspire me to be better. Great, thought provoking speech.

[I Love Nigeria]

Shoko Right, Nigeria sure has her share of national challenges. And all of us should contribute in efforts toward solutions. But too often, too many Nigerians are all too worried and too focused on labels and castigation by non-Nigerians... some Nigerians are too quick as well, to parrot definitions of Nigeria and Nigerians ... others, without long term stake in what Nigeria becomes.... No stake in the Nigeria's outcomes.

Too often, some Nigerians seem to think that they need to apologize for being from Nigeria or for being themselves (as if we are any less or worse) than all others... after all, virtues and vices are universal!

Telling Our Own Stories
Written by Shoko's Mixed Bag

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...tories-19.html

One of the defining features of any group of people bound together by a culture is a history which describes the origins, the significant events and the personalities in the lifetime of the culture.

This history is usually implicitly referenced when the members of the culture need to define their identity, since it is a rich source of information on precisely what distinguishes the people from everyone else.

So you would expect that the recording and maintenance of this history would be a crucially important task of the culture. And indeed many cultures have done this since their beginning, whether by oral tradition or written records.

The Benefits In Self-Definition And Self-Assertion
http://adujie-writings.blogspot.com/...-and-self.html
http://adujie-writings.blogspot.com/

In the diplomatic and international relations arena, are we aggressive and awake when issues affecting Nigeria and African arise or are contemplated by non-Nigerians/non-Africans? Are we aggressively pursuing and protecting our national and continental interests? Are we constantly allowing things be what they are by omission and default on our part?

As a man thinketh, so he becomes? Why are so many Nigerians of the belief that present situations are insurmountable and irredeemable? Why do some Nigerians appear to hold the opinion that Nigerian circumstances are so peculiar, so unique and novel, unlike any other, hence defies any human solution that is possible anywhere else? Nigerian challenges are not different or impossible compared with the rest of the world! Our short term and long term interests are not served by bad attitudes!

I have in the past stated my wonder as to why some Nigerians seem to accept all kinds of unsavoury labels accusing us of fraudulence and every crime in the book, as if we are markedly different from the rest of the world, the truth is, we are like everyone else, we produce architect, lawyers, doctors, librarians and computer technology experts like everybody in other countries and occasionally we have negative product and that becomes the focus of our detractors and even some of us; Why?

Nigerians must engage in a soul searching and engage in self-definition anew! We should no longer respond with docility, we should be strident and vehement in our rejection of the negative labels, that others scheme to pin on us because we are the next competition, We should cease saying that we brought it all upon ourselves!

Nigerians Should Desist from telling/or believing single stories about other ethnic groups/regions etc

Those Hausa People! Those Igbo People Those Yoruba People! Etc
http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/ar...ple/Page1.html


Instead booing Nigeria every time all the time Nigerians Should Market Our Foods, Music, Our Culture etc to the world


Amala-Ewedu, Isi-Ewu, Tuwo-Sinkafa & Pounded-Yam Marketing

[Shoko Loko Bangoshe]

Originally Posted by Big-K

Fight, yes. You'll notice my comment is not about fighting external stereotypes (i.e the stereotyping of Blacks, Africans, or Nigerians, etc) but the internal ones (Yoruba people are this, fulani people are that).

Stereotypes (even negative ones) are founded in reality, and they are useful in navigating dealings with people you aren't familiar with. So I don't think they are going to disappear any moment soon.

The problem comes when people insist on rigidly sticking to stereotypes even when there is more accurate information available. Again, I've written about this here:

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...turism-16.html

Some people use stereotypes, not because they intend to malign, but because they genuinely don't know any better. The challenge is to put out enough information about ourselves that such people are better informed about us - and do so in such a way that they aren't discouraged from finding out more (because we appear defensive).

In fact, maybe start a movement called WASTE (War Against STEreotyping) on NVS, whereby we should call people to order when they generalize, instead of hitting the thank you button. A TOTAL WASTE

Come on - if someone stereotyped NVS Administrators as "fair, balanced, liberal, helpful and tolerant of dissenting opinion", I'm sure you wouldn't want them called to order, would you?

[liloldlady]

She's a Gem.

YouTube - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[Johnny]

Ms. Adichie’s speech at Oxford was eloquent and captivating. Any Nigerian or African, who listened to her, would be very proud. However, here's the problem with her "single story" perception. The Western world (the white man) has never respected anyone they felt their descendants and continent or country was less developed than theirs. They disrespect their own minority citizens daily. They even disrespect their own first black president, who was duly elected in the so called democracy they so much hold to heart.

With that said, as long as Nigeria and the continent of Africa remain in her present state, that single line perception will remain. This of course, doesn't make the West's attitude towards Africa or other developing countries right, but that's the world we live in. The problems of Africans outside of Africa lie in the economic development and political maturity of Africa. It's hard to continuously accept economic aid year-over-year and still expect the donor to treat you as equal. Even in your own close knit family, if you have a brother, a sister, or an aunt, who you are forever supporting, sooner or later, your admiration and respect for that person will wane. Our daily experiences in the West are tied back to our homeland. Even if you were the best in your profession, you will still carry the burden of Africa.