Celebration or Cultural Larceny?

An Online Discussion of Multicultural Storytelling
by Gale Eaton
University of Rhode Island 
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies

Children's librarians, teachers, and others tell folk tales from around the world to help children know and appreciate diverse cultures. (Or just enjoy some marvelous stories.) It's a celebration of multiculturalism -- isn't it? 

Well, yes -- but. Some critics point out that the "so-called four f's: food, festival, fashion, and folklore" offer a rather "superficial" approach to multiculturalism (Cai, 1998). Others are concerned about the misappropriation of cultural capital by outsiders who don't really get the stories right (Fang, Fu, and Lamme, 1999; Mo and Shen, 2000; Paul, 1998). 

This site is intended as a resource for online discussion and exploration. It will summarize a few of the points on either side of this issue; cite insiders (like Joseph Bruchac and Julius Lester) who have generously recommended strategies for storytellers who cross cultural boundaries; and include links to other relevant  resources:

Thanks to Professors Donna Gilton and Naomi Caldwell for advice and commentary on this site in progress, and to Debbie Reese and Betsy Hearne for leading me to sources that enrich the discussion. Thanks to my graduate assistant, Joan Eldredge-Mouradjian, for technical assistance and help with the links section in particular. Any errors are Gale Eaton's.

Celebration

(Site updated April 26, 2002)