Creating “little sultans” in the social sciences: learning about the other through benevolent eyes

“A little sultan” is a colloquial term used to describe a child who is a “spoilt brat” living in a Middle Eastern country such as Turkey. Little sultans are often boys in one-child families and with a greater sense of self-entitlement, as they would consider the world as owing them everything. This paper discusses how an uncritical curriculum may take the view of the “Other” as a “thing” to know and not engage with, let alone learn from. The unequal dimensions of power that result from this form of learning posit the learner in a superior position, always looking down at the Other. The results of learning about the Other through eyes of privilege, and its partner benevolence, can create students in our classrooms who exhibit characteristics of “a little sultan” with all the educational consequences for this ignorance and arrogance.