What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore the harms associated with cultural appropriation through a political theory framework.

October 10, 2019

Does cultural appropriation cause harm?

Key Points

The aim is to explore the harms associated with cultural appropriation through a political theory framework.
Utilized political theory to define and categorize harms of cultural appropriation.
Identified and analyzed three primary harms: nonrecognition, misrecognition, and exploitation.
Proposed a spectrum to assess the harmfulness of specific cultural appropriation instances.
Argued that cultural appropriation leads to three distinct harms: nonrecognition, misrecognition, and exploitation.
Provided a framework for evaluating specific cultural appropriation cases based on the presence of these harms.
Concluded with recommendations on how to avoid associated harms of cultural appropriation.

Abstract

Cultural appropriation is often called a buzzword and dismissed as a concept for serious engagement. Political theory, in particular, has been largely silent about cultural appropriation. Such silence is strange considering that cultural appropriation is clearly linked to key concepts in political theory such as culture, recognition, and redistribution. In this paper, I utilize political theory to advance a harm-based account of cultural appropriation. I argue that there are three potential harms with cultural appropriation: (1) nonrecognition, (2) misrecognition, and (3) exploitation. Discerning whether these harms are present or absent offers a means of placing specific instances of cultural appropriation on a spectrum of harmfulness. I conclude by considering how cultural appropriation, and associated appropriative harms, may be avoided.

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