Overgeneralization Undermines Academics

Discussion sections are a part of the Georgetown experience. They provide a forum to advance learning and intellectual growth by taking education a step further than assigned reading by allowing interpersonal learning. In such a setting, lived experiences are an integral contribution. Yet, lived experiences must be presented in the “I” form. When they are not, discussion sections provide a forum for another, destructive purpose: overgeneralization. The meme: “Goes to Middle East once, knows everything about the Middle East” brings laughs, but it is a sentiment that is commonly expressed in one way or another in many discussion sections. Although the intellectual diversity of students is appreciated and absolutely encouraged, there is something disturbing about hearing someone try to speak on behalf of an entire population after several months of time spent in the region or a semester taking a class that loosely surveys the topic. This practice essentially filters raw culture through an undeniably Western lens to produce overgeneralized talking points. This is ironic because those sorts of contributions reinforce the Western bias that worldly Georgetown students have so diligently learned to critique. As a community, Georgetown needs to address this unlicensed cultural authority that creeps into discussion sections.

While Georgetown certainly excels at exposing students to cultures and ideas, it must also responsibly follow up on that exposure by teaching students to respect those different cultures and ideas. Respect can be as simple as framing a contribution not through a Western lens of representation for non-Western cultures or, as an example, not automatically assuming that the Asian (maybe not even Chinese!) student in your class is going to be able to speak intelligently on China. As we all know, China is a big place. To be an authority on some matters of culture is an extremely difficult undertaking, and that value is not being recognized as much as it should on this campus.

As students of internationalism and culture, it is imperative to remember that even scholars who study topics and regions for their entire lifetimes still have much to learn. The gross overgeneralizations in this election cycle should push students to value cultural intricacies as topics of exploration rather that topics of command and conquest. There is no capital in declaring oneself as the expert on the topic of the day in an undergraduate discussion section. True capital lies in remaining humble while accumulating knowledge. Students undermine the complexity and depth of the cultures we study when we overgeneralize them. There are no wrong lived experiences, but there are certainly wrong ways to present them.