In the end, the Africa we voluntourists photograph isn’t a real place at all. It is an imaginary geography whose landscapes are forged by colonialism, as well as a good deal of narcissism. I hope my fellow students think critically about what they are doing and why before they sign up for a short-term global volunteer experience. And if they do go, it is my hope that they might think with some degree of narrative humility about how to de-center themselves from the Western savior narrative. (maybe now that a white person is saying the same things that people of color have said many, many times, now people will listen!)
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 23:36:13 +0000
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