Americentrism

A map placing the Americas at the center

Americentrism is the idea or perceived bias to judge other cultures and nations by American standards or to center around the United States in news. It refers to the ethnocentric and xenophobic practice of viewing the world from an explicitly U.S. perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of U.S. culture.[1]

The term is often confused with American exceptionalism, which is the proposition that the United States is different from other countries in that it has a specific world mission to spread liberty and democracy.

In the media

U.S. television networks have been perceived to contain an Americentric bias in the selection of their material.[2] Some American celebrities have been accused of having Americentric views.

English Wikipedia has been accused of Americentrism due to favouring sources from the US and dismissing non-US sources as biased, as well as frequently giving greater focus on US history and opinion in articles.[3]

See also

Geocultural perspectives

Notes

  1. ↑ NI, Chun-yan (2008). "Analysis of ethnocentrism" (PDF). US-China Foreign Language 6 (2). p. 78. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, King (August 20, 2004). "King Kaufman's Sports Daily". Salon. Salon Media Group.
  3. ↑ http://www.zdnet.com/wikipedia-accused-of-us-centric-bias-3039292772/