Cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation is a broad umbrella term for a number of phenomena related to the borrowing of elements of a culture other than one's own. This chapter summarizes arguments that have been offered in recent debates among analytic philosophers and other commentators concerning the normativity of cultural appropriation. The authors suggest that most of the views on offer have both strengths and weaknesses and how one adjudicates between them will depend on which theoretical desiderata one prioritizes. The issue is complex and the wide range of relevant considerations often support conflicting positions. The authors think that this state of affairs should lead us to be wary of sweeping generalizations about the normativity of cultural appropriation.