Americentrism

Americentrism, also known as American-centrism[1] or US-centrism, is a tendency to assume the culture of the United States is more important than those of other countries or to judge foreign cultures based on American cultural standards. It refers to the practice of viewing the world from an overly US-focused perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of American culture.[2]

Not to be confused with Americanism or American exceptionalism.

The term is not to be confused with American exceptionalism, which is the assertion that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations and is often accompanied by the notion that the United States has superiority over every other nation.[3]

In the media

American television networks have been perceived to contain an Americentric (also known as "American-centric" or "US-centric") bias in the selection of their material.[4]

Another instance of Americentrism is in the high focus companies have on US markets in relation to others. Often, products produced and developed outside the US are still marketed as typically American.[5]

According to the European Commission, internet governance (in particular that related to the NSA) is too Americentric. It criticized the major role of American company ICANN in its administration.[6]

English Wikipedia has been criticized for having an Americentric systemic bias with regards to its occasional preference towards US English sources, language, and spelling.[7]

See also

Notes
  1. William R. Thompson, "Global War and the Foundations of US Systemic Leadership", chap. 7 in America, War and Power: Defining the State, 1775–2005, eds. Lawrence Sondhaus and A. James Fuller (Abingdon, Oxon, UK: 2007), 146 ("The customary approach to accounting for the rise of the United States to global primacy is descriptive, American-centric, and heavily reliant on the distinctiveness of the ascent.").
  2. NI, Chun-yan (2008). "Analysis of ethnocentrism" (PDF). US-China Foreign Language. p. 78. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  3. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. Seymour Martin Lipset. New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. 1996. p. 18.
  4. Kaufman, King (August 20, 2004). "King Kaufman's Sports Daily". Salon. Salon Media Group. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011.
  5. Maden, Sead (12 December 2012). "American-Centric UI Is Leveling Tech Culture – and Design Diversity". Wired.
  6. Traynor, Ian (12 February 2014). "Internet governance too US-centric, says European commission". The Guardian. Brussels.
  7. Browne, Marcus (12 February 2008). "Wikipedia accused of 'US-centric bias'". ZDnet.
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