Carleton’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) hosted the university’s first workshop on cultural appropriation to prevent harmful Halloween costumes. Led by VP of Advocacy, Rodala Aranya, and Co-President Connor Ruprecht, Cultural Appropriation 101: the TruDos and TruDon’ts of Dressing Up saw just under twenty attendees on Oct. 29.
Cultural appropriation is when the practices or elements of a culture (most often a minority) are adopted without an understanding of, or respect for their origin.
A recent addition to the discussion around cultural appropriation in costumes is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent brown/blackface scandal, revealed during the federal election campaign.
“This is the first time that EWB Carleton has held a workshop like this,” said Ruprecht, a fourth-year sustainable and renewable energy engineering student. “We floated the idea last year and there was a pretty large level of interest in the chapter for it.”
EWB Carleton representatives said they felt Halloween was the perfect time to address cultural appropriation and acknowledge it is a constant issue.
Attendees wrote what cultural appropriation meant to them on a sticky note so they could see if their perspective had changed at the end of the evening.
Participants were assigned an image and asked to identify the intent of the example, areas of impact, where the featured example had gone wrong or right, and whether or not they felt this was cultural appropriation.
Although someone may not have malicious intent when wearing an offensive costume, the organizers stressed the impact was still harmful.
Examples ranged from Justin Bieber with dreadlocks, to a sexy nun costume.
Photo by Cate Newman.
“At EWB, we are about addressing the root causes of inequality in the world and understanding systems to have the most impact,” said Ruprecht. “We wanted to look at the issue of cultural appropriation from a critical perspective and break it down to see what systems are really at play when cultures are demeaned or generalized for the entertainment of others.”
The difference between appreciation and appropriation was a crucial distinction made in the workshop.
Most attendees said they felt they would be fine with someone wearing an item from their culture in their everyday life with an understanding and respect for its origin. The presenters identified that the issue begins when the item is used as a caricature or negative stereotype.
There was a diverse range of ethnicities and genders at the event, all of whom offered their perspectives.
Lisa Du Toit is a member of EWB Carleton, but attended the workshop as a participant, not an organizer.
She said the workshop was important to her because she feels it is important to learn about other cultures and what they may or may not find offensive.
“I learned a lot about other people’s opinions. We have a lot of multicultural people in the room who shed light on how they feel and their belief,” said Du Toit. “It was really good to have that conversation.”
Ruprecht and Aranya leading the workshop. Photo by Cate Newman.
Ruprecht and Aranya agreed they were impressed that there was no conflict during the evening, but a series of respectful and inclusive discussions.
Ruprecht said he hoped if there was one thing attendees took away from the seminar, it would be reflecting on the impact of their actions when borrowing from other cultures.
“Whether you’re dressing up for Halloween or not, we need to take another look at the cultural norms we take for granted,” said Ruprecht. “Take a deep look at some societal traditions like dressing up as marginalized groups and question what the impact is, regardless of intent.”