16 Jan New Years 2017 Blog Challenge Responses Round Up #2
Welcome to Week Two of our second annual Blog Challenge!
This January, bloggers living around the world are taking the challenge to start the year off with weekly blog posts on meaningful topics. We now have over 90 folks living in about 30 different countries signed up, with more joining every day! One week ago, participants received the following prompt via e-mail:
The Prompt: The Danger of a Single Story
This week’s prompt is based on a popular TED talk by author Chimamanda Adichie (see below). In it, she warns that if we only hear a single story about a person, country or issue, we risk great misunderstanding.
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”
Along with the prompt, Challenge participants also received some blog tips and a number of creative ideas to approach their response. Over the past week, their posts have been pouring out into the blogosphere and we’ve rounded them up for you here.
Highlights
Once again, there was so many impressive, thoughtful posts this week! Our highlights today focus on the note-worthy formats and techniques that certain bloggers have used in their responses:
- Mixing media always makes for an interesting post, as does letting your community members share their perspective in their own words via video (Christine, Ghana)
- If you know some common misconceptions about your host country, debunk those stereotypes one by one (Karen, Cambodia)
- This spin on the single story features a catchy title and well-organized headings (M., The Philippines)
- Here’s another catchy title and an example of keeping a reflective text at a good length (Justin, Madagascar)
- This post does a good job of being guided by questions and highlighting key points to make it easily scannable (Morgan, South Africa)
- You can lead in with your own personal transformation regarding stereotypes and then interview a community member who helped you break them – bonus for another catchy title! (Gabby, Panama)
- The organization in this post is great with bullet points for the single stories, bolded key points, and concise paragraphs for each statement (Beth, Moldova)
You’re encouraged browse the Round Up links we’ve listed at the bottom of the post for more ideas. You can also find more posts highlighted on our Blog Challenge pinterest board.
Posts:
- Cerita Satu Posted by themilcents
I sit on my bed taking in the constant stream of air from the kipas angin. The temperature feels as though it’s only working one way (up). The coolness that tags along with the… - Expanding the View Posted by peace2moldova
Hello reader, Adichie shares ‘the danger of a single story’, warning that if we only hear a single story about a person, country or issue, we risk great misunderstanding. She says:… - Looking Beyond Our Assumptions Posted by The Oke Den
I’ve been trying to convince my brother to come visit me here in Moldova. Now, I’m sure there are various reasons he is asking if I would pretty please meet him in another European country… - stories Posted by Nina Powell
When you hear about places we often just get a single story about the place. Maybe it’s from a family member who traveled there, a friend who heard something about it or you read something… - Família Friday: Meet Mama Egeneta Posted by Liz Schultz
My education has always been one of the most important things to me. A way to learn more about the world and to discover how I could contribute to it. Something I had… - Everything you thought you knew about Panama is wrong (sort of) Posted by Gabby
“The single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” … - Jamaica is not a single story!Posted by seaofcarnage
This is the second in a series of blogs as part of the #BloggingAbroadBlogChallenge I was given the prompt about the Ted Talk “The Danger of a Single Story“. I want you to close your eyes… - One Story We Can All Relate ToPosted by aricrisafulli
I lay in my hostel bunkbed, listening to the girl across from me, wanting to both soak in every word, and put my hands over my ears at the same time. The girl was raised in Australia, but had Syrian […] - Ghana and Ghanaians, in Their Own Words Posted by Christine
It’s been said that there are three stories that are told about the African continent: animals, war and conflict, poverty. A glance through any news publication and the vast majority of stories… - Debunking Five Myths about Cambodia Posted by kbort
Myth: Cambodia? That’s in Latin America, right?Um… Nope. You are thinking of Colombia. This was probably the most common confusion when I was moving to Cambodia. Cambodia is… - Why this blog exists Posted by this brianna hope
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story1. When I was breaking the news to friends, family, and co-workers in the… - more to the story Posted by April Katherine
I’ve always been a collector of sorts—especially of stories. Books. Dreams. Myths. Bedtime stories. Music. Plays. Movies. Television shows. Conversations. I love them all. I drink them in… - You aren’t the American I see on TV Posted by ohwhatadaringadventure
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story. The inspiration from this post comes from a Ted Talk by Chimamanda Adiche… - Stories people tell about each other Posted by shouyuanart
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is… - I Live in a Developing Country and So Do You Posted by Justin Rickey
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story.Antananarivo ‘Hollywood’ sign, Palace, and soccer field in the capital “My… - The Danger of a Single Story Posted by eds1014
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story. This week’s blog post is based on TED talk by Chimamanda Adiche. If… - The Light at the End of the Tunnel Posted by Kirk
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two:The Danger of a Single Story.*Just like last time, I’ll update this with pictures when I have a better internet… - A Single Story Posted by determinedwandererblog
This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story. This weeks prompt is based on an amazing TED Talk by Chimamanda Adiche (you can… - Dominicans and Haitians: More than just “A Single Story” Posted by Kevin
A Single StoryBefore coming to the DR I read about it’s history, which meant I read about it’s relationship with Haiti. I read about the 1937 “Parsley Massacre” (link). I read about the recent change… - Investigative Teaching Posted by Susan
Note: This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story. I imagine teaching is a lot like solving a crime. It has many of the classic… - Do I contribute to the “African Stereotype”? Posted by Morgan Lee Stoner
Dumelang!“Eat your dinner, there are starving kids in Africa!” Be honest, have you ever used that phrase, or one similar? I know I have.“There are starving kids in… - Single Story Posted by lsmittle
As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, I am a “Farang.” A foreigner. An outsider. A non-native. An unknown. My single story. Strangers glance my direction and make assumptions based… - i’m not needed here. Posted by krystalwright18
As our plane descended, I peered through the window and was taken back by the stunning landscape of Africa. The endless hues of copper, bronze, and gold emerging to the surface of the Earth in a… - The Danger of a Single (Peace Corps) Story Posted by hitherekatehere
At some point, each person’s life is divided by a before and an after. Often times, we don’t have the privilege of placing our finger right on the pulse of these momentous transitions. We… - Avoiding the single story Posted by chrisbiles03
“… that is how to create a single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TED Talk, Oct… - Straying From the Single Story: An Interview with Mrs. Mangochi Posted by cbaum27
“She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me. Her default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity… There was no possibility of… - Development Of A Kyrgyzstani Identity Posted by Mark
“When I first visited Central Asia in 2013, one of the first things I noticed was the emphasis placed in Tajikistan on defining what it means to be a citizen… - More Than A Drought: Beyond Androy’s ‘Single Story’ Posted by Olivia Prentzel
“Miza carried a straw basket full of seeds in one hand and a shovel in the other. She works in her family’s field with her little sister every morning for four hours…
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