Ethnocentrism

Medical practitioners’ ethnocentric orientations and English language skills contribute to the success or failure of intercultural communication in the context of health care. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between ethnocentrism and investment in learning English in the multicultural setting of English classrooms at an Iranian medical university. To this end, 200 Iranian medical students’ levels of ethnocentrism and investment in learning English were measured. The findings of this study revealed that the participants had relatively moderate levels of ethnocentrism and investment, and there was a strong negative relationship between the two constructs. Female medical students were found to be significantly less ethnocentric than male students, but were not significantly different from them in terms of investment. These findings were explained considering several contextual factors such as the participants’ linguistic loyalty, intercultural contact, and social comfort in English classrooms. Practical implications, direction, and limitations are discussed.

Through a decolonial approach, this study questions the concept of postethnicity, proposed by David Hollinger, arguing that Hollinger’s vision of a rooted cosmopolitanism – a globally connected society built on shared values – is based upon narrow ‘universal’ values which solely align with Western standards. Decolonial critics like Walter D. Mignolo, in return, advocate for a ‘pluriversal’ world where multiple perspectives and voices coexist without being subsumed under a dominant Western narrative. The study uses two novels, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, to illustrate this debate. It argues that Ishiguro’s novel, while exploring universal themes, is ultimately rooted in a Western ethnocentric perspective, reflecting a zero-point view where Western paradigms are presented as global patterns. On the other hand, Roy’s novel is situated in India, addressing local issues and challenging Western standards. The study concludes that Ishiguro’s approach at best leads to rewesternization – a reassertion of Western perspectives even while attempting to move beyond them, while Roy’s by integrating indigenous traditions, individual and local singularities, and global issues, contributes to the decolonization of Western paradigms advocating a pluriversal world where multiple voices are valued.