Hegemony of the West and the Librarian’s Role in the Struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa

Africa needs information about HIV/AIDS. Librarian activists have a duty to organize, repackage, and circulate HIV/AIDS information. Unfortunately, this has led in some cases to an unintentional assertion of cultural hegemony, which operates invisibly to those who are part of the “dominant” or “dominating” culture. Unexamined assumptions of “superiority” have led to a bias that the West possesses the only correct method for codifying knowledge. The West cannot appropriately evaluate the successes or failures of HIV/AIDS education in Africa if it employs only American or Western ideas, categories, and sensibilities. This is detrimental to African people and cultures lacking the materials needed to protect themselves. A better method is needed to offer information in a way that appeals to the recipients’ cultural norms and values.