Europeancentered

Europeancentered is an adjective describing a worldview or approach that centers Europe or European perspectives as the default or normative reference point. It characterizes practices in which European experience, values, or standards are treated as universal reference points, while other regions’ histories and cultures are interpreted mainly in relation to Europe.

In academic and cultural discourse, the term is used across disciplines such as history, art history, literature, political science, education, and media. It can manifest when curricula foreground European sources or timelines, frame non-European developments as extensions of European events, or privilege European languages and epistemologies. The term is often invoked to diagnose framing that privileges European origins or criteria in analysis, interpretation, and representation.

Europeancentered is closely related to eurocentrism. Some writers treat the term as a milder or more descriptive variant that avoids explicit judgments about superiority, while others use it to emphasize the diagnostic aspect of locating a central reference point. In practice, the distinction is fluid, and usage can vary by field and author.

Critics argue that Europeancentered perspectives marginalize non-European voices, distort global history, and reinforce colonial legacies. Proponents of decolonizing knowledge advocate curricular reform, diversified sourcing, and the inclusion of non-European methodologies to broaden analysis and interpretation, aiming for more inclusive and polycentric ways of knowing.

See also Eurocentrism, Western-centric, colonialism, decolonization, world history, and postcolonial studies.