Last thursday, my First Year Seminar attended a lecture by Walter Michaels. Walters Michaels is a literary theorist. He has taught at prestigious universities such as John Hopkins, Berkeley, and University of Illinois at Chicago. He is currently a professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For his lecture, he spoke about neoliberalism in universities. Well, thats what I suppose that's what he was advertised to be speaking about. To be perfectly honest, for a large majority of his lecture, I had no idea what he was talking about. Being premed and not having the slightest interest in anything political or in relation to the issues we have in our country that have to do with ten dollar words such a neoliberalism or any of those big-ism words, I didnt have the sufficient background information to truly understand what he was talking about. I would find myself beginning to understand, but just as I would begin to understand, he would segue into something else.
However, what his lecture boiled down to was he feel that in our nation we have placed our class disparity issues in the wrong area. He feels as though we have spent a multitude of time researching gender, race, and ethnic groups in order to understand how prejudice and discrimination have lead to our class disparity. The true issue, he feels, is in our economy. As an capitalist economy, it makes it difficult for the impoverished to raise in the economy. Essentially those who are poor stay poor, and those that are rich continue to stay rich because they are rich. In his mind, in our economic structure, there can be no upward mobility. Classes stay in their own classes, or become greater in their own class area. The poorer become more poor, and the rich become more rich. He feels that our countries preoccupation with theories such as the minority model and gender, race and ethnic studies does not solve the problem, but further perpetuate it, leaving the problem unresolved. At the conclusion of his lecture, two Asian studies teacher began an argument with him over the logistics of his theory. In his theory paper (which was read in verbatim for the lecture) he used asian studies as an example. He compare different texts within asian literature to further prove his point. The asian studies professors felt that his logistics did not prove his theory, and actually proved the reasons that he tried to prove so feverently against.
As the two parties argued against one another, I found myself becoming more angered at both of them actually. Perhaps I'm just simpleminded and am unable to see the true issues in our country are really centered around those big-ism words. Although, I couldn't help but think that all of those reasons for which both parties made for the class disparity in our country are simply copouts theorized by people who have never experienced what they preach. I've been raised in a household where issues of class, race, gender, etc are all preoccupations that do not ultimately affect how successful you are. You simply do not let those preoccupations monopolize your life and just do what you have to do in order to be successful and get where you need to be. According to Michaels theory and the theories of the asian studies professors, a person like my mother would never be where she's at. From the asian studies professors, she is a double minority-a black, female. From Michaels perspective, she was born in poverity. With that equation, she was essentially screwed. Discrimination would have stopped her or the nonexistance of upward mobility would have stopped her. But it seems as though my mother, a black female born into poverty managed to raise to a higher class, achieved a high education required, high salary and highly respectable job in medicine (my mother is an anesthesiologist). How? My mother is quite possibly one of the hardest working women who doesn't allow preoccupations of gender, race, class, etc to define or constrict her. She was focused on her goal and achieved what she needed in order to become the person she had imagined herself to be.
Perhaps I'm too simple to truly understand. Perhaps my mother is an anomoly. However, what I took away from that lecture was just another preoccupation and blame for laziness and negative attitudes in our nation. We continue to place blame on things that we have supposedly transcended or surpassed. It seems as though we haven't and continue to place the values that built our country on the backburner.
I'm actually glad that I attended that lecture. It served as a fruitful experience I've had in college. It first off introduced me to a discourse community that I am foreign to. Although I could not really understand what exactly he was talking about, the rhetoric and diction he used was truly astounding. Just the way he phrased his argument made him seem highly educated and that he was important. The argument between Michaels and the Asian studis professors showed just how eloquent that discourse community is, and just how well the utilize the English dictionary. Also, it also made me realize that just how difficult is it to understand a theory or discussion from a discourse community that you essentially have no part in. I needed a "Neoliberalism and other Big-ism Words For Dummies" book. The lecture also added to my college experience by further stressing the ideals taught to me by my mother. I often find that out on my own here, I have forgotten or neglect the ideals taught to me by mother. On this college campus, it has been easy to give into the ideals of others because of the lack of presence of parents. Everything is so new and interesting, that is quickly replaces what you may have been taught in the past. While new and interesting is good, there is still a base that is necessary. That base has generally been constructed by your parents and will ultimately give you success in college. By listening to that lecture, I could have left feeling disheartened. however, it reminded me of the lessons taught by my mother and those will prove as the basis for success in college.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Rachel and the South
Hi. I'm a Northern, born and raised in Michigan!
My relationship with the South is, in a sense, just beginning. Having been raised in the North, I was firstly (and obviously) not truly aware of culture because I was, well....not there. Secondly, my information about the South has been up to this point the generalized notions that have been perpetuated by the South. Some of those generalizations include;
1. Southern Hospitality
2. Southern food=greasy, filled butter and an overabundance of sugar in any drink
3. Overbearing Christianity (Bible Belt)
4. Southern dialect aka southern twang
5. Rural lifestyle
5. Conservative viewpoints
6. Slower paced and simpler lifestyle
With all of generalizations, my friends from home had no idea why I would want to go to a school in a state with a culture so completely different from the one I was so used to. I suppose a part of me has always found the South an interesting entity. While the North has its own set of generalizations, they aren't as interesting as the generalizations and stereotypes placed upon the South. Also, I never could understand some of the perspectives seen by Southerners, so I suppose some part of me was interested in finding out just where these perspectives came from. With an opportunity to leave and immerse myself in a culture that has always intrigued me, I took it an ran with it. Hello South, here I come!-was my attitude.
My first experience I want to talk about is the o so popular southern twang...
I must admit when I first arrived I was not prepared for what I experienced. I had always had my notions about the Southern culture, but to experience it is completely different. I can remember many of the first conversations with people, I almost could not believe what I heard. Some of the accents I heard were almost complete replicas of every stereotypical southern accent I had heard while at home. Sometimes I felt as though I was speaking a different language because I literally could not understand what they were saying or did not know what in the world they were talking about. Food Lion? Hush puppies? Southern colloqualisms and phrases.....huh? It made me feel slow sometimes. I was also not used to having an accent. However, at times when people told me I had an accent, I wanted to say....right...listen to yourself talk, but that isn't the nicest thing. One thing I did realize though was that the southern twang is not universal. It really does depend on what area in the state you are from. Some inhabitants of North Carolina have essentially no twang.
My relationship with the South is, in a sense, just beginning. Having been raised in the North, I was firstly (and obviously) not truly aware of culture because I was, well....not there. Secondly, my information about the South has been up to this point the generalized notions that have been perpetuated by the South. Some of those generalizations include;
1. Southern Hospitality
2. Southern food=greasy, filled butter and an overabundance of sugar in any drink
3. Overbearing Christianity (Bible Belt)
4. Southern dialect aka southern twang
5. Rural lifestyle
5. Conservative viewpoints
6. Slower paced and simpler lifestyle
With all of generalizations, my friends from home had no idea why I would want to go to a school in a state with a culture so completely different from the one I was so used to. I suppose a part of me has always found the South an interesting entity. While the North has its own set of generalizations, they aren't as interesting as the generalizations and stereotypes placed upon the South. Also, I never could understand some of the perspectives seen by Southerners, so I suppose some part of me was interested in finding out just where these perspectives came from. With an opportunity to leave and immerse myself in a culture that has always intrigued me, I took it an ran with it. Hello South, here I come!-was my attitude.
My first experience I want to talk about is the o so popular southern twang...
I must admit when I first arrived I was not prepared for what I experienced. I had always had my notions about the Southern culture, but to experience it is completely different. I can remember many of the first conversations with people, I almost could not believe what I heard. Some of the accents I heard were almost complete replicas of every stereotypical southern accent I had heard while at home. Sometimes I felt as though I was speaking a different language because I literally could not understand what they were saying or did not know what in the world they were talking about. Food Lion? Hush puppies? Southern colloqualisms and phrases.....huh? It made me feel slow sometimes. I was also not used to having an accent. However, at times when people told me I had an accent, I wanted to say....right...listen to yourself talk, but that isn't the nicest thing. One thing I did realize though was that the southern twang is not universal. It really does depend on what area in the state you are from. Some inhabitants of North Carolina have essentially no twang.
Cats of Confederacy
As I read Cats of Confederacy, I couldn't help but feel completely alienated. When it comes to the subject of the South, I am of course not personally included in the culture. However, it did not occur to me until reading Cats of Confederacy just how alienated I am. If being from the North was not alienation enough, when speaking about the South, especially in regards to the Civil War, I am yet again not personally included in the culture. As an African American, while the war was essentially about my ancestors and my ancestors were involved in the war, they never truly had a voice. The war was about my ancestors freedom, but as the war went on my ancestors were still enslaved and the freedom to truly act was not there.
With that said, reading Cats of Confederacy as a complete outsider was completely shocking to me. The preoccupation with legitimizing your geneology through involved in the "rebel cause" I found to be completely absurd. I can understand how Southerns felt more of the pain of the war, due to the fact that for the most part the war took place in the South-causing for the complete ramifications of war and even after the war to hit even harder, and the ratio of soldiers lost in the South to soldiers lost in the North was far greater (1 in 4 for Southerners, 1 in 10 for Northerners). I suppose as the "winners" of the war, it is harder to feel the devastation. However, as expressed by the black preacher at the end Michael King, it is one thing to remember your ancestors; however, what those Southern confederate enthusiasts might forget in the process of remembering and feeling proud for the bravery of their ancestors was what in fact they were fighting for. They weren't fighting the North and the North was fighting in the war the war not because up north we are, as i've heard many times down here, a bunch of crazy, left winged liberals. As much as some of those enthusiasts (and I stress enthusiasts...I understand that not every Southerner holds this opinion) would like to refute that the "true" cause of the "war between the states" (to add insult to injury to the war as I may add) was not due to slavery, the reality of the situation is the South DID leave because of the election of Abraham Lincoln who did not except the wrongs of slavery. This "Northern Victory" (which is truly be called an antislavery victory) resulted in the sucession of the states that were to later call themselves the Confederacy. They knew they had a president that no longer supported slavery and would work to abolish it, so they removed themselves from the nation. So, they were in fact fighting over slavery. Slavery which is a disgusting part of our history, seeping in the Southern cultures veins. The North fought because slavery is wrong, along with leaving your country, and leaving your in order to continue your wrong doings. So, to honor the "rebel cause" is essentially slapping the faces of those who fought for the right cause and a slap in the face of those directly affected by the war. You advocating something that is inherently evil. That pride in the "rebel cause" that the written about in the Cats of Confederacy is something that really should be seen as shameful. Those men who fought for the South I'm sure were not devoid of good qualities such as honor, pride, bravery, etc. However, those qualities were placed in a cause that is disgusting.
What I took from the reading was that a distinction needs to be made. It is one thing to honor your ancestors and their bravery, but to support them fully by taking a blind eye to what they truly fought for and in essense advocate and support it is another. Those southern enthusiasts that were depicted are taking support and honoring their genealogy to a completely different level. Raising confederate flags, holding resentment toward Northerners, and holding secretive parties that honoring the birthdays of Lee and Jackson simply perpetuates wrong and evil attitudes of the old South. To then pass it onto your children, causing for them to memories completely absurd texts such as the Catechism just passes on that wrong, evil and skewed perspective. If a little girl, no older than 12 can see the wrong it...everybody else should
With that said, reading Cats of Confederacy as a complete outsider was completely shocking to me. The preoccupation with legitimizing your geneology through involved in the "rebel cause" I found to be completely absurd. I can understand how Southerns felt more of the pain of the war, due to the fact that for the most part the war took place in the South-causing for the complete ramifications of war and even after the war to hit even harder, and the ratio of soldiers lost in the South to soldiers lost in the North was far greater (1 in 4 for Southerners, 1 in 10 for Northerners). I suppose as the "winners" of the war, it is harder to feel the devastation. However, as expressed by the black preacher at the end Michael King, it is one thing to remember your ancestors; however, what those Southern confederate enthusiasts might forget in the process of remembering and feeling proud for the bravery of their ancestors was what in fact they were fighting for. They weren't fighting the North and the North was fighting in the war the war not because up north we are, as i've heard many times down here, a bunch of crazy, left winged liberals. As much as some of those enthusiasts (and I stress enthusiasts...I understand that not every Southerner holds this opinion) would like to refute that the "true" cause of the "war between the states" (to add insult to injury to the war as I may add) was not due to slavery, the reality of the situation is the South DID leave because of the election of Abraham Lincoln who did not except the wrongs of slavery. This "Northern Victory" (which is truly be called an antislavery victory) resulted in the sucession of the states that were to later call themselves the Confederacy. They knew they had a president that no longer supported slavery and would work to abolish it, so they removed themselves from the nation. So, they were in fact fighting over slavery. Slavery which is a disgusting part of our history, seeping in the Southern cultures veins. The North fought because slavery is wrong, along with leaving your country, and leaving your in order to continue your wrong doings. So, to honor the "rebel cause" is essentially slapping the faces of those who fought for the right cause and a slap in the face of those directly affected by the war. You advocating something that is inherently evil. That pride in the "rebel cause" that the written about in the Cats of Confederacy is something that really should be seen as shameful. Those men who fought for the South I'm sure were not devoid of good qualities such as honor, pride, bravery, etc. However, those qualities were placed in a cause that is disgusting.
What I took from the reading was that a distinction needs to be made. It is one thing to honor your ancestors and their bravery, but to support them fully by taking a blind eye to what they truly fought for and in essense advocate and support it is another. Those southern enthusiasts that were depicted are taking support and honoring their genealogy to a completely different level. Raising confederate flags, holding resentment toward Northerners, and holding secretive parties that honoring the birthdays of Lee and Jackson simply perpetuates wrong and evil attitudes of the old South. To then pass it onto your children, causing for them to memories completely absurd texts such as the Catechism just passes on that wrong, evil and skewed perspective. If a little girl, no older than 12 can see the wrong it...everybody else should
Monday, March 23, 2009
Microculture Observation 3
This microculture was studied in Hardin again, but in one of seminar study rooms. These rooms have more tables and chairs to sit on, 2 white boards, and a projector screen to utilize. Unlike the other study rooms, this room isnt visited as frequently. When people entered this particular study room, the feeling was different. In other study rooms where it felt like individual people were studying and bothered by strangers, the people who came into the seminar study rooms were in a group. Instead of avoiding social contact, the people utilizing the study room were seeking to study and interact with one another. The group consisted of 6 girls and one guy. The group sat at the table together, and all had some kind of work to do. 4 of girls had mutual work to do, and were sharing ideas back and forth with one another. The other two girls and guy had their lap tops up, and were doing seperate work, but still taking part in the conversation. Each person seemed to being doing their work, but also casually talking and joking with one another at the same time. This casual work went on for about 30 minutes. After that time period, one of the girls in the group mentioned how she really needs to focus and get her work done. After the one girl mentioned that, the entire groups seemed to get more quiet. 3 of six other girls in the room proceeded to put on their headphones, and stopped fully interecting with the other people in the room. While they werent blatantly ignoring one another, the people in the group seemed to be making it a point to not have a conversation with one another unless they had a question regarding their work. The one guy in the room even moved to another table, where he was alone. During the time when the group was quiet, the people seemed much more invested in what they were doing than when they were casually doing work. After about 20 or 25 minutes of doing work, one of the girls of the group began another conversation about Sororities, and the group members seemed became invested once more in ther conversation and not their work.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Observational Blog 2
For this observation, I interviewed two people who frequently study in study rooms.
The question I asked were
Does the person prefer to study alone in a study room? If so, why?
What lengths will you go to be alone in a study room?
At what point will you study with a stranger in the room?
How do you feel when you study with a stranger in the room (assuming this is a person you do not know)?
How would you feel about striking conversation with that stranger/being forced to speak or interact?
Person 1:
-Yes: Can concentrate better and are away from the distraction of your room and other people
-You'll search every room on your floor and other floors of the dorm for an empty study room
-When there is absolutel no study room that is empty
-Feel awkward and that you have to be more quiet than usual
-Not too bad, or akward. Because, if I had to speak to them I would just do it because it was necessary
Person 2:
-Yes: It feels awkward and the room is already in use for something else, and are interrupting/disturbing the other person
-Would search until you found another one. Would leave another building to find an empty room, would even sit outside a room until other people left (has actually done that)
-When there are no other rooms left and there is no time to spare looking for another room
-Unwelcomed, awkward and tense. Like you have to be really quiet
-Wouldnt mind speaking to the person in the room, and would prefer to not initiate it. Would initiate only if they made some kind of sign to speak (such as eye contact)
The question I asked were
Does the person prefer to study alone in a study room? If so, why?
What lengths will you go to be alone in a study room?
At what point will you study with a stranger in the room?
How do you feel when you study with a stranger in the room (assuming this is a person you do not know)?
How would you feel about striking conversation with that stranger/being forced to speak or interact?
Person 1:
-Yes: Can concentrate better and are away from the distraction of your room and other people
-You'll search every room on your floor and other floors of the dorm for an empty study room
-When there is absolutel no study room that is empty
-Feel awkward and that you have to be more quiet than usual
-Not too bad, or akward. Because, if I had to speak to them I would just do it because it was necessary
Person 2:
-Yes: It feels awkward and the room is already in use for something else, and are interrupting/disturbing the other person
-Would search until you found another one. Would leave another building to find an empty room, would even sit outside a room until other people left (has actually done that)
-When there are no other rooms left and there is no time to spare looking for another room
-Unwelcomed, awkward and tense. Like you have to be really quiet
-Wouldnt mind speaking to the person in the room, and would prefer to not initiate it. Would initiate only if they made some kind of sign to speak (such as eye contact)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Observation of Microculture
Quick change in microcultures, I’m now observing people who study in study lounges. I hypothesize that people who study in study lounges will go to lengths to be alone in a study lounge and seek to not interact with others.
I sat in the study lounge of my dorm and put my headphones on so that I did not affect the people around me. I was the only person in there and waited for other people to show up. After a few minutes, a person opened up the door of the study lounge, peeked in and then promptly shut the door and left. For the next couple hours, this similar scenario happened time and time again. A person would open the door, see me, and then quickly shut the door, even though I was the only person in the room. Occasionally, a person would say a quick hello or initiate conversation. However, when the person would try to speak, they seemed quite uncomfortable. When they spoke, they lacked eye contact and seem to appear nervous and would try to end the conversation as quickly as possible. In a couple instances, some people would come into slightly into the room, and seem to decide whether or not they wanted to be in there. When people chose to study in the room with me, they seemed exasperated-they would sigh or look disappointed- or as if they had already tried multiple other study rooms, but those were also occupied and this was the last and best option.
I sat in the study lounge of my dorm and put my headphones on so that I did not affect the people around me. I was the only person in there and waited for other people to show up. After a few minutes, a person opened up the door of the study lounge, peeked in and then promptly shut the door and left. For the next couple hours, this similar scenario happened time and time again. A person would open the door, see me, and then quickly shut the door, even though I was the only person in the room. Occasionally, a person would say a quick hello or initiate conversation. However, when the person would try to speak, they seemed quite uncomfortable. When they spoke, they lacked eye contact and seem to appear nervous and would try to end the conversation as quickly as possible. In a couple instances, some people would come into slightly into the room, and seem to decide whether or not they wanted to be in there. When people chose to study in the room with me, they seemed exasperated-they would sigh or look disappointed- or as if they had already tried multiple other study rooms, but those were also occupied and this was the last and best option.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Feeder 2.2 Edited Version
Within the context of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, there are a multitude of microcultures that exist. For the purposes of my studies, I will be focusing on the historically black, male fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, casually known as the Kappas. Having attended some of their functions and met a couple of the members, I find myself intrigued by the persona of a Kappa and the fraternity itself. Even if I had not been attendance to their functions or met a couple of the members, their presence and influence at the university is profound and distinct; it is difficult to ignore.
As stated earlier, the Kappas are an all male, historically black fraternity. Of all the historically black fraternities at the university, the Kappas are one of the most prominent and popular. A typical Kappa can be described as intelligent, charismatic, outgoing, driven and up to date on the latest trends and fashions. To be a Kappa is to be at the epicenter of popular, urban culture and to maintain a conscious stance on various programs, politics and other mediums that cater to the advancement of young, driven and promising black youth. With their social appeal and consciousness to those topics, the members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity play a large part on campus. Many people can come into contact with them in a variety of realms, such as academics, athletics, social, etc. With that daily contact with the many realms of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill culture, the Kappas play a large role in shaping those various realms, ultimately acting as active agents of culture shaping. As an active agent, the Kappas provide an interesting perspective to how microcultures shape and affect culture and the importance of their affect on larger cultures. I hypothesize that the Kappas, as a microculture, provide and help shape the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill culture in many facets through their intensive social networking, which includes their casual social life and organized, fraternity activity.
As stated earlier, the Kappas are an all male, historically black fraternity. Of all the historically black fraternities at the university, the Kappas are one of the most prominent and popular. A typical Kappa can be described as intelligent, charismatic, outgoing, driven and up to date on the latest trends and fashions. To be a Kappa is to be at the epicenter of popular, urban culture and to maintain a conscious stance on various programs, politics and other mediums that cater to the advancement of young, driven and promising black youth. With their social appeal and consciousness to those topics, the members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity play a large part on campus. Many people can come into contact with them in a variety of realms, such as academics, athletics, social, etc. With that daily contact with the many realms of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill culture, the Kappas play a large role in shaping those various realms, ultimately acting as active agents of culture shaping. As an active agent, the Kappas provide an interesting perspective to how microcultures shape and affect culture and the importance of their affect on larger cultures. I hypothesize that the Kappas, as a microculture, provide and help shape the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill culture in many facets through their intensive social networking, which includes their casual social life and organized, fraternity activity.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Disruption
For my disruption, I went back to the UL and went my usual second floor, table seat. My actions, however, were not my usual. I really hope no one was too angry. Having observed the general quiet nature of the UL, I chose to do the very opposite. Without being ridiculously loud or obnoxious, I made some noise. First, I took out a bag of Bugles and ate them quite loudly. While the sound did not carry over through the entirety of the room, the people who were sitting at the table with me looked at me as though I was crazed/with great annoyance. While eating loudly is probably a disruption of norms in itself, it was quite evident that it also reflects a disruption of the norms at the UL. After eating my chips loudly, I decided to listen to some music. I played my music, again not too loudly or obnoxiously, for the public space instead of putting in my headphones. Perhaps the people of the UL would like to enjoy some Diva by Beyonce right alon with me! This caused more people to look back at me, and eventually the person sitting in front of me asked me to either turn my music off or put on headphones. That one hurt a little bit. I saw another girl look from her cubicle and stare at me like I was out of my mind, and I saw two people point to me...I'm assuming they were talking about how awkward I was acting. Being loud in the UL is not a fun experience. The amount of bad looks and annoyed glances by stressed out, sleep deprived college students I got that day are far more than I would ever like to get again in my life.
Microculture Rough Draft
Within the context of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, there are a multitude of microcultures that exist. For the purposes of my studies, I will be focusing on the black, male fraternity the Kappas. As stated earlier, the Kappas are an all male, black fraternity. Of all the historically black fraternities at the university, the Kappas are one of the most prominent and popular of said fraternities. A typical Kappa can be described as intelligent, charismatic, outgoing, driven and up to date on the latest trends and fashions. To be a Kappa is to be at the epicenter of popular, urban culture and to maintain a conscious stance onto various programs, political stances and other mediums that cater to the advancement of young, driven and promising black youth. With their consciousness to those topics, the members of the Kappa fraternity take large part in the social activities that take place on campus. As a fraternity, they aim to not only partake in those social activities, but to also create a social network that reaches far beyond what the average collece student may attain. Many people can come into contact with them in a variety of realms, such as academic, athletic, social, etc. On a daily basis, Kappas are within contact with many facets of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill culture, and therefore play a large role in shaping the those various facets of UNC-Chapel culture. As an active agent in shaping the culture of UNC-Chapel Hill, the Kappas provide an interesting perspective to how microcultures affect larger cultures and the importance of microcultures to a larger culture. With that in mind, it is safe to conclude that the Kappas, as a microculture, provide and help shape the UNC-Chapel Hill culture in many facets through their intensive social networking, social life and organized, fraternity activity.
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