Hi Codi:
I agree with the part of your argument that the factual aspects of historical events can be affected by the involvement of memories associated with the events. Sharing of these memories sometimes can indeed evoke strong emotions that may lead to bias, and even unreliability in these historical accounts. I can confirm this point by recalling some of my own memories. For example, during one particularly traumatic event, I remembered the sky to be filled with dark clouds, but when photos were later reviewed, it showed blue sky and few cloud. The degree of distortion for the fact truly surprised me at the time. But despite all that, I still believe in the importance of memory’s role in remembering history, because I believe, for the most part, memories and data work together to provide a better understanding of the event. In the case of what happened in the concentration camps, we know that millions died in the concentration camps during WW2, but that statistic simply isn’t nearly as powerful as the diary of Anne Frank, at least for me. In my view, data and the memory, in this case, wasn’t in conflict, but worked together to provide a more 3D point of view to the atrocity of the Nazis’ crime. It didn’t undermine that statistic, but instead it by allowing a sneer peak into one of the millions.
Hey Simon,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I found it interesting because I agree with many of the points you make. I think that it is extremely important to pass down knowledge and memory. While talking about the Tiananmen Square protest you said, “the knowledge of this protest changed the way I think, made me a firm believer in the freedom of speech.” If this concept of collective memory, and a true understanding of an event like this was passed down at a more consistent rate, I feel like many people would have a similar experience to the one you did. It would potentially make them look at the world with a different viewpoint, and help create a better understanding of what is right and wrong, or good and bad.
Hey Oliver,
It’s Ayse and I read your view on the documentary about Japanese students we have watched in class. I also think that facing with history even though it might be disturbing is very important. I also didn’t think that the documentary was fair about the trauma enough.
While reading your blog I remembered a video that I have watched a few days earlier about one of the Mengele twins in Auschwitz. Eva Moses Kor is a survivor from the experiments that Dr. Mengele made about twins in Auschwitz concentration camp. She talks about how she lost all of her family except for her twin because of Nazis. She also talked about how they made vicious experiments on her and her twin sister. Her sister also died during childbirth because of the aftermath of these experiments much later when they survived. She later decided to face with one of the doctors from the camp. The doctor testified to the torture that they made to prisoners and Mrs. Kor decided to forgive him. It was a journey of having peace with herself. I think that maybe these Japanese Students are also on a journey to forgiveness. The trauma that they had to endure is awful, but they look like they had made peace with the incident in some way. That might be why UBC also decided to make this documentary more about healing and not about the trauma. The main idea of this documentary, in my opinion was a confrontation between the Japanese students and UBC, more than the awful story of how Canada traumatized their citizens just because of their ethnicity. I always think that I wouldn’t be able to forgive someone who did horrible things to me or my loved ones but when I see videos like this or read about these incidents where the victim makes peace with their offenders I have various feelings all at the same time. I think you made a fair point about UBC preparing this documentary much lighter than the reality. But I also think that the students are trying to make peace with UBC by getting their diplomas that they deserved a long time ago, and this documentary was more about them and UBC making peace, so the lightness of the content might be more about the timing.
In your blog writing, I really liked how you described the change in your way of thinking about the accuracy of history and how you find an interactive relation between memory and history. I felt exactly the same when I wrote my memory in a historical context in the first day of class. I knew that something was missing. In a way, It almost felt like I was lying. In your writing, I found the following sentences very striking: “ factual history can treat the individuals involved as if they are merely statistics”. I agree with this.In the example about the Holocaust, if we read a memorial from someone who experienced such a trauma, we can actually develop empathy with their pain and understand how they actually felt from the very depth of their heart. Ayşe’s blog entry is really similar to this idea, I think you should definitely check her blog entry as well:)
If emotions render people biased, how do we determine whose perspectives should we listen to? How can we possibly sure whether the supposed-accurate data is not at all biased? Even if we’re just trying to make emotional connections to an event, we don’t want to misjudge a person or the incident. To see the whole picture, I think we should never limit ourselves to look at data collected by single scholar or memories of a witness of the event, but also the broader views of people in the field. What do you think?
I really enjoyed reading your blog about language. I also think that it is interesting that different languages have a different way of interpreting the world. It got me thinking of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis that I was taught in high school which is basically that the a person’s native language defines their perception of reality and how they experience it. I liked how you wrote that “language is actually a representation of our way of life, our cultural and society”, and I completely agree and feel that speaking more than one language opens you up to experiencing life in many ways. In some languages, there are words that exist to describe situations not recognized in other languages representing what is regarded as important to a culture. This causes me to wonder if the more languages one speaks, the better they understand the world.
Hey Ayse, it’s Lisa.
Your argument that personal memory is more moving than statistical evidence really got me thinking. I’m totally on the same page with you on the idea that personal memory is more moving, but I feel like in many cases, an oppressed group doesn’t get to be sufficiently heard. It’s hard for memory alone to be a valid means to convey a problem when people simply are not being listened to. You totally addressed this though through your discussion of mass media. I really enjoyed your look at memory and the way you introduced twitter as a means of communicating memory in newer generations. I think often times technology and social media are written-off as having no real value or contribution to society. Sites like twitter often get a bad reputation (no thanks to Donald Trump) so I love that you discussed how twitter is accessible to the masses and is actually a valid resource to relay memory. Such a good blog post!
I found your blog very thought provoking. How we learn history and how it will be transmitted to future generations is an issue that needs to be addressed. Your blog also made me think about another equally important question: who writes history? And how does it change according to the country in which you are being taught. Imagine the impact that each of our individual stories could have. I really liked that you incorporated an example from your country because it sheds light on how it this issue is reflected in different countries.
Hey Lilly!
I found your blog post very relatable. I too all through out high school was taught to never use “I” in academic writing, mostly because it can imply personal views and bias. In higher academic writing though I’ve come to realize that the authors opinions and arguments are very important. Kind of like what the class was taking about with academic integrity and how you’re contributing to the greater conversation of the topic. You talk about how adding personal arguments does not delegitimize the author and you also talk about how you have to use certain definitions to apple to the audience, but do you think that an author could you just an over all general definition and still be considered legitimate? Since it’s now very important for an author to use their personal arguments, what you point out as something that would delegitimize them?
Hi Wamaitha,
Your blog was incredibly interesting and engaging. Your comment at the end questioning whether there is such thing as a global history made me think about how we see world history and events in Canada. In Canada “world” history is taught through a very western perspective we focus on European explorers and the development of Canada and Europe. Other areas of the world especially Africa, Asia and, South America are referred to but are rarely taught in any detail. This Eurocentric focus also exists in our media. Many media outlets like the CBC try to bring up events that are unfolding around the world, however, they still give greater screen time to events that are happening in Western countries. An example is when there is a terror attack in Europe it makes the breaking news broadcast of every major TV outlet, but when there is a terror attack in a Middle Eastern or African country it usually gets pushed to the back end of the broadcast. I believe that it is important to report news that is happening in western countries, but I feel that we need to focus more resources on broadcasting events happening in other countries so that we can try and create a better understanding of the world and become true global citizens.
Hi Kaspar!
I really enjoyed your blog post. It was nice that you came up with intriguing questions about the suitability of different languages in different occasions. I agree with you about the different aspects of different languages: “English has a greater capability in expressing personal emotions while being able to create a sense of intimacy in a rather natural way and Chinese is more capable of expressing the superiority of people or to show respect which has reflect the importance of manner in the culture.”
As I also speak Korean, English, and little bit of Chinese, there were certain words that are hard to translate into other languages and there are particular emphasized aspects of language depends on culture. Like you said, Chinese is more capable of expressing the superiority of people or to show respect, Korean is more capable of expressing courtesy towards people. I believe those differences came from different cultures and what these cultures particularly focus on.
I have read your blog and I found it really interesting. Not only did you point out that different language is capable of expressing different ideas, but also defining language as an ever-evolving thing. Personally, I speak both English and Spanish fluently and I do notice some of the difference that you have mentioned in your blog entry. I do think that language as a mean of communication for a civilization or a society, bear much more than simply a mean of communication. Language carries a symbolic meaning to cultural roots of a civilization, representing their way of life, for example the moral values that they have and the way relationship between each other. As for the point where you mentioned language as a evolving matter, I do agree that under globalization, we are more connected. As a result, the sharing of a common value among people from different part of the word would be represented by language. Since I am really interested in archeology, the study of artifacts containing ancient language or literature is something that I am really passionate about and realizing language as an evolving matter is really exciting for me.
I really like your blog, keep up the great work!
Devon
Hey Devon
I appreciated the way you differentiated between the roles of factual history and individual memory. Personally, I see it the same way you do, both these modes of writing have different purposes and are both appropriate depending on the context in which they are being used. When talking about traumatic events such as genocide, it’s important to take into serious consideration the experience of the individual. Even though it’s experienced by the collective society, and in that way historical context is important, individual perspective places us inside the mind of someone who experienced that traumatic event and makes it more real for the reader. Using individual memory in writing makes the audience empathize much more with the content of the passage. All writing genres are equal but some are better equipped to convey certain information to the reader under different contexts.
-Kaspar
Hi Julia;
It’s Deniz. In your blog, I have found strong connections to my life. You mentioned the importance of the Independence Day and your realization of the similarities between the Latin American countries. I can relate to your experience. Independence Day is also very important in Turkey and it gives the people from eastern and western parts of the country the opportunity to come together, put aside the politics and realize how similar they are. I agree your point that it is actually the collective memory of the event that gives us a sense of solidarity. I also strongly agree your argument that the Independence Day is in fact the result of the hardships the country had and in my opinion, we should respect the struggles of the people that fought hard to ensure we live a good life.
I enjoyed reading your thought-provoking blog. Your discussion on memory made me reflect on how countries dictate the memories its citizens are subjected to remember. Actually, after giving it some thought, I am convinced that society is indeed assimilated by the control of the government. I believe that every country, regardless of their distinct interests and values, is containing its citizens – and possibly the global community – from knowing the “Truth”. As a matter of fact, just a few days ago, the Canadian prime minister – Justin Trudeau – addressed to the General Assembly of the United Nations about the unsettling history of the Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian government. It is, as we may put it, a memory that has been kept quiet to the general public. And although this is a memory that has been gradually told to the Canadian population, it is, nevertheless, a memory that has been concealed to the international community. Like the prime minister stated, “Canada is not a wonderland” – implying that a country of integrity is not immune to flaws. I believe that the preservation of all memories will create transparency in society and that the transparency will lead to a more mindful community. After reading your blog, a couple questions to my mind; what role(s) do you believe memories play in society, and how would you plan to spread influential memories?
It was really nice to read your blog. I think that it was courageous to share a personal experience where you questioned if your own actions were respectful. You raise a really good point about the significance of youth interacting with historical sites in order to combat ignorance. With relation to Douglas’s article, you recognize the offence of your selfies in Cambodia, however you state that you were simply unaware that the sites were scenes of trauma. In the examples that Douglas uses, I think that one of the major concerns is that the people who posted these selfies were very aware of the context that they were in. Do you think that it is ethical if someone is fully aware of the historical site they are visiting, and can engage with and reflect on their experience, but they still choose to take a selfie? Perhaps if they decide to have the selfie for self-preservation rather than sharing on a social media platform? It is a very controversial topic as both you and Douglas discuss, and I am glad that you are humbled by your experience and recognize your privilege. Thank you for sharing, your trip sounds like it was really amazing!
Dear Oliver,
I completely agree on your perspective of the Japanese Internment short documentary. I also thought that the producers intentionally avoided the darker portions of history to “lighten the fall” on UBC. The history of Japanese Internment in Canada should not be looked upon lightly, or swept under the rug to avoid confrontation or judgement, I believe Canada should embrace this time in history as an opportunity to acknowledge their failures. Although, I did in fact find the video striking. Growing up in the states, I was only exposed to American history and the many faults within it. I did not learn much about Japanese internment until Grade 12 of high school. To be where it took place is compelling, and I believe it is incredibly important to be fully knowledgeable about the despair that occurred among the Japanese-Canadians. Thank you for you blog.
Dear Irene,
I enjoyed reading your blog concerning “truth claims” and people who have abused it. When a piece of writing that recalls historical events is published, I too believe it is essential to make authentic truth claims because as you said, taking advantage of the pain embedded within the event to gain wealth and popularity causes unforeseen effects on the audience and the history itself. Your example of Wansei by Mika Tanaka is truly heartbreaking. A whole fan base and population that admired her book were blindly mislead and lied to. Do you believe it was the right decision for her to confess? Some may argue that it would have been less detrimental to her audience if she did not admit to falsifying her personal history and accounts. I believe she owes it to her readers and to the historical event to be honest and authentic. Thank you for your blog.
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I found very interesting that you started to look from a different perspective about modernity and religion and its relationship between them. The word feminism can be understood and interpreted in very different ways. This word, just like the word democracy can be used in various meanings. I also read a similar article in our group work in Astu. It was written by Celene Ibrahim and it also talks about how headscarf is a matter of feminism. She mentions that forcing someone to take off their veil or headscarf is same as forcing someone to wear it. Both are an attempt to change the lifestyle and belief of an individual by using force and it crosses the line of religious freedom. Also, I found very interesting that there is a correlation between the belief in God and belief of afterlife in a younger generation. I really liked the part that you wrote: ? My generation may be moving away from what previous generations defined religion to be, this could simply be how we interpret religion?. I also do think religion is changing form in our society.
Hey Jane!
Reading your post blog was a great time and it really got me thinking about fear and how it affects people, and especially how its been with humanity from the very start. You call fear a primal instinct and this gets me thinking about how much humans and our life styles have evolved. Do you think that how we feel fear is something that has changed with us? Of course we’ll always have our “flight or fight” instincts, but what I’m thinking about are emotions and mental illnesses like stress, anxiety, insomnia, and rage (along with many more). For example with stress, maybe if people weren’t deep down afraid of failure or disappointing others because it could lead to something like others leaving or giving up on them humans wouldn’t feel so much stress. They don’t even have to be negative emotions, for example love could just be fear manifesting itself in latent ways. Someone could tell themselves they’re in love and fully believe but deep down it could be the fear of not meeting their basic needs of sex and having someone helping them maintain steady food and water resources and shelter. Maybe love is actually just fear of being alone or protection. For women I feel like settling down with someone could just be hormones that tell us we need to have a baby and the fear part is that we wont be able to protect our children and also provide a stable life for them. I feel like when you strip down our most complex emotions they all come down to some very basic fear.
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I like how you discussed the interpretations of feminism in terms of choice. I feel the same way as you when you mentioned having a “westernized view” towards people wearing the veil. I am glad that you recognized this viewpoint, especially since Persepolis demonstrated the perspective where the veil is shown as a form of oppression rather than liberation. The article you included in your post was very interesting because it showed a very contrasting opinion to Satrapi’s view. The article brings up how judgement comes from people’s opinions and personal beliefs; do you think that means that there will always be stereotypes towards people who wear the veil? Also, by seeing the choice of wearing the veil or not as an act of feminism, will the veil ever be free of political and social ideals?
Thanks for your thought-provoking post!
Hey Arvind,
I liked your blog post and it got me thinking about religious influence in government in a different context. I never really viewed that whole issue as something that was applicable on a more global scale but you pointed out that there are in fact instances in many countries where the government implements policy that is strongly influenced by religion (like your example of Maharashtra) all around the world. It also made me think about all the issues with the hijab being banned in France and the issues with Secularism there. It kind of calls into question the benefits and drawbacks of governments influenced by religion. To what extent should we be secular? Nice job.
Hey Lisa,
I really liked your argument about how states are similar with each other in the topic of surveillance. In Iran the state acted upon this surveillance that they did. They used neighbors to spy on each other, they watched their citizens’ provate lives and made them pay for what they did in their private lives by putting them to jail. Which is a very distict concept for Western people. In USA civil people aren’t generally held responsible for whatever is collected by NSA, but as you said this doesn’t mean that they will not use these information against the citizens at a later time. There are similar problems in Turkey too. The government publishes lists of so called terrorist people (opposers of the government) in one day and takes away their jobs or puts them in jails. These information that they collected hasn’t been collected in a day or a month, the state collects information for years until they can use it against any threats made to them. So your idea that Western people are not immune to the effects of surveillance makes very much sense in my opinion. Thank you for the different point of view, your article made me think much more seriously about government surveillance on the citizens.
Hi Oliver:
Your blog reminded me of a piece of information I came across recently, that Quebec has passed a bill forcing all who receives public services to uncover their faces. The goal of the bill was said to be fortifying the religious neutrality of the state. Quebec Premier Couillard defends the bill by saying, “I speak to you, you speak to me. I see your face. You see mine. As simple as that.” By a statement as such, the subject was grossly oversimplified, dumbing down a complex subject to the matters of preschool manners. The statement demonstrates the ignorance by those who favor the bill for this reason. Just like you said in your blog, “… This contrast outlines why we should learn more about other cultures so that we can see other perspectives and reach a greater understanding of each other.”, I believe a comprehensive understanding regarding the traditions and the garment must be obtained before an informed decision can be made on the matter. I would like to add that Ontario was quick to deem the law as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedom, and is working on further legal actions.
Hi Oliver,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. In particular, I thought it was very interesting how you related what happened in Persepolis to your life, and the lives of the Canadian people. I feel that by living in the west, the average person is not affected by the debate over the headscarf. Most people may not even know that this issue is occurring. Again, I feel that is really important people are able to connect issues like that back to your own experience. Even though as a kid you did not “understand the importance of headscarf” the fact that you now realize its meaning is good. In my opinion, this blog shows how someones views can change, and if one person can broaden their view point, then why can’t we all? Keep up the good work.
-Evan Ruiz
Hi Arvind,
I really enjoy reading your blog, not only does it relate the abstract meaning of Persepolis to the social settings of Iran, it also brought up similar situation in India, which I must admit I know very little about. I appreciate the simple introduction and information of India regarding on the beef-ban situation since it allows readers who do not know much about Indian politics to still be able to enjoy the blog.
I understand that the similarity between Persepolis and the spread of Hindu nationalism might be hinting something dangerous or even “hazardous”, as mentioned in your blog. Despite the spread of the Hindu nationalism, we must not over overlook the effect of globalization. We are living in the age of globalization where information can be delivered within milliseconds. Global issues are being debated on social media every day, and the awareness of being a global citizen would only be rising. It is only a matter of time before people realize what they want and what should not be done. For example, the Jasmine Revolution which was an uprising against corruption and oppression in Tunisian shows the importance of social media in political participation. The spread of political opinions and initiation of marches and riots on Facebook allows the people to unite and fight against the government. While I am not trying to say uprising being a necessary action for the situation in India, but I do believe that the spread of a common sets of value as well as the consciousness among people can be achieved through globalization. The realization will only empower the people to tell what’s right for them and what’s not, hence rejecting the oppressions from the government.
Thanks again for you insightful blog post!
Hey Codi,
I thought your recent blog post Modern Interpretations of Feminism was incredibly insightful. I too only saw the hijab as a tool of oppression until recently when I realized that it could also be a feminist statement. It came to my attention that I was looking at the headscarf from an outsider’s view instead of attempting to understand the reasons women would choose to cover themselves, and I failed to see how empowering that decision could really be. I appreciated how you acknowledged that you previously held a “westernized view” towards the headscarf and I definitely believe that we should all reconsider our interpretation of what it means to be feminist and try to approach the concept form a more intersectional standpoint.
Hey Lisa,
I really liked your blog, it was very thought provoking. The whole issue of privacy in Western societies and how government have access to everyone’s informatoin and deliberately spy on you. It also made me think how a public issue affects our personal lives and the notion of freedom. I think in western societies there is a notion of superiority in termns of government systems but it is an illusion, because are also subjected in many ways. There is a graphic novel called V for Vendetta, that I read and also addresses many political issues, and one of it’s main themes is the illusion of seemingly free society we think we live in.
Hey Simon,
I thought your blog was a really interesting expansion on what we have been taught about genre. We’ve discussed identifying genre and what formulates genre but we have not discussed how genres are influenced and evolve. Your discussion about Donald Trump and his influence on the genre of presidential expectations was truly engaging. It’s true Trump absolutely is unconventional in his approach to being “presidential”. Presidents are often considered to be role models for younger generations. They are perceived as the epitome of classiness, and intelligence, being cool headed and intelligent. You mentioned that presidential candidates tend to use “Dad-jokes” this got me thinking about how presidents in the United States are often looked up to as if they were father figures (all presidents so far have been male). The use of “Dad-jokes” could be a way to convey this intimate feeling of family on to the American people, making the president seem more relatable and in terms likable. Trump’s vulgar jokes and statements are far from being those of the ideal dad. So I think Trump’s change approach to the genre of presidential language could reflect a change in the relationship between the people and the president. This was totally off track from what you wrote but this is just where my mind went.
Hey Evan,
I found your blog incredibly interesting. It is really strange to think of that kind of oppression so close to home. In Canada, we like to think that there is less oppression then the United States, however, a recent bill banning the religious garments in Quebec shows that there is still deep oppression here as well. The bill stops the wearing of any kind of face covering when you are using public services (buses and libraries included). This bill would ban muslim women from wearing both the niqab and burka. This seems to be another step form of oppression and intolerance towards another group in society. Your blog reminded me that we need to keep trying to resist this kind of oppression and stand up for others because there is still work to be done to try and help others.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was interesting to see how “Persepolis” and the articles that we’ve read in ASTU gave you a new outlook on the veil. The way you linked the topic on head coverings with the Canadian federal election was original. Like you’ve stated, the headscarf has been grabbing people’s attention at the political stage. As a matter of fact, the government of Quebec recently passed a bill (called Bill 62). Apparently, this bill is supposed to enforce “the state’s neutrality” by banning those who wear a veil from government services (at the municipality level, this would include public transits). This controversial proposal made me call into question the morality of forcing people to remove their face coverings. In my opinion, this would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom under Section 2 (a) and Section 2 (b). In fact, according to the Section 2, “everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression”. For this reason, I believe that Bill 62 is unacceptable and that it unlawfully conflicts with “freedom of religion” and “freedom of expression” – with the exception of Section 33 (where a provincial legislature may override some sections in the Charter). Identically to what Satrapi stated, Shaheen Ashraf (a board member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women in Montreal) rightfully disputed that “forcing someone to uncover, or forcing someone to cover [is] not neutrality”. After hearing about this news, why do you believe people continue to ban head coverings? In addition, how can we solve this problem?
Hi Julia,
I really liked how you wrote about the production process of Obasan and it making the author much more relatable. We sometimes forget that authors are also humans like us with flaws and they have to work hard for their books to get published so it can reach an audience. The most satisfactory part of being an author is probably seeing that people read it and liking it. The road to satisfaction is never easy, when we only look at the end product we always think that it is easy. Looking at the Kogawa Fonds gave me the same impression too.
Hi Lily,
I really enjoyed reading your blog about Obasan and the Rare Books and Special Collections Library at UBC. I think it is very interesting how your perception of the novel changed after exploring those archives. I feel that people often take the amount of time that goes into a novel for granite. I assume that your depiction of this experience represents the experience of many other people. I think that in order for people to achieve an informed opinion of a novel, places like the UBC library of Rare Books and Special Collections is very important. In order to do that the representation and funding for this types of library’s needs to continue.
-Evan Ruiz
Hey Jordan!
Your blog was really thought-provoking, and I liked how you started with a personal experience, and linked it to the issue of remembering and how social media will change the way we archive things. It is definitely a very interesting question to examine, because technology’s pace it’s incredibly rapid. Nowadays, as you mentioned it, it is easy to direct a message to a celebrity or politician, through social media, and for it to go viral.Maybe it is a new genre. I share your concern of how will we remember in the future, if social media is currently the predominant way of recording things, and how will it impact our memories.
Hey Julia !
I loved how you mentioned that you started to see Joy Kogawa as a real person rather than her writer identity. As you’re saying, when we start to understand the author’s inner world as a human being, we start to relate to them. I think the same with you. I always envy the work that the famous poets did and I always saw them some kind of a magical being that produces everything really quickly and without any obstacles.
I loved the quote of George Orwell that you give a place on your blog and I want to tell you another one which I really like.
“When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” —Kurt Vonnegut
After reading your third blog article, I like that you bring up the question of the authenticity of the ideas in “Obasan”, since it was rejected and edited by the publishers. Although you suggest that the book is afterall Kogawa’s work and that the book is itself a fictional story, I believe that the book conveys Kogawa’s emotions and mental and physical struggles of her childhood memory. If the book was truly edited and no longer represents her voices, in that case, I would suggest not to be blinded by its fictional nature, but to ask whether the original representation of Kogawa’s memory is changed after the book was edited.
Hi Jane!
I loved your blog and I would not have even considered the ways in which Kogawa was similar to George Takei. I liked your point about them using their platform to speak up and raise awareness to issues that are important to them. I feel like recently there has been an influx of actors and actresses doing this. I remember watching Patricia Arquette from boyhood use her academy award speech to discuss the wage gap and the inequalities women face in society, and Meryl Streep using hers to speak out against Trump.I don’t know whether this phenomenon comes from the way actors and actresses are often payed more attention to and therefore hearing it from them makes the message seem more real than from a politician, or whether the state of the world is becoming so divisive that they feel they need to use their academy award speech– one of the most important moments in their life– to address an issue they see as important. It’s an interesting issue either way so I’m glad you wrote about it.
-Lisa
I really like your blog and how it connects Joy Kogawa’s fan mail to modern celebrity’s twitter post. Just like you, my experiences in writing and sending actual paper letters are mostly limited to certain occasions only. I like the part when you discuss the future of the archive and the switch in the medium of communication since that is exactly what people are worried about. Archeologists look at paintings in caves to study the lives of cavemen, historian studies the ancient literature of writers and poets but what about us? We are relying so much on technology while the majority of the records of human activities in recent decades were in digital copies. There is no doubt that the method of information storage will be changing, but personally, I still think there is a place for the “old” and “traditional” style of communication. Hand-written letters as mentioned in your blog post; requires the writers to really think about what they are going to say at the same time, I think hand-written letters contain more emotion or personal feelings into it. Every stroke, every word represents the thoughts that were running through the writer’s head. In a time when social media like Facebook or Twitter stands as the dominating medium of communication, perhaps a hand-written greeting card would be the best birthday present to a friend.
-Kaspar
Hi Irene,
I enjoyed reading your blog post about our visit to the Kogawa archives. I like how you connected the field trip to our discussion in class about Kogawa “vomiting” her experiences in order to write the novel, as well as to heal herself. I agree with your statement about how the harsh words from the editor can be seen as Kogawa having to swallow that vomit again, and how that must have been so challenging for her. Do you think that this was the impact of all of the editorials that we observed, or do you think that some offered constructive criticism that was necessary for Kogawa to fine-tune her work? Thank you for your insightful post!
I enjoyed reading your insightful blog. It was interesting to see how you depicted human nature through what was uncovered in Milgram’s experiment. When I first saw the experiment, I was surprised to see that everyone, even those with strong morals, is capable of committing such cruel acts. This made me wonder if human beings are naturally racist toward one another as well – just as how you explained that people naturally follow orders from someone of high authority. Do you believe that human beings become racist out of nature? And if so, is there a way to overcome this harmful prejudice that we seem to inherit?
Hey Victoria,
I very much enjoyed reading your blog post. Particularly, I thought it was very interesting how you connected your culture (in relation to where you lived) to that of the Amazonian people. Towards the end of your post, you begin to argue that these exhibits are important to keep culture alive, and spread the knowledge about those cultures. Like you mentioned I think that this is extremely important. I feel that many of the problems that arise in todays world, are a result of misunderstandings. Teaching culture and history, like they do at MOA, provides the opportunity to connect cultures and people across the world. With that in mind, (working to educate people on different cultures) do you believe that societies will eventually start to look at how they are similar rather than how they are different?
-Evan
Hi Irene,
I really liked how you realized that there was a contrast between the black and white wall and the colorful objects. The numbers on the wall are just statistics while the objects are there to show us what we lose emotionally. I also think that we are losing our differences for the sake of industrialization. Native people who are different than the Western world have always suffered in history as you mentioned the indigenous people of North America. Seeing these different cultures and their efforts in staying alive by resisting against the powerful is a really strong message in my opinion. Their fight should give us the strength to make the world a better place.
I appreciate how you obtain the lesson of multicultural perspectives from the Ashaninka bandolier. Certainly every groups with different cultural background can have conflict in perspectives on a single matter, and the “superior” ones tend to oppress the “inferior” ones by depriving their voices. I totally agree with your statement that communities need to open up to each other and communicate through diversity of cultures, but I also think it’s quite inevitable in a sense that there will always be some groups being more powerful in the global discourse. It’s frustrating to know that we have little power in changing reality, but I think it’s very insightful of you to bring awareness of this topic. Great work!
Hi Ayşe,
When I went to the Exhibition, the doll caught my attention as well, I really liked how we bought liked the design of the dolls however when I was visiting, I didn’t look the explanation of the doll. When I read your blog, I really enjoyed learning what was the story behind that figure. It captured my curiosity and I loved what I read. The most interesting part I learned from your blog was that how shamans were using the drawing on the dolls to heal people. I find that extremely interesting.
Hi Irene,
I like the questions you make about the consequences of industrialization and modernization and how they affect culture. Definitely with these processes we tend to ignore the problems brought to those who do not benefit. Definitely ‘the rights of nature’, need to take more importance and be a guide to potential solutions. I also liked how you highlight the historical character of the issues the Indigenous groups have faced, comparing them to the relationship between British settlers and the Indigenous groups in North America. I agree with your last point, that these problems belong to all humans and it is our responsibility to find solutions.
Hey Oliver!
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I too wrote about big pipelines, but from a different angle which I think is really interesting that we were both made the connection from the exhibit to the pipelines. What I posted talked about dams being built and how those projects like pipelines invade indigenous territory and ruin the environment. The points you bring up about some of the South American constitutions really got me thinking about how I view the earth and its rights and also how America (where I’m from) views the earth’s rights. It is illegal to litter and dump waste in places you’re not supposed to, but I believe these laws are more in place because it degrades the quality of the community or possibly someone else’s property. The massive emphasis on security of property rights in the states contradicts some of the South American constitutions. Maybe that’s what really needs to change in the states though, the constitution has the ultimate say in what goes down and if it said the land had rights no one would be able to undermine it. The ability to have your own property safe from the state is a key pillar in America’s foundation and I don’t see anything changing anytime soon with that one. Your post has given me so much to think about! Thank you for the great brain food!
I found your blog post on Amazonia and the South American Constitutions very interesting. I never actively thought about environmental policies and concerns as something to be compared between nations, I always considered global warming and climate change to be a total international and collective effort. But you are very right, to consider Canada’s efforts versus South American efforts is something that I too find vitally important, because environmental conditions vary from country to country. I agree with your point, stating that Canada prioritizes resources and economy over environmental protection, which is something that is fundamentally wrong and buried deep within the Canadian system. You could argue that it is something nearly impossible to fight at a grassroots level, and needs to be approached at a higher, political standpoint. As you said, South America has a completely different respect for the environment, for it is typically dealt with at a governmental level. Environmental protection is within their constitution, giving it the utmost consideration in terms of policies and practices. I admire your referenced quote from the Ecuadorian Constitution, “all persons, communities, peoples, and nations, can call upon public authorities to enforce the rights of nature”. This to me is the stage every nation needs to be in, and it is only something I can hope for. Thank you for your post Oliver.
I really enjoyed reading your blog and I like the connection you pointed out between health and beauty. I also believe that we change our appearances in order to feel better about ourselves and improve our mental health, but I never thought about the connection between physical health and beauty. I enjoyed how your blog post connected the culture of the Shipibo people to the world that we are familiar with, essentially proving that we are all more alike than we realize.
Hi Jordan,
I really liked your blog and I loved how you made the connection to the Dakota access Pipeline! It’s super applicable but not one I would have thought of myself. You’re totally right about the negative environmental impacts but I was also thinking about the massive amounts of police intervention in the protests and the brutal force that was often used. The water cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullet guns among others actually ended up causing a lot of harm to the protesters. I think this really goes to show how they weren’t respecting the environment, but more so they didn’t respect people– particularly the natives whose reserve the pipeline went through. I’m sure the process in the Amazon was similar and I feel like a lot of the time economic prosperity is placed before environmental preservation AND the wants and rights of citizens (particularly native ones). So many people spoke out about the pipelines (and the dams) but their opinions were totally vilified. It was a great post!
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful blog. The approach to link the subtitle of the exhibit (“the rights of nature”) to the unjust practice of colonialism and industrialism was very appropriate. Like you stated, the oppressive nature of the British colonization in New England is merely a reflection of the practices that still take place in the Amazon. Likewise, technological advancements and the ambition of economic prosperity is a course to an inequitable world. I agree that history has shown that our appeal to economic success is a regression in human rights, however, do you believe that it is possible to find the median of economic, cultural, and social capital growth?
Hi Julia!
I found your blog post very interesting and insightful. I found your focus on “orphan objects” really fascinating, especially when you connected it with a quote from the curator. I agree that having unidentified objects is a form of neo-colonialism that furthers the oppression of these Indigenous groups, since they are not being depicted to their full potential. I also agree with you that the process of decolonization includes having a more positive relationship that embraces Indigenous history and culture. You mention later in your post that we should learn from the Indigenous mentality of creating a co-existence with nature. Do you believe that this is possible for Western society? Your conclusion regards how it is challenging to obtain peace since the atrocities of the past were largely committed by the government themselves. I appreciate that although you make this claim, you have an optimistic tone that courage to overcome will be greater than continued ignorance. I really hope that this will become a reality. Thank you so much for your intriguing and eloquently written post.
Your blog is really eye-opening with respect to Canada’s view and incorporation of various cultures to protect the environment. Although Canada is famed world over for its eco-friendly approach, we don’t consider nature on equal terms as mankind. Whereas the First Nations culture is indeed similar to that of the South American tribes and we ought to look for more solutions through ancient & sacred methods that are more prevalent and helpful now than ever. The last sentence – “it is wise to look to other cultures to see new points of view so that we can preserve our environment for future generations.” is what struck me the most as I never really made that connection or looked at the exhibit as forming a more wholesome approach to not only save the tribes and nature in the Amazon, but also around the globe. Great work!
Hi Victoria,
Your blog was really insightful, and it was very compelling to the blog of someone that has lived in the region where the Amazon resides. Your point describing the goddess Pachamama was particularly interesting for me, and your description of the goddess reminded me of some of the Coast Salish stories I have heard here in British Columbia. It was also cool to see how you were able to recognize some of the artifacts inside the exhibit from your education. It was also really interesting to see how you were able to relate some of your objects back to projects you had done in the past. Your blog was really cool and I had fun reading it.
I really enjoyed your blog post for Amazonia exhibition as we had similar interest on specific artifacts. As you stated, that wooden doll was specifically intriguing with its physical appearances and the explanation of it. Further with the explanation of the wooden doll, it was interesting that you brought out the question of the beauty standards of the Amazonian people. The beauty standards became major problem in modern society. The influence of celebrities and media keep raising the expectations of people and also the beauty standards. Like you stated, I believe the body paintings are similar to what we are doing today for beauty: new hair cut, makeup, and tattoos. We are supposedly getting those makeups, hair cuts, and tattoos for self-satisfaction, but sometimes we are trying too hard to be in the society and to follow the beauty standards or norms. This is what I believe the major differences between the Amazonian people and us.
Hi Irene!
I noticed we had given the same title to our blog posts: The power of poetry. I think we were both impressed by what the poems we have read convey and the emotions they provoke in us. I used to underestimate the power of poetry, but it definitely causes a response that illuminates complex questions that can makes us feel uncomfortable. Szymborska’s poem impacted me too, as well as the photograph of the falling man. The poem very compelling.
Hi Devon,
I’m so glad you wrote about the Ed Sheeran video because that was a topic that I totally forgot we covered in class but found super interesting (and problematic). I completely agree with your points about making sure volunteering and charity work are really FOR the people you are trying to help and not making it a self-centred experience. I’m in GRSJ right now and this topic– we call it “voluntourism”– is one we have covered a lot. Lots of the articles we’ve studies talked about the same sorts of issues you did; making the trip a self-esteem booster to validate privilege enough to go on ignoring it, as well as perpetuating this “white saviour complex” in these communities. The point lots of social justice activists are making is that many of these activities put forward an idea that the white person is of a more “civilized” status and are therefore responsible in leading these communities to change. They say that this ignores many complex political realities in the communities and creates ineffective bandaid solutions because the white volunteers see themselves as a saviour and do not listen to the needs or suggestions of the people they are trying to help. One of the examples that struck me the most was this problem with “orphanage voluntourism” where people go over to help orphanages. Although this is a really really great thing to try and do lots of these orphaned children develop an attachment to the volunteers who then leave and these communities become so dependent on orphanage-based volunteering that they put children with parents in the orphanages for the volunteers to see and feel badly for. I just wrote my midterm on this topic today as a matter of fact. Anyway, nice article!
Hi Devon,
I am also very bothered about the fact that charity groups show these countries and show the people in poverty and the poor areas. But as you also wrote, these places all have people who are not in poverty, they have middle classes just as the Western countries have. But also, I think that there is a huge culture problem. The communities which are shown as “in very bad shape” might be those people’s homes, culture and usual lives. In the Liberia video, it is an insult showing where these people sleep and become very sad about it. We can sleep in beds and they can sleep next to the ocean in canoes. Humiliating different lives and cultures is, in my opinion the biggest problem with these charity videos. It becomes very hard to distinguish between what is poverty and what is culture. Being hungry all the time might be poverty, but eating a different type of vegetable, root or fruit might just be culture, just because it is not something that Westerners eat, considering these people as impoverished is not ethical. Their culture gets wiped away because of these kinds of videos and everyone living in those countries are considered the same. Their identity gets wiped besides their culture. Thank you for your article, it was a great point of view.
Hey Ayse,
The way that you are able to compare the city of Sarajevo after the Bosnian war is very interesting. I like how you were able to focus on the city of Sarajevo, and their commitment to remembrance. It was really interesting to compare how they treat the two different sites of the library and the tunnel. I agree that this preservation of certain sites has allowed Sarajevo to retain its past memories while also choosing to restore lots of important monuments, and residential areas to show that it is moving forward. Your description of Sarajevo really makes it seem like a very transformative city, and being able to witness this change sounds like a very cool experience.
Hi Victoria,
I loved your blog, you have made some spot-on points about the movie American Sniper and how it only portrays the precariousness of the American people. The last paragraph was a good summary of our ASTU class. I also find that the term precariousness is related to all of the literary critiques (Persepolis, Obasan, Safe Area Gorazde and The Reluctant Fundamentalist) we did this year. Understanding “the other” is a necessity to understand global citizenship. Overall this blog was a great connection between American Sniper, precariousness and our whole year.
Hi Ayse,
I found your blog’s argument very interesting. Most of the time war is portrayed on a collective scale, a representation of a country as a whole, but we seldom think about the individual who has a life and a family of its own and has a high possibility of dying. I agree that most states see the objective of war with far greater importance than the life of the soldiers. I liked the juxtaposition of Erdogan and Putin, both attending funeral but with very different attitudes. It is true that there will always be conflict with precariousness because some lives will always be put above others especially when it comes to the politics of war.
Hey Codi,
I loved reading your blog. I found it to be very thought provoking and relevant to issues in our modern world. Specifically, you talk about the “us vs them” mentality that is arguably engrained into the minds of American soldiers. I believe that this is one of the most important aspects of your blog. As you describe, if this mentality exists, then we have a major problem. Not just, fighting for the person beside you, or even your family; with this mentality these soldiers may just be used as pawns to complete the goals (right or wrong) of their government. I would love to see more of your writings, regarding topics like these. I think you do a great job voicing your own opinion while simultaneously bringing in other scholars to the conversation.
Hey Kaspar, I loved your blog. I think you’re so right, the good vs evil narrative promoted by the film as justification for Chris Kyle’s actions fits extremely well with the Darda’s concepts of grievability and ungrievability. I think that Eastwood’s portrayal of Iraqis as savages and the sole representation of events from the perspective of the American service members present in Iraq does no favors to deter the growing Islamophobia in the West. This just shows that putting foreword a single narrative which claims to be truthful can be socially damaging because it can reaffirm existing stereotypes already present in society. Also nice job tying it all back together to the stream theme of global citizenship.
Hi Lilly,
I really liked your blog! You brought up some super interested points I hadn’t thought of. I never considered juxtaposing The Reluctant Fundamentalist and American Sniper but you are totally right in pointing out the ways in which they are essentially opposite perspectives regarding islamophobia. One narrative promotes it, one critiques it. I feel like everything American Sniper does in stereotyping Iraqi people and making them out to be violent terrorists is everything Hamid tries to counter in his novel. Hamid very much tried to get the reader to question their own preconceptions about this idea which is very much perpetuated throughout society. He tried to challenge these things we are taught. Anyway, I feel like your ideas really add an interesting lens to look at American Sniper.
Since I’m also in GRJS I also really liked your comment on white saviourism which is something I actually never thought about in this context. I made the connection to militarization but not to the whole “white saviour mentality” of soldiers going in and “helping the poor uncivilized communities”. That comment also provides a really interesting way of looking at this movie. It was all just really insightful!
I really enjoyed your writing. I totally agree with you about how unaware we are about the reality of “life after war”. As people that have never had to fathom the disturbing experiences of war, we haven’t had a chance to understand what happens after either. This is also a part of the problem surrounding unstable mental health of veterans. As we discussed in class, not being able to relate causes a disconnect between the veteran and essentially, everyone else. This results in silence and depression, and deepens their instability. Its a very prominent issue, but I’m not sure of a solution.
Hi Ayse,
Thanks for the amazing blog! I believe that the concept of grievability varies between different culture, especially in the context of warfare and history. The idea of nationalism is strongly tied to one’s identity as it often constructs the relationship of “us” and “them”. The concept of an enemy will always exist as long as there is a competition of finite resources. I really like the fact that you incorporated current issues and example into concept suggested in class, especially with such an accurate example of soldiers, death, and national leaders. Great work!
Hi Lily,
I loved your blog post! It was really nice to see different themes that we have study throughout this year. Especially, I personally liked that you brought the theme of “white saviour narrative” in your blog post. I agree with this concept of “white saviour narrative” can alter audience’s perspective when we’re facing media. As you stated, the concept of “white saviour narrative” is common in Western film and can be problematic in films: especially if the film is use as the record of history. Based on director’s purpose and ideology, films can portrayed different aspects and truth or original ideology can be distorted.
HelloHello Simon,
I read your blog about American Sniper and I liked your point of view about Clint Eastwood and how his movie is just about war propaganda and its based on profit. I feel the same way. I also wrote something about American Sniper in my blog which criticise the movie. I agree on your argument, I think the movie represents only one side and it creates a distinction between good and evil. I enjoyed reading it.
Hi Codi:
I agree with the part of your argument that the factual aspects of historical events can be affected by the involvement of memories associated with the events. Sharing of these memories sometimes can indeed evoke strong emotions that may lead to bias, and even unreliability in these historical accounts. I can confirm this point by recalling some of my own memories. For example, during one particularly traumatic event, I remembered the sky to be filled with dark clouds, but when photos were later reviewed, it showed blue sky and few cloud. The degree of distortion for the fact truly surprised me at the time. But despite all that, I still believe in the importance of memory’s role in remembering history, because I believe, for the most part, memories and data work together to provide a better understanding of the event. In the case of what happened in the concentration camps, we know that millions died in the concentration camps during WW2, but that statistic simply isn’t nearly as powerful as the diary of Anne Frank, at least for me. In my view, data and the memory, in this case, wasn’t in conflict, but worked together to provide a more 3D point of view to the atrocity of the Nazis’ crime. It didn’t undermine that statistic, but instead it by allowing a sneer peak into one of the millions.
Hey Simon,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I found it interesting because I agree with many of the points you make. I think that it is extremely important to pass down knowledge and memory. While talking about the Tiananmen Square protest you said, “the knowledge of this protest changed the way I think, made me a firm believer in the freedom of speech.” If this concept of collective memory, and a true understanding of an event like this was passed down at a more consistent rate, I feel like many people would have a similar experience to the one you did. It would potentially make them look at the world with a different viewpoint, and help create a better understanding of what is right and wrong, or good and bad.
-Evan Ruiz
Hey Oliver,
It’s Ayse and I read your view on the documentary about Japanese students we have watched in class. I also think that facing with history even though it might be disturbing is very important. I also didn’t think that the documentary was fair about the trauma enough.
While reading your blog I remembered a video that I have watched a few days earlier about one of the Mengele twins in Auschwitz. Eva Moses Kor is a survivor from the experiments that Dr. Mengele made about twins in Auschwitz concentration camp. She talks about how she lost all of her family except for her twin because of Nazis. She also talked about how they made vicious experiments on her and her twin sister. Her sister also died during childbirth because of the aftermath of these experiments much later when they survived. She later decided to face with one of the doctors from the camp. The doctor testified to the torture that they made to prisoners and Mrs. Kor decided to forgive him. It was a journey of having peace with herself. I think that maybe these Japanese Students are also on a journey to forgiveness. The trauma that they had to endure is awful, but they look like they had made peace with the incident in some way. That might be why UBC also decided to make this documentary more about healing and not about the trauma. The main idea of this documentary, in my opinion was a confrontation between the Japanese students and UBC, more than the awful story of how Canada traumatized their citizens just because of their ethnicity. I always think that I wouldn’t be able to forgive someone who did horrible things to me or my loved ones but when I see videos like this or read about these incidents where the victim makes peace with their offenders I have various feelings all at the same time. I think you made a fair point about UBC preparing this documentary much lighter than the reality. But I also think that the students are trying to make peace with UBC by getting their diplomas that they deserved a long time ago, and this documentary was more about them and UBC making peace, so the lightness of the content might be more about the timing.
If you want to check the video of Eva Moses Kor, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeed/videos/10156791799070329/
Hello Devon,
In your blog writing, I really liked how you described the change in your way of thinking about the accuracy of history and how you find an interactive relation between memory and history. I felt exactly the same when I wrote my memory in a historical context in the first day of class. I knew that something was missing. In a way, It almost felt like I was lying. In your writing, I found the following sentences very striking: “ factual history can treat the individuals involved as if they are merely statistics”. I agree with this.In the example about the Holocaust, if we read a memorial from someone who experienced such a trauma, we can actually develop empathy with their pain and understand how they actually felt from the very depth of their heart. Ayşe’s blog entry is really similar to this idea, I think you should definitely check her blog entry as well:)
Hi Codi!
If emotions render people biased, how do we determine whose perspectives should we listen to? How can we possibly sure whether the supposed-accurate data is not at all biased? Even if we’re just trying to make emotional connections to an event, we don’t want to misjudge a person or the incident. To see the whole picture, I think we should never limit ourselves to look at data collected by single scholar or memories of a witness of the event, but also the broader views of people in the field. What do you think?
Hey Kaspar,
I really enjoyed reading your blog about language. I also think that it is interesting that different languages have a different way of interpreting the world. It got me thinking of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis that I was taught in high school which is basically that the a person’s native language defines their perception of reality and how they experience it. I liked how you wrote that “language is actually a representation of our way of life, our cultural and society”, and I completely agree and feel that speaking more than one language opens you up to experiencing life in many ways. In some languages, there are words that exist to describe situations not recognized in other languages representing what is regarded as important to a culture. This causes me to wonder if the more languages one speaks, the better they understand the world.
Hey Ayse, it’s Lisa.
Your argument that personal memory is more moving than statistical evidence really got me thinking. I’m totally on the same page with you on the idea that personal memory is more moving, but I feel like in many cases, an oppressed group doesn’t get to be sufficiently heard. It’s hard for memory alone to be a valid means to convey a problem when people simply are not being listened to. You totally addressed this though through your discussion of mass media. I really enjoyed your look at memory and the way you introduced twitter as a means of communicating memory in newer generations. I think often times technology and social media are written-off as having no real value or contribution to society. Sites like twitter often get a bad reputation (no thanks to Donald Trump) so I love that you discussed how twitter is accessible to the masses and is actually a valid resource to relay memory. Such a good blog post!
Hey Ayse,
I found your blog very thought provoking. How we learn history and how it will be transmitted to future generations is an issue that needs to be addressed. Your blog also made me think about another equally important question: who writes history? And how does it change according to the country in which you are being taught. Imagine the impact that each of our individual stories could have. I really liked that you incorporated an example from your country because it sheds light on how it this issue is reflected in different countries.
Hey Lilly!
I found your blog post very relatable. I too all through out high school was taught to never use “I” in academic writing, mostly because it can imply personal views and bias. In higher academic writing though I’ve come to realize that the authors opinions and arguments are very important. Kind of like what the class was taking about with academic integrity and how you’re contributing to the greater conversation of the topic. You talk about how adding personal arguments does not delegitimize the author and you also talk about how you have to use certain definitions to apple to the audience, but do you think that an author could you just an over all general definition and still be considered legitimate? Since it’s now very important for an author to use their personal arguments, what you point out as something that would delegitimize them?
Hi Wamaitha,
Your blog was incredibly interesting and engaging. Your comment at the end questioning whether there is such thing as a global history made me think about how we see world history and events in Canada. In Canada “world” history is taught through a very western perspective we focus on European explorers and the development of Canada and Europe. Other areas of the world especially Africa, Asia and, South America are referred to but are rarely taught in any detail. This Eurocentric focus also exists in our media. Many media outlets like the CBC try to bring up events that are unfolding around the world, however, they still give greater screen time to events that are happening in Western countries. An example is when there is a terror attack in Europe it makes the breaking news broadcast of every major TV outlet, but when there is a terror attack in a Middle Eastern or African country it usually gets pushed to the back end of the broadcast. I believe that it is important to report news that is happening in western countries, but I feel that we need to focus more resources on broadcasting events happening in other countries so that we can try and create a better understanding of the world and become true global citizens.
Hi Kaspar!
I really enjoyed your blog post. It was nice that you came up with intriguing questions about the suitability of different languages in different occasions. I agree with you about the different aspects of different languages: “English has a greater capability in expressing personal emotions while being able to create a sense of intimacy in a rather natural way and Chinese is more capable of expressing the superiority of people or to show respect which has reflect the importance of manner in the culture.”
As I also speak Korean, English, and little bit of Chinese, there were certain words that are hard to translate into other languages and there are particular emphasized aspects of language depends on culture. Like you said, Chinese is more capable of expressing the superiority of people or to show respect, Korean is more capable of expressing courtesy towards people. I believe those differences came from different cultures and what these cultures particularly focus on.
Hey Kaspar,
I have read your blog and I found it really interesting. Not only did you point out that different language is capable of expressing different ideas, but also defining language as an ever-evolving thing. Personally, I speak both English and Spanish fluently and I do notice some of the difference that you have mentioned in your blog entry. I do think that language as a mean of communication for a civilization or a society, bear much more than simply a mean of communication. Language carries a symbolic meaning to cultural roots of a civilization, representing their way of life, for example the moral values that they have and the way relationship between each other. As for the point where you mentioned language as a evolving matter, I do agree that under globalization, we are more connected. As a result, the sharing of a common value among people from different part of the word would be represented by language. Since I am really interested in archeology, the study of artifacts containing ancient language or literature is something that I am really passionate about and realizing language as an evolving matter is really exciting for me.
I really like your blog, keep up the great work!
Devon
Hey Devon
I appreciated the way you differentiated between the roles of factual history and individual memory. Personally, I see it the same way you do, both these modes of writing have different purposes and are both appropriate depending on the context in which they are being used. When talking about traumatic events such as genocide, it’s important to take into serious consideration the experience of the individual. Even though it’s experienced by the collective society, and in that way historical context is important, individual perspective places us inside the mind of someone who experienced that traumatic event and makes it more real for the reader. Using individual memory in writing makes the audience empathize much more with the content of the passage. All writing genres are equal but some are better equipped to convey certain information to the reader under different contexts.
-Kaspar
Hi Julia;
It’s Deniz. In your blog, I have found strong connections to my life. You mentioned the importance of the Independence Day and your realization of the similarities between the Latin American countries. I can relate to your experience. Independence Day is also very important in Turkey and it gives the people from eastern and western parts of the country the opportunity to come together, put aside the politics and realize how similar they are. I agree your point that it is actually the collective memory of the event that gives us a sense of solidarity. I also strongly agree your argument that the Independence Day is in fact the result of the hardships the country had and in my opinion, we should respect the struggles of the people that fought hard to ensure we live a good life.
Hey Simon,
I enjoyed reading your thought-provoking blog. Your discussion on memory made me reflect on how countries dictate the memories its citizens are subjected to remember. Actually, after giving it some thought, I am convinced that society is indeed assimilated by the control of the government. I believe that every country, regardless of their distinct interests and values, is containing its citizens – and possibly the global community – from knowing the “Truth”. As a matter of fact, just a few days ago, the Canadian prime minister – Justin Trudeau – addressed to the General Assembly of the United Nations about the unsettling history of the Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian government. It is, as we may put it, a memory that has been kept quiet to the general public. And although this is a memory that has been gradually told to the Canadian population, it is, nevertheless, a memory that has been concealed to the international community. Like the prime minister stated, “Canada is not a wonderland” – implying that a country of integrity is not immune to flaws. I believe that the preservation of all memories will create transparency in society and that the transparency will lead to a more mindful community. After reading your blog, a couple questions to my mind; what role(s) do you believe memories play in society, and how would you plan to spread influential memories?
Hey Victoria,
It was really nice to read your blog. I think that it was courageous to share a personal experience where you questioned if your own actions were respectful. You raise a really good point about the significance of youth interacting with historical sites in order to combat ignorance. With relation to Douglas’s article, you recognize the offence of your selfies in Cambodia, however you state that you were simply unaware that the sites were scenes of trauma. In the examples that Douglas uses, I think that one of the major concerns is that the people who posted these selfies were very aware of the context that they were in. Do you think that it is ethical if someone is fully aware of the historical site they are visiting, and can engage with and reflect on their experience, but they still choose to take a selfie? Perhaps if they decide to have the selfie for self-preservation rather than sharing on a social media platform? It is a very controversial topic as both you and Douglas discuss, and I am glad that you are humbled by your experience and recognize your privilege. Thank you for sharing, your trip sounds like it was really amazing!
Dear Oliver,
I completely agree on your perspective of the Japanese Internment short documentary. I also thought that the producers intentionally avoided the darker portions of history to “lighten the fall” on UBC. The history of Japanese Internment in Canada should not be looked upon lightly, or swept under the rug to avoid confrontation or judgement, I believe Canada should embrace this time in history as an opportunity to acknowledge their failures. Although, I did in fact find the video striking. Growing up in the states, I was only exposed to American history and the many faults within it. I did not learn much about Japanese internment until Grade 12 of high school. To be where it took place is compelling, and I believe it is incredibly important to be fully knowledgeable about the despair that occurred among the Japanese-Canadians. Thank you for you blog.
Dear Irene,
I enjoyed reading your blog concerning “truth claims” and people who have abused it. When a piece of writing that recalls historical events is published, I too believe it is essential to make authentic truth claims because as you said, taking advantage of the pain embedded within the event to gain wealth and popularity causes unforeseen effects on the audience and the history itself. Your example of Wansei by Mika Tanaka is truly heartbreaking. A whole fan base and population that admired her book were blindly mislead and lied to. Do you believe it was the right decision for her to confess? Some may argue that it would have been less detrimental to her audience if she did not admit to falsifying her personal history and accounts. I believe she owes it to her readers and to the historical event to be honest and authentic. Thank you for your blog.
Hi Wamaitha!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I found very interesting that you started to look from a different perspective about modernity and religion and its relationship between them. The word feminism can be understood and interpreted in very different ways. This word, just like the word democracy can be used in various meanings. I also read a similar article in our group work in Astu. It was written by Celene Ibrahim and it also talks about how headscarf is a matter of feminism. She mentions that forcing someone to take off their veil or headscarf is same as forcing someone to wear it. Both are an attempt to change the lifestyle and belief of an individual by using force and it crosses the line of religious freedom. Also, I found very interesting that there is a correlation between the belief in God and belief of afterlife in a younger generation. I really liked the part that you wrote: ? My generation may be moving away from what previous generations defined religion to be, this could simply be how we interpret religion?. I also do think religion is changing form in our society.
Hey Jane!
Reading your post blog was a great time and it really got me thinking about fear and how it affects people, and especially how its been with humanity from the very start. You call fear a primal instinct and this gets me thinking about how much humans and our life styles have evolved. Do you think that how we feel fear is something that has changed with us? Of course we’ll always have our “flight or fight” instincts, but what I’m thinking about are emotions and mental illnesses like stress, anxiety, insomnia, and rage (along with many more). For example with stress, maybe if people weren’t deep down afraid of failure or disappointing others because it could lead to something like others leaving or giving up on them humans wouldn’t feel so much stress. They don’t even have to be negative emotions, for example love could just be fear manifesting itself in latent ways. Someone could tell themselves they’re in love and fully believe but deep down it could be the fear of not meeting their basic needs of sex and having someone helping them maintain steady food and water resources and shelter. Maybe love is actually just fear of being alone or protection. For women I feel like settling down with someone could just be hormones that tell us we need to have a baby and the fear part is that we wont be able to protect our children and also provide a stable life for them. I feel like when you strip down our most complex emotions they all come down to some very basic fear.
Hi Codi,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I like how you discussed the interpretations of feminism in terms of choice. I feel the same way as you when you mentioned having a “westernized view” towards people wearing the veil. I am glad that you recognized this viewpoint, especially since Persepolis demonstrated the perspective where the veil is shown as a form of oppression rather than liberation. The article you included in your post was very interesting because it showed a very contrasting opinion to Satrapi’s view. The article brings up how judgement comes from people’s opinions and personal beliefs; do you think that means that there will always be stereotypes towards people who wear the veil? Also, by seeing the choice of wearing the veil or not as an act of feminism, will the veil ever be free of political and social ideals?
Thanks for your thought-provoking post!
Hey Arvind,
I liked your blog post and it got me thinking about religious influence in government in a different context. I never really viewed that whole issue as something that was applicable on a more global scale but you pointed out that there are in fact instances in many countries where the government implements policy that is strongly influenced by religion (like your example of Maharashtra) all around the world. It also made me think about all the issues with the hijab being banned in France and the issues with Secularism there. It kind of calls into question the benefits and drawbacks of governments influenced by religion. To what extent should we be secular? Nice job.
Hey Lisa,
I really liked your argument about how states are similar with each other in the topic of surveillance. In Iran the state acted upon this surveillance that they did. They used neighbors to spy on each other, they watched their citizens’ provate lives and made them pay for what they did in their private lives by putting them to jail. Which is a very distict concept for Western people. In USA civil people aren’t generally held responsible for whatever is collected by NSA, but as you said this doesn’t mean that they will not use these information against the citizens at a later time. There are similar problems in Turkey too. The government publishes lists of so called terrorist people (opposers of the government) in one day and takes away their jobs or puts them in jails. These information that they collected hasn’t been collected in a day or a month, the state collects information for years until they can use it against any threats made to them. So your idea that Western people are not immune to the effects of surveillance makes very much sense in my opinion. Thank you for the different point of view, your article made me think much more seriously about government surveillance on the citizens.
Hi Oliver:
Your blog reminded me of a piece of information I came across recently, that Quebec has passed a bill forcing all who receives public services to uncover their faces. The goal of the bill was said to be fortifying the religious neutrality of the state. Quebec Premier Couillard defends the bill by saying, “I speak to you, you speak to me. I see your face. You see mine. As simple as that.” By a statement as such, the subject was grossly oversimplified, dumbing down a complex subject to the matters of preschool manners. The statement demonstrates the ignorance by those who favor the bill for this reason. Just like you said in your blog, “… This contrast outlines why we should learn more about other cultures so that we can see other perspectives and reach a greater understanding of each other.”, I believe a comprehensive understanding regarding the traditions and the garment must be obtained before an informed decision can be made on the matter. I would like to add that Ontario was quick to deem the law as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedom, and is working on further legal actions.
Hi Oliver,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. In particular, I thought it was very interesting how you related what happened in Persepolis to your life, and the lives of the Canadian people. I feel that by living in the west, the average person is not affected by the debate over the headscarf. Most people may not even know that this issue is occurring. Again, I feel that is really important people are able to connect issues like that back to your own experience. Even though as a kid you did not “understand the importance of headscarf” the fact that you now realize its meaning is good. In my opinion, this blog shows how someones views can change, and if one person can broaden their view point, then why can’t we all? Keep up the good work.
-Evan Ruiz
Hi Arvind,
I really enjoy reading your blog, not only does it relate the abstract meaning of Persepolis to the social settings of Iran, it also brought up similar situation in India, which I must admit I know very little about. I appreciate the simple introduction and information of India regarding on the beef-ban situation since it allows readers who do not know much about Indian politics to still be able to enjoy the blog.
I understand that the similarity between Persepolis and the spread of Hindu nationalism might be hinting something dangerous or even “hazardous”, as mentioned in your blog. Despite the spread of the Hindu nationalism, we must not over overlook the effect of globalization. We are living in the age of globalization where information can be delivered within milliseconds. Global issues are being debated on social media every day, and the awareness of being a global citizen would only be rising. It is only a matter of time before people realize what they want and what should not be done. For example, the Jasmine Revolution which was an uprising against corruption and oppression in Tunisian shows the importance of social media in political participation. The spread of political opinions and initiation of marches and riots on Facebook allows the people to unite and fight against the government. While I am not trying to say uprising being a necessary action for the situation in India, but I do believe that the spread of a common sets of value as well as the consciousness among people can be achieved through globalization. The realization will only empower the people to tell what’s right for them and what’s not, hence rejecting the oppressions from the government.
Thanks again for you insightful blog post!
Hey Codi,
I thought your recent blog post Modern Interpretations of Feminism was incredibly insightful. I too only saw the hijab as a tool of oppression until recently when I realized that it could also be a feminist statement. It came to my attention that I was looking at the headscarf from an outsider’s view instead of attempting to understand the reasons women would choose to cover themselves, and I failed to see how empowering that decision could really be. I appreciated how you acknowledged that you previously held a “westernized view” towards the headscarf and I definitely believe that we should all reconsider our interpretation of what it means to be feminist and try to approach the concept form a more intersectional standpoint.
Hey Lisa,
I really liked your blog, it was very thought provoking. The whole issue of privacy in Western societies and how government have access to everyone’s informatoin and deliberately spy on you. It also made me think how a public issue affects our personal lives and the notion of freedom. I think in western societies there is a notion of superiority in termns of government systems but it is an illusion, because are also subjected in many ways. There is a graphic novel called V for Vendetta, that I read and also addresses many political issues, and one of it’s main themes is the illusion of seemingly free society we think we live in.
Hey Simon,
I thought your blog was a really interesting expansion on what we have been taught about genre. We’ve discussed identifying genre and what formulates genre but we have not discussed how genres are influenced and evolve. Your discussion about Donald Trump and his influence on the genre of presidential expectations was truly engaging. It’s true Trump absolutely is unconventional in his approach to being “presidential”. Presidents are often considered to be role models for younger generations. They are perceived as the epitome of classiness, and intelligence, being cool headed and intelligent. You mentioned that presidential candidates tend to use “Dad-jokes” this got me thinking about how presidents in the United States are often looked up to as if they were father figures (all presidents so far have been male). The use of “Dad-jokes” could be a way to convey this intimate feeling of family on to the American people, making the president seem more relatable and in terms likable. Trump’s vulgar jokes and statements are far from being those of the ideal dad. So I think Trump’s change approach to the genre of presidential language could reflect a change in the relationship between the people and the president. This was totally off track from what you wrote but this is just where my mind went.
-Devon
Hey Evan,
I found your blog incredibly interesting. It is really strange to think of that kind of oppression so close to home. In Canada, we like to think that there is less oppression then the United States, however, a recent bill banning the religious garments in Quebec shows that there is still deep oppression here as well. The bill stops the wearing of any kind of face covering when you are using public services (buses and libraries included). This bill would ban muslim women from wearing both the niqab and burka. This seems to be another step form of oppression and intolerance towards another group in society. Your blog reminded me that we need to keep trying to resist this kind of oppression and stand up for others because there is still work to be done to try and help others.
Hi Oliver,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was interesting to see how “Persepolis” and the articles that we’ve read in ASTU gave you a new outlook on the veil. The way you linked the topic on head coverings with the Canadian federal election was original. Like you’ve stated, the headscarf has been grabbing people’s attention at the political stage. As a matter of fact, the government of Quebec recently passed a bill (called Bill 62). Apparently, this bill is supposed to enforce “the state’s neutrality” by banning those who wear a veil from government services (at the municipality level, this would include public transits). This controversial proposal made me call into question the morality of forcing people to remove their face coverings. In my opinion, this would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom under Section 2 (a) and Section 2 (b). In fact, according to the Section 2, “everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression”. For this reason, I believe that Bill 62 is unacceptable and that it unlawfully conflicts with “freedom of religion” and “freedom of expression” – with the exception of Section 33 (where a provincial legislature may override some sections in the Charter). Identically to what Satrapi stated, Shaheen Ashraf (a board member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women in Montreal) rightfully disputed that “forcing someone to uncover, or forcing someone to cover [is] not neutrality”. After hearing about this news, why do you believe people continue to ban head coverings? In addition, how can we solve this problem?
Hi Julia,
I really liked how you wrote about the production process of Obasan and it making the author much more relatable. We sometimes forget that authors are also humans like us with flaws and they have to work hard for their books to get published so it can reach an audience. The most satisfactory part of being an author is probably seeing that people read it and liking it. The road to satisfaction is never easy, when we only look at the end product we always think that it is easy. Looking at the Kogawa Fonds gave me the same impression too.
Hi Lily,
I really enjoyed reading your blog about Obasan and the Rare Books and Special Collections Library at UBC. I think it is very interesting how your perception of the novel changed after exploring those archives. I feel that people often take the amount of time that goes into a novel for granite. I assume that your depiction of this experience represents the experience of many other people. I think that in order for people to achieve an informed opinion of a novel, places like the UBC library of Rare Books and Special Collections is very important. In order to do that the representation and funding for this types of library’s needs to continue.
-Evan Ruiz
Hey Jordan!
Your blog was really thought-provoking, and I liked how you started with a personal experience, and linked it to the issue of remembering and how social media will change the way we archive things. It is definitely a very interesting question to examine, because technology’s pace it’s incredibly rapid. Nowadays, as you mentioned it, it is easy to direct a message to a celebrity or politician, through social media, and for it to go viral.Maybe it is a new genre. I share your concern of how will we remember in the future, if social media is currently the predominant way of recording things, and how will it impact our memories.
Hey Julia !
I loved how you mentioned that you started to see Joy Kogawa as a real person rather than her writer identity. As you’re saying, when we start to understand the author’s inner world as a human being, we start to relate to them. I think the same with you. I always envy the work that the famous poets did and I always saw them some kind of a magical being that produces everything really quickly and without any obstacles.
I loved the quote of George Orwell that you give a place on your blog and I want to tell you another one which I really like.
“When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.” —Kurt Vonnegut
Hi Lilly!
After reading your third blog article, I like that you bring up the question of the authenticity of the ideas in “Obasan”, since it was rejected and edited by the publishers. Although you suggest that the book is afterall Kogawa’s work and that the book is itself a fictional story, I believe that the book conveys Kogawa’s emotions and mental and physical struggles of her childhood memory. If the book was truly edited and no longer represents her voices, in that case, I would suggest not to be blinded by its fictional nature, but to ask whether the original representation of Kogawa’s memory is changed after the book was edited.
Hi Jane!
I loved your blog and I would not have even considered the ways in which Kogawa was similar to George Takei. I liked your point about them using their platform to speak up and raise awareness to issues that are important to them. I feel like recently there has been an influx of actors and actresses doing this. I remember watching Patricia Arquette from boyhood use her academy award speech to discuss the wage gap and the inequalities women face in society, and Meryl Streep using hers to speak out against Trump.I don’t know whether this phenomenon comes from the way actors and actresses are often payed more attention to and therefore hearing it from them makes the message seem more real than from a politician, or whether the state of the world is becoming so divisive that they feel they need to use their academy award speech– one of the most important moments in their life– to address an issue they see as important. It’s an interesting issue either way so I’m glad you wrote about it.
-Lisa
Hey Jordon
I really like your blog and how it connects Joy Kogawa’s fan mail to modern celebrity’s twitter post. Just like you, my experiences in writing and sending actual paper letters are mostly limited to certain occasions only. I like the part when you discuss the future of the archive and the switch in the medium of communication since that is exactly what people are worried about. Archeologists look at paintings in caves to study the lives of cavemen, historian studies the ancient literature of writers and poets but what about us? We are relying so much on technology while the majority of the records of human activities in recent decades were in digital copies. There is no doubt that the method of information storage will be changing, but personally, I still think there is a place for the “old” and “traditional” style of communication. Hand-written letters as mentioned in your blog post; requires the writers to really think about what they are going to say at the same time, I think hand-written letters contain more emotion or personal feelings into it. Every stroke, every word represents the thoughts that were running through the writer’s head. In a time when social media like Facebook or Twitter stands as the dominating medium of communication, perhaps a hand-written greeting card would be the best birthday present to a friend.
-Kaspar
Hi Irene,
I enjoyed reading your blog post about our visit to the Kogawa archives. I like how you connected the field trip to our discussion in class about Kogawa “vomiting” her experiences in order to write the novel, as well as to heal herself. I agree with your statement about how the harsh words from the editor can be seen as Kogawa having to swallow that vomit again, and how that must have been so challenging for her. Do you think that this was the impact of all of the editorials that we observed, or do you think that some offered constructive criticism that was necessary for Kogawa to fine-tune her work? Thank you for your insightful post!
Hi Lisa,
I enjoyed reading your insightful blog. It was interesting to see how you depicted human nature through what was uncovered in Milgram’s experiment. When I first saw the experiment, I was surprised to see that everyone, even those with strong morals, is capable of committing such cruel acts. This made me wonder if human beings are naturally racist toward one another as well – just as how you explained that people naturally follow orders from someone of high authority. Do you believe that human beings become racist out of nature? And if so, is there a way to overcome this harmful prejudice that we seem to inherit?
Hey Victoria,
I very much enjoyed reading your blog post. Particularly, I thought it was very interesting how you connected your culture (in relation to where you lived) to that of the Amazonian people. Towards the end of your post, you begin to argue that these exhibits are important to keep culture alive, and spread the knowledge about those cultures. Like you mentioned I think that this is extremely important. I feel that many of the problems that arise in todays world, are a result of misunderstandings. Teaching culture and history, like they do at MOA, provides the opportunity to connect cultures and people across the world. With that in mind, (working to educate people on different cultures) do you believe that societies will eventually start to look at how they are similar rather than how they are different?
-Evan
Hi Irene,
I really liked how you realized that there was a contrast between the black and white wall and the colorful objects. The numbers on the wall are just statistics while the objects are there to show us what we lose emotionally. I also think that we are losing our differences for the sake of industrialization. Native people who are different than the Western world have always suffered in history as you mentioned the indigenous people of North America. Seeing these different cultures and their efforts in staying alive by resisting against the powerful is a really strong message in my opinion. Their fight should give us the strength to make the world a better place.
Hi Eun Ho,
I appreciate how you obtain the lesson of multicultural perspectives from the Ashaninka bandolier. Certainly every groups with different cultural background can have conflict in perspectives on a single matter, and the “superior” ones tend to oppress the “inferior” ones by depriving their voices. I totally agree with your statement that communities need to open up to each other and communicate through diversity of cultures, but I also think it’s quite inevitable in a sense that there will always be some groups being more powerful in the global discourse. It’s frustrating to know that we have little power in changing reality, but I think it’s very insightful of you to bring awareness of this topic. Great work!
Hi Ayşe,
When I went to the Exhibition, the doll caught my attention as well, I really liked how we bought liked the design of the dolls however when I was visiting, I didn’t look the explanation of the doll. When I read your blog, I really enjoyed learning what was the story behind that figure. It captured my curiosity and I loved what I read. The most interesting part I learned from your blog was that how shamans were using the drawing on the dolls to heal people. I find that extremely interesting.
Hi Irene,
I like the questions you make about the consequences of industrialization and modernization and how they affect culture. Definitely with these processes we tend to ignore the problems brought to those who do not benefit. Definitely ‘the rights of nature’, need to take more importance and be a guide to potential solutions. I also liked how you highlight the historical character of the issues the Indigenous groups have faced, comparing them to the relationship between British settlers and the Indigenous groups in North America. I agree with your last point, that these problems belong to all humans and it is our responsibility to find solutions.
Hey Oliver!
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I too wrote about big pipelines, but from a different angle which I think is really interesting that we were both made the connection from the exhibit to the pipelines. What I posted talked about dams being built and how those projects like pipelines invade indigenous territory and ruin the environment. The points you bring up about some of the South American constitutions really got me thinking about how I view the earth and its rights and also how America (where I’m from) views the earth’s rights. It is illegal to litter and dump waste in places you’re not supposed to, but I believe these laws are more in place because it degrades the quality of the community or possibly someone else’s property. The massive emphasis on security of property rights in the states contradicts some of the South American constitutions. Maybe that’s what really needs to change in the states though, the constitution has the ultimate say in what goes down and if it said the land had rights no one would be able to undermine it. The ability to have your own property safe from the state is a key pillar in America’s foundation and I don’t see anything changing anytime soon with that one. Your post has given me so much to think about! Thank you for the great brain food!
Jordan
Dear Oliver,
I found your blog post on Amazonia and the South American Constitutions very interesting. I never actively thought about environmental policies and concerns as something to be compared between nations, I always considered global warming and climate change to be a total international and collective effort. But you are very right, to consider Canada’s efforts versus South American efforts is something that I too find vitally important, because environmental conditions vary from country to country. I agree with your point, stating that Canada prioritizes resources and economy over environmental protection, which is something that is fundamentally wrong and buried deep within the Canadian system. You could argue that it is something nearly impossible to fight at a grassroots level, and needs to be approached at a higher, political standpoint. As you said, South America has a completely different respect for the environment, for it is typically dealt with at a governmental level. Environmental protection is within their constitution, giving it the utmost consideration in terms of policies and practices. I admire your referenced quote from the Ecuadorian Constitution, “all persons, communities, peoples, and nations, can call upon public authorities to enforce the rights of nature”. This to me is the stage every nation needs to be in, and it is only something I can hope for. Thank you for your post Oliver.
Codi Gambino
Dear Ayse,
I really enjoyed reading your blog and I like the connection you pointed out between health and beauty. I also believe that we change our appearances in order to feel better about ourselves and improve our mental health, but I never thought about the connection between physical health and beauty. I enjoyed how your blog post connected the culture of the Shipibo people to the world that we are familiar with, essentially proving that we are all more alike than we realize.
Hi Jordan,
I really liked your blog and I loved how you made the connection to the Dakota access Pipeline! It’s super applicable but not one I would have thought of myself. You’re totally right about the negative environmental impacts but I was also thinking about the massive amounts of police intervention in the protests and the brutal force that was often used. The water cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullet guns among others actually ended up causing a lot of harm to the protesters. I think this really goes to show how they weren’t respecting the environment, but more so they didn’t respect people– particularly the natives whose reserve the pipeline went through. I’m sure the process in the Amazon was similar and I feel like a lot of the time economic prosperity is placed before environmental preservation AND the wants and rights of citizens (particularly native ones). So many people spoke out about the pipelines (and the dams) but their opinions were totally vilified. It was a great post!
Hi Irene,
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful blog. The approach to link the subtitle of the exhibit (“the rights of nature”) to the unjust practice of colonialism and industrialism was very appropriate. Like you stated, the oppressive nature of the British colonization in New England is merely a reflection of the practices that still take place in the Amazon. Likewise, technological advancements and the ambition of economic prosperity is a course to an inequitable world. I agree that history has shown that our appeal to economic success is a regression in human rights, however, do you believe that it is possible to find the median of economic, cultural, and social capital growth?
Hi Julia!
I found your blog post very interesting and insightful. I found your focus on “orphan objects” really fascinating, especially when you connected it with a quote from the curator. I agree that having unidentified objects is a form of neo-colonialism that furthers the oppression of these Indigenous groups, since they are not being depicted to their full potential. I also agree with you that the process of decolonization includes having a more positive relationship that embraces Indigenous history and culture. You mention later in your post that we should learn from the Indigenous mentality of creating a co-existence with nature. Do you believe that this is possible for Western society? Your conclusion regards how it is challenging to obtain peace since the atrocities of the past were largely committed by the government themselves. I appreciate that although you make this claim, you have an optimistic tone that courage to overcome will be greater than continued ignorance. I really hope that this will become a reality. Thank you so much for your intriguing and eloquently written post.
Hey Oliver,
Your blog is really eye-opening with respect to Canada’s view and incorporation of various cultures to protect the environment. Although Canada is famed world over for its eco-friendly approach, we don’t consider nature on equal terms as mankind. Whereas the First Nations culture is indeed similar to that of the South American tribes and we ought to look for more solutions through ancient & sacred methods that are more prevalent and helpful now than ever. The last sentence – “it is wise to look to other cultures to see new points of view so that we can preserve our environment for future generations.” is what struck me the most as I never really made that connection or looked at the exhibit as forming a more wholesome approach to not only save the tribes and nature in the Amazon, but also around the globe. Great work!
Hi Victoria,
Your blog was really insightful, and it was very compelling to the blog of someone that has lived in the region where the Amazon resides. Your point describing the goddess Pachamama was particularly interesting for me, and your description of the goddess reminded me of some of the Coast Salish stories I have heard here in British Columbia. It was also cool to see how you were able to recognize some of the artifacts inside the exhibit from your education. It was also really interesting to see how you were able to relate some of your objects back to projects you had done in the past. Your blog was really cool and I had fun reading it.
Hello, Ayse!
I really enjoyed your blog post for Amazonia exhibition as we had similar interest on specific artifacts. As you stated, that wooden doll was specifically intriguing with its physical appearances and the explanation of it. Further with the explanation of the wooden doll, it was interesting that you brought out the question of the beauty standards of the Amazonian people. The beauty standards became major problem in modern society. The influence of celebrities and media keep raising the expectations of people and also the beauty standards. Like you stated, I believe the body paintings are similar to what we are doing today for beauty: new hair cut, makeup, and tattoos. We are supposedly getting those makeups, hair cuts, and tattoos for self-satisfaction, but sometimes we are trying too hard to be in the society and to follow the beauty standards or norms. This is what I believe the major differences between the Amazonian people and us.
Hi Irene!
I noticed we had given the same title to our blog posts: The power of poetry. I think we were both impressed by what the poems we have read convey and the emotions they provoke in us. I used to underestimate the power of poetry, but it definitely causes a response that illuminates complex questions that can makes us feel uncomfortable. Szymborska’s poem impacted me too, as well as the photograph of the falling man. The poem very compelling.
Hi Devon,
I’m so glad you wrote about the Ed Sheeran video because that was a topic that I totally forgot we covered in class but found super interesting (and problematic). I completely agree with your points about making sure volunteering and charity work are really FOR the people you are trying to help and not making it a self-centred experience. I’m in GRSJ right now and this topic– we call it “voluntourism”– is one we have covered a lot. Lots of the articles we’ve studies talked about the same sorts of issues you did; making the trip a self-esteem booster to validate privilege enough to go on ignoring it, as well as perpetuating this “white saviour complex” in these communities. The point lots of social justice activists are making is that many of these activities put forward an idea that the white person is of a more “civilized” status and are therefore responsible in leading these communities to change. They say that this ignores many complex political realities in the communities and creates ineffective bandaid solutions because the white volunteers see themselves as a saviour and do not listen to the needs or suggestions of the people they are trying to help. One of the examples that struck me the most was this problem with “orphanage voluntourism” where people go over to help orphanages. Although this is a really really great thing to try and do lots of these orphaned children develop an attachment to the volunteers who then leave and these communities become so dependent on orphanage-based volunteering that they put children with parents in the orphanages for the volunteers to see and feel badly for. I just wrote my midterm on this topic today as a matter of fact. Anyway, nice article!
Hi Devon,
I am also very bothered about the fact that charity groups show these countries and show the people in poverty and the poor areas. But as you also wrote, these places all have people who are not in poverty, they have middle classes just as the Western countries have. But also, I think that there is a huge culture problem. The communities which are shown as “in very bad shape” might be those people’s homes, culture and usual lives. In the Liberia video, it is an insult showing where these people sleep and become very sad about it. We can sleep in beds and they can sleep next to the ocean in canoes. Humiliating different lives and cultures is, in my opinion the biggest problem with these charity videos. It becomes very hard to distinguish between what is poverty and what is culture. Being hungry all the time might be poverty, but eating a different type of vegetable, root or fruit might just be culture, just because it is not something that Westerners eat, considering these people as impoverished is not ethical. Their culture gets wiped away because of these kinds of videos and everyone living in those countries are considered the same. Their identity gets wiped besides their culture. Thank you for your article, it was a great point of view.
Hey Ayse,
The way that you are able to compare the city of Sarajevo after the Bosnian war is very interesting. I like how you were able to focus on the city of Sarajevo, and their commitment to remembrance. It was really interesting to compare how they treat the two different sites of the library and the tunnel. I agree that this preservation of certain sites has allowed Sarajevo to retain its past memories while also choosing to restore lots of important monuments, and residential areas to show that it is moving forward. Your description of Sarajevo really makes it seem like a very transformative city, and being able to witness this change sounds like a very cool experience.
Hi Victoria,
I loved your blog, you have made some spot-on points about the movie American Sniper and how it only portrays the precariousness of the American people. The last paragraph was a good summary of our ASTU class. I also find that the term precariousness is related to all of the literary critiques (Persepolis, Obasan, Safe Area Gorazde and The Reluctant Fundamentalist) we did this year. Understanding “the other” is a necessity to understand global citizenship. Overall this blog was a great connection between American Sniper, precariousness and our whole year.
Hi Ayse,
I found your blog’s argument very interesting. Most of the time war is portrayed on a collective scale, a representation of a country as a whole, but we seldom think about the individual who has a life and a family of its own and has a high possibility of dying. I agree that most states see the objective of war with far greater importance than the life of the soldiers. I liked the juxtaposition of Erdogan and Putin, both attending funeral but with very different attitudes. It is true that there will always be conflict with precariousness because some lives will always be put above others especially when it comes to the politics of war.
Hey Codi,
I loved reading your blog. I found it to be very thought provoking and relevant to issues in our modern world. Specifically, you talk about the “us vs them” mentality that is arguably engrained into the minds of American soldiers. I believe that this is one of the most important aspects of your blog. As you describe, if this mentality exists, then we have a major problem. Not just, fighting for the person beside you, or even your family; with this mentality these soldiers may just be used as pawns to complete the goals (right or wrong) of their government. I would love to see more of your writings, regarding topics like these. I think you do a great job voicing your own opinion while simultaneously bringing in other scholars to the conversation.
Hey Kaspar, I loved your blog. I think you’re so right, the good vs evil narrative promoted by the film as justification for Chris Kyle’s actions fits extremely well with the Darda’s concepts of grievability and ungrievability. I think that Eastwood’s portrayal of Iraqis as savages and the sole representation of events from the perspective of the American service members present in Iraq does no favors to deter the growing Islamophobia in the West. This just shows that putting foreword a single narrative which claims to be truthful can be socially damaging because it can reaffirm existing stereotypes already present in society. Also nice job tying it all back together to the stream theme of global citizenship.
Hi Lilly,
I really liked your blog! You brought up some super interested points I hadn’t thought of. I never considered juxtaposing The Reluctant Fundamentalist and American Sniper but you are totally right in pointing out the ways in which they are essentially opposite perspectives regarding islamophobia. One narrative promotes it, one critiques it. I feel like everything American Sniper does in stereotyping Iraqi people and making them out to be violent terrorists is everything Hamid tries to counter in his novel. Hamid very much tried to get the reader to question their own preconceptions about this idea which is very much perpetuated throughout society. He tried to challenge these things we are taught. Anyway, I feel like your ideas really add an interesting lens to look at American Sniper.
Since I’m also in GRJS I also really liked your comment on white saviourism which is something I actually never thought about in this context. I made the connection to militarization but not to the whole “white saviour mentality” of soldiers going in and “helping the poor uncivilized communities”. That comment also provides a really interesting way of looking at this movie. It was all just really insightful!
Hi Jordan,
I really enjoyed your writing. I totally agree with you about how unaware we are about the reality of “life after war”. As people that have never had to fathom the disturbing experiences of war, we haven’t had a chance to understand what happens after either. This is also a part of the problem surrounding unstable mental health of veterans. As we discussed in class, not being able to relate causes a disconnect between the veteran and essentially, everyone else. This results in silence and depression, and deepens their instability. Its a very prominent issue, but I’m not sure of a solution.
Hi Ayse,
Thanks for the amazing blog! I believe that the concept of grievability varies between different culture, especially in the context of warfare and history. The idea of nationalism is strongly tied to one’s identity as it often constructs the relationship of “us” and “them”. The concept of an enemy will always exist as long as there is a competition of finite resources. I really like the fact that you incorporated current issues and example into concept suggested in class, especially with such an accurate example of soldiers, death, and national leaders. Great work!
Hi Lily,
I loved your blog post! It was really nice to see different themes that we have study throughout this year. Especially, I personally liked that you brought the theme of “white saviour narrative” in your blog post. I agree with this concept of “white saviour narrative” can alter audience’s perspective when we’re facing media. As you stated, the concept of “white saviour narrative” is common in Western film and can be problematic in films: especially if the film is use as the record of history. Based on director’s purpose and ideology, films can portrayed different aspects and truth or original ideology can be distorted.
HeHe
HelloHello Simon,
I read your blog about American Sniper and I liked your point of view about Clint Eastwood and how his movie is just about war propaganda and its based on profit. I feel the same way. I also wrote something about American Sniper in my blog which criticise the movie. I agree on your argument, I think the movie represents only one side and it creates a distinction between good and evil. I enjoyed reading it.