Yesterday I attended and showcased a piece of work at the Coordinated Arts Program conference and, I must say, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of the year. The number of different directions taken by first year students at the beginning of their academic career path was inspiring.

I attended three panels that covered a multitude of topics, ranging from the representation of gender in the media, discussed by both Tara Rogic and Kelsey McDougall, to Islamophobia and Guantanamo Bay by Emma Hurlbert, to mass internet surveillance as seen in Joey Chan’s presentation. As I listened to these presentations, a pattern started to arise, one that I have been aware of throughout the semester but had not quite resonated: as students in the CAP, we are doing work that attempts to “better” the world.

Whether by calling out problematic trends in the media’s representation of women which sexualize and dehumanize women and risk naturalizing this view (Rogic) or cautioning the dangers of accepting internet surveillance which undermines the importance of privacy (Chan), my colleagues seemed to do research driven by a moral imperative. This could have been inspired by a CAP class itself, or, as Hurlbert stated, by personal connections to the subject matter.

One presentation in particular stood out to me. Samuel Basden and Tiara Driedger presented a Christian perspective of sexuality through close readings and interpretation of texts from the bible. One topic they addressed was the belief that sexuality is a physical expression of the need for a male and a female to be united as one. I found their presentation very interesting even though I was aware of the tension in the room brought about by an overtly religious perspective and presentation of moral beliefs. Specifically during the question period, several students challenged the presenters about the topics of gender (what if people don’t identify as one or the other?) and sexual orientation (what about homosexuality?) to which the presenters responded, in my opinion, very thoughtfully.

Driedger & Basden’s decision to present at the conference and the reaction of my peers makes me think of the discussions that should be able to happen within a university setting, ones that require mutual respect and open dialogue. It is also important to have controversial and difficult discussions. What is the alternative?

This article provides an example of the dangers of limiting academic conversations. It outlines potential threats the recently proposed Bill C-51 could pose to academic freedom, by targeting discussions or lessons that seem like a threat to the “security” of Canadians (by debating terrorism, for instance).

In an institution that is (hopefully) becoming more inclusive to different backgrounds, discussions become increasingly complex as individual values, including religious and political ones, can be difficult to reconcile with each other.

As we end our year in this multi-disciplinary program and continue to learn and produce knowledge on our way to “bettering” the world, it is important to realize that it will be a process complicated by the variety of perspectives each of us will encounter (what needs to get better? How?), but by no means an impossible one.

As promised in my post from last week ,
today I will continue my application of in-class concepts from the Coordinated Arts Program courses to Justin Trudeau’s speech at UBC on March 4th 2015. While I began by analyzing the way Mr Trudeau introduced himself and his party’s platform in relation to his geographical location, today I will look at the way he addressed an issue that is extremely important to Canada: the missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

The systematic discrimination experienced by the Aboriginal community in Canada is a problem that has been discussed extensively in the CAP Sociology and Art Studies classes. During the question period, one student asked Justin Trudeau for the Liberal party’s stance on the unresolved issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, to which he answered that “the fact that we…still haven’t generated the political will to do what needs to be done is a stain upon every one of us as Canadians.”

I paused when he continued by explaining that these women are (or could be) the sisters, mothers, and daughters of Canadians because it reminded me of a blog post discussed in class, I Am Not Your Wife, Sister or Daughter. The post challenges the conventional rhetoric of humanizing victimized women by defining their value to those around them, rather than their value as people in the first place. Mr Trudeau’s comment was designed to draw empathy, but instead made me wonder why we must be reminded of our potential connection to these women in order to care about their fate. I also reflected on the multitude of larger issues engrained in our society that are not addressed when the missing and murdered Aboriginal women’s case is referred to so briefly in a political speech.

As discussed in my Sociology discussion group, the causes for high rates of Aboriginal unemployment, addiction, prostitution and poverty are the result of a long history of discrimination. This video by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, from an Aboriginal perspective, outlines key events such as the signing of the Indian Act, the creation of land reserves and the establishment of residential schools to explain how Aboriginal communities have suffered yet continue to be resilient.

Justin Trudeau ended his answer to the student’s question by stating that he was proud that the Liberal party is “drawing together extraordinarily wide range of strong voices from the Aboriginal community to be part of the next government in Canada,” and this representation through politics is a key step forward in addressing a multitude of complex issues.

Much as is presented in Jiwani & Young’s article “Missing and Murdered Women: Reproducing Marginality in News Discourse,” discussing this tragedy separately from historically entrenched racism and cultural assimilation makes no room for finding systematic solutions. Instead, the issue is being isolated and stigmatized by those that are powerful enough to define it. For this reason, politicians and citizens alike need to be mindful about how they discuss issues faced by Aboriginal communities in order to support more in-depth and productive discussion, and more room needs to be made to hear the voices of people from those communities.

On Wednesday, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau
came to UBC to discuss various issues in sight of upcoming elections. His speech inspired me to write a (two-part) blog post that combines observations based on the CAP Global Citizens courses: Geography and Arts Studies to begin with, followed by Sociology and Political Science in my next post. This work should demonstrate how the largely theoretical content gathered from this years’ coursework is at play in “real-life” political discourse.

Selfie of ASTU Classmate and fellow blogger Delaney Griffiths with Justin Trudeau.

Mr. Trudeau’s first thoughts were about place, as he explained his intimate connection to the city of Vancouver. He described his appreciation for the landscape, and his enjoyable experiences as a snowboard instructor and a UBC student. He quickly moved to an issue that is particularly relevant in this nature-surrounded city: the fundamental interdependence between the environment and the economy. He clearly outlined the need to protect natural resources and strengthen the economy simultaneously, stating that those two rely on each other and cannot be separated. He explained that there is no choice between “jobs and trees.”

By reading transcripts of his speeches in various parts of Canada, I have compared the first issues to be raised, and found that they show the importance of geography in shaping Trudeau’s political discourse: the use of local geopolitics, if you will. For instance, in Calgary his initial statement was about the importance of oil to the Canadian economy:

I support Keystone XL [pipeline]…it would create jobs and growth, strengthen our ties with the world’s most important market, and generate wealth.

Whereas his opening comments in Ottawa were about the needed diversity of the economy:

 We need a smart economic plan for Canada that includes all regions and all sectors. A plan that includes small and big businesses – that includes all Canadians.

While it is evident that different parts of Canada will have differing priorities, it is important to recognize the adjustment of a political party’s focus based on the group of people it is speaking to, in response to place. This reminds me of the concept of kairos referred to by Miller & Sheppard in “Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog.” The leader/party represents him/itself in a way that meets the time and space expectations in order to draw support from the community. It becomes clear that Justin Trudeau not only made use of his personal story (short autobiography) in the city of Vancouver in order to strengthen his presence and approachability to the UBC students, he also made careful note of his position in time and space in order to formulate a presentation that most effectively fit the predominant values of his audience.

I hope that I have begun to decode the art that is political speech, please read my upcoming post for further analysis!

Title: Race Card submission by   Jameel Morrison

The Race Card Project is a website established by Michele Norris that provides a platform for people to express their experience of “race” by sharing a sentence of only 6 words. It contains a multitude of submissions that reflect the difficulties of discrimination, as well as strength and resilience; the comments both challenge and support the statements of others, creating a dynamic community.

One particular type of submission caught my attention. As fellow student Dora Dubber mentioned in class, there were a number of cards written in a seemingly defensive tone by individuals that identify as “white.” Such as this one:

Does “being white” really make one “automatically racist”? A little research unearthed the complex and controversial debate that is happening around this question and led me to the concept of “white privilege.” In a popular article about the subject, Peggy McIntosh describes white privilege as “an invisible package of unearned assets which [one] can count on cashing in each day, but about which [one is] ‘meant’ to remain oblivious.” She explains that all white people (in a Western context) are entitled to unspoken rights which enable them to achieve success with more ease than a person from a different ethnicity. 

A poster for the 2011 Un-Fair campaign in Duluth.

Since “white privilege” could only be solved through large scale institutional changes, several movements work towards its acknowledgement, as a first step, as demonstrated by campaigns such as the 2011 Un-Fair Campaign in Duluth (pictured here) or the 2014 school workshops about white privilege in Ontario.

Still, something seems to be missing from these movements, which is captured in Gina Crosley-Corcoran’s article, “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person….” Having lived the beginning of her life in poverty, she explains her initial resistance to the term “white privilege,” finding that the whiteness of her skin did not ensure an easy rise to success. She goes on to explain that the issue does not simply concern ethnicity; privilege is based on many other titles that one is born into: citizenship, class, sexual orientation, sex, ability, gender…

These ascribed statuses, as we have discussed in our SOCI 100 class, play a huge role in the way a person fits into larger institutions of society, but each one does not ultimately determine their actual position or experience. Instead, it is important to study intersectionality, which refers to the way certain combinations of characteristics fit into power relations. For example, a lower class, straight heterosexual man’s experiences will be very different from those of an upper class lesbian woman.

As Crosley-Corcoran states: “Intersectionality allows us to examine these varying dimensions and degrees of discrimination while raising awareness of the results of multiple systems of oppression at work.”

This approach definitely does not simplify the idea of privilege, instead it acknowledges the fact that it encompasses much more than the colour of one’s skin. This complex and difficult issue is important to discuss, and I am curious to hear your thoughts.

Adèle Therias

In a lecture from November 18th 2014, professor Laurie McNeill walked the class through a textual examination of What is the What, applying her research question: “What purpose does storytelling serve?” As I reflect back upon my first term of ASTU, this question seems applicable to the many life narratives we have studied: individuals tell their life story, but what has compelled them to do so?

The subjectivity of stories raises concerns about authenticity, as I explored in my previous blog post, and author Nathan Bransford suggests that the variations between interpretations of the same event are at the root of many conflicts. Stories cannot be entirely “factual” because they are from a particular point of view, and rely on the brain’s creation.

Yet, despite, or perhaps thanks to its subjectivity, storytelling carries out important functions, such as the creation of acceptable memories. In his blog post, Jason Gots presents cognitive neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga who has done extensive research about the way in which the brain creates narratives from memories. The brain is known to tells stories in order to make sense of past events, often modifying experiences and filling in gaps, and he emphasizes that “accuracy is not the main objective – coherence is.” Gazzaniga further explains that this function is crucial for individuals to develop a sense of direction: “where (they)’re coming from and where (they)’re headed.”

This innate need for storytelling also helps people give justification to experiences, more specifically to hardship and loss, according to Kirsti A. Dyer. She explains that, assuming grief becomes a part of one’s identity and experience of the world, it is important for a victim to tell a story about the hardship they have experienced in order to acknowledge it,  construct its meaning, and “understand their new role in a world forever changed.”

It seems then that the life narratives we have studied not only fulfill needs of the reader as we have discussed by looking at the way they are consumed, but provide an important platform for and process of remembrance and acknowledgement for each memoirist.

Bransford, Nathan. “Stories Are How We Make Sense of Life.” Nathan Bransford Blog. n.p., 14 July 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

Gots, Jason.“Your Storytelling Brain.” Big Think. The Big Think, 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

Dyer, Kirsti A. “The Importance of Telling (and Listening) to the Story.” Professional Course on the Somatic Aspects of Loss & Grief. Journey of Hearts A Healing Place in CyberSpace, 2001. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

In Conjunctions: Life Narratives in The Field of Human Rights, Schaffer and Smith introduce Rigoberta Menchú‘s testimonio, I, Rigoberta Menchú, that describes the collective experience of Indigenous Guatemalans who were oppressed by the state of Guatemala. Her autobiographical prominence illustrates their study of the market’s role in selecting and bringing exotic life narratives to Western readers.

They explain that her text was challenged by David Stoll, who dug into her story and unearthed some inaccurate claims it had made. He criticized the life narrative’s inauthenticity, pointing to the fact that it had been written with help from an interlocutor. This brings me to questions about authenticity: How is it defined? What is its significance? How can authenticity be determined in an increasingly global market?

These questions can be explored by observing food consumption: as recipes travel across borders, and international cuisine becomes readily accessible, many consumers search for dishes that are “true to their origins.” However, chef Andy Ricker describes in his blog post that a food’s authenticity cannot truly be determined: different versions of a dish exist, even within its original country. Also, while many search for traditional foods that are “timeless,” traditions evolve with factors such as available ingredients, and lifestyle changes. Finally, when a food is introduced to a new location, it must adjust to the local ingredients and tools, and must fit into new cultural norms in order to be appreciated.

In a similar way, foreign autobiography must usually be translated and framed in a way that facilitates the Western readers’ connection, such as with an added introduction. Stories must be presented in an accessible fashion in order to appeal to the readers. As a result, the text may become significantly altered in order to be understood within the reader’s cultural experience, and may become quite different than the expected “authentic” voice of the individual.

Just as global cuisine exchanges require consumers to be open to cross-cultural fusion and varied interpretation, consumers of autobiography must understand the difficulties facing authenticity when observing global exchanges of life narratives. It is important to remain critical of the way in which autobiography is marketed, while accepting that this enhancement is essential to foreign autobiography’s ability to find a place in the West.

Adèle Therias

Post Secret is a project that displays postcards on which individuals have written a personal secret. In their presentation, my classmates Jenn, Henry, Seanie and Vinson explored its prevalence in the study of autobiography, as an unusual form of anonymous memoir.

They discussed the unsuccessful attempt of a “Post Secret” online application. As founder Frank Warren states in this interview, the site was taken down within three months due to deliberate misuse, involving repeated posting of offensive and/or pornographic material. The negative community that formed reminds me of the many comment threads found on websites such as Youtube that are known to propagate rude and destructive interaction.

As Kevin Wallsten and Melinda Tarsi explore in their Washington Post blog post, there is an ongoing debate about whether or not anonymous comments should be banned from websites. One of the main arguments presented against such anonymity is that users are more likely to act in an uncivil manner when they are not accountable for their behaviour. This point is relevant to a topic discussed in Dr. Sullivan’s Sociology lecture yesterday: socialization and the individual. She spoke of George Herbert Mead‘s understanding of the self, which he believes to contain two parts (greatly simplified below):

• the “me” encompasses the rules of social interaction that individuals gather over time through exchanges with others.
• the “I” responds to the “me” by following, or not following, the understood social norms and appropriate behaviour.

Anonymity seems to provide freedom from the usual social expectations since the feedback that is usually received during face to face interaction is absent. Perhaps the “me” (that knows it is not acceptable to make that remark) loses control, and the “I” (that really wants to make that remark) does as it pleases, because there will be no repercussions.

This raises important considerations around anonymity’s role in communication. While I have discussed apparent negative outcomes of the “I” speaking freely, positive aspects are relevant to our study of life narratives. Taking Post Secret as a model, we can observe a very honest display of individual experiences, unabridged by feelings of shame or by the desire to accommodate social norms. As well, by reading confessions that are nameless, the audience witnesses a collective of humanity’s secrets to which they can relate, hopefully building a sense of belonging.

This makes me wonder how signed autobiographies differ,  and if it is even possible to write honestly when a part of the writer (“me”) constantly reminds him or her of the assumed expectations and judgement of the readers.

Adèle Therias

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Works Cited

Frank Warren. PostSecret.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

Hurst, Melissa. ‘George Herbert Mead: The Self, ”Me” & ”I” Video – Lesson And Example’. Education Portal. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Sullivan, Rachael. “Socialization.” University of British Columbia. 22 Oct. 2014. Lecture.

VanderMey, Anne. “PostSecret founder has a few things to say about new anonymous apps.” Fortune. Time Inc., 9 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Wallsten, Kevin and Melinda Tarsi. “It’s time to end anonymous comments sections.” Monkey Cage. Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Youtube.com,. ‘Youtube’. N.p., 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

Orange is the New Black is a memoir by Piper Kerman: a caucasian, upper class American woman who was convicted of carrying drug money. She chronicles her 15 month experience in a women’s prison, offering an unusual perspective on the incarceration experience.

Her book inspired a Netflix TV show by the same name (short form OITNB) which has had huge success; in fact, widespread critique displays preference for the series over the original memoir. In this article, writer and blogger Riese compares the two works to explore the modifications that were made, and connects Kerman’s observations to realities concerning the US prison system.

Despite the general understanding that the story is modified, OITNB’s audience seems to better identify with the fictionalized version. These are commonly stated reasons for this preference:

• The TV show does a much better job at characterization. Viewers feel more attached to Piper’s peers, which leads to more emotional investment and empathy for the inmates.
• Piper’s point of view in the memoir is frustrating: in a blog post, Genie Giaimo describes Kerman’s voice as “self-satisfied, egotistical, clueless, or otherwise questionable.” The show allows the viewer to interpret Piper’s actions for themselves, potentially making her more likeable.
• The show’s take on Piper’s experiences is much more dramatic. This is important for entertainment purposes, and makes the story feel significant, therefore drawing more attention.
• It addresses social discussions much more explicitly. This encompasses the lesbian relationships between inmates, the difficulties of being transgendered in prison, the tensions between racial groups, and injustices within the institution.

Such reaction points to public needs that must be met in order for a story to have impact, ones that may only be fulfilled by popular TV. While discussion was initiated by Kerman’s memoir, the fusion of fact and fiction seems to have given it the momentum for positive social action and change. One example is this campaign to improve the conditions at Riverhead jail. Does a positive outcome justify the manipulation of fact, or is the authenticity of the original text unjustly neglected?

Blending platforms may itself be emerging as beneficial to the memoir genre, which author and critic Taylor Antrim criticizes for often being “fragmentary” and “narratively non-rigourous.” The ripples that OITNB has set off suggests that, in an increasingly digitalized society, written memoirs are no longer sufficient; they may require a visual counterpart to make them more “real,” enticing and ultimately more powerful.

Adèle Therias

(For more information about Piper Kerman (the original!) check out her website.)

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Works Cited

Antrim, Taylor. “Why Some Memoirs Are Better As Fiction.” The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, LLC. Web. 19 Jan. 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

Giaimo, Genie. “Orange IS NOT the New Black: The Problem of Adapting a Life Narrative to Television.” Visual Memoir. n.p., 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

New York Civil Liberties Union. “Fix the Orange is The New Black Jail.” NYCLU. n.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

Riese. “How “Real” Is “Orange Is The New Black”? Comparing the Show To The Memoir To The Numbers.” Autostraddle. The Excitant Group, LLC. Web. 4 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.”

Samuel P. Huntington

(used as a header on Salam Pax’s blog)

In Friday’s CAP Global Citizens Political Science lecture, Doctor Erickson examined the nature of Neoconservatism. He emphasized that one of its characteristics is the belief that an effective balance of political, economic and social systems has been reached. The next step, and seemingly a moral obligation, is to help other nations achieve this same status.

Having been reading Salam Pax’s blog Where is Raed over the past week, this description immediately made me think of the United States’ role in the Iraq War, which Salam often criticizes for being invasive and manipulative. In a post from December 2002, Salam points out the blatant control by the US and the assumption that Iraq is unable to resolve conflict without western direction.

Why is this idea of Western supremacy so prevalent? It is evidently deep rooted, even if its source seems to have shifted slightly. One of the driving forces behind the European conquest of the world (15th-19th century) was religion. The belief that native people were inferior and needed salvation entitled the white man to take over their land and “civilize” them. In more contemporary cases, seemingly superior moral values entitle westerners to interfere in foreign issues. Those include the ideas of freedom and democracy, usually tied to capitalism.

But does the West really know best? Are these ideas of superiority still present at the individual level, despite growing education about different cultures? In a post on his blog, A Voice from the Margins, human rights defender Ajamu Baraka describes the ease with which the American government convinced its people that Iraq was a “backward, undeveloped nation”, later commenting on the belief held by many Americans: they have the right to intervene in foreign issues as a way of spreading superior western ideas. How does this way of thinking impact society?

The greater implications can be on a macro scale, in the form of destruction and radical change as a result of imposed “progress.” If a nation is not the source of its own evolution, the establishment of a functional system may be messy, flawed, or may never even take place. On the other hand, in Soft Weapons: Autobiography in Transit, Gillian Whitlock explores the issue on a micro scale, suggesting that the feeling of western superiority can create boundaries between a western reader and a life narrative writer from a non-western country (Whitlock, 7). Does the attempt to spread western culture actually deepen the gap between the West and the Rest?

Adèle Therias

In Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog,
Miller and Shephard refer to two exigences fulfilled by the personal blog: the need for self-exploration and the desire to form community.  They draw connections between blogging and journaling, which I had previously understood as the the former allowing the writer to consciously expose private thoughts to the public, and the latter as a solely personal endeavour. To my surprise, the article presents scholars who argue that writing for the self is impossible, rather that the journal as an “audience-less” genre is misconstructed.

This was difficult for me to process; I began to wonder who the audience of such a personal text would be. Is it intended, or unexpected? In her academic journal, Writing Diaries, Reading Diaries: The Mechanics of Memory, Steinitz, one of the cited scholars, affirms that as long as diaries have existed, they have been read by others (Steinitz, 43). She describes its role in creating a “collective memory”, shaped by the intersection of the experience of one individual and the interpretation of the reader, that transcends time (55).

Expecting such scrutiny could bring me to filter my entries. In fact, when confiding in my diary, am I secretly hoping that someone will discover it? Do I expect that, far into the future, someone will use my journal to make sense of this generation? Perhaps this conscious, or subconscious, desire to contribute could take away from my freedom.

However, in his paper In Defense of Private Writing: Consequences for Theory and Research, Peter Elbow asserts that writing for the self is entirely possible, even despite social influence (Elbow, 141-145). He also suggests the existence of uncontrolled writing, that is not even restricted by personal thought (Elbow, 163).

Two books introduce such techniques to free the mind: Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner, and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Both emphasize the importance of fast writing to avoid any interference by self or external influence. Both explore the possibility and benefits of writing to only yourself.

Have you considered the possibility of your journal account’s role as a commentary on today’s society? Do you believe your thoughts to be honest and unfiltered, or does the statement “you are your worst critic” apply to journaling?

Adèle Therias