Dearest readers, these past weeks we have in our Astu class been addressing a theme that is central to our Cap Stream. That is, what it really means to be a “Global Citizen” through the frames of literature. Before arriving at UBC, I had signed up for the CAP stream “Global Citizen” to a large extent because I had an idea of what a “Global Citizen” meant to me and I wanted to dive in deeper into the concept. This is precisely what these past weeks have allowed me to do, yet, not in the way that I had expected. Indeed, instead of focusing of Global Citizenship directly, we have investigated the topic in a rather indirect manner in terms of literature. Throughout the course of the year, we have studied several stories written by authors from all corners of the world, each providing their unique perspective on what it means to human in our world. Yet, it was not until we analysed Judith Butler’s “Frames of War” that I more fully understood the importance of these stories, which changed my perspective of Global Citizenship.
Previously I regarded the concept of “Global Citizenship (GC)” to refer to the establishment of a sensation of united belonging, acceptance and accountability between individuals on an international scale. Yet, having confronted other international perspectives, I also strongly believed that the GC should be up to each individual to explore and interpret. According to me the main focus of GC had to be put on the word “sharing”, because with reference to the act of sharing experiences on an international as well as a local scale I believed that we could create a common ground. Rather naively, I thought that by initiating any forms of exchanges, with the main focus being to enable the creation of a common ground of values, such as respect, cultural diversity and justice, we could together forging friendships between individuals and nations. For me, GC could easily be established through teaching and learning about different ideas, perspectives and cultural mind-sets.
However, after having read Butler my conception of how GC actually is, or possibly is not, created drastically changed. In ”Frames of War”, Butler puts forward the argument that the ways in which we perceive war are “framed” through specific venues, such as the media, that prevent us from acknowledging and emphasize with the people who are to be killed from the enemy side. Indeed, according to Butler this “dehumanization” of individuals who we reject identifying with is what keeps us from coming together on a global scale. At first, I struggled to internalize Butler’s concept that all of us subconsciously reject some individuals as not “really” being people to us. I remember feeling a little offended, thinking to myself: “Oh no, not me, how could I possibly that ignorant?” Having had a rather substantial amount of international experiences I desperately wanted to think of myself as sensitive and capable of viewing all individuals as actual people.
Being European, I was an active member of the European Youth Parliament (EYP), which included participating in international discussion forums and establishing local clubs. Through that I participated in several intercultural exchanges, such as two programs mainly based on the importance of cultural exchange and included courses in the history, politics and economy of the country visited, where I travelled to countries such as Ukraine and Turkey. Additionally to these, I was a part of a Swedish one-year ambassador program in France, which was funded in cooperation with the EU, where I continued participating in the French version of EYP and perfected my French and made close friends, attending a French boarding school. I later finished my high school at an international school, the United World College in Costa Rica, where GC values continued to be a part of my daily life, as more than 70 nationalities were represented at the school. Yet, despite all of this Butler’s words really hit home. Because in reality, I know that I am just as guilty as anyone else of subconsciously dehumanize individuals that I do not have a personal connection to.
Thus, by taking Butler’s theory and applying it to the concept of “Global Citizenship” it offers us a unique understanding of why it seems to be so difficult to achieve. As this dichotomous relationship between people belonging to “us” or “them”, which is a manner thinking often derived from war, creates a mental wall making it impossible to establish a sense of shared global identity or citizenship. Therefore, in order to strive to become a Global Citizen we have to be fully aware of this subconscious behaviour. If are not aware, it does not matter how much international experience we obtain, we will still be victims of this way of sorting people. Thus, as I have said before, awareness is the key!
Have a good weekend!