Reading Holder of The World has actually been very interesting to me. I was afraid of not getting that in to it because of its relation to Scarlet Letter… oops. But I think I like it most because I’m able to determine when Mukherjee is using theory or ideas that we’ve been talking about all semester. I’ve recognized all sorts of things from the importance of an author (T.S. Eliot), demystification, deconstruction, metonymy etc. but what I have found most interesting is the idea of space and how it reacts with both culture and time.
Mukherjee suggests that something cannot be fully understood without addressing both time and space. The context or history of a country must be closely analyzed before you can understand the space or problem. This discussion of history and context is similar to Klein’s discussion, as well as the situation in Bangladesh which we saw through the video shown in class.
This leads to our discussion in class today of Post-Modern Lit. Post modern literature is when the author shows for example that two people may both be looking at a similar thing or truth, but they see it differently. Mukherjee’s use of space, time and multiple characters allows us to see how this can happen, and how influential space can be on ones perception of truth.
I find this an important thing to know and understand because it allows one to become more tolerant and understanding. Being able to see things and issues from a variety of perspectives is a very powerful character trait which theory and various novels, such as this, allow you to see the importance of.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
communities as a tactic
In conclusion both Juffer and Klein offer possible solutions to the issue of branding and the issues that single mothers are faced with. I feel as though the strongest argument and possible solution that they both offer is the importance of community and social support networks. The agency of communities can be seen through various organizations such as support networks, worker unions and even the CSB/SJU communities show the power of community.
My four years spent here have given me a great appreciation for the power of communities and networks. It is clearly one of the selling points of the school, and even though at times it can seem as though there is too much community, or too small of a community—I do feel as though it is a benefit.
Within the overall community of CSB/SJU there are individualized specific groups such as college dems, and college republicans as well as prism etc. These alliances give these people an outlet for support. This is what both Juffer and Klein suggest as possible solutions. If we are able to create a community in which we and others feel comfortable with our/others personal situations—where we don’t feel alienated for what we are, we can actually live a free life, and our ‘positive’ space can begin to impact others space who may be struggling.
It is hard to understand what we can do personally to make a difference in all the issues and problems we have seen and discussed in class. But I feel as though this tactic of creating networks such as these examples, the strategy of reversing these negative cycles and situations can succeed.
My four years spent here have given me a great appreciation for the power of communities and networks. It is clearly one of the selling points of the school, and even though at times it can seem as though there is too much community, or too small of a community—I do feel as though it is a benefit.
Within the overall community of CSB/SJU there are individualized specific groups such as college dems, and college republicans as well as prism etc. These alliances give these people an outlet for support. This is what both Juffer and Klein suggest as possible solutions. If we are able to create a community in which we and others feel comfortable with our/others personal situations—where we don’t feel alienated for what we are, we can actually live a free life, and our ‘positive’ space can begin to impact others space who may be struggling.
It is hard to understand what we can do personally to make a difference in all the issues and problems we have seen and discussed in class. But I feel as though this tactic of creating networks such as these examples, the strategy of reversing these negative cycles and situations can succeed.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Space
The video we watched on Monday did a great job of showing how large the issue is that the people of Bangladesh are facing. I’ve learned about this before in other classes and have heard how poor their working conditions are and how they struggle to survive on their wages, let alone keep their families healthy, but I think that it is always a good thing to be reminded of just how unjustly so many people are treated.
The question always remains what can be done to reverse this trend. It’s a difficult question, but I liked that the film mentioned that the people working in these shops are not mad at the consumers, they are mad at the companies. The workers do not want the U.S. companies to leave, but they want and need their basic human rights to be respected. It’s impossible to imagine what it must be like to be denied the basic human rights and I think many times that is taken for granted here. The labor unions and labor laws that have been established in this country ensure us that we will be able to survive on the minimum wage, even if it is difficult at times.
The majority of workers in these shops/factories are women. This addresses the issue of gender roles and stereotypes. Situations such as this perpetuate the negative identities of both the males and females of this culture. The male supervisors abuse, harass and punish the female workers for not working fast or hard enough. This dominant and abusive stereotype of males will never be changed if these inhumane situation and treatment continues. The stereotype of women being submissive and vulnerable is also perpetuated by this situation. I found it most interesting that you must challenge yourself to look at the whole context of a culture to understand why there are certain stereotypes and gender roles. Everything is influenced by something else and it takes understanding things such as the economic situation and issues of a culture to truly ‘demistify’ and change or challenge a situation such as that in Bangladesh.
The question always remains what can be done to reverse this trend. It’s a difficult question, but I liked that the film mentioned that the people working in these shops are not mad at the consumers, they are mad at the companies. The workers do not want the U.S. companies to leave, but they want and need their basic human rights to be respected. It’s impossible to imagine what it must be like to be denied the basic human rights and I think many times that is taken for granted here. The labor unions and labor laws that have been established in this country ensure us that we will be able to survive on the minimum wage, even if it is difficult at times.
The majority of workers in these shops/factories are women. This addresses the issue of gender roles and stereotypes. Situations such as this perpetuate the negative identities of both the males and females of this culture. The male supervisors abuse, harass and punish the female workers for not working fast or hard enough. This dominant and abusive stereotype of males will never be changed if these inhumane situation and treatment continues. The stereotype of women being submissive and vulnerable is also perpetuated by this situation. I found it most interesting that you must challenge yourself to look at the whole context of a culture to understand why there are certain stereotypes and gender roles. Everything is influenced by something else and it takes understanding things such as the economic situation and issues of a culture to truly ‘demistify’ and change or challenge a situation such as that in Bangladesh.
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