Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15Identities & Social Locations:Who am I? Who are My People?Key WordsPrivilegeHierarchyUnconsciousSocial conditionsNormativeMeritocracySimilar to how forms of oppression are connected, forms of privilege are connected“White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks.”“Invisible” is used because privilege goes unnoticed and unchecked by the privileged personSocialization and education do not train the privileged individual in viewing themselves as: an oppressor, unfairly advantaged person, and a participant in the damaged culturePrivilege works systematically to oppress marginalized groupsDisapproving of the system is not sufficient to cause systemic changePrivileged individuals must be conscious of their privilege and work deliberately to reconstruct societyTalking BackIn chapter one bell hooks:•describes the different domains in which black males and females dominate the church and home.•points out that that girls are silenced and seen as having no future in speaking while boys are encouraged to become speakers/preachers.•emphasizes that girls could be threatened with the label of madness for speaking too much. “Talking back”= speaking as an equal to an authority figure “Right speech of womanhood”= the sign of woman’s submission to patriarchal authority Key quote: “Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side, a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life, and new growth possible. It is that act of speech, of “talking back” that is no mere gesture of empty words, that is the expression of moving from object to subject, that is the liberated voice” (hooks 18).A Question of Classby Dorothy AllisonKey WordsSocioeconomic locationClass stratificationConditioning Geographic locationMythInternalized oppressionIn this article, Allison addresses the struggles that she faced due to her socioeconomic and geographic locations as well as her sexual orientation.“The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people believe that the security of their families and community depends on the oppression of others.”Primary LessonsoSociety creates myths about marginalized groups which are upheldoMembers of said groups internalize the sentiments and take part in enforcing themoWe negotiate multiple identities that may be in conflict with one another oResistance to internalization of socially constructed myths is necessaryoHealing from the oppressive effects of marginalization is a journeyOptional EthnicitiesFOR WHITES ONLY?Main idea: White Americans of European ancestry can be described as having a great deal of choice in terms of their ethnic identities Key WordsEthnicityRacial passingAssimilationSelf IdentificationSymbolic IdentificationsNote: There is a difference between “race” and “ethnicity”1920s – Immigration was “curtailed” and “European ethnic groups…in the [U.S.] were…cut off from any new arrivals1990s – Most members of European ethnic groups had a “remote” link to their “ethnic origins”Upward Mobility - Social mobility and declining discrimination…created the option of not identifying. Most people of European ethnic origin have mixed ancestryThe Result – “This gives them the option of which ethnicity to identify with.” Symbolic Ethnicities Define: “Leisure activities are…leisure activities, rooted in the nuclear family traditions and reinforced by the voluntary enjoyable aspects of being ethnic.”Effects: “The belief that ethnicities are individualistic in nature and without real social cost for the individual.”Construction: “The symbolic meaning of [an ethnic identity] can be constructed by individuals from mass media images, family traditions, of other social activities”“In other words, for later-generation White ethnics, ethnicity is not something that influences their lives unless they want it to.”The freedom to include or exclude ancestries…is not the same for those defined racially in…societyThe Problem: The symbolic ethnic…think[s] that all…identities are…interchangeable…This assumption ignores the very big difference between individualistic symbolic ethnic identity and…socially enforced and imposed racial identityIf your understanding of ethnicity…is one of individual choice, it becomes harder to understand the need for programs…[that]…bring about social changeThere are any social issues and involuntary ascription associated with non-White identitiesDecolonizing CultureBY: NADINE NABERCultural continuityBinaryCultural/Political SelfImperialism/ColonialismAssimilationOrientalismMasculinistBeyond Orientalist and Anti-Orientalist Feminisms•The “Orient” describes the countries that are east of Europe. Stems from colonial thought•It “relies on representations of culture…and religion…as a justification for post-cold war imperial expansion in the Middle East…”•Stereotypes – “a host of social ills…unchanging tradition[s] that exis[t] outside of history and [are] incompatible with civilization.”•Label used as a cultural tool and a way to produce capital“Throughout my childhood, ‘culture’ was a tool, an abstract, ephemeral notion of what we do and what we believe, of who belongs and who does not.”“Us” and “Them”: There is a dichotomous relationship between American and Arab culture that positions each against the other Prime Example: “Dominant middle-class Arab American concepts of ‘Arab Culture’ [is] an immigrant survival strategy for replacing U.S. Colonialist and Orientalist discourses…with seemingly positive or empowering concepts of cultural identity.”Citing her personal experience as an Arab American, Naber addresses how “essentialist understandings of religion, family, gender and sexuality among Arab communities” has “allow[ed] Orientalist thought to be left intact and activated.”Why “Decolonize”? •Today, anything that is discussed about Arab culture begins with 9/11. •What is understood as Arab culture is actually an Americanized, monolithic version of Arab culture•This form of Arab culture is then commoditized•Arab