With the passage at hand, Dr. Ella Shohat discusses about the case of being an Arab Jew, a historical paradox, as one of many social elisions. Unlike the idea of intersectionality, binarism leaves “little place for complex identities” (Shohat, 2). As an American, Jew, and Arab, she speaks of the disparities amidst a war involving all three cultural topographies. Albeit she speaks from a subjective standpoint, she does not mention the issue of racial hygiene, class, geographic divisions, and gender. Passages from Guenter Lewy, Melissa Wright, and Philippe Bourgois will be used to discuss the way in which different positionalities might affect the analysis of “Dislocated Identities.” In “Dislocated Identities,” Dr. Shohat tells of the reification of identity categories. Identity categories are hypothetical construct falsely manifested as something concrete where communities are neatly bounded. Despite the idea of syncretism, which serves as a façade for the term “community,” its definition entails the exclusion of others and where the generic “norm” of those unmarked are reinforced creating the idea of “us vs. them.” In her article, Dr. Shohat addresses the concern about the “us” being Jews and “them” being Arabs--- “a pressure to choose between being a Jew and being an Arab” (Shohat, 2). Apart from being an entity of social scriptorium, Dr. Shohat addresses the difficulties and problems within Middle Eastern political, economical, cultural, and religious views. One of the reification of Arab Jew identity is that it excludes marked intersectional experiences. This controversy is seen in the American hegemonic context that the identity of being Jewish can only be limited to the European experience (i.e. Holocaust), which Dr. Shohat... ... middle of paper ... ...tter see hegemony when we live in it and prevent ourselves from using our privilege to oppress others (Lecture 2/24/11). Works Cited Bourgois, Philippe. “Violating Apartheid in the United States” and “’Going Legit’ Disrespect and Resistance at Work” in In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 19-47, 114-119, and 162-169. Lewy, Guenter. The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000. (Chapter 3, pp. 36-55). Shohat, Ella. “Dislocated Identities.” Movement Research Journal. 1992. 5, fall/winter Wright, Melissa. “Maquiladora Mestizas and a Feminist Border Politics: Revisiting Anzaldua.” In Decentering the Center: Philosophy for a multicultural, postcolonial, and feminist world. Narayan, Uma and Sandra Harding, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press; 208-225.
This book will give you an understanding of how structural racism among blacks is installed throughout history. The system is created to make sure the subject matter, blacks, in this case, are subjected to fail. The crack epidemic in a Chicago neighborhood was only the beginning. Since the first day of this course the terms, drugs and crime have been introduced as not only enemies to society but good friends for the government.
In a story of identity and empowerment, Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem “Borderbus” revolves around two Honduran women grappling with their fate regarding a detention center in the United States after crawling up the spine of Mexico from Honduras. While one grapples with their survival, fixated on the notion that their identities are the ultimate determinant for their future, the other remains fixated on maintaining their humanity by insisting instead of coming from nothingness they are everything. Herrera’s poem consists entirely of the dialogue between the two women, utilizing diction and imagery to emphasize one’s sense of isolation and empowerment in the face of adversity and what it takes to survive in America.
Gloria Anzaldúa was a Chicana, lesbian feminist writer whose work exemplifies both the difficulties and beauty in living as one’s authentic self. She published her most prominent work in 1987, a book titled Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. In Borderlands, she write of her own struggle with coming to terms with her identify as a Chicana, an identity that lies at the border between Mexican and American. For instance, she writes,“we are a synergy of two cultures with various degrees of Mexicanness or Angloness. I have so internalized the borderland conflict that sometimes I feel like one cancel out the other and we are zero” However, even as she details this struggle she asserts pride in her identity, declaring, “I will no longer be
Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124.
Grenville, John A.S. “Neglected Holocaust Victims: the Mischlinge, the Judischversippte, and the Gypsies.” The Holocaust and History. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Abraham J. Peck. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1998. 315-326.
Noor grew up with “a really strong sense of Lebanese identity,” because her father had one as well (Lerner 99). This sense of identity based on her race colored her life choices in both high school and college, where she majored in Middle Eastern studies and was active in Arab student organizations. After her father died, Noor was planning to go and study in Cairo and visit Lebanon. Using these two boundary markers, race and identity, Noor chose to find collectivity that rests on the exclusive as opposed to the inclusive, an action that could be rendered as a type of negative
Martinez, Demetria. 2002. “Solidarity”. Border Women: Writing from la Frontera.. Castillo, Debra A & María Socorro Tabuenca Córdoba. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 168- 188.
Craske, N. (1999). Women and Political Identity in Latin America. In Women and Politics in Latin America (First ed., pp. 9-25). N.p.: Rutgers University Press.
In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio by Phillipe Bourgois is a riveting research book which explores the effect of large structural forces and local cultural dynamics which mould the character of Puerto Rican individuals who reside in New York, East Harlem- El Barrio. The drug cocaine commonly known as crack lies as the central theme in the research. Phillipe Bourgois utilizes this theme in order to explore the underground economy in El Barrio and thus discovers the social, economic and cultural marginalisation and isolation of the Puerto Rican expats in El Barrio. In the research Phillipe Bourgois discusses the structural forces and local cultural dynamics which are the synergy between culture and psychological activity looking
There is a deep seated hatred between rival gangs, which makes it difficult for the gang’s members to let go. Gangs became a source of income for some people, which made it difficult for many young African Americans to escape the gangs. Significance: This film shows how the police saw activist groups such as the Black Panthers and the U.S. Organization as a threat, which led to repression despite the Civil Rights Movement. This repression leads to anger and hatred and the need for a sense of belonging amongst the African American community.
As much as men are working, so are women, but ultimately they do not face the same obstacles. For example, “Even if one subscribes to a solely economic theory of oppression, how can one ignore that over half of the world's workers are female who suffer discrimination not only in the workplace, but also at home and in all the areas sex-related abuse” (Moraga 98). This gives readers a point of view in which women are marginalized in the work place, at home, and other areas alike. Here Moraga gives historical accounts of Chicana feminists and how they used their experiences to give speeches and create theories that would be of relevance. More so, Moraga states how the U.S. passes new bills that secretly oppress the poor and people of color, which their community falls under, and more specifically, women. For instance, “The form their misogyny takes is the dissolution of government-assisted abortions for the poor, bills to limit teenage girls’ right to birth control ... These backward political moves hurt all women, but most especially the poor and "colored." (Moraga 101). This creates women to feel powerless when it comes to control one’s body and leads them to be oppressed politically. This places the government to act as a protagonist, and the style of writing Moraga places them in, shines more light to the bad they can do, especially to women of color. Moraga uses the words, “backward moves”
The past saw identity boundaries being stringently controlled by hegemonic discourse. Laws and social conventions aimed at controlling the “other” were common place. Racial, ethnic, and religious...
Powercube.net. 2014. Hegemony and invisible power | Understanding power for social change | powercube.net | IDS at Sussex University. [online] Available at: http://www.powercube.net/other-forms-of-power/hegemony-and-invisible-power/ [Accessed: 23 Mar 2014].
The eternal endeavor of obtaining a realistic sense of selfhood is depicted for all struggling women of color in Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). Anzaldua illustrates the oppressing realities of her world – one that sets limitations for the minority. Albeit the obvious restraints against the white majority (the physical borderland between the U.S. and Mexico), there is a constant and overwhelming emotional battle against the psychological “borderlands” instilled in Anzaldua as she desperately seeks recognition as an openly queer Mestiza woman. With being a Mestiza comes a lot of cultural stereotypes that more than often try to define ones’ role in the world – especially if you are those whom have privilege above the “others”.
Suaréz, Lucia M. “Julia Alvarez And The Anxiety Of Latina Representation.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 5.1 (2004): 117-145. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar.2014.