I’m finding starting the book to be very intimidating- what if I don’t plan out the “right” ideas to think or don’t come up with any meaningful revelations or what if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew? I can see why people often slip back into old ways of thinking simply because it would be easier. Thank goodness this is for a class assignment and must go forward.
Usually I just read and enjoy a book. There is is no planning involved, even if I’m thinking of using it for some scholarly purpose. Tomorrow I will write my goals for this project and start reading. Usually many of my most interesting thoughts about children’s literature come after I’ve torn through the book in an experiential whirl of aesthetic (Rosenblatt) and affective experience (Soter) and it’s sat with me and I think about what I remember about the book. More thoughts often come through writing and talking about a book. I’ve enjoyed the different perspective of my project that Johnny has shared with me giving me new ideas and wondering if I have time to investigate portrayals of the Black Panther Party (which I know rather little of since it was relegated to the back seat in comparison to MLK’s more “safe” history) to compare to the portrayal in my book or the author’s history to see what kind of authentic voice she should be capable of providing. It seems like she lived in New York City, which is where the story starts and then in California for a brief period of time when she was growing up in the 60’s. An author’s note will probably help more to determine authenticity than my suppositions about her qualifications. While I likely won’t be a great judge of this when I’m done reading, as Williams-Garcia isn’t describing my culture, I will certainly be better than I am now. All the same, it seems like it would be hard for people of today to judge historical fiction as culture changes over time and geographic location as well as between ethnicities. At the same time, the White Western European focus of my education has given me more incite into the past of those cultures which would make me better at evaluating so it is also likely that people of other ethnicities may be able to connect more with their past due to personal interest and felt connection as well as the possibility of being taught about it by members of their community if they received supplemental education to the mainstream curriculum which superficializes minorities if it doesn’t quash the representation of them out of the curriculum completely.
2/28/2011
I respond to Johnny
Thanks for your thoughts! I would like to learn more about the Black Panther Movement but I'm getting a little concerned about making the project too big. It looks like I can listen to some of the audio clips from that documentary online though. So many of the questions I don't know yet. It seems like Williams-Garcia lived in New York City, which is where the story starts and then in California for a brief period of time when she was growing up in the 60’s but I really hope there's a good solid author's note to help me place her in relation to the story- reminds me a little of the requirement we now have for qualitative research that researchers should let us know who they are and where they stand in relation to their work. I like the relation to Apple- I hadn't thought of using him but it certainly seems like it would fit in well.
-Erin
PS I would like to read some Adichie- I just wish my reading list for spring break weren't so large. I will definitely add something to my to read list so I don't forget her though.
-Erin
PS I would like to read some Adichie- I just wish my reading list for spring break weren't so large. I will definitely add something to my to read list so I don't forget her though.
2/27/2011
Feedback from a classmate
In my social studies classes, I think it is important for my students to read fiction and non-fiction by authors who come from the culture we are studying. I like your take on the personal nature of reading. I am very careful when selecting literature for my students and like to give them some choice in what they read. From a global perspective. language also pays an important role in the work being read. In what language/vernacular was it written? Who translated the work, and into what languages? Does this work perpetuate stereotypes or does it challenge them? Are there other voices I need to include to supplement this work? Just some things I think about when I consider books to use with students.
What is your authors connection to the text? Was he/she a member of the Black Panther Party, or was she related to a member? Or did she do extensive research? The status quo waged a war against the Black Panthers (see a documentary called COINTELPRO 101 about the FBI's efforts to destroy the Panthers, among other minority rights groups). I would definitely consider other materials to enhance and support that text. Spike Lee directed a one man play about Huey P. Newton, and students could read the Black Panther Party Platform as a primary source document (and as an essential American political text). Some people still believe/teach the Black Panthers as a terrorist organization (you could contrast your text with some texts that misrepresent the Panthers). You have a great opportunity and responsibility to affect pre-service students in a positive way by using literature to expose the hidden curriculum and teach conflict. Apple would be proud. I also agree with Dr. Kinloch and think that you should focus on your first idea.
PS
I love Adichie, check out some of her work sometime, it is fantastic. I have her most recent collection of short stories on my desk waiting for a time when I can enjoy it.
What is your authors connection to the text? Was he/she a member of the Black Panther Party, or was she related to a member? Or did she do extensive research? The status quo waged a war against the Black Panthers (see a documentary called COINTELPRO 101 about the FBI's efforts to destroy the Panthers, among other minority rights groups). I would definitely consider other materials to enhance and support that text. Spike Lee directed a one man play about Huey P. Newton, and students could read the Black Panther Party Platform as a primary source document (and as an essential American political text). Some people still believe/teach the Black Panthers as a terrorist organization (you could contrast your text with some texts that misrepresent the Panthers). You have a great opportunity and responsibility to affect pre-service students in a positive way by using literature to expose the hidden curriculum and teach conflict. Apple would be proud. I also agree with Dr. Kinloch and think that you should focus on your first idea.
PS
I love Adichie, check out some of her work sometime, it is fantastic. I have her most recent collection of short stories on my desk waiting for a time when I can enjoy it.
2/21/2011
Feedback from my Professor
Yes, the idea of a single story is fascinating, and the way that Adichie develops the idea is fantastic. Indeed, she gets one to question that dominance of books written about, and by, White people, in particular (and among other points she makes) in ways that allow us to critically interrogate how we identify, and with what we identify, in our readings, experiences, and daily interactions. You raise a point of how to judge issues of representation, and this is what I think: it is one thing to judge the issues of representation (the things that circulate around, that materialize from, what is being or attempting to be represented). It is another thing to look representation in the face and seek to understand the thing, the person, the concern being represented by asking how, why, and for what purposes. Hence, an issue with judging the issue of representation is that oftentimes, we do so in isolation of other people, perspectives, and opinions (thus, a single/singular way of seeing and drawing meaning from the thing we are judging). Maybe it’s not that we are judging representation, but considering the many and varied ways things/people get represented across multiple spectrums, lens, and lived conditions.
You raise an interesting point about not having been able to read multicultural literature from a non-dominant perspective. This, I imagine, is quite difficult to do. I would think that one has to be able to empathize with others (or with constructions of “Othered”), but in ways where one is in conversation—intimate, deep, personal conversations—with others whose experiences are different from our own. And then another thought is, if we are to think about reading from a different racial or ethnic or socioeconomic perspective, is this doable in the absence of difference and diversity? That is, does it become our job to read from an “other” perspective if we do not have the “other’s” perspective present, in the conversation, in dialogue with our own perspective? To take on something different in isolation of the difference (the person, the idea, the multicultural experiences, the various identities and lived conditions) might be to create yet another single and singular story being narrated by a dominant voice.
OK, that’s it for now. These are just some thoughts that came to my mind as I was re-reading your email. Hope they make some sense. See you tomorrow,
VK
You raise an interesting point about not having been able to read multicultural literature from a non-dominant perspective. This, I imagine, is quite difficult to do. I would think that one has to be able to empathize with others (or with constructions of “Othered”), but in ways where one is in conversation—intimate, deep, personal conversations—with others whose experiences are different from our own. And then another thought is, if we are to think about reading from a different racial or ethnic or socioeconomic perspective, is this doable in the absence of difference and diversity? That is, does it become our job to read from an “other” perspective if we do not have the “other’s” perspective present, in the conversation, in dialogue with our own perspective? To take on something different in isolation of the difference (the person, the idea, the multicultural experiences, the various identities and lived conditions) might be to create yet another single and singular story being narrated by a dominant voice.
OK, that’s it for now. These are just some thoughts that came to my mind as I was re-reading your email. Hope they make some sense. See you tomorrow,
VK
2/19/2011
My thoughts, to my professor
My thoughts, without theory and quotes, on my proposed project:
Which I have to comment is hard to do, as right now I keep thinking of Chiamanda Adichie's TED talk about the danger of single stories and how that really speaks to my experience of stories. As I have read many children's books about White people from different countries and times, I have never questioned the dominance of these books. In fact, each character in a book that I've identified with seems unique and individual rather than creating a dominating "single picture" of the world. I also read a lot of children's books about people who are more radically different than me. I've always believed that reading books is a way to create intimate connections with people who are different than you in a way that encourages understanding and acknowledgment as also human. One of the questions that I've shared with many lovers of multicultural fiction (and even non-fiction) is how can you judge issues of representation? As an outsider to many to these cultures, I'm far from an expert, but as a scholar of children's literature I am still expected to have authoritative opinions which I am expected to express. The one thing I've never been able to do with children's literature before is attempt to read it from the perspective of a non-dominant ethnicity, if that makes any sense. I'm also interesting in trying to find ways to talk about multiculturalism in children's literature with my students that focus on creating openings for thought and ideally eventual change. I've tried to do this with my class so far over the quarter, such as bringing attention to the fact that when we read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech no one mentioned or questioned that Mr. Walter Dean Myers is an African American featured in a white woman's book. They may not have known and I don't even know what the significance of what this fact is except that we don't think about it and we don't talk about it and that we assume Jack and Ms. Stretchberry are white, we can't take Mr. Walter Dean Myers's physical appearance and culture away from him even if Creech doesn't say a word about what any human in her book looks like. In fact, his poem which the book features is very.. ethnicized? enculturated? It sounds African American- I can literally hear the deep resonance of an African American voice in the words. But is that my perception because I know what he looks like, or is it even there? I also feel somewhat overwhelmed by not knowing the words to talk about these things and desperately wanting to try anyway, but hoping that I won't offend anyone as I explore.
Which I have to comment is hard to do, as right now I keep thinking of Chiamanda Adichie's TED talk about the danger of single stories and how that really speaks to my experience of stories. As I have read many children's books about White people from different countries and times, I have never questioned the dominance of these books. In fact, each character in a book that I've identified with seems unique and individual rather than creating a dominating "single picture" of the world. I also read a lot of children's books about people who are more radically different than me. I've always believed that reading books is a way to create intimate connections with people who are different than you in a way that encourages understanding and acknowledgment as also human. One of the questions that I've shared with many lovers of multicultural fiction (and even non-fiction) is how can you judge issues of representation? As an outsider to many to these cultures, I'm far from an expert, but as a scholar of children's literature I am still expected to have authoritative opinions which I am expected to express. The one thing I've never been able to do with children's literature before is attempt to read it from the perspective of a non-dominant ethnicity, if that makes any sense. I'm also interesting in trying to find ways to talk about multiculturalism in children's literature with my students that focus on creating openings for thought and ideally eventual change. I've tried to do this with my class so far over the quarter, such as bringing attention to the fact that when we read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech no one mentioned or questioned that Mr. Walter Dean Myers is an African American featured in a white woman's book. They may not have known and I don't even know what the significance of what this fact is except that we don't think about it and we don't talk about it and that we assume Jack and Ms. Stretchberry are white, we can't take Mr. Walter Dean Myers's physical appearance and culture away from him even if Creech doesn't say a word about what any human in her book looks like. In fact, his poem which the book features is very.. ethnicized? enculturated? It sounds African American- I can literally hear the deep resonance of an African American voice in the words. But is that my perception because I know what he looks like, or is it even there? I also feel somewhat overwhelmed by not knowing the words to talk about these things and desperately wanting to try anyway, but hoping that I won't offend anyone as I explore.
2/12/2011
I clarify
Dr. Kinloch,
I actually haven't read One Crazy Summer yet but am really looking forward to it. I've heard such good things about it, especially that it talks about the idea of performance as a representation of Blacks that seems like it might be able to have a dialog with The Dialectic of Freedom and other readings.
Thank you,
Erin
I actually haven't read One Crazy Summer yet but am really looking forward to it. I've heard such good things about it, especially that it talks about the idea of performance as a representation of Blacks that seems like it might be able to have a dialog with The Dialectic of Freedom and other readings.
Thank you,
Erin
My Professor Responds
Erin,
I think all three ideas below are good, but I really like the first one. It would allow you to think through the readings and theories from our course, be reflexive on how the readings/theories allow you to re-read ONE CRAZY SUMMER as well as approach the teaching of it with a specified audience of students. And yes, if you go with this idea, you can present it in a self-reflexive way with a first person focus and as a notebook of responses. If you want to also present some parts in a multi-genre way, that’s also good. Hope this helps and opens up possibilities for you.
Best,
VK
I think all three ideas below are good, but I really like the first one. It would allow you to think through the readings and theories from our course, be reflexive on how the readings/theories allow you to re-read ONE CRAZY SUMMER as well as approach the teaching of it with a specified audience of students. And yes, if you go with this idea, you can present it in a self-reflexive way with a first person focus and as a notebook of responses. If you want to also present some parts in a multi-genre way, that’s also good. Hope this helps and opens up possibilities for you.
Best,
VK
2/11/2011
I get started
Here are my ideas for a final project. In general, I've been trying to think of projects that try to bridge between what I'm learning in this course and my children's literature classroom. If you have other ideas, please suggest away!
-Erin
1. I am considering teaching One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia to my students next quarter. It's a historical fiction book for children published in 2010 that won the Correct Scott King Award and a Newbery honor, among other honors. It's set in the 60's in California and focuses on the Black Panther Movement from an African American perspective. My plan would be to chose several of the books and articles we read this quarter and consider how what I learned from those sources would have changed how I would read this book and even more importantly how I would teach it to my mostly middle class White students training to be teachers. I see it as a reflective project that has a first person focus and is maybe structured as a notebook of responses than a paper.
2. Continue some thoughts about themes of inclusion and exclusion in children's literature and how authors attitudes and choices affect the readers of these books.
3. Use the resources from class to develop my own set of evaluation for multicultural children's fiction and then compare to other sets of evaluation standards that other scholars have created.
-Erin
1. I am considering teaching One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia to my students next quarter. It's a historical fiction book for children published in 2010 that won the Correct Scott King Award and a Newbery honor, among other honors. It's set in the 60's in California and focuses on the Black Panther Movement from an African American perspective. My plan would be to chose several of the books and articles we read this quarter and consider how what I learned from those sources would have changed how I would read this book and even more importantly how I would teach it to my mostly middle class White students training to be teachers. I see it as a reflective project that has a first person focus and is maybe structured as a notebook of responses than a paper.
2. Continue some thoughts about themes of inclusion and exclusion in children's literature and how authors attitudes and choices affect the readers of these books.
3. Use the resources from class to develop my own set of evaluation for multicultural children's fiction and then compare to other sets of evaluation standards that other scholars have created.
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