This course would be discussion based where we discuss several topics involving gender, like gender identities, gender roles, and gender stereotyping, and how we can help children so that they would be able feel like themselves and express themselves without the constraints of gender norms. There would papers about these gender topics, in addition to a project where the students could come up with their own way on how to nurture a child without enforcing any gender norms upon them. Students will be assessed by the papers and project, as well as their in-class discussion and debates, and blog posts regarding readings about the ways children are introduced to gender roles.
This course is unique and valuable to because it teaches people how they could help shape the future generation for the better, and contribute in making society even more accepting to those who deviate from typical gender norms.
I was shocked to learn that someone as iconic and beloved as Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault. I quote that stood out to me was “This kind of willful blindness is true across industries but may speak to a way in which sports are covered in particular and the fan culture around players and teams.” We seem to easily forgive “winners”, people like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kobe Bryant and move on from their sexual assault allegations. We look up to these people as role models and heroes, not as people capable of sexual assault.
As Americans, I feel like its our duty to make sure that other Americans feel safe. Although its the fault of past Americans, whom exploit African Americans every way they can, its our duty as current Americans to right these wrongs and help those who are still suffering the effects of racism. However, in the case Clyde Ross, because his father was in debt, I don’t think he should inherit his debt. His father’s debt should have died with him, and Clyde should not suffer because of his father’s debt. Long story short, there isn’t one answer to the philosophical question of “can something be not your fault, but still your responsibility?” It depends on the case and situation.
Coates makes his case of the irreparable damages the dehumanization of African Americans caused by using historical context of how African Americans were treated. In section IV, Coates notes how at one point, Blacks and Whites joined forces. Some African Americans were free and were able to marry Whites. They escaped with White indentured servants. African Americans allied with Nathaniel Bacon. However, with the need for cheap labor, African American slaves were exploited for 250 years. In section V, Coates describes the consequences for this., and the irreparable damages it has caused. America relied on African American labor, and many people didn’t want to lose it. After the Civil War, terrorism wreaked havoc upon the South, crushing dreams of Reconstruction. African Americans were discriminated against for a long period of time. Segregation created created separate black ghettos, as described in section VI, and redlining destroyed the possibility of investment wherever African Americans lived.
I’ve been interested in the concept of gender, with nowadays the concept of gender is changing and expanding to be more inclusive for all kinds of people. My research question is what is gender, and whether it is a biological concept or a social one. I plan on researching about the debate of whether gender is biological or cultural. I’m still unsure about this topic if it’s something I want to write a research paper on.
“we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”
What the author, Michelle Alexander, meant by this quote was that we haven’t ended racial discrimination and the prevention of voting for certain groups. We just found a more acceptable way to prevent people voting by labeling them criminals and removing certain rights from them, such as the right to vote. Rather than discrimination against race, we discriminate against criminals, and do what we supposedly ended after racism became socially unacceptable. Alexander backs up this argument by bringing up Jarvious Cotton. She mentions how his ancestors where discriminated against their race and due to this, they weren’t able to vote. However, nothing has changed for him, because like his ancestors, he can’t vote, but not because his race, but because he is, like many other African Americans, a criminal. She also mentions about her experiences working for the ACLU, and how the Drug War is the new Jim Crow. She discovers how the mass incarceration in the United States drew parallels to Jim Crow. African American criminals were legally denied the rights to work, obtain property, etc. just as they were during the Jim Crow era.
The review I read was from Slant by Jake Cole. In the review, Cole mentions the diversity between the different Spidermen. It shows that regardless of who is inside the Spiderman costume, the core values that make a hero stays the same. This is shown by the drastically different personalities between the different Spidermen. There’s the run-down older Peter Parker, the comical humorous Spider-ham, and the inexperience teenager Miles Morales. They’re all different in many ways, but all take on the mantle of Spiderman and upholds the same responsibilities and core values that are needed to be Spiderman. In addition, the film has the message of resilience. In the review, Cole brings up the journey of the protagonist, Miles Morales. Miles. Miles starts out as a juvenile teenager with self-doubt, but everytime he gets down, he comes right back out, and at his lowest, he realizes his true potential as Spiderman.
“The valorization of Asian Americans as a model minority who have made it on their own cultural stream only to be victimized by the “reverse discrimination” of race-conscious programs allows White opinionmakers to lambast such programs without appearing racist-or to reassert their racial privileges while abiding by the norms of colorblindness.”
This quote stood out to me because it shows that Asian Americans have been made into the definition of the “model minority”. They are used to make it seem that White opinionmakers aren’t racist, since they support a minority. This diverts people’s attention from focusing on their White power. It places a facade over the fact that Asian Americans are inferior to Whites. This and the racial triangulation allows Asian Americans to be exploited without it seeming to be racist.
0:18 – An earth comet, a fire comet, an air comet, and a water comet fly to Earth
0:26 – The comets crash into Earth, each turning into Daler Mehndi
0:27 – Lyrics begin 0:43 – The air Mehndi dances with the fire Mehndi
0:58 – The wind Mehndi starts dancing on the ocean
1:01 – Returns to the air Mehndi and the fire Mehndi dancing
1:05 – The earth Mehndi starts dancing underground
1:08 – The fire Mehndi manipulates fire
1:13 – All of the Mehndis start dancing together
2:33 – The water Mehndi starts manipulating water
3:41 – The earth Mehndi shakes the ground like a drum
4:08 – All four Mehndis return to their elemental forms and fuse into a singular Daler Mehndi
“Tunak Tunak Tun” is an Indian pop song by Daler Mehndi. It was created in response to criticisms of Daler Mehndi. People criticized his popularity, claiming that it was derived from the attractive women featured in his music videos, rather than his talent as an artist. So instead of having women in the video, he just had himself. Using bluescreen technology, he created several copies of himself in the video. He proved everybody that criticized him wrong, as his music video gained international success and made him India’s most famous pop star, without the use of attractive women. The music video was such a huge hit that it became a viral internet meme in the early 2000s. The music video speaks to me because it taught me that no matter what people think of you, you can always prove them wrong.
The words “Tunak Tunak Tun” represented the sounds that a toombi, a traditional Indian instrument, made. In the music video, it features four people, played by Mehndi. Each of them represented the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. They start out as comets of the corresponding elements, crashing into Earth. They then fuse into the ultimate being, a single Daler Mehndi. The fusing of the four elements represents how the elements work in harmony in nature. For example, in the beginning, when the air Mehndi dances with the fire Mehndi, it represents how for fire to exist, air (oxygen) needs to be present.
At first, this song received a negative review. But despite this, it became the biggest hit in India. It eventually found a cult following all around the world, including the United States. It influenced pop culture, becoming an Internet meme. It sparked countless parodies on YouTube, and influenced video games like World of Warcraft, a game that I play myself. Even today, 22 years after the song was released, the song remains culturally relevant.
I thought that the poem was really interesting. In the poem, the author, Layli Long Soldier, sheds light on the deaths of the 38 Dakota men and the struggles the Dakota had to deal with, something that seems like an important event but is rarely mentioned in modern day media. Many people see Abraham Lincoln as a savior and a hero to the United States, but his actions in the Dakota 38 reveals that even Lincoln has his flaws.
The poem is written in an unconventional style, varying hugely from traditional poems. The poem seems informal, as Long Soldier gives insight in the format of the poem and the tone of the poem seems as if she was talking about the events rather than writing about it. I find it interesting how throughout the poem, after Long Soldier discusses the language we use, she spells Minnesota as Mnisota. I also find the style of the ending of the poem interesting, as the formatting of the text makes it seem like the words are doing what they are; swing, from the platform out to the grass.
In the poem, Long Soldier uses the phrase “everything is in the language that we use.” She uses this phrase as she discusses the origin of the name Minnesota, which roughly translates to turbid water, and defines what a treaty is. Doing so gives the events of the Dakota 38 a sense of irony. For example, Long Soldier defines a treaty as a contract between two sovereign nations. The Minnesota treaties were contracts that promised the Dakota money, but they did not receive any money, as the “turbid treaties” promised.
