Respond to the prompt in a well-developed essay (27-point test). You may use your notes, annotations, and reading materials. You may not borrow anyone else’s work after beginning the essay. Post the essay as a comment to this post. It is wise to type and save in Word as a precautionary measure. I have posted a Kumashiro copy on Edline that you may use for extracting quotes (a time-saver).
Remember- this is a high-level reading and writing task. It will require some deep thinking and precise writing on your part, but you can do it. Be confident and draw connections and meaning from the works. Show me that you can synthesize sophisticated works under pressure.
Be sure to use MLA for citations, quotes, and works cited.
Apply the principles posited by Kumashiro to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. How does his unique lens alter the effects of the novel and its place in the American literature canon?
36 comments:
this is bold
Taylor Silver
Class: E
March 14, 2013
MLA
Analyzing the effects of diversity in history, Kumashiro reveals the challenges that African Americans face through racism, sexuality and sexism.
In the article, “Posts” Perspectives on anti-oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms”, Kumashiro conveys ideas that relates to perspectives outside of the ones that are taught in a child's everyday life that relate back to the story, “The Color Purple”. Racism is a major part of, “The Color Purple”, and is looked at as not “normal” in society due to the way some stories are perceived. “..Can serve less to describe who a group is, and more to prescribe who a group ought to be.”(pg.5), stated by Kumashiro to utilize the idea that when students are taught about a certain group of people they tend to assume the entire group of people are exactly like this rather than looking at the perspective from everyone in that group, and not just that one person. This relates to the color purple because Celie lives a hard life from being raped as a child to being forced to get married and by having children read this they may assume that the Southern part of the United Stated are all brought up this way, when in fact, they are not. “In general, what is not said in this novel about queer youth, and how do those silences make possible and impossible different ways of thinking about queer youth, about homophobia, and about the reader's own sexual identities?”(pg.7), is questioned by Kumashiro to explain that although Walker demonstrates that Celie is a lesbian, she does not ever have Celie actually come out and tell people, and seems to make Celie a black African American to make her seem even more different. This could prove that she can't come out and be honest with her sexual preference, which could make the readers think that blacks are not accepting to the idea of homosexuals. Lastly sexism is also a major factor in this article as well as in the story. In, “The Color Purple”, Walker conveys the idea that in the South men are controlling of the woman, and the woman who fight back are usually beaten or even sent to jail.” I won't leave, she say, until I know Albert won't even think about beating you.(pg 75 TCP), is an example in “The Color Purple”, that proves men are cruel in the book during this time period. “ The text will reflect the realities of some people but miss those of others; it will represent the voices of some groups but silence those of others; and in doing so, it will challenge some stereotypes while reinforcing others.”(pg.7). Kumashiro explains that the voices of the woman are silenced and controlled by the men, because of this stereotypes can read, “The Color Purple”, and assume that being controlled by men and beat is common in every African American house hold even though that is usually an uncommon case. Anti-oppressive is important in schools because many times stories relate to racism, sexuality, and sexism making it hard for children to see it from anyone else's point of view outside of their own “normalcy” and becoming stereotypical of that culture.
Raegen DaSilva
March 14, 2013
Kumashiro
There are many parallels between Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Kevin K. Kumashiro’s ”Posts” Perspectives and Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms Bothe texts outline the ideas of oppression and education. Mr.___ oppresses Celie in that he beats her and keeps her obedient. Kumashiro discusses oppression in the classroom. Celie’s sister Nettie was unable to educate the women in the tribe that she was living in. Kumashiro brings up the discrimination against women by men in the educational field.
Celie had always been oppressed by men her whole life. Celie was taken out of school to stay at home and tend to the children. Kumashiro states, “the harmfulness of stereo- types and the invisible histories of institutionalized oppression can involve confronting one's own prejudices and acknowledging the harmfulness of one's own practice“.(Kumashiro 8). Celie’s father had taken her out of school because he said she wasn’t smart enough to be there. This is an example of Discrimination between men and women.
In The Color Purple, Nettie becomes a missionary and goes to Africa to educate a tribe. When she gets there, she is surprised to learn that the women are not allowed to go to school. Tashi’s mother and father approached her and state “There is no place here for a woman to do those things” (Walker 161). Nettie replies with “The world is no longer a world just for boys and men.” (Walker 161).Kumashiro sees the education system as something that is full of discrimination that cannot be avoided. It is stated “Only men were considered capable of thinking scientifically (Battersby, 1989)” (Kumashiro 4). If Kumashiro were to read through The Color Purple, he would agree with every statement about education because he feels that no matter what, it is impossible to deviate from the “us vs. them” in all subjects.
As a whole, The Color Purple and “Posts” Perspectives and Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms both touch on the subjects of oppression and discrimination in education. Celie had always been oppressed by men. Nettie was unable to give proper education to some students of the Olinka tribe because of their gender. Kumashiro’s “lens” is all about how discrimination and oppression are impossible to avoid in the educational system.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida. Harcourt. 1970. Print
”Posts” Perspectives and Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms. American Educational Research Association. (April 2001). Academic Search 4/11/2012
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple Florida.
Harcourt, 1970. Print.
Kumashiro, Kevin.”Posts”Perspectives on Anti-oppressive education in social studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms. American Education Research Association.
(Apr.2001) Academic Search 4/11/2012
-Taylor Silver
Rachael Clark
Period: E
In The Color Purple and in “Posts” Perspectives on Anti- Oppressive in Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms, both authors utilizes discrimination, education, and differences to show how people can learn to see people differently.
Both Alice Walker and Kevin Kumashiro show how the blacks have been discriminated for years. Celie has been discriminated for years from her stepfather who she thought were her father. Her stepfather would abuse her and would not care about what she did. Her father doesn’t want her to go to school instead, “she ought to marry first. She ain’t fresh thou” (Walker 7). He discriminates her by how she looks. He doesn’t think she should go to school because she is not smart and it not pretty. He lets Celice’s sister go to school but he doesn’t let Celie go. By doing this we are “ignoring what it means for Black Americans women…to be black.” (Kumashiro 5). We discriminate how they should be and we can’t let them be them. If we learn about differences, it can “be accomplished through the lenses already colored by the norm, as when we learn about Others in comparison to or contrast with the Self” (Kumashiro 5). If we just keep discriminating the blacks because of everything that they have done in the past, we won’t be able to accept differences in people. If we learn to accept different things about people, we can start to learn some things about ourselves also. Both of these authors use discrimination as a way to show how the black have been treated and how we need to accept these differences.
Another way both of these authors show about we need to accept differences is education. Celie went to school but then her stepfather made her drop-out, while her sister could continue on in her education. Celie and her sister are both hit the “schoolbooks pretty hard, cause us know we got to be smart to git away” (Walker 9). They wanted to be educated so they know how to run away. Celie wants to be smart, just like her sister. When people “learn about differences, they can also constantly reflect on ways in which what they learn makes different knowledges, identities, and practices possible” (Kumashiro 6). When people learn something, they want to be able to apply it. Just like what Celie and her sister, Nettie are doing.
By learning about differences, people will see things differently. By learning about “anti-oppressive education that aims to change students and society cannot do so without addressing the way students and society resist change” (Kumashiro 8). You can see differences by learning how to change certain things. If you want change then you need to accept things. This is what Celie does; she wants to change her life and by doing that she moves to Memphis with Shug Avery. Celie’s husband doesn’t accept this but he doesn’t really care. Celie accepts who Shug is and she wants to spend time with her.
By doing these things you can learn to accept differences in people. You can see yourself in people when you start to accept people. Both authors do an excellent job of this.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. FLordia. Harcout. 1970. Print
Kumashiro, Kevin. “Posts Perpectives on Anti-Oppressive education in Social studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms.” American Educational Research Association.( April 2001) Academic Search 4/11/2012
Sara Silva
Class: E
March 14, 2013
The Color Purple and Kumashiro Essay
Portrayed in The Color Purple the author Alice Walker utilizes abusive sexuality, discrimination, and oppressive to the audience, applying similarities to Kevin Kumashiro, Post perspectives on anti oppressive education and social studies, English, math and science classrooms with the expectations of being in the environment of classrooms in public schools.
Walker and Kumashiro have multiple similarities in their writings. Walker first utilizes that sexuality of a female is heavily abusive in the main protagonist Celie, the accused sex offender is her own step father, and in a scene the step father stole her daughters innocence. “He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and get used to it.” (Walker, pg:1) In Kumashiro academic journal he employed the use of AIDS having a downfall on a person’s academic ability to succeed in school. “Depending on what it finds (or chooses not to find) and publicizes (or chooses not to pub- licize), science can have different political and material conse- quences on different populations, justifying the privileging of certain groups and the marginalization of others, as happened with the AIDS epidemic when the science community refused to devote significant time and resources until the "problem" was resolved.” (Kumashiro pg4) Even though Walker did not tell the audience that Ceile have AIDS of an STD but based upon all of the background information that was portrayed in this novel it is logical to make the educated guess that know or in the near future could come up with one of these dieses. And at Kumashashiro wants answers to come up with a solution so that people do not get diagnosed with AIDS of STD.
SECOND PART ON OTHER COMMENT
Andrew Morse
3/14/13
Analyzing classroom dynamics, Kumashiro questions the intentions of teachers and the current anti-oppressive theories to portray the hypocrisy of educators in today’s society. Many teachers today would agree that a diverse curriculum is a good thing. However this way of thinking may be the opposite of what it is intended to be, anti-oppressive. Kumashiro states that “The naming of difference, then, whether in activist communities or inclusive curricula, can serve less to describe who a group is, and more to prescribe who a group ought to be.” and “Perhaps we desire teaching and learning in ways that affirm and confirm our sense that what we have come to believe is normal or commonsense in society is really the way things are and are supposed to be.” This means that all people have an idea of how other groups of people act or what their culture is. When they learn something new they do not simply replace the old information with the correct or more correct information but search through that new info for something that can be used to further their original understanding of the group. Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, is not from the South where the story takes place. The book focuses on these people but she never experienced it. She has learned at some point that is what these people went through at the time the story takes place. It is potentially oppressive that she has created this image of African American women and social structure of this time without experiencing it. Also the syntax of the book suggests that Celie, the main character, is barely literate as her letters are littered with misspellings and the vocabulary is conservative and her word bank is limited. It seems that she has no proper education because she is black and that’s how Alice Walker thinks they were at this time.
This problem is faced in English classrooms today. The teachers want to inform their students about diverse groups of people. The class may read A Tale of Two Cities, a classic English novel focusing on royalty and white people. To diversify that same teacher may choose to read The Color Purple, a book about struggling poor blacks in the south. The teacher may have the right intentions, but saying they have to read The Color Purple because the people focused on are different is oppressive on its own. This suggests that books and people are separated into categories and one has to expand by reading outside their own category.
SARA SILVA
Discrimination may play a tremendous roll that both of these authors utilize in their writings. African Americans did not go to school simply because they thought they were not smart enough or even just because they could not because the color of their skin was not allowed. White people believed that literature is made for the upper class and not “dumb black people who don’t know how to lift a pencil”. The argument assembled here is completely against civil rights and discriminates blacks as a whole. Kumashiro implies, “Perhaps most commonly critiqued for teaching partial materi- als are English classrooms that insist on teaching the "canon." Bi- ases based on class, race, gender, sexuality, and other social mark- ers often play out in the curriculum when the authors and characters of the literature being read consist primarily of middle class or wealthy, White, male, and heterosexual people.”(Kumashiro pg:4) What Kumashiro is expressing is that you rarely come across a book about a lower class black family and all of the obstacles they go through. White people in that time where the only ones who knew how to read so they would not dare to read any of that nonsense they themselves would feel discriminated by, by having to read such a book. Of course The Color Purple is a book about a black girl and all of the hardships she has to go through in order to make her life be fulfilled to the fullest.
Lastly oppression is when the male always has power over the female in every situation. It is like being compared to a servant to a male and always has to do what he pleases in order to keep him happy. As stated in the first paragraph Ceile had to had a sexual encounter with her step father because her mother was to ill and Ceile did not want her step father to kill of beat her real mom because she was too sick to have a sexual encounter with him. Kumashiro utilizes that the “White, male, and heterosexual people” (Kumashiro pg:4) where the perfect icon to all people at this time. That even though white women where above black males and females they still had some problems with wanting a job and being able to go to school.
Both authors have very special talents and personal encounters that they have come across in their life time and have believed that there is something to be done in order to stop sexual abusive, oppression and discrimination.
WORK CITED
Kumashiro, Kevin. “Post Perspectives on Anti-oppressive, education and social studies, English, mathematics and science classrooms.” (Apr.2001) Academic Search 4/11/2012
TCP- Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida: Harcourt, 1970. Print.
Bob Anderson
3/14/13
Period: E
Kuashiro displays several principles that offer a unique lens that alters how the reader sees Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. These principles include the power that accompanies education you obtain through your life, “otherness” and how it targets groups of racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexualism, and how Kuashiro is bias, not unlike Alice Walker.
Kuashiro addresses the idea that power comes from the education you receive throughout your life. This pertains to The Color Purple because in the beginning of the book Celie’s education is removed from her, thus losing her power. This was common for African Americans to grow up without education and without power. This put their social class at the bottom and privileged white males at the top, “Additional research point to ways that other groups are similarly privlaged in the curriculum through the selective inclusion and exclusion of material, groups such as males (Minnich, 1990), White Americans (Asante, 1991), and heterosexuals(Lipkin, 1995)” (Kuashiro 4).
Kuashiro is able to class the main character in his category “otherness” which are groups that are targeted by racism, classism, sexism, and herterosexism. Celie was born into a lower class where she was subjected to racism of being an African American. “I illustrate Otherness primarily with groups targeted by racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism. I use the term "queer" to refer to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, in- tersexual, questioning, or in other ways "queer" because of their sexual identity or sexual orientation. I agree that the appropria- tion of "queer" by many GLBTIQs signifies a rejection of nor- mative sexualities and genders and an act of political significance Educational Researcher, Vol. 30. No. 3, pp. 3-12 APRIL 2001 I (Capper, 1999; Tierney & Dilley, 1998), although I acknowl- edge that the term continues to invoke a history of bigotry and hatred, even among GLBTIQs “ (4), Celie is deep within this “other” category, being gay, and lower class.
Brad Wry
3/14/13
English E
Kuashiro portrays several principals that offer a new perspective that alters how the readers see Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. These principals include “otherness” and how it targets groups of racism, classism, sexism and heterosexism, also the power that comes with the education you receive in your life, and how the author of this essay is bias when talking about cultures much like the author of The Color Purple.
Kevin K. Kumashiro uses the theme “otherness” to target groups of racism, classism, sexism and heterosexism. In the article he talks about the groups he would consider under the term “otherness” and he shows his bias opinion. “Most notable is perhaps my terminology. I use the term "Other" to refer to those groups that are traditionally marginalized in society, that is, that are other than the norm. I believe my analysis extends to many different groups in society, but I illustrate Otherness primarily with groups targeted by racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism” (Kumashiro 3) Also this connects to The Color Purple because it is very biased and Celie would fall under the author’s term of “otherness” because she is discriminated because of her race and she is abused and raped because of her sex. He then goes on to talk about the terms he uses for gays, lesbians, bisexual ect. “I agree that the appropriation of "queer" by many GLBTIQs signifies a rejection of normative sexualities and genders and an act of political significance (Capper, 1999; Tierney & Dilley, 1998), although I acknowledge that the term continues to invoke a history of bigotry and hatred, even among GLBTIQs.”(Kumashiro 3) He does not care that the term implies hatred towards them and is showing how he views them. It is very similar to the The Color Purple and how Celie and the other characters are treated diiferently due to their race and other situations. “Otherness” is a term that goes along very well with this article and the story.
Another theme in this essay and story is that the higher education one has the more power they have over others. This is a major connection point between this essay and the story. Celie is a character who has no power when Mr.__ is involved and she wants to feel equal. “While such insights are helpful for thinking differently about the nature and dynamics of schooling, they do not always lead to changes in practice.” (Kumashiro 3) Celie wants Mr.__ to change for the better and treat her how she should be but she really knows that will never happen. “Clearly, committing to and engaging in anti-oppressive education is an uphill battle for researchers in higher education and practitioners in K-12 schools” (Kumashiro 3) Mr.__ holds much power over Celie and she is treated very differently and all the things she goes through day to day is a uphill battle.
COULDN’T FINISH
Kumashiro’s outlook on multiculturalism in literature, argued in his essay “Posts” Perspectives on Anti oppressive education in Social Studies. English. Mathematics. and Science Classrooms, greatly affect the intended outlook on the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker and it’s intended focus on the persecution and endorsement of equality for Women, African Americans, and Homosexuals, in the world.
The Color Purple deals heavily against the lack equality for women in the world, but especially the southern United States and Africa, pointing out the almost barbaric extremes at which it can go, however Kumashiro’s essay suggests that Walkers techniques and characters inherently support said inequality. The novel’s four primary women, Celi, Shug, Nettie, and Sophia are all fairly extreme in their states of submission to men which a focus of the novel, with Celi being by far the most submissive at the start with Shug, Nettie and Sophia subverting and offering contrast to Celi. Kumashiro’s essay suggests that due to the “The privileging of certain groups”(P.4) of woman the argument against inequality is subverted, due to for example that Sophia is a strong woman who prefers to do masculine work such as repairs, or the fact that Shug is a Jazz singer and drinks, propagates a negative stereotype of unsubmissive woman. Indeed his belif that, “identities have meaning only because they are defined in opposition to an Other”(Pg.5) would suggest that the only way for the novel to be in favor of equality is not to mention it all, and focus only on the inequalities suffered by Celi.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida. Harcourt, 1920. Print
Kumashiro, Kevin. "Posts" Perspectives on anti-oppressive education in social studies, english, mathematics, and science classrooms
Connor Lynch
3-14-13
English E
Kumashiro Essay
Shifting from “unknowability” and the people of “the Other” to subtle oppression of minorities in modern academics, Kumashiro reveals the supposed crisis in school classrooms, implications made that affect our thinking, and his own views on various curricular genres in schools to show how people who are not white, straight males should feel. This connects to various themes in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.
Kumashiro acknowledges many times how school curriculum fails to touch upon how “the Other” is oppressed and does not receive the same advantages as “more privileged individuals.” He also states, “Additional researchers point to ways that other groups are similarly privileged in the curriculum through the selective inclusion and exclusion of material, groups such as males (Minnich, 1990), White Americans (Asante, 1991), and heterosexuals (Lipkin, 1995).” (4). He insists that because the majority of literature read is not from the perspective of a minority (a baseless accusation to today’s language arts curriculum), it influences the way we think and subconsciously give us oppressive thoughts, reading from the perspective of the “more privileged.” The Color Purple is a direct contradiction as it is from the perspective of an African American, lesbian woman in the time of the early 1900’s. It shows us what life was like for them and is a gateway for readers of similar characteristics. (Unfinished. We really need more time with these.)
Works Cited:
Kumashiro, Kevin.”Posts”Perspectives on Anti-oppressive education in social studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms. American Education Research Association.
Through his evaluation of the “cannon”, Kumashiro alters the effect of The Color Purple. Kumashiro illuminates the advantages and disadvantages of teaching multicultural novels in schools throughout the country, bringing awareness to the relevance of different nationality and ethnicity. A main focus of the curriculum being taught is choosing novels that focus on differing cultures, such as To Kill A Mocking Bird and Reservation Blues. While these stories incorporate a good understanding of the varying customs of people, it is thought that some fiction novels focusing on different ethnicities can create a single minded view of the culture. Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, depicts the life of an average black woman in the South. Although the story and its events may be accurately portrayed and true for some women of that time period and area, it is not true for all. Kumashiro’s unique lens affects the view of the story as it reveals that not all women had experienced a life similar to Celie’s, her story is just one of many. One example is clearly portrayed in the novel, showing that not all white women are mistreated and taken advantage of. Corrine, the Reverend’s wife, is also a black women living in the same area as Celie. However, Corrine has not fallen into the stereotype of being abused and forced to live an awful life. She has become a missionary along with her husband, and traveled to Africa with her family on a mission trip. She has made a difference and helped better many people’s lives despite being a black woman from the South. Walker’s novel is focused on Celie and her great struggles throughout her life, only depicting one woman’s story out of many. Kumashiro explores this issue, arguing that literature as well as other aspects of education are bias and favor a single side, only concentrating on a single view of the story. Kumashiro’s unique lens alters the impact of Celie’s life as well as the entire story, as it depicts all black women in the South during the time to be mistreated and abused, just like Celie.
Works Cited
Walker, Alice. “The Color Purple”. Florida: Harcourt, 1970. Print.
Kumashiro. “’Posts’ Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms”. American Educational Research Association (April 2001) Academic Search April 11, 2012.
Joseph Maia
March 14, 2013
Class: E
Essay
Paralleling between “The Color Purple” and the essay by Kumashiro, the author Kumashiro utilizes principles such as the more education the more power one holds over another, the term “Otherness” targets victims of racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexuals, and lastly both authors are bias when discussing cultures within society.
The first principle that Kumashiro is careful to point out is the fact that the more intelligent one is the more power one holds over another. Kumashiro professes his strong beliefs through his writing stating that the “ability to think ‘mathematically’ allows certain people… to extend their control over someone” (Kumashiro 2). This strongly connects to “The Color Purple” because it is apparent that Celie is much less intelligent than her oppressor Mr.____. Celie, at a very young age, was raped by her father giving her emotional scarring, which ultimately led to her dropping out of school. Throughout the letters she writes to god it is easy to spot that she didn’t learn even the simplest of grammar which alludes to the theory of Mr.____ being much smarter than her. Evidence to back this up is through the way Mr.____ treats Celie; he treats her like she is an object that he can move at will. Almost as if she is his little doll that dances whenever Mr.____ commands her too because frankly it seems that Celie is afraid to contest anything Mr.____ has to say.
The second principle that Kumashiro illustrates throughout his writing is the grouping of society. Kumashiro parallels people of “Otherness primarily with groups targeted by racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexuals” (Kumashiro 1). This quite clearly relates to the novel because each and every description of “other” that Kumashiro gives pertains to, and applies to Celie in each and every way. The author’s use of the word other basically describes how and why Celie is marginalized within society. Celie follows the southern-black stereotype of being dominated by the male figure in a household, being her father at first and later Mr.____. Celie, then again, falls under the category of classism because she is damaged and emotionally scarred, and it seems that Mr.____ takes advantage of her in her time of need, offering her a house to stay at, food to eat, but over time Mr.____ starts making her his little toy doll. Further demonstrating Celie’s grouping in “Otherness” is the way she is treated just because she is a woman. Throughout the letters to god it never hints to any sort of job that Celie goes to, she is a stay at home girl who waits on any and every need that Mr.____ has. Many times throughout this novel it is clear to the audience at home that Celie falls in what Kumashiro refers to as “Otherness.”
Applying the principles posited by Kumashiro to Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” Kumashiro utilizes a unique lens to alter the effects of the novel by displaying unintentional oppression that occurs in classrooms when learning about “Others in comparison or contrast with the self” (Kumashiro 5).
According to Kumashiro, every classroom fails at constructing anti-oppressive lessons due to the fact that lessons are “always partial representations of what it is they tell us about” (Kumashiro 7). Attempting to teach students about minorities, such as African American women in the 1900’s, English departments in schools recommend teachers to educate students by reading Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” which is narrated by Celie, a young African American women at this time who has a very tough life but does as she is told so that she can stay alive (Walker 21). Kumashiro believes that integrating this one book to teach us about a group of people is just “treating identity as singular” so “only certain things matter when learning what it means to be of that group” (Kumashiro 5). Reading it can be very “problematic if students read the texts are merely a way to get to know the differences” between groups of people (Kumashiro 7). Just reading “The Color Purple,” students’ lenses are shaped to read this as how all African American women in the 1900’s were treated and how they lived. This is because, as Kumashiro thinks, “We desire hearing only certain stories about the world in order to affirm our knowledges, identities, and practices” (Kumashiro 6).The lens that Kumashiro would like a book like “The Color Purple” to be read under is that of anti-oppression and for students and teachers both to accept this is one person’s life that does not describe that of all African American women in the 1900’s. Students should “learn to read texts in a critical way” (Kumashiro 7). By doing that, they will not form their opinions and knowledge just based on this book. They need to do this because something like “The Color Purple” “reflects the realities of some people but misses those of others” therefore, people cannot conclude that all African American women in the 1900’s lived as Celie did. Students reading critically under the lens posited by Kumashiro will learn that “texts can never tell the whole story” so even though Celie’s is a representative story of that group of people, it can be “problematic when we expect that they actually tell us about the difference” (Kumashiro 7).The lens set by Kumashiro for “The Color Purple” helps to shape classrooms to be anti-oppressive.
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “’Posts’ Perspective on Anti-oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms.” Educational Researcher (2001): 3-12. American Educational Research Association/ Web. 11 April 2013.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
Throughout his intriguing research of oppression education in the “American Educational Research Association”, Kevin K. Kumashiro and Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” form parallelism to depict the discriminating notions made throughout America. With his convincing points on school system’s curriculum, Kumashiro’s research can be related to Walker’s novel. Walker states how there are discrimination and racism playing a role in the lives of African Americans just like Kumashiro who states the segregation of all types of groups throughout America. Kumashiro states “Yet “difference” always exceeds singular categories since identities are multiple and intersected. What it means to be a woman is already racially normative (Higginbotham, 1992), just as what it means to be masculine is already heteronormative.”(Kumashiro page 5) What this means is the what a man thinks is the same as what a woman thinks and even though these two people are different genders, the male does not have power over the female. Applying this to “The Color Purple” there is a clear comparison with each of these because Celie is a woman who is always below everyone else and fails the ability to stand up for herself when Mr._____ is aggressive verbally and abusively. Kumashiro’s descriptive opinion of the school system’s curriculum coveys the reader into believing that things like this happen. When stating, “We resist learning what will disrupt the frameworks we traditionally use to make sense of the world and ourselves.” This can relate to how Celie says, “This life soon be over, I say. Heaven last all ways.” (Walker page 42) Celie is afraid that if she learns or stands up for herself it will lead to her ultimate downfall.
The last and possibly the most important principle the Kumashiro tries to get across in his essay is the simple fact of biases on cultures. Us as readers only get the insight that the author is portraying to us, if it is in a good light then the readers will look at the subject matter in a good light, though if it is portrayed in a bad light then the readers will then look at it in a bad light. Author’s have a way with words which influence the way that readers look at things. In the essay we get to see what Kumashiro is talking about and how others may judge him for his “terminology.” This draws parallels with “The Color Purple” because in the audience only gets to see things from Celie’s point of view. There is never a letter to god from Mr.____ that we get to read because the author just doesn’t want people to go over to his side; all the author wants is for us, as readers, to sympathize for Celie and join in on her side through her tough journey through life. Although for someone from the Northeast it is hard to relate to “The Color Purple” because the way the Celie lives is unheard of up here, rather very rare. Though to someone down in the Deep South who derives from a poor, abusive African- American family it is much easier to relate to a book like this, which to me is a shot in the dark.
The biases of cultures, the victims that “Otherness” targets, and the idea of education equals power, are three of the principles that Kumashiro professes to draw parallels between the article and “The Color Purple.” Many things that Kumashiro talks about directly correlates with Celie and her journey for a better life.
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. "Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppresive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Scinece Classrooms." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Explaining his concept of “Others” in his essay, Kumashiro talks about underlying racism, hypocrisy in the classroom and the difficulty of changing one’s view of stereotypes to explain his theory that education itself must undergo a drastic reform in its very fundamentals in order for students to fully understand the implications of the texts.
Kumashiro explains that not teaching students about cultures and people different from themselves would be bad, as learning about accepting other types of people is important. However, within those teachings themselves lays a problem. When you educate a group of students similar to each other about a people who have different cultures and appearances than themselves, then you are implying that they are a different type of people, or as Kumashiro puts it, “Other[s] to refer to those groups that are traditionally marginalized in society,” (3) or put simply, “other than the norm,” (3). Take, for example, The Color Purple. If an instructor is explaining and teaching the novel to a group of primarily white students, then it is of no fault to the students if they immediately distance themselves from the characters in the novel because they are “Others”. In doing so the work loses a portion of its integrity and meaning because the readers have more trouble connecting with Celie and the rest of the characters.
This is a problem that plagues most classrooms of America today. It is because that some teachers insist on only teaching the “canon”, or ”curriculum when the authors and characters of the literature being read consist primarily of middle class or wealthy, White, male, and heterosexual people,” (4). This does not teach students about the contributions or identities of the “Others” because it is only giving them the experiences of their own type of people. As much as we preach of inclusion of these minority groups, the education system is not in a good position to reflect that. It teaches not of when the United States, “put queers from Nazi concentration camps right back into prisons,” but of how our government is, “the big brother to the world, the place of freedom and righteousness,” (6). It could be said that The Color Purple is taught out of an emotion border lining guilt because of the trouble that the majority forced upon the minority; and it is the general belief that teaching the public about the culture of these “Others” will help rectify the problem.
Works Cited
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Print.
Kumashiro, Kevin K. ""Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms." Educational Researcher 30.3 (2001): 3-12. Print.
Zack Sicard
March 14th, 2013
Class: E
Essay
There are three basic principles posited by Kumashiro to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple these three principles alter the effects of the novel and it place in the American literature canon. The three basic principles include education is power; the fact that “otherness” targets groups of racism, sexism etc., and finally the author is bias when discussing cultures similar to ours.
The first principle being education is power is highlighted when Kumashiro talks about mathematics. Kumashiro characterizes humans using mathematics with the intent to “control not only nature, but also society.”(Kumashiro 4) When we have the “ability to think mathematically” it allows [us] to extend control over others.”(Kumashiro 4) This relates to Celie in the sense that Albert her husband, who is Mr. ____ to her extends control over Celie. Throughout the novel Albert “[contributes] different forms of oppression” like beating Celie, making her do all the work and treating her more like an animal than a wife. (Kumashiro4) It is easy for Albert to manipulate Celie because she has no education. Knowledge is power and the only shining light in most of the story that Celie has is the letters she gets from her sister Nettie. While reading these letters and writing back to her sister Celie becomes more aware of the outside. The more she reads the more she starts to feel like she has the right to be treated better. Of course Albert knows that this would happen to Celie and that is why he tried hiding the letters from her.
Working alongside the principle that education is power is the fact that “otherness” targets groups of racism, classism, sexism and heterosexuals” (Kumashiro1). Kumashiro writes about the grouping of society. Relating back to the Color Purple Celie is marginalized within her society. Celie’s life is one that many believe is the stereotypical life of a southern black woman. These stereotypes come from myths learned from the media, families, peer groups, and so forth.”(Kumashiro 4) Her whole life she has been completely controlled by her father and Albert; more importantly (men). Kumashiro talks about the “gendered division of labor” hinting at Celie doing all the work for her husband Albert. (Kumashiro4) Celie sadly falls victim to racism because of her color, classism because she is poor and sexism because she is attracted to Shug.
Cant possibly finish this
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “Posts” Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms. By Kevin K. Kumashiro.
Kumashiro, Kevin K. ""Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, AndScience Classrooms." (2001): n. pag. Print.
Erin Kennedy
Applying the principles posited by Kumashiro to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Kumashiro’s unique lens alters the effects of the novel and its place in American literature by perceiving inadvertent oppression in classrooms when learning about “Others marginalized in society” (Kumashira, 3).
In the eyes of Kumashiro, American classrooms justify the privileging of certain groups and marginalize others by failing to create a view of anti-oppresion (Kumashiro, 4). Looking to teach about minorities in American literature, such as African American women in the 1900’s, teachers are advised to read Alice Walker’s The Color Purple with their students. Narrated by a young African American girl, The Color Purple characterizes her everyday life as beaten down and full of demands that she must obey by and carry on through (Walker). Kumashiro believes that in teaching these lessons, student’s knowledge is shaped to understand their “identity as singular” and associate that identity as all the “Others” (Kumashiro, 5). From reading literature like The Color Purple, students lens portray all African American women in the 1900’s the same way. Kumoshiro considers this because he believes “we often desire hearing only certain voices, we desire the silencing of Others, and we desire the continuation of normalized teaching and learning practices” (Kumashiro, 6). The lens altered by Kumoshiro helps shape the teachings of anti-oppresion.
Works Cited
Kumashira, Kevin K. “”Posts” Perspectives on Anti-Oppression Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms.” Educational Researchers (2011): 3-12. American Educational Research Association. Web 11 Apr. 2012.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
Mike Travers
Class:E
Kumashiro/TCP
Analyzing “posts” by Kevin K. Kumashiro uncovers numerous facts about American literature, and the process by which American schools approach oppression issues within their walls.(such as racism, classism, sexism, and hetero sexism) Kumashiro goes in depth in how schools often just teach to meet the requirements within the “core disciplines” (page 3) What Kumashiro is referring to when he states the core disciplines he means the core curriculum that is outlined by administration and the states in which the schools function in.”anti-oppressive educational research has produced and continues to produce a wealth of cultural and conceptual resources for educators to use in rethinking their practices and imagining forms of anti-oppressive education that have, until now, been unexplored” Kumashiro is speaking of a new way of thinking amongst educators across the globe, researchers are developing and creating new ways to present curriculum in less oppressive ways. The oppression Kumashiro speaks of is more of a mold for what one person demands. The school systems demand the educators to speak about slavery and blacks and give them certain stereotypes for how they acted, but in fact in some instances some blacks do not even fit into the stereotypes their given. “The naming of difference, then, whether in activist communities or inclusive curricula, can serve less to describe who a group is, and more to prescribe who a group ought to be”.(page 5) The same oppression can be found not only in race, but also in sexual preference. These stereotypes relate back directly to “The Color Purple”. In “The Color Purple” we see women being taken advantage of and raped by men, not only are they women, but they are African American women. This is where Kumashiro's thoughts play directly into the novel “The Color Purple”. Kumashiro insists that in the curriculum fed to students they will learn and create their own opinions and beliefs based on their reading and findings in the novel. For example if a student in a high school is unfamiliar with the time period where women were considered far inferior to men, a student will form their own belief that African American women were continuously and constantly raped and abused by African American men. Although this isn't true when a school implements this novel into their curriculum they can cause terrible stereotypes to be formed as a result of reading the literature. A student could draw these conclusions due to Celies' terrible past of being raped often or when she is abused by other African American men. Kumashiro's points are tremendously eye opening, by implementing certain literature into a curriculum a school can entirely alter a students mind and their way of thinking. This literature could form a bad taste in a developing mind or it could cause an opinion that can be expressed throughout the schools, causing for more oppression issues within the walls of the schools.
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “posts perspectives an anti-oppressive education in social studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms. “Educational researcher (2001). 3-12. American Educational research Association. Web, 14 April 2013
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanian, 1970. print. ---Mike Travers
That was me Joe Maia where it starts "The Last" and ends with works cited
Michael Ready
Class E
3-14-13
Kumashiro
There are many principles applied in Kumashiro ‘s academic journal that compare to ones found in the “Color Purple” by Alice Walker. Kumashiro highlights sexism, racism, and a slight bias when talking about other cultures that show many comparisons to the “Color Purple”.
Almost immediately into Kumashiro’s academic journal he begins to discuss sexism in academics. “Not long ago, only men were considered capable of thinking scientifically.” (Battersby, 1989). Comparatively this idea fits perfectly with the “Color Purple” because it gives you the idea that men have a greater superiority to women. In the book Celie thinks of herself as lower than Mr.___ or even inferior to him. She always does what she is told and never argues or disagrees with Mr.___ mainly because she fears him because of the physical beatings. “In part the ability to think ‘mathematically” allows certain people to extend their control over others.” (Fleener, 1999). This is a perfect example of how in the book Mr.___ has all of the control over Celie because he got an education, and Celie never got the chance to finish school. Kumashiro also brings up how racism and oppression impact how teachers may teach something. Throughout the book Celie is constantly oppressed by men. She was oppressed by her father and her husband Mr.___ . Throughout the entire book Celie is oppressed by someone constantly doing whatever she is told to do because of the constant fear of Mr.___. With little education and living in fear of her own husband Celie relies on her journals in which she talks to God, to keep her sanity. It is the only way that she can express herself. She has nobody that she can talk to about her problems that she is going to with because she would fear if Mr.___ found out that she would be beaten. However Shug Avery becomes a savior for her who she essentially considers a God. Shug becomes the only person that Celie knows that she can actually talk to and express herself to. There bond becomes very strong throughout the book. Another comparison from Kumashiro’s academic journal is when he discusses the second World War. “ the persecution of queers in Nazi Germany alongside Jews and other targeted groups.” In the book Celie is basically in persecution of Mr.___ because she does not love him and did not have any say in the marriage at all. She just does whatever he tells her to because he lives in constant fear of him.
Work Cited
Book- Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Florida. Harcourt. 1970. Print
Article- Kumashiro, Kevin “post perspectives on Anti-oppressive education and social studies, English, math and science classrooms.” American Education Research Association (Apr. 2001)_ Academic search
Nicholas Cardone
3/13/13
Kumashiro Essay
English III Block E
THE LENS OF KUMASHIRO ON THE COLOR PURPLE, AND HOW IT IS TAUGHT IN ENGLISH CLASSES
“The Color Purple” is a unique book that deserves its place in the American literary canon, and is an immortal classic of American literature that focuses on the plight of Celie and Nettie, two black women who, while sisters, live very separate lives and contact each other through letters, and delve into such dark topics such as sexism, racism, and rape and homosexuality. This book has been taught in high schools since the 1990’s and, according to Kevin K. Kumashiro, Assistant Professor of Education at Bates College, expert on homosexual American youth of Asian and African descent, and the idea of anti-oppressive education, it is a dangerous book to teach.
Kumashiro makes this claim indirectly in his essay “’Posts’ Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms”, in which he states that the educational system of the United States of America, and, perhaps, all other nations, do not take into account that some of the students that are learning the curriculum are being taught in ways that do not take the correct steps to educate them about their place in history and in literature. While his essay goes on to claim that the ways in which mathematics and science are also incorrect in their methods of being taught, this is not the focus of this essay. Instead, what is being analyzed is Kumashiro’s idea that the way books focusing on minority groups are presented in English classes are being taught incorrectly, especially since these English classes are interlocked with modern History classes, this can promote stereotypes about minorities because minorities are not properly addressed by these classes. This, Kumashiro argues, is a dangerous thing, as promoting stereotypes about groups such as African-Americans and lesbians can be disastrous. “The Color Purple”, however, is not the novel being criticized for being taught in ways that promote stereotypes, but, instead, any novel dealing with a minority, that is, according to Kumashiro, anyone who is not a white male. “Since no text (such as a novel) on, say, Native Americans can ever reflect all voices in Native American communities, the knowledge we gain from that text will always be partial (Butler, 1997). Such partiality,” Kumashiro argues, making his case about novels and literary works in general about minority groups, “means that, inevitably, the text will reflect the reality of some groups, but miss those of others; it will represent the voices of some groups but silence those of others.” (Kumashiro, 2001) Novels such as “Reservation Blues”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, “The Grapes of Wrath”, and, perhaps, nearly any novel taught in modern high schools, is taught with the goal in mind being to educate children about the plights of other races in America. However, they all cover extremely narrow minorities of these minorities, and, as such, may shape the bias of children learning from these books in ways that slide towards viewing these groups in a way that seems to be contrary to the messages schools want to send by having these books be read.
His claims of incorrect teaching extend further yet, to the teaching of history. “The Color Purple” is a historical text, of sorts, because it is technically a work of historical fiction detailing life in the early or mid-1900’s (however, the novel was written in the 1980’s, and, thus is not a reputable historical document), and is, like many other works, integrated into the teaching of modern American history. However, the ways that history is taught leave out the same groups that this novel discusses, according to Kumashiro, who claims that homosexual, Asian, and African American experiences are left out of the curriculum to make way for white culture that, generally, more heavily affected American history. Such teachings as this, he claims, creates an idea of white superiority in the minds of learners, which can be dangerous as such ideas have lead to the rise of such groups as the KKK and the Nazis. Clearly, this is a grave mistake for teachers to make, and, of course, Kumashiro is the beacon of knowledge blazing out across the black sea of ignorance who points it out.
In conclusion, there are few true parallels between Kevin K. Kumashiro’s essay “’Posts’ Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms” and Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”, as the former was written by a sensitive sociology professor from Japan, and the latter was written by an African American feminist unafraid to stand her ground against critics. However, it should be noted that the way the latter work is taught in schools is worth notice, and is quite worrying.
Works Cited:
Kumashiro, K. K. ""Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms." Educational Researcher 30.3 (2001): 3-12. Print.
Nick Hynes
3-14-13
Honors English III
Expressing his ideology on anti-oppressive education in “’Posts’ Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms”, Kevin K. Kumashiro challenges the “diverse” literary canon through his thoughts on sexuality and race, and how we “desire hearing only certain voices,” (Kumashiro 6).
Kumashiro challenges the canon of “diverse” literary works in English classrooms for “operate(ing) in contradictory ways.” (Kumashiro 5) In effect Kumashiro is challenging Alice Walker’s The Color Purple as reinforcing marginalization and Othering (Kumashiro 5). Kumashiro criticizes the selection of this “canon” as being too broad; representing too much of one group and thus marginalizing or belittling the differences within said group. Kumashiro details how women and queers in the African American community are not appropriately represented, yet Celie is a queer African-American woman (Walker 1, 113). Kumashiro criticizes the lack of diversity in English classes, saying there is only broad representation, yet there are mentally handicapped characters (Steinbeck Of Mice and Men), lower class characters (Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath), Asian characters (John Hersey Hiroshima), and black characters (Alice Walker The Color Purple) all in common practice in modern high school level canon. Kumashiro’s views on education are inconsistent, one minute saying that there is no diversity (Kumashiro 4), the next saying that diversity is counter-productive (Kumashiro 5). Kumashiro himself is guilty of generalization and stereotyping, for the diversity in high school level reading is real and effective.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple, Florida, Harcourt, 1970. Print.
Kumashiro, Kevin. “’Posts’ Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms” American Education Research Association (Apr. 2001) Academic Search 4-11-2012
Krista Woodworth
3-14-13
Block E
The principles posited by Kumashiro to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple alters the effects of the novel and its place in the American literature canon by portraying that just because we see the perspective of one’s situation, doesn’t mean that it will always be that way.
In the novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker explains Cellie as a slave. We learn that Cellie has had a rough life with very little money. Due to Cellie being black she was treated with very little respect from Mr.___. Celies states, “He beat me like he beat the children” (Walker, pg 22), and “He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church” (Walker, pg 5). This proves how cruel she was treated, however does this infer that all African Americans are treated this way? The audience quickly labels all African Americans as poor, low class people because of the way the author portrays them to be. Kevin K. Kumashiro is trying to convey that we shouldn’t base our opinion off one thing. In his principles he explains how in a learning environment students are exposed to certain stereotypes. This has been brought to the attention of many people, and the ways students are influenced by things in their classrooms have become a concern. To take action “Educational researchers have shed much light on the multiple and contradictory ways different forms of oppression (such as racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism) play out in schools, as well as on the various approaches that educators can use to work against oppression)” (Kumashiro, pg 3).Kumashiro knows that things have to change so students do not classify a diversity of different people in one certain way based on a stereotype they have heard. As said by Kaumashiro, “ By learning about only certain groups and perspectives in society, students are not learning about alternative perspectives and the contributions, experiences, and identities of others, and by not learning suck knowledge, students are not troubling the (mis)knowledge they already have.”(Kumashiro, pg 5). In the principles posted by Kiroshima, Kiroshima further explains why we should not stereotype different groups of people based on the little knowledge we have. Cellie in The Color Purple is a perfect example of how we label a certain stereotype.
Works cited
Kumashira,Kevin K. “Posts perspectives on anti-oppressive Education in social studies, English, Mathematics, and Science classrooms.” Educational Researcher (2001); 3-12.American Educational Research Association.web.11 April 2013
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970.Print.
Lauren MacGray
English E
March 14, 2013
Kumoshiro
Applying the principles posited by Kumoshiro to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Kumashiro’s unique lens alter the effects of the novel and its place in the American literature by illustrating that people’s opinions are based on one thing, when in reality there are many other ways to look at certain things.
There are many similarities between The Color Purple and Kumashiro’s principles because they both deal with racism. Many people’s opinions seem to be altered because of one story on racism, when in reality there are many other ways to look at it. In the novel, Celie is described as an African American that undergoes problems dealing with her race. When comparing this to Kumashiro’s lens, it connects in the sense that in classrooms when you learn about one thing, that shapes your knowledge on how it really is when it really could be totally different. Just because you learn one thing, it doesn’t mean that that is the only way a certain thing can happen, matter of face it could not even be true. “Our desire to teach and learn about the Other in traditional ways is a desire to maintain some sense of identity and normalcy. Therefore, difference is not merely something we have yet to learn, but something that we desire not to learn.”(Kumashiro, 5) Just because you learn about something, that doesn’t mean you automatically know everything about that topic or should believe everything you hear in classrooms. For instance, students are taught about a certain stereotype and that has been a concern for many people. People tell stories about a certain race and automatically think that is how everyone of that race lives their life. “Anyon (1979), for example, tells us that U.S. history textbooks celebrate the achievements of industrial inventors but fail to discuss the practices and effects of labor exploitation on the working classes.”(Kumashiro, 4) For instance, sometimes students seem to be taught only the good things and achievements on a certain subject and ignore the troubles that the African Americans face. This relates to The Color Purple because when you read this story, people’s opinions seem to be based on just this. For instance, just because Celie had a hard life growing up, that doesn’t mean that every African American does. This novel set a stereotype for a lot of African Americans.
Couldn't finish
Works Cited:
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “’Posts’ Perspective on Anti-oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms.” Educational Researcher (2001): 3-12. American Educational Research Association/ Web. 11 April 2013.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
Analyzing the affects of diversity and its integration with segregation throughout history, Kumashiro sheds a new light on Walker’s novel, “The Color Purple,” by revealing the challenges that African Americans face through racism, sexism and sexuality, as they battle with the literary canon.
Throughout history there has always been one group of people left out. This seclusion was often done due to race. Alice Walker beautifully portrays this by stating, “An African daisy and an English daisy are both flowers, but totally different kinds” (Walker 136). This idea of being different due to one’s race is further emphasized in “The Color Purple,” when a white woman queries, “have you ever seen a white person and a colored person sitting side by side in a car?” (Walker 104). In comparison, in his article, “Posts Perspectives on Anti- Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English Mathematics and Science Classrooms,” Kevin Kumashiro, furthermore, queries, “by adding say, Black Americans, do we expect their voices to ‘”speak?’” (Kumashiro 5). Kevin Kumashiro then goes on to state the underlining statement, that we are “making people of color into objects of investigations” (Kumashiro 6). By isolating the entire African American race, we have created tension between races and the levels of respect we have for one another can only improve.
Although men, such as African American men are eventually accepted, history has also repeatedly secluded people because of their gender. This act has often been done by realizing the man to be more powerful and dominant then the women among races. Alice Walker portrays this by declaring that, “a girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something” (Walker 155). Alice Walker further portrays this image of women by adding, that the men “they don’t even look at women when women are speaking” (Walker 162). Kevin Kumashiro emphasizes these unheard words of women by declaring, “that only certain voices are included… [and] certain voices are silenced in the first place” (Hiroshima 5-6). This idea of a woman coming in a mere second to our dominant men was accepted to see through their lens in the 1900’s. This is expressed in Kevin Kumashiro’s article as discrimination “based on…gender” (Kumashiro 5). As women continue to fight for the respect of men today, people still find other differences in which they isolate others.
(continued)
Lastly, history has been known to seclude people based on their choice of sexuality. Kevin Kumashiro introduces this idea by introducing the meaning of queer; “since the definition of ‘straight’ requires the existence of ‘queer’… any effort to change what it means to be queer requires simultaneously changing what it means to be straight (Kumashiro 5). This existence of “queer theory,” has been secluded only because it is different from the expected norm. Alice Walker supports the unwelcomed sexualities by expressing her main character, Celie, as a lesbian; “much as I like to look, my tities stay soft, my little button never rise. I must be dead” (Walker 146). This excerpt portrays Celie admiring the idea of a woman and how this woman, Shug, makes her body feel. Alice Walker further goes on to imply that Shug shares these feelings in common; “’if you was my wife, she say, I’d cover you up with kisses stead of licks” (Walker 109). In comparison to the other types of discrimination, “queer[s]” continue to fight the hardest battle because they are newfound isolations (Kumashiro 5).
Throughout history there has always been someone left out of the group and this trend will continue. The people that are left out are secluded based on differences that they portray; differences that express them as altering the expected norm. These differences are found within race, within genders among races and within sexuality, among genders within races. The battles that these isolated groups face are a constant battle and will continue to be fought for generations to come. As we continue to welcome a new difference in each generation, new differences will keep emerging and there will always be another group that isolated from the whole. Lastly, we are all guilty of forming opinions and discriminating against one another and our lenses have been altered to continuously accept some and deny others.
Work Cited
Walker, Alice. “The Color Purple.” Florida. Harcourt. 1970. Print.
Kumashiro, Kevin. “Post Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education and Social Studies, English, Math and Science Classrooms.” American Education Research Association (Apr. 2001) Academic Search 4/11/2012.
Nicole Kiley
Analyzing the effects of diversity and integration throughout history, Kumashiro unique lens lets you see Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, in a new light by revealing the hardships that African Americans face through racism, sexism and sexuality.
Racism has been a challenge that African Americans face every day throughout history. “Why can’t Tashi come to school? she [Olivia] asked me. When I told her the Olinka don’t believe in educating girls she said, quick as a flash, they’re like white people at home who don’t want colored people to learn. (62.10) Racism is expressed in The Color Purple when Nettie explains to Olivia that her friend Tashi can’t go to school with her because a woman in the Olinka tribe is not allowed to be educated. Nettie explains to Olivia that this is just like the white people in America not believing that blacks should be allowed to go to go to school and learn. At this moment in the book Olivia realizes sexism and racism are very similar and affect her life greatly. Kumashiro says that, “I use the term "Other" to refer to those groups that are traditionally marginalized in society, that is, that are other than the norm” (Kumashiro 3). He realizes that by discriminating and isolating the race of African Americans, we have lost respect for each other. We have created tension between different races by not accepting them for who they are. In The Color Purple, the whites are always suppressing the blacks and think they are superior to them. In the novel, the white mayor’s wife asks Sofia to be her maid. Assuming Sofia would take the offer as an honor, she was shocked when Sofia refused the offer. In The Color Purple Walker writes, “All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid? Sofia say, Hell no.”(37. 13) Sofia is beaten and taken to jail. As a black woman, white people assume that it’s a great honor to be a white man’s housemaid. Sofia is unwilling to take a degrading position like that, so the white police officers and mayor beat her in order to reaffirm their racial authority and dominance.
Sexism is a form of seclusion based on gender, throughout history males have always been looked at as superior to women. In The Color Purple Walker says, “The Olinka do not believe girls should be educated. When I asked a mother why she thought this, she said: A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something“(62.3). Women are not thought of very highly in the Olinka culture. Their biggest accomplishment in life is marrying their husband. A woman’s only importance in their culture is to serve and respect the men of the tribe. Nettie does not agree with the way the women live their lives in the Olinka Tribe. Kumashiro states in his article, "Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms, “Only men were considered capable of thinking scientifically (Battersby, 1989)”(Kumashiro 4). Women have always been looked at as second to men. Discrimination “based on…gender” (Kumashiro 5) is seen throughout the world daily. Women have always been struggling for respect from men, and to break free from the isolation men have put upon women. In The Color Purple, Walker states, “Tashi is very intelligent, I said. She could be a teacher. A nurse. She could help the people in the village. There is no place here for woman to do those things, he said” (63.14-20). Nettie is only valuable in the Olinka men’s eyes because she can educate other men in the tribe. Their only concern is denying females their right to an education and speaking down to them. Throughout the novel, Nettie tries to help Olivia look further than becoming a wife, and not to accept the gender stereo types for herself.
Sexuality is another way human beings isolate each other. If something is different from you its human nature to not accept them as willingly as you would someone similar to yourself. Kumashiro says, “I use the term "queer" to refer to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, questioning, or in other ways "queer" because of their sexual identity or sexual orientation. I agree that the appropriation of "queer" by many GLBTIQs signifies a rejection of normative sexualities and gender” (Kumashiro 3). “Normal” to one person might not be the “normal” to another. Sexuality is an individual’s right and choice, no one can choose for them. Many people who declare their sexuality get secluded from groups. In the In The Color Purple, Walker writes, “I wash her body, it feel like I’m praying. My hands tremble and my breath short. (24.1-5). For the first time in Celie’s life she is attracted to someone. Even though Shug is mean to her at first, Celie’s love for her is instant and physical. Walker also states, “But Shug don’t love looking at but one of us. Him. But that the way it spose to be. I know that. But if that so, why my heart hurt me so? (33.24-26). At this point in the novel Celie is struggling with her feelings for Shug. She doesn’t know if they are acceptable and natural. Celie is jealous of Mr. ___. She can’t decide if it is okay to be attracted to the same sex, because traditionally Celie believes its natural and right to be attracted only to the opposite sex. Differences in any form always leads to seclusion and isolation. Racism, sexism, and sexuality all are battles which leave people lonely and separated. We all form opinions and discriminate against one another and our personal lenses accept who are like us and discriminate those that aren’t.
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “’Posts’ Perspective on Anti-oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms.” Educational Researcher (2001): 3-12. American Educational Research Association/ Web. 11 April 2013.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
Nicole Kiley
Analyzing the effects of diversity and integration throughout history, Kumashiro unique lens lets you see Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, in a new light by revealing the hardships that African Americans face through racism, sexism and sexuality.
Racism has been a challenge that African Americans face every day throughout history. “Why can’t Tashi come to school? she [Olivia] asked me. When I told her the Olinka don’t believe in educating girls she said, quick as a flash, they’re like white people at home who don’t want colored people to learn. (62.10) Racism is expressed in The Color Purple when Nettie explains to Olivia that her friend Tashi can’t go to school with her because a woman in the Olinka tribe is not allowed to be educated. Nettie explains to Olivia that this is just like the white people in America not believing that blacks should be allowed to go to go to school and learn. At this moment in the book Olivia realizes sexism and racism are very similar and affect her life greatly. Kumashiro says that, “I use the term "Other" to refer to those groups that are traditionally marginalized in society, that is, that are other than the norm” (Kumashiro 3). He realizes that by discriminating and isolating the race of African Americans, we have lost respect for each other. We have created tension between different races by not accepting them for who they are. In The Color Purple, the whites are always suppressing the blacks and think they are superior to them. In the novel, the white mayor’s wife asks Sofia to be her maid. Assuming Sofia would take the offer as an honor, she was shocked when Sofia refused the offer. In The Color Purple Walker writes, “All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid? Sofia say, Hell no.”(37. 13) Sofia is beaten and taken to jail. As a black woman, white people assume that it’s a great honor to be a white man’s housemaid. Sofia is unwilling to take a degrading position like that, so the white police officers and mayor beat her in order to reaffirm their racial authority and dominance.
Sexism is a form of seclusion based on gender, throughout history males have always been looked at as superior to women. In The Color Purple Walker says, “The Olinka do not believe girls should be educated. When I asked a mother why she thought this, she said: A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something“(62.3). Women are not thought of very highly in the Olinka culture. Their biggest accomplishment in life is marrying their husband. A woman’s only importance in their culture is to serve and respect the men of the tribe. Nettie does not agree with the way the women live their lives in the Olinka Tribe. Kumashiro states in his article, "Posts" Perspectives on Anti-Oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms, “Only men were considered capable of thinking scientifically (Battersby, 1989)”(Kumashiro 4). Women have always been looked at as second to men. Discrimination “based on…gender” (Kumashiro 5) is seen throughout the world daily. Women have always been struggling for respect from men, and to break free from the isolation men have put upon women. In The Color Purple, Walker states, “Tashi is very intelligent, I said. She could be a teacher. A nurse. She could help the people in the village. There is no place here for woman to do those things, he said” (63.14-20). Nettie is only valuable in the Olinka men’s eyes because she can educate other men in the tribe. Their only concern is denying females their right to an education and speaking down to them. Throughout the novel, Nettie tries to help Olivia look further than becoming a wife, and not to accept the gender stereo types for herself.
Sexuality is another way human beings isolate each other. If something is different from you its human nature to not accept them as willingly as you would someone similar to yourself. Kumashiro says, “I use the term "queer" to refer to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, questioning, or in other ways "queer" because of their sexual identity or sexual orientation. I agree that the appropriation of "queer" by many GLBTIQs signifies a rejection of normative sexualities and gender” (Kumashiro 3). “Normal” to one person might not be the “normal” to another. Sexuality is an individual’s right and choice, no one can choose for them. Many people who declare their sexuality get secluded from groups. In the In The Color Purple, Walker writes, “I wash her body, it feel like I’m praying. My hands tremble and my breath short. (24.1-5). For the first time in Celie’s life she is attracted to someone. Even though Shug is mean to her at first, Celie’s love for her is instant and physical. Walker also states, “But Shug don’t love looking at but one of us. Him. But that the way it spose to be. I know that. But if that so, why my heart hurt me so? (33.24-26). At this point in the novel Celie is struggling with her feelings for Shug. She doesn’t know if they are acceptable and natural. Celie is jealous of Mr. ___. She can’t decide if it is okay to be attracted to the same sex, because traditionally Celie believes its natural and right to be attracted only to the opposite sex. Differences in any form always leads to seclusion and isolation. Racism, sexism, and sexuality all are battles which leave people lonely and separated. We all form opinions and discriminate against one another and our personal lenses accept who are like us and discriminate those that aren’t.
Works Cited
Kumashiro, Kevin K. “’Posts’ Perspective on Anti-oppressive Education in Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science Classrooms.” Educational Researcher (2001): 3-12. American Educational Research Association/ Web. 11 April 2013.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
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