For my final blog post, I will take you through my journey with Christine
during the last four quarters I have been her student. This is very bittersweet
and quite long blog post.
What first caught my eye as I scrolled through the course list of winter
2013 was a class about race. I have only started gaining a social consciousness
as I was elected a role in my organization to coordinate a
freedom of expression
aspect. A lot of my works that I presented had to do with my identity as a
Filipino-American. I figured this was going to be an interesting class. The
first course I took with Christine was Race in Literature: LA Circa 1992.
My first impressions of this class was that…well, a lot of individuals
needed a reality check. There was a prevalent use of the word “illegal” and I
outright felt uncomfortable at times especially being a person of color.
However, Christine was so compelling that every class I felt like I had to
speak up and give my perspective. The topics were very hard hitting. Even
though I am not from L.A., a lot of the history has affected my family and my
own identity. My favorite part of this course was the L.A. riots and how music
became a form of expression with songs like Fuck Tha Police and Fight the Power
as theme songs. With the new N.W.A. movie coming out, I’ll be sure to contact
Christine to discuss the means of media and how they’ll portray what went down.
Things like systematic and institutionalized racism along with Ruth Wilson
Gilmore’s critical definition of race are the biggest takeaways for me.
While the L.A. course was quite large, the Nuclear Pacific was very
intimate, something that I really appreciate in a class as we get to hear a lot
of perspective. This was an amazing class. Many of the texts were good reads. I
especially loved Barefoot Gen (I read the manga and watched the anime), Gojira,
and the classic: Pale View of Hills. It is important to know how being a
nuclear power puts you in a class where you get to dictate what goes on in this
world. I got a lot out of the discussions and I developed a strong bond with a
lot of people in this class.
The third class (my undisputed favorite) was the Race, Labor, and Migration
class. A lot, and I mean a
lot, of Filipino
and Filipino-American culture we use in the Filipino Student Association is
tied to the United Farm Workers movement of the 60’s. We end every event with a
unity clap to signify in solidarity with our Chicano and Chicana family that we
accomplished something at the end of day. My new all-time favorite book was the
proletarian novel
America
is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan. I felt that my prior knowledge helped me
shine in particularly with this topic. I’m very passionate about his work and I
use it a lot when I give presentations about labor and Filipino culture. Many
of the broader topics either taught me or reinforced the notions of estranged
labor and private accumulation. Race and gender are very much intertwined with
labor and the idea of social death will forever be stuck in my mind.
And now, the fourth class, Unreliable Narration. For myself, I never sought
to analyze texts with this in mind.
Heart of Darkness
was taught out of the canon and not through questioning the history and
substance of the text. Reading
Pale View the 2
nd
time around was even crazier. And the
Reluctant
Fundamentalist, my current favorite, was a mindfuck in terms of the actual
naming of the characters. One term, the
other, was
utilized in such a way in combination with the
tourist that I
will always question the very nature of vacationing to other countries as a
product of neocolonialism and a cementing of neoliberalism as a foundation for
today’s society. I especially loved Danielle's presentation as it ties in to
how the Philippines is trying to commodify the post-typhoon disaster. This post
fails to show that many victims still need help and that the government is not
trying their best in the rebuilding process. This class has shown me that the
history and literature lessons are only a small scope to the hidden atrocities
that we don’t get to read or listen to in high school. The land grab of Africa
to the questionable narrator; always be careful to take things at face value
and do the research about what really goes on behind what the text shows you.
To Kara,
Thank you for always putting up with my crap in section. I know I was late
to literally 90% of section but thank you for never calling me out on it. You
facilitated the class really well and made that 8AM worthwhile.
To my squad: Veronica, Sabrina, Jess, Meagan, and Steven
Yall have been amazing to me. I know my antics can be quite stupid
sometimes. I know I’m very loud. But yall are always hilarious to talk to.
Whether it is about the course topic or anything else that happens in life,
just know that these last few quarters would have been incomplete without
you.
To Christine,
I’m actually going to write you a letter so be on the lookout for that. :)
With that being said, I leave you all with a quote from the
Reluctant
Fundamentalist.
“If you have ever, sir, been through a breakup of a romantic relationship
that involved great love, you will perhaps understand what I experienced. There
is in such situations usually a moment of passion during which the unthinkable
is said; this is followed by a sense of euphoria at finally being liberated;
the world seems fresh as if seen for the first time then comes the inevitable
period of doubt, the desperate and doomed backpedaling of regret; and only
later, once emotions have receded, is one able to view with equanimity the
journey through which one has passed.”
Thank you all for reading. It has been a pleasure sharing my views and input
with yall. Good luck with finals everyone!
-Tem Velasquez Ysmael
No comments:
Post a Comment