Week 10 Response
As someone who studies a lot of American history, one broad thing I am thinking of is how we distinguish the study of "racial identity" from the study of "race" in America. Of course, the two cannot be disentangled, and one logical distinction might be that racial identity allows more space to talk about simultaneous identities or oppressions.
Still, I think it is interesting to think about differences between the terms. In a lot of my history classes, we spend time thinking about the historical experiences of different racial groups and how they've interacted with each other. In some of my blog posts/our discussions, we have done the same thing.
In this class, by contrast, we are also explicitly focusing on how people and groups throughout history have embraced, rejected, or ignored their or their group's identity. I would be interested in discussing how my classmates perceive each approach, or if they see the difference as I do.
I am very eager to talk about Sing, Unburied, Sing, as well. The role of the mystical/surreal further extends the concept of what constitutes a legitimate "identity" and I'm curious why my classmates think Jesmyn Ward chose to include Richie and Given in their respective roles for Jojo and Leonie. I also was struck by the character of the road/the car in the book, as much of the active plot takes place on the road trip to/from Parchman. Why does Ward choose to make so much of the setting on the road? What about including all the grotesque details of the vomit and other gross details? I am so glad I had the chance to read this book, despite its being challenging and disturbing at times. As Christine brought up in her post, I think it is a fantastic artifact to look at when thinking about "Becoming" or "Being" American.
Still, I think it is interesting to think about differences between the terms. In a lot of my history classes, we spend time thinking about the historical experiences of different racial groups and how they've interacted with each other. In some of my blog posts/our discussions, we have done the same thing.
In this class, by contrast, we are also explicitly focusing on how people and groups throughout history have embraced, rejected, or ignored their or their group's identity. I would be interested in discussing how my classmates perceive each approach, or if they see the difference as I do.
I am very eager to talk about Sing, Unburied, Sing, as well. The role of the mystical/surreal further extends the concept of what constitutes a legitimate "identity" and I'm curious why my classmates think Jesmyn Ward chose to include Richie and Given in their respective roles for Jojo and Leonie. I also was struck by the character of the road/the car in the book, as much of the active plot takes place on the road trip to/from Parchman. Why does Ward choose to make so much of the setting on the road? What about including all the grotesque details of the vomit and other gross details? I am so glad I had the chance to read this book, despite its being challenging and disturbing at times. As Christine brought up in her post, I think it is a fantastic artifact to look at when thinking about "Becoming" or "Being" American.
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