Transnationalism?
Like my classmates, I too found this article very challenging. So much so that I had to look up the actual definition of the word transnationalism.
1. Reaching beyond or transcending national boundaries: “the transnational ramifications of terror networks” Emanuel Litvinoff.
2. Relating to or involving several nations or nationalities: transnational organizations.
I have to be honest, this definition did not enlighten my reading in the slightest. I believe that the authors were asking scholars and teachers to look beyond the narrow scope that academia has historically classified national and international issues but I may have missed the mark on this one. While reading this article, I couldn’t help but think about multiculturalism and how that may have applied to this article and these scholars. I wish that I could wrap my head around this subject but it proves to be quite the challenge, maybe we can shed some light on the matter in class tomorrow.
Discussion question: what is the difference between internationalism and transnationalism?
Thursday’s Readings
First off before I get into my blog posting for this week…I was surprised to see my flyer posted on our class blog…that is mildly awkward but if you have any questions about that please feel free to ask.
Alright, the task at hand, the articles. The first thing that I noticed in Hall’s article was a continuation of our conversation Tuesday: Hegemony. Hall offers us a definition of culture by first explaining “this emergence is both a displacement and a hegemonic shift in the definition of culture”. I thought that this was an interesting segway from the Marxist theories of Tuesday discussion to the popular culture discussions of today. It seems to me that Hall is trying to convey that the frontier of culture is constantly changing with the ideologies of the times, a concept that we learned directly in the previous articles. I am glad to see this concept in a different context because I feel that it is easier to wrap my head around.
Hall talks in depth about the postmodernist movement. Merriam-Websters defines Post modernism as of, relating to, or being any of various movements in reaction to modernism that are typically characterized by a return to traditional materials and forms (as in architecture) or by ironic self-reference and absurdity (as in literature) b: of, relating to, or being a theory that involves a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history, or language. This seems like a rather sterile definition but Hall further clarifies Post Modernism as having a fascination with difference. For the purposes of his studies, Hall indicates that popular culture contains paradoxes. If popular culture is a shared experience of individuals believing that they are expressing themselves, then it seems odd that the same popular culture dictates the stereotypes that pigeon hold people.
Discussion
Is the frontier of culture constantly expanding and changing or are we just homogenizing globally?
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Playing Indian 1
There were many reasons that the English migrated to the Americas in the 17th century. In the early 1600’s Virginia was settled by rugged men seeking financial opportunity with the Virginia Company and “riff raff” that who were sent from their native country because the gentiles could not stand the sight of them. In New England, the Puritans and Pilgrims were escaping religious persecution in search of a “City on a Hill” proclaiming that they were the second coming of the Israelites, chosen by g-d. In both cases whether it was territorial or religiously motivated, the English and other Europeans systematically stole and murdered the Native Americans. I know this seems a little confrontational but I found Playing Indian very interesting. For me personally, it is an interesting look at a subject that I dealt with greatly in my 17th Century America course last semester.
I found Deloria’s explaination the the “good and bad” Indian fascinating. Edmond S. Morgan describes this notion in his book American Slavery, American Freedom. Morgan’s opinion is somewhat harsh and argumentative, basically blaming the “Natives” as he calls them for these divides.
Deloria writes “It had become a truism that such images of good and bad Indians reveal more about the people who created them than they do about the native people themselves…” I completely agree with this statement. This is certainly not exclusive for the Native American people, we do it to African Americans, Asians, and basically anyone who isn’t white or Christian.
I enjoyed how Deloria described the concept of nationalism and equated that to the American ideal of patriotism. As if we had observed these qualities and made them our own.
Discussion Question: Is all “American” culture borrowed from a series of observations of other cultures? Are American’s constantly redefining themselves or searching for their national identity?
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