Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e8UEv9924946; Sat, 30 Sep 2000 10:57:13 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 10:57:13 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <008c01c02aee$c6f06440$5deeffd1@cbking> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Catherine King" <cbking@flash.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:82] Re: From Theory to the Specific X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 6188 Lines: 156 Hello Mary Ann Corley: Another classic author worth reading on race is Albert Memmi on the Colonized and the Colonizer. His subject is the British and their attitudes towards their colonies, but he approaches it on a structural level and therefore connects the merely "culturally defined" or "situated," with the universal--which comes down again in various forms of "group bias" like racism, sexism, etc. Some of his major points is, as you say also, that (1) the colonizer needs the colonized to maintain his-her position of strength; (2) that the colonized are driven "to the edge" in every way, but then institutional methods are developed to keep them at that edge so they neither die nor are able to rebel. Some forms of pacifism to keep them barely "happy," falsely hopeful, and busy taking care of the lower end of Maslow's order of being, like food, shelter, and caring for their families--all of which are made difficult by the oppressive "culture" and system. (3) that the colonized area of power has a tendency to repel creative and intelligent people because creativity and intelligence have never been race-gender-etc. specific; (4) that the colonized areas of power attract the mediocre who cling to group identities from various fears and shallow desires; and therefore, over time, the colonies carry the seeds of self-degeneration within them--both in the oppression of the "other," as well as in their own calcification of form. (It takes someone like a Ghandi to catch on and unplug the dams that are already building.) (5) that the racism of the colonizer is stamped on the souls of the colonized. This is not a new theme, but was brought forward also in DuBois' "The Souls of Black Folks," around the turn of the last century as well as Shelby Steele more recently. Memmi was a mixed-heritage child of the colonies and wrote in the fifties. I taught a college class in central Virginia--tobacco country-- for several years with a section on group bias and racism to mixed classes. I am a white female. The fundamental insight to begin teaching with is that the classroom is itself a social situation. Though theory is imperative, the interpersonal in the classroom cannot be obfuscated by abstract dialogue--I was a white teacher speaking to both black and white--male and female students, and you must begin with where you are speaking to people "where they live." Methods of delivery, then, must be organized around the social and the interpersonal, and not the abstract. I am enjoying greatly the posts here, but wonder why Taylor signed off? Perhaps racism in America is a different animal than it is in England? Certainly the history of slavery and racism is radically different for the two countries? Catherine KIng ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Ann Corley <macorley1@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 2:33 PM Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:42] Extending the Discussion to Poverty > I appreciate Jill's comment about how we unintentionally perpetuate the > system of oppressed and oppressors and that some segments of society benefit > from maintaining an "underclass." Thus far, we have been talking about > racial oppression. However, this listserv also is about poverty; > therefore, I'd like not to divert the discussion from racial oppression but > to extend it a bit, as Kay Taggart has suggested, to include economic > oppression. > > There is an interesting analysis (Herbert J. Gans, 1993. People, Plans, and > Policies: Essays on Poverty, Racism, and Other National Urban Problems. > New York: Columbia University Press) of this very point as it relates to > society's need to maintain a system of poverty. On pages 254-268 of his > book, Gans proposes 13 functions of poverty, among which are: > > 1. The existence of poverty makes sure that "dirty" work is done (e.g., > work that is physically dirty or dangerous, temporary, dead-end and > underpaid, menial). > > 2. The poor subsidize, directly or indirectly, a variety of activities that > benefit the affluent. For example, because they work for law wages, > domestic workers make it possible for their more affluent employers to have > more leisure time and to take advantage of professional, cultural, civic, > and social activities. (Gans cites additional examples here, but I won't > take the time or space to list them all in this posting.) > > 3. Poverty creates jobs for a number of occupations and professions that > serve the poor or protect the rest of then population from the poor. > Examples include police (the poor are the majority of their clients), pawn > shops, the peacetime army (the majority of recruits are from the poor). > > 4. The poor buy goods that others do not want, thereby prolonging the > economic usefulness of such goods as day-old bread, secondhand clothes, > deteriorating cars and buildings. > > 5. The existence of poverty helps guarantee the status of those who are not > poor. > > 6. The poor, being powerless, can be made to absorb the costs of change and > growth in American society. For example, expressways that enable > suburbanites to commute downtown are typically located in poor neighborhoods > because no other group will allow itself to be displaced. > > Gans lists seven other functions of poverty, but you get the idea. > > Please provide your thoughts and comments on this. And because this is a > listserv dedicated to the application of these concepts to literacy, we > invite you, as Lisa Gale has suggested, to offer your thoughts about how we > can enhance our program services to be more inclusive of all > learners/clients. How do you recruit a diverse staff of professionals? What > are the implications of the above for learner recruitment, for instructional > design and delivery, for staff professional development? for serving > clients in health clinics and libraries? for workplace education programs? > > We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks. > > -Mary Ann Corley > Director, National Center > for Literacy and Social Justice > macorley1@earthlink.net > > > > > > > > > > > > >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 16 2001 - 14:47:23 EST