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 f4IMt5f13865; Fri, 18 May 2001 18:55:05 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 18:55:05 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <89.6cde273.283700c5@aol.com> 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: AndresMuro@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:493] Re: The K12 School Experiences of High School Dropouts X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Unknown (No Version) Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Status: O Content-Length: 2728 Lines: 59 I agree with Steve and you that different methodologies must be used to research literacy issues. However, the more I think about resistance, the more I believe that the only way to reasonably document resistance is through ethnography. The reason is that while you can say that there is resistance when it is observed, you cannot argue the opposite when it is not observed. Especially, since resistance is an emotional defense mechanism that people may use selectively under certain situations. Moreover, in contested ideological environments, hegemony plays a role in influencing the extent to which resistance is manifested or suppressed. An analogy to expressions of resistance could be expression of racism or sexism. We know that there is racism when we see it. That does not mean that there isn’t any when we don’t see it. As definitions of what appropriate manifestations of behavior are, change, it becomes more difficult to observe them directly. Therefore, while a person could have admitted hating minorities or being very sexist 30 years ago. People may not admit to such attitudes today, even if they possess them. Therefore, while people experience racism and sexism regularly, it is not easy to see. Malcolm X used to say that he preferred Southerners to Northeasterners. According to Malcolm X you always knew who was racist in the south and could defend yourself. In the Northeast, where racism was “politically incorrect,” he never knew his enemies. In the “Logic of Practice,” Bourdieu argues about the limitations of research in documenting cultural patterns The reason is that they emerge in context, and even when they emerge, an outside observer may be unable to see them. Only an observer that is familiar with the cultural “context” may observe certain behaviors. In fact, a participant in the culture is the one that can observe the behaviors. Manifestations of certain emotions are displayed in context using gestures, sounds, silences, facial expressions, as well as standard verbal responses and written responses, as part of cultural activities. Resistance is a cultural behavior that may emerge in certain contexts and may be communicated in various ways. Even, if it is not observed, it does not mean that it is not there. If Steve and Claire had set up to study this, which they didn’t, they would have had to define what behaviors would or would not be considered manifestations of resistance, and they would have had to find the contexts where the behaviors are often manifested. Even if they did not observe those behaviors, all they could conclude is that the methodology failed to show that resistance was manifested. Andres
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