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HUMA 2319 Odessa Wk 6 Racism Appears to Be a Fundamental Facet Of US Discussion
HUMA 2319: Week Six Lecture, Notes, and Materials—
This week we proceed with our review of America and what is means to be an American from the context of identifying and being identified as a minority.
To begin, read “Heritage” from Walter Benn Michael’s Our America. It grounds the notion that America is not simply the United States of America; it is a space and place defined by “Natives and Newcomers,” and traditional history is not necessarily an accurate record of how and why minorities are subjected in those time-periods and now. Thus, as my notes from last week indicated, we need to move passed the idea that “textbook” history is correct. Instead, we turn to literature, policies, politics, government, etc. to discover and examine how and why minority oppression exists.
In “Heritage,” Benn Michael’s picks up on the above theme within the context of African American art, life, and literature, but remember that for white nativism, all minorities must suffer the same fate: domination or complete acculturation. Now, the stark difference here is the influx of Africans via slavery, rather than traditional immigration. This fact works in two different fashions against the African Americans of the time period and today: First, the land, itself, is not their geographical birthright—i.e. they are not indigenous to it. Therefore, their transplant status serves as an excuse for the dominant to proclaim that they have no claim to it. Second, slavery by nature is psychically, mentally, and emotionally oppressive and enforced. Thus, the trauma of the circumstance must also be addressed because coping mechanisms include denial, repression, projection, and displacement (Freud 1894 and 1896). The modern African American then has a different set of constraints in which they must create and conduct their own “ceremonies” of healing via communal catharsis. For example, when Benn Michael’s points out that studying American history encompasses the African American past, it automatically concludes that African Americans are “Americans,” and the dominant’s greatest fear is that the minority is not so different from themselves. With the exceptions of pigment, culture, and values, the human race is statically similar on all counts. However, this is a simplification that one cannot responsibly make within the scope of reality. The past of the African American shows externally. They are then readily categorized by the dominant in an inferior fashion. The discourse of Humanities then must recognize that such a sub-group is unrepresented in the narration of the nation, and that narrative is defined by the historical and present circumstance. In other words, acculturation can never be truly accomplished because of the reality of social injustice and inequality.
Instead, this America (the African-American America) is something new yet everchanging, as with most other minority groups. For instance, when Langston Hughes states, “So will my page be colored that I write? / Being me, it will not be white. / But it will be / a part of you, instructor. / You are white— / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. / That’s American” in “Theme for English B,” he rightly asserts that the dominant and the subjected have to learn to cope and live with each other because neither one is going away or can be avoided (1951). Benn Michael’s is careful to acknowledge this actually when he addresses how and why the dominant appropriates “black culture” for its own needs or desires. Thus, cultural influence oscillates back-and-forth, but the power of each position is uneven. Race is then not a social construct or “phenomenon”; it is a fact of life, and one that must be addressed in art, since it is discounted by history.
“Advertisement for the Waldorf Astoria” (1931) and “Salvation” (1940) address both social injustice and religion’s role in minority oppression. Yet, Hughes uses satire to deliver his message, instead of a direct message. This is done for two different reasons: one, it maximizes his audience. You have to remember that a majority of his readers are white, and his use of humor and reference to the poverty stricken identifies with and appeals to both intellectuals and socio-economically suppressed readers. Second, satire, humor, and irony are often used to “code” messages. For lack of a kinder explanation, it circumvents traditional cultural and social boundaries and constraints in much the same fashion as the trickster character—the argument either becomes more palatable to the audience or they are not intelligent enough to understand the underlying meaning. Thus, at its core, Hughes is a master of rhetorical ploys or exponents.
Now, the difference is slight and can oscillate between contradictory meanings, but it useful for us to understand the nuances of the terms here because minority art often couches its contentions in such formats for the two reasons outlined above. Rhetorical Ploys are usually defined fallacies or false arguments that seem like an argument on the surface but are in reality not logical. However, they can also be used in the reverse with great affect: if a portion of the audience does not comprehend the claims set forth, they would conclude that only a fallacious or false argument exists, but the party of the audience that does understand the “coded” messages is then privy to the real contentions at hand. Thus, this audience understands that the references—Rhetorical Exponents—within the text point to a sound and more significant argument. Hughes does both in much of his work to not only challenge the majority/minority status quo both champion for social, cultural, economic, and political change. Note his last two stanzas. Both tackle religion and government from a form of immediate and active activism on the part of his audience. Think about these ideas when formulating your final essays for the course.
DISCUSSION BOARD QUESTION: analyze the arguments put forth in “Theme for English B,” “Let America be America Again,” “Advertisement for the Waldorf Astoria,” and “Salvation” by Langston Hughes within the context of Benn Michael’s overarching claims. Do not forget to support your claims with an additional scholarly source. HUMA 2319: Week Six Lecture, Notes, and Materials—
This week we proceed with our review of America and what is means to be an American from the context of identifying and being identified as a minority.
To begin, read “Heritage” from Walter Benn Michael’s Our America. It grounds the notion that America is not simply the United States of America; it is a space and place defined by “Natives and Newcomers,” and traditional history is not necessarily an accurate record of how and why minorities are subjected in those time-periods and now. Thus, as my notes from last week indicated, we need to move passed the idea that “textbook” history is correct. Instead, we turn to literature, policies, politics, government, etc. to discover and examine how and why minority oppression exists.
In “Heritage,” Benn Michael’s picks up on the above theme within the context of African American art, life, and literature, but remember that for white nativism, all minorities must suffer the same fate: domination or complete acculturation. Now, the stark difference here is the influx of Africans via slavery, rather than traditional immigration. This fact works in two different fashions against the African Americans of the time period and today: First, the land, itself, is not their geographical birthright—i.e. they are not indigenous to it. Therefore, their transplant status serves as an excuse for the dominant to proclaim that they have no claim to it. Second, slavery by nature is psychically, mentally, and emotionally oppressive and enforced. Thus, the trauma of the circumstance must also be addressed because coping mechanisms include denial, repression, projection, and displacement (Freud 1894 and 1896). The modern African American then has a different set of constraints in which they must create and conduct their own “ceremonies” of healing via communal catharsis. For example, when Benn Michael’s points out that studying American history encompasses the African American past, it automatically concludes that African Americans are “Americans,” and the dominant’s greatest fear is that the minority is not so different from themselves. With the exceptions of pigment, culture, and values, the human race is statically similar on all counts. However, this is a simplification that one cannot responsibly make within the scope of reality. The past of the African American shows externally. They are then readily categorized by the dominant in an inferior fashion. The discourse of Humanities then must recognize that such a sub-group is unrepresented in the narration of the nation, and that narrative is defined by the historical and present circumstance. In other words, acculturation can never be truly accomplished because of the reality of social injustice and inequality.
Instead, this America (the African-American America) is something new yet everchanging, as with most other minority groups. For instance, when Langston Hughes states, “So will my page be colored that I write? / Being me, it will not be white. / But it will be / a part of you, instructor. / You are white— / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. / That’s American” in “Theme for English B,” he rightly asserts that the dominant and the subjected have to learn to cope and live with each other because neither one is going away or can be avoided (1951). Benn Michael’s is careful to acknowledge this actually when he addresses how and why the dominant appropriates “black culture” for its own needs or desires. Thus, cultural influence oscillates back-and-forth, but the power of each position is uneven. Race is then not a social construct or “phenomenon”; it is a fact of life, and one that must be addressed in art, since it is discounted by history.
“Advertisement for the Waldorf Astoria” (1931) and “Salvation” (1940) address both social injustice and religion’s role in minority oppression. Yet, Hughes uses satire to deliver his message, instead of a direct message. This is done for two different reasons: one, it maximizes his audience. You have to remember that a majority of his readers are white, and his use of humor and reference to the poverty stricken identifies with and appeals to both intellectuals and socio-economically suppressed readers. Second, satire, humor, and irony are often used to “code” messages. For lack of a kinder explanation, it circumvents traditional cultural and social boundaries and constraints in much the same fashion as the trickster character—the argument either becomes more palatable to the audience or they are not intelligent enough to understand the underlying meaning. Thus, at its core, Hughes is a master of rhetorical ploys or exponents.
Now, the difference is slight and can oscillate between contradictory meanings, but it useful for us to understand the nuances of the terms here because minority art often couches its contentions in such formats for the two reasons outlined above. Rhetorical Ploys are usually defined fallacies or false arguments that seem like an argument on the surface but are in reality not logical. However, they can also be used in the reverse with great affect: if a portion of the audience does not comprehend the claims set forth, they would conclude that only a fallacious or false argument exists, but the party of the audience that does understand the “coded” messages is then privy to the real contentions at hand. Thus, this audience understands that the references—Rhetorical Exponents—within the text point to a sound and more significant argument. Hughes does both in much of his work to not only challenge the majority/minority status quo both champion for social, cultural, economic, and political change. Note his last two stanzas. Both tackle religion and government from a form of immediate and active activism on the part of his audience. Think about these ideas when formulating your final essays for the course.
Discussion Board Question: analyze the arguments put forth in “Theme for English B,” “Let America be America Again,” “Advertisement for the Waldorf Astoria,” and “Salvation” by Langston Hughes within the context of Benn Michael’s overarching claims. Do not forget to support your claims with an additional scholarly source.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/let-america-be-america-again
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/theme-english-b
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes/poems/16970
Post
Hi, please you will help me respond to two of my classmates in mimimum of 75words Discussion OneAlexander Is the nation supposed to be built on racism and/or even founded the way it is? Regardless of the way that we approach this thought from many different points of view, the musing is something almost identical. We come from two particular social orders that have a long history of differences, yet our dream is something basically the same. Our social/reasonable conditions are incomprehensibly botched, yet we long for a recovery and correspondence. We live in two obviously explicit periods of time. You endure three struggles, the Great Migration, the Great Depression, Rosa Parks address decency, and Kennedys Assassination. I have endured three manipulator attacks on this country. Two from untouchables and one local. Likewise, still we both perceive that our America isn’t the country that it was relied upon to be. Our begetters (without a doubt, each person who declares to be an American had someone planning) formed a report that started with an insistence of individual advantages. In the introduction of the Declaration of Independence it states, We hold these convictions to be evident, that all men are made the same, that they are provided by their Creator with explicit unalienable opportunities, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. This is the explanation of how our phenomenal nation developed. Thomas Jefferson explained that the document’s configuration was never expected to be totally extraordinary; its inspiration wanted to clarify whatever had not been said already, yet to advance the safeguard for the American settlements in plain terms and persuade the world to see good instinct. America was not simply going to be a spot that is known for balance, but It was furthermore expecting to define a boundary for the rest of the world. This considered consistency is what Langston Hughes is endeavoring to get across in his works. Hughes ponders the indisputable differences between the America that ought to be and the America that is. Hughes portrays this as per his perspective which incorporates bias, degradation, and abuse. In spite of the way that our perspectives are extraordinary, they really incorporate the issues. This disassociation from the two Americas is gotten from a course of action of control. All through the drawn out the trust in an Independent nation has given way to a Government control under the fantasy of Independence. I believe that our nation, unequivocally or government, uses bias as a technique for controlling social events. They use race, social events of individuals, viable get-togethers, and shockingly political get-togethers to deal with their arrangement. I don’t agree with everything said by Walter Benn Michaels in the part of Heritage from Our America, yet I do notice a piece of his center’s interest. In this part he examines US Social relations. Social Relations is a general term for a relationship between somewhere around two people, get-togethers, or affiliations. Michaels examines US Social relations as a technique for propelling public power. Expressly Racial Data for orchestrating and noticing general prosperity programs, legislative arrangement in regards to minorities in the public arena, and other adversaries of detachment measures. The public authority makes programs that benefit a specific social occasion to propel how they are helping the inhabitants of this exceptional country. Projects, for instance, Housing Assistance is one such program. Dwelling Assistance helps low-pay families, seniors, and people with handicaps get into sensible private or government-guaranteed rental housing. (Sears, 2016). The Housing Choice Voucher Program gives revelations to rent upheld units. The allotment grants recipients to pay near 30% of their compensation. Programs like this really help with trips to the neighborhood. The issue is this doesn’t change the way that Government dwelling is second rate quality decisions that the public authority has bought unassuming. Without a doubt, even after you can find a dwelling, you really need to fight to pay for various work and items. These work and items have taken off as a result of an outlandish economy driven by Government exercises. The expense of fuel right now locally is around $3.00 per gallon. With the finish of pipelines in the US by President Biden, this expense is depended upon to twofold inside the next year. We are at this point using oil, however we are as of now paying various countries for itself and a short time later paying to have it imported. We need to work on building a strong economy that benefits everyone. Work on making dwelling sensible for everyone. Make it useful for families to deal with the expense of necessities without getting any kind of government help. Autonomy for your occupants will steady in getting back to a certifiable America. Something different that I noticed entrancing with respect to Michaels portion Heritage was the term Afrocentrism. Afrocentrism is a social and political improvement whose fundamentally African American pupils regard themselves and any leftover Blacks as syncretic Africans and acknowledge that their viewpoint should determinely reflect standard African characteristics. I absolutely support this conviction, I feel like we overall should have pride in where we have come from and how we can manage to disclose our overall predominant spot for everyone. To transform into the America that we would be generally ready to be satisfied with, we truly need to all have an unrivaled cognizance of those that make up America. Correspondence and Compassion are the key. In mentioning that people get us, it is our commitment to give real and exact information. This information is positively not an uneven evaluation of a social event or individuals anyway is all around informed. One thing that I considered to be difficult to recognize was the dispute about Susie Phipps and the one drop Rule. This area deals with a Louisiana woman who found that first experience with the world assertion communicated that she was toned. She struggled with the Louisiana court structure to endeavor to get it changed. She was one thirty second African American and on account of what they court structure called the one drop rule, she was unable to get it changed. The clarification that I found this disturbing, is fundamentally that not so much as one of us knows unequivocally what kind of blood line we have or don’t have. The information of the one thirty second bloodline would interest me as to look into where I came from. We are significant for a blood line, positive or negative. We can do what we want with the information yet looking into ourselves may help us with getting others. (Slate, 2014). Work citedSlate, Nico. Langston Hughes and Race as Propaganda | SpringerLink. 2014, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/97811374…. Sears, David. Racialized Politics the Debate about Racism in America … 2016, https://aiai.icaboston.org/a/pdf/S5I0E8/racialized….DIscussion twoRicky 7 hours ago, Langston Hughes dates to the renaissance times (1920-1930). He writes about racism and discrimination. He describes how our nation is being controlled by government groups. He talks about how in the “Theme for English B” How he is a 22yeard old colored male and the only colored student in his college class. How he feels he is viewed differently because of his skin color. However, is very direct and honest about the racism and how it awards certain individuals regardless of effort they put forth its based-on skin color. I do like how he does make it show how the student and teacher are both considered American for their own reason and how. HE wants the professor and the student to realize that due to the racial issues they have endured has brought them closer together and helped them to overcome this disadvantage. It allowed them to build a professional educational relationship with each other and helped them to understand one another more. However, it is pointed out that even though there is relationships like the professor and teacher, there is still real issues with racism and prejudice.
