In Class Discussion Dec 5,2011
In class today we watched a film called “_______”. The film was about a woman named Jane who was hosting a workshop where white people were brought in and treated as Aboriginals have been in the past, while many Aboriginals watched and participated in the workshop. After we were asked to discuss in small groups our thoughts on the film. The first thing my group and I discussed was the age of the people that participated in the workshop. Most people were middle aged from around 40-65. When tackling a problem like issues my group and I felt that teaching it to younger children would have a stronger affect. Most older aged people find it hard to switch their views as it is what they have believed their whole life. However for children it is a lot easier to change or help teach them how to act towards discrimination and racism.
Social Justice Event Assignment “Ghana Field School Students Colloquium”
For my social justice observation essay I chose to attend the “Ghana Field School Students Colloquium” on November 10, 2011 hosted in the KPU Conference Hall Cedar G1205 at the Kwantlen Surrey Campus. The purpose of this event was to discuss the Ghana Field School Trip taken by a mix of fifteen former and current Kwantlen students as well as two instructors. The group spent twenty-four days in Ghana but majority of the group felt that their time there was just too short. The essence of the trip had to do with educational sightseeing, learning about the Ghanaian history, geography, culture and people, as well as giving back to Ghana by helping out in local institutions. Each person described the different sociological concepts they faced and learned from including social justice, social imagination, globalization and culture shock. During the event many of the students and instructors took time to describe their experience in Ghana.
One of the instructors from the trip Stephanie Howes, a nursing instructor of Kwantlen described her experience of culture shock. Stephanie explained to the audience how being a nurse made her have a need for structure, however Ghana was a place that lacked structure and taught her how to slow down and pay attention to the little things.
The first student to speak was Natalie Chessa an sociology and psychology student in her fourth year at Kwantlen. Natalie was set up to help at a private elementary school called “Anani Memorial International School for French and English”. She described the conditions of the school being that it was a very poor school that accepted everyone. In one example she explains her shock into seeing young students sharpening their pencils with a very sharp and dangerous razor blade. Natalie was able to gain from the trip a “self-less act, knowledge and great friendships”.
Another student in fact the only male student of the group Gurp Sandhus also described his experience in Ghana. Gurp called the trip a “life changing experience”. On the trip he was given the opportunity to help out in many different institutions including media, mental health clinic, orphanage, elementary school, non-profit organizations, a private security firm and the department of Ghana Police. Gurp described the culture as a developing nation, with a land of opportunities. While working for the non-profit organization called NISS he helped out by teaching disadvantaged youth how to use computers and Internet. Gurp was surprised how much mainstream media had influenced his first thoughts. He left the trip with a new outlook onto the world.
From the Colloquium I was able to take away information from what the group experienced on their trip. It was interesting to see all of the sociological concepts they experienced on the trip. It was clear that everyone shared an experience they would remember forever.
Video #3 “Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger Of A Single Story” (Affective)
Affective Reading
- Answer each of the following questions in a paragraph or list:
- What is the reading about? (A brief summary—5-10 lines, plus 2 central premises)
- How do WE FEEL about the reading WE just finished?
- What do WE THINK about the reading WE just finished?
- What do WE BELIEVE about the reading WE just finished?
- What do WE KNOW about the reading WE just finished?
Video #2 “Race: The Power of an Illusion Episode 1: The Difference between Us” (Dialectic)
| What question did the text/chapter raise? | How did the text answer this question? | How does the answer match our own ideas? |
| What is ‘race’?
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| What is ‘mongrel’?
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| What is the issue with ‘concordance’? |
Video #1 “What Have My Cocoa Beans Got to Do with Canada” (Paraphrastic)
Paraphrastic Reading
- Write a summary of the reading, not to exceed a half a page.
- Next, select one five-sentence segment (no more, no less) that you think is the most important one in the reading and write an accurate paraphrase of it.
- Make a note about why you selected the segment to paraphrase.
Instructors Articles #4 “The Phantom Of The Race: The Myth Of Race And The Reality of Racism” By Dr.CQA (Dialectic)
| What question did the text/chapter raise? | How did the text answer this question? | How does the answer match our own ideas? |
| What are the differences between ‘race’ and ‘racism’? | RaceØ Non-existent
Ø A figment of the collective imagination Racism Ø Powerful reality Ø Illogical Ø Irrational Ø Nonsensical Both are interdependent |
I had always struggled defining the differences between race and racism. I felt that they both existed but after reading this article I can see that race does not exist and only racism does. |
| What happens when “race” and “racism” are combined? | Although both are interdependent when combined the two make a powerful mix that kills and destroys people. | I always knew that the combination of race and racism was a horrible destructive thing. |
| Who is the most influential of all these “race categorizers”? | The Dutchman Blumenbach identified five races as:
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The identifying of the five races does not surprise me however I don’t agree with it. I feel that everyone should be held equal. |
