perspectives on diversity

Although many of the texts that we have encountered recently are extremely relevant to discussions of diversity, when recalling Alice in Wonderland, it is difficult to isolate explicit examples in the story that deal with racial difference. However, one can examine the way that Alice in Wonderland approaches difference in the abstract in order to provoke discussion. Alice encounters many strange animals and creatures throughout the story, but one of the most telling encounters occurs in the pool of tears. In this scene, Alice encounters a mouse and begins to try to speak to it. Alice changes the way she talks, trying her best to mimic “the right way of speaking to a mouse” (41). When the mouse fails to respond, Alice speculates that “perhaps it doesn’t understand English” (41). Alice then proceeds to make a generalization due to her lack of her historical knowledge when she proclaims, “I daresay it’s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror” (41). A significant debate is to be had here regarding whether Alice’s approach to difference is innocent or dangerous. Alice seems to represent the innocence of a child throughout the story. Taking this into account, should we treat Alice’s assumption that the mouse is French as benign? Or is the William the Conqueror reference an ignorant generalization? These questions are difficult to answer, but I think that it is at least safe to say that Alice is good-intentioned. She always intends to treat the animals with utmost respect. Nevertheless, this does not guarantee a neutral effect of her discourse.

french = william the conqueror?

Much of this discussion of Alice’s character can be resolved by examining the growth of Alice’s character in Through the Looking Glass. She seems to treat other characters more sensitively as she becomes more familiar with her surroundings. When she meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee, she “laughed loud: but she managed to turn it into a cough, for fear of hurting his feelings” (242). While Alice is still somewhat insensitive, she ultimately takes actions to avoid offending other individuals. When Tweedledum asks her if he looks pale, Alice claims “well—yes—a little,” but does so “gently” (242). Here again, Alice makes a proactive attempt to treat other individuals who are dissimilar to her in a respectful manner. Perhaps we can retroactively examine her comments to the mouse through this lens of the progression of her character.

we should show people more respect

Ishmael provides some interesting and mostly unrelated commentary on racial diversity. When providing commentary on the contents of hierarchies within modern society, Ishmael notes that “white males—have called the shots inside the prison for thousands of years, perhaps even from the beginning” (252). While Ishmael goes on to later argue that there are other more important political goals than increasing racial consciousness, it is still worthwhile to note that Ishmael subscribes to the belief in forces of white hegemony in society.

ishmael sees these advocates as distracting from more important struggles

INFP

After taking the personality tests, I was immediately drawn to the famous personalities that my personality (INFP) is associated with. Being associated with the likes of Immanuel Kant, William Shakespeare, and Ludwig Beethoven makes it interesting to speculate about the personalities behind the various works of these individuals. Keirsey’s qualification of my personality was that of a ‘healer’. This seems to make sense to me due to the role that I frequently take in the friendships that I maintain.

i'll take his personality over his hairline

Although I had heard some of the more general ideas about my personality in tests that I had taken before, the association of this personality with certain learning and writing habits was interesting. Due to my introversion, the information in the anthology argued that I like “autonomy and choice-interested in discovery tasks” (249). This seems pretty true from my own observation, I enjoy having autonomy in my behavior in general. However, I disagreed with one of the other bullet points. I don’t think my introversion necessarily makes me inclined to “independent study” (249). I’ve had many successful experiences studying with groups on certain subjects. The information about writing was also revealing. The only time I’ve ever really felt like I produce a good work of writing is when I map out my ideas on paper (usually with visual diagrams). The anthology seems to allude to my inclination to “anticipate ideas before writing” (252). One other aspect of my writing processes is my nature to “guide writing decisions by sense of flow,” which is a tendency that I was not self-aware of (252).

awesome dude

affect

In recent years, the humanities and social sciences have taken what has been labeled a ‘turn to affect’ in an interdisciplinary fashion. In general, this has been described as a heightened interest in “the non-verbal, non-conscious dimensions of experience” by engaging “sensation, memory, perception, attention and listening” (Blackman and Venn 8). This runs contrary to many hegemonic paradigms that cause the academy to fixate its gaze on solely ideological and discursive analyses. Ultimately this affective turn has made reflection upon individual emotions and passions at the forefront of the social sciences. Before you write this analysis as more of Mantis’s pontificating about the academy, I would like to explain the intimate connection between a focus on affect in social analysis and the strategies of experiential learning deployed in Bump’s world literature course.

body & society's issue on affect studies

The fundamental problem that seems to have been recurring within the course readings is suffering. While many courses that address social issues are oriented towards alleviating suffering, much of the literature’s focus has been the response to the suffering of others. Perhaps the most memorable moment in the curriculum thus far has been the graphic documentary Earthlings. Being inundated by images of violence inflicted upon animals caused a wide range of emotional responses during the viewing. Our class had several discussions where we attempted to sort out what these emotions meant. An affective dialogue was thereby opened, where we attempted to interpret the meaning of our immediate emotional responses to Earthlings.

images of suffering in earthlings induced Trauma

A major challenge that we must overcome when confronted with the suffering of other beings is to avoid the process of psychic numbing. Psychic numbing is “a psychological process by which we disconnect, mentally and emotionally from our experience” (Anthology 365). This is the most comfortable way to respond to suffering, because it justifies no response or obligation. Continuing with the example of encountering animal suffering, the observation is made in Elizabeth Costello that “what we really aspire to know is what it is like to be a bat, as a bat is a bat; and that we can never accomplish because our minds are inadequate to the task – our minds are not bats’ minds” (Coetzee 76). The implication of this observation is that it is impossible to ever fully be capable of empathizing with the suffering of others in a perfect manner. That is, there will always be some gap preventing us from entirely understanding another being’s standpoint.

oh, the irony

As a result, it is easy for one to get frustrated with their difficulty responding to suffering. This can translate into material deprivation that propagates poverty if it escalates to compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is “typically attributed to numbingly frequent appeals for assistance, especially donations” (Anthology 347). As a result, one must be mindful of how suffering is communicated to them and whether it is via a medium mediated by third parties. Third parties could have motivations to essentialize certain instances of suffering. Moreover, it can be overwhelming with suffering being present everywhere in society. I was forced at this point to continue searching for ways to develop effective responses to this suffering.

that dude looks pretty fatigued, huh?

The only way for an educator to ‘teach’ students about certain emotional responses to the suffering of others is by placing the students in situations where they must have a personal encounter with suffering. In this way, the students learn through experiencing (also known as “experiential learning”). Experiential learning “allows students to practice roles unfamiliar to them and fully immerse themselves in experiences that generate authentic knowledge” (Anthology 44). The authenticity derived from using lived experiences to learn about suffering is invaluable. This form of education is guaranteed to have a more lasting impact. In our readings of Ram Dass, we concluded that we must “look anew at how each situation can teach us, how it can help us evolve in our ability to confront and help alleviate suffering” (Dass 72). By including a focus on experiential learning, a unique educational experience is possible. In this way, world literature has given me the opportunity to confront many difficult instances of suffering. These are the lessons that I will carry with me forever as I face ethical dilemmas in my daily life.

how should we respond to the suffering of others?

One by-product of this experiential learning that I have personally observed is a greater awareness for diverse modes of intelligence. Rather than viewing intelligence solely in context of IQ, I have developed a greater sense of emotional intelligence as the course has progressed. My experiences witnessing the suffering of animals both in Earthlings and in my own personal experience attending the animal shelter made me acutely aware of the impact that emotions have on my general outlook. Due to the “power of emotions to disrupt thinking itself,” I have been learning to use emotionally intelligence to “harmonize head and heart” (Anthology 333-5). The focus on mental outlook has also been discussed in the abstract with great detail. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People argued that “success became more of a function of personality, of public lubricate the processes of human interaction. This personality ethic essentially took two paths: one was human and public relations techniques, and the other was positive mental attitude” (Covey 18). The importance of emotions and mental outlook is not merely due to the powerful nature of those thoughts. Instead, becoming conscious of our affective relationship with our surroundings can make it easier to achieve goals that alleviate such suffering. Much to my surprise, I have found myself persuaded about the importance of including emotions and preventing them from being subsumed by cold rationality.

It can be concluded that all of the aforementioned themes of experiential learning and emotional intelligence has fostered both a dialogue and reflection about broader questions of affect. Due to our witnessing of Earthlings, much of our association with suffering is bearing witness and reading the facial cues of animals in pain. In this way, my encounter with animal suffering and anthropocentrism has been grounded in an interrogation of my affective relationship. Even in some animal literature’s depiction of the Longhorn, the focus is on how the animal is “full of the pride and energy of life” (Anthology 116). We have learned to relate to animals on the level of mutual emotions and passions. Moreover, it seems that Siddhartha also teaches us about affective relationships. Although Siddhartha preferences the recognition of the unity of all life as being an important component to Enlightenment, he also grants significant validation to people’s passions and affective relationship to their surroundings. “He saw life and that which is alive—the indestructible Brahman—in each of their passions and actions” (Hesse 121). Feelings of passion and emotion seem to be a unifying trait of humans. Moreover, closer examination of physical responses to disturbances by animals also reveals more affective potential. Ultimately the class is an attempt to reinsert analyses regarding emotion and experience into an academy that has long abandoned such strategies. Although we might not have contextualized the class with ‘affect studies’ in academic literature, perhaps it is useful to conceive of our world lit class as an ‘affective turn’ in educational styles. Regardless, the focus on emotions and passions has certainly made for a unique and valuable learning experience.


Lisa Blackman and Couze Venn. “Affect”. Body & Society 16:7 (2010). Sage Publications.

govinda's face

As Siddhartha reaches its conclusion, Siddhartha assumes the role of the ferryman. The scene where Govinda is seeking to attend the funeral of Gotama Buddha is particularly revealing. I feel like the scene where Govinda kisses Siddhartha’s forehead upon request epitomizes the way that we have described compassion within the class. When discussing his quest to find Enlightenment Govinda concedes, “I confess that I haven’t found it” (Hesse “Govinda”). Rather than responding by pontificating about his own unique focus on the Self (as opposed to being beholden to ideologues – Buddha in Siddhartha’s view) Siddhartha extends empathy towards Govinda. This is important to acknowledge considering that Govinda has taken his “refuge with the exalted Buddha” (Hesse “By the River”). Just as our response to animals is contextualized with an infinite obligation to the face of the Other, Govinda’s face expressed emotions of “yearning, suffering, and the eternal search” (Hesse “Govinda”). Even in his old age, Govinda’s face still expressed the same “zeal, faithfulness, searching, timidness” (Hesse “By the River). In response to this anguish, it is easy to assume that Siddhartha saw his own previous discontent with his lack of Enlightenment in Govinda’s face. The deepest form of empathy is one where you feel the pain of another. In response, Siddhartha commands that Govinda should kiss his forehead. Govinda mutually understands this act as being out of “love and expectation” (Hesse “Govinda”). Empathy borne out of a mutual experience of pain is the only way to rationally explain an empathy extended to animals. By analyzing facial expressions and understanding that all living beings feel pain, empathy can be inclusive towards animals. I think that the way that Hesse understands empathy in this context is intentional. This compassion is based on the most primordial understandings of pain and suffering, and in that way it is inclusive.

buddha - didn't grant enlightenment to govinda

siddhartha overcame religious difference

buddha and siddhartha

Siddhartha operates with a strange paradox where, despite the main character’s ultimate rejection of Buddhist teachings, the biographical details of his life still mirror many of the details surrounding the legend of Buddha. The original story of Buddha features an affluent individual giving up his wealth in order to pursue Enlightenment. Siddhartha adopts a similar approach, giving “his robe as a gift to a poor Brahmin along the road” (Hesse 15). After making this sacrifice, “Siddhartha wore only a loincloth and an unstitched, earth-colored shawl” (Hesse 15). Buddha also only reached Enlightenment after fasting, making it worth noting that Siddhartha also “fasted for fifteen days” (Hesse 15). Madison Brown observes that one can easily conclude that these “elements are important to the plot or that these "parallels to Buddha's life are contributing factors to the legendary quality of the novel"” (Brown 194). It is difficult to deny that Hesse is intentionally attempting to draw similarities between Siddhartha and Buddha. However, towards the end of the assigned passage, Siddhartha rejects Buddha’s teachings. Siddhartha “left him, parted from him, and was not able to accept his teachings” (Hesse 39). Siddhartha ultimately rejects Buddha due to his shying away from authority and his focus on Enlightenment only coming from an interrogation of the Self. In this way, Siddhartha has a complex relationship with Buddha, one where he follows many biographical details yet diverges philosophically. Siddhartha also proceeds throughout the novel with the same goals as Buddha originally had, in an effort to seek Enlightenment. It is merely his methodology that has been altered after he rejects Buddha’s influence.

herman hesse

buddha

 

 

buddha - showing more skin

Madison Brown. “Toward a Perspective for the Indian Element in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha”. The German Quarterly 49:2 (1976).

buddha, ishmael, and said

Many of the principals articulated in the passages about Jainism were reminiscent of the perspectives advocated in Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael. Rather than logically justifying an environmental sensibility due to our mutual dependence on the environment, Jainism makes a moral argument. One should treat the environment with respect because of our “moral obligation toward nonhuman creation” (178). The reading of Jainism stretches to challenging dominant Western epistemologies, with the claim that “the most urgent task of both science and religion is to assert the unity and sacredness of creation, and to reconsider the role of humans in it” (178). This is similar to Ishmael’s altered reading of Genesis in order to advance a more inclusive world-vision. Science has also been critiqued in the Earthlings documentary, with scientific testing being responsible for the justification of inflicting pain on animals within our own University of Texas. Perhaps the most striking similarity between Jainism and Ishmael is the focus on confronting the “psychological pollution within ourselves” (178). This is reminiscent of Ishmael’s claim that we are “captives of a civilizational system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live” (Quinn 25). In this way, the explanation for environmental destruction is located in our own micro-relations with consumption practices instead of in macro-institutions such as corporations.

jainism

While the Jainism passages were engaging, I was apprehensive about the NeoConfucian Manifesto text. I couldn’t help but recall Edward Said’s criticism of essentializing portrayals of the Orient in his landmark book Orientalism. This association is more than textual, considering the piece uses the terminology of the Orient itself. I found the establishment of static categories of the West and East and extrapolating broad cultural differences between these two societies to be abstracted beyond usefulness. The author argues, “This is the prime cause of the West’s difficulty in achieving communion with the East. Authentic communication is possible only if the participant parties present an “empty mind” ready to identify with one another” (206). Moreover, the text argues that the West can learn a “feeling of mildness and compassion” from the Orient (207). Modernization and globalization have rendered many of these more traditional understandings of Eastern culture (China is specifically prominent in the text) largely obsolete. Secular forces are extremely prominent in China, and these representations of the Orient could propagate stereotypical dispositions towards other cultures. The text even goes so far to make the claim that Western modes of compassion through social services is one which its “oriental counterparts cannot measure up” (207). This claim is rendered questionable by the robust welfare state of Japan, an image of the Orient which is foreclosed by this more essentializing perspective. Rey Chow argues that through this “browsing through different "local" cultures, we produce an infinite number of "natives," all with predictably automaton-like features that do not so much de-universalize Western hegemony as they confirm its protean capacity for infinite displacement. The "authentic" native, like the aura in a kind of mise-en-abime, keeps receding from our grasp” (Chow 46). Rather than allowing this analysis to recreate an “authentic” native in the Orient who celebrates mysticism and calls for (what could be perceived as) pagan lifestyles, we must contextualize these historical beliefs of Buddhism with modern forces in order to paint a more complicated picture of the cultural practices in the Orient.

homogenizing the Orient under these representations is problematic

Rey Chow. Writing Diaspora: Tactics of Intervention in Contemporary Cultural Studies. 1993.

the beatitudes and good samaritan

I have also always found the Beatitudes to be a particularly problematic set of directions outlined by Jesus. Not only that, but the implications of these commandments are also relatively confusing. On one hand, Jesus claims “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (154). On the other hand, Jesus claims “woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (154). It is difficult to imagine that individuals should be condemned simply because they are being ‘consoled’ (to use the verbage of the passage). Jesus even continues by claiming, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (154). I remember the Church explaining these verses as Jesus condemning those who are selfish or greedy, not necessarily those who are simply wealthy. I am not entirely comfortable with this assertion. The blessings that Jesus bestows are to groups of people who are suffering, whereas the ‘woes’ are granted to different categories of people who are free from suffering. Not only is this problematic because those individuals certainly have their own demons that they are struggling with, but also their wealth is not correlative with their other interactions with individuals.

all about the benjamins, baby

The Parable of the Good Samaritan reminded me of the discussion about love that occurred at the end of the previous class. Moreover, it is also reminiscent of the many discussions about compassion that we had in the fall semester. This parable is the response of an individual asking what he should do “to inherit eternal life” (156). Context must be given to this passage regarding who the Samaritans were in the times of the New Testament. The point of this passage is to illustrate that an injured man “is helped not by a Jewish priest or Levite (ministers of the Jerusalem temple) but rather by a despised Samaritan (who, by definition, rejects the Jerusalem temple)” (Meier 227). This gives greater meaning to the parable. Rather than merely being descriptive of compassion for everyone, it also claims that even an individual who rejects the Jerusalem temple still has the ability to be good in God’s eyes because of their actions. Also important is that the Samaritan was willing to spend his own wealth to help the stranger. As opposed to how many individuals use their wealth to pretend that suffering exists, the Samaritan uses his wealth to alleviate suffering. Those who spend money to erect large gated communities and ramp up police enforcement relegate to the periphery “poverty, old age, and death so that we need not confront them in our daily lives. The poor are off in ghettos, the elderly in retirement homes, the dying in terminal care wards. We pay to push suffering away” (Dass 57). This response to suffering can even be extended to animals. Just as Blake pronounces, “Can I see another’s woe/And not be in sorrow too?” (167). The poem later makes references to God as “He who smiles on all” yet “becomes a man of woe” (167). Blake is contextually responding to the witnessing of the sorrow of another. The Good Samaritan seems to indicate that our love for a creator is expressed through our actions with each other. 1 John 4 argues that “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar” (162). It is impossible to have a love for God according to the New Testament without also expressing that compassion to other human beings.

samaritan helping the guy that got jumped

John Meier. “The Historical Jesus and the Historical Samaritans”. Biblica 81 (2000).

animal ethics through religion

The passages about religion indicated that the two major world religions both embrace an environmental ethic. I found this pretty surprising, considering my usually cynical disposition towards religion. In Christianity, Jesus “commented on the birds who thrive without hoarding food and the splendid beauty of the lilies who neither work nor spin” (111). Jesus seems to use the birds as an example of how humans should live their own lives. Such a prescription shows great reverence to the outside world, and an ethics that is attendant to all creatures could easily be founded upon this prescription. Similar references can be found in Islam. The Quran claims that “God has created every animal out of water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; others that walk on two legs; and others on four” (111).  Moreover, God claims in the Quran that “because one ant stung you, you burned a whole community that glorified Me” (111). The former passage likens humans to all of the other animals. The latter passage uses the example of animals to demand the preservation of life. Both of these point to a form of ethics that is inclusive towards animals. Other passages in the Quran also emphasize the importance of animals. In the selection of the Quran titled “The Cattle,” the author notes that “there is no animal that walks upon the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings but (they are) genera like yourselves” (145). The passage later claims that “to their Lord shall they be gathered,” indicating that God also provides recognition to animals just as he does to humans (145). In order for the members of these religions to adequately situate an empathic relationship with animals, they must take into account the cues that indicate the pain animals feel from slaughterhouses. “People’s emotions are rarely put into words; far more often they are expressed through other cues” (338). This statement holds true for the images of animals presented in Earthlings, where it was evident from their body language that they were in severe pain.

"a whole community that glorified Me"

There is possibility for tensions between different religions to be alleviated, as well. The Quran says “proofs of God’s unity. Lawful and unlawful food. The law of retaliation for homicide” (124). This concept of unity under one God is a nod towards the same God worshiped by Christians and Jews. It also claims “God’s unity and self-subsistence. The Quran confirmatory of previous Scriptures” (125). This “confirmatory of previous scriptures” includes an acknowledgement of Jesus as a prophet and the content of other previous texts from Jewish and Christian traditions. Although there are prominent theological differences, it seems that there are more similarities than points of dissension between these religions.

coexist

I am forced to analyze the efficacy of using religion as a tool to advance the transformative movement envisioned in Ishmael (i.e. a substantial amount of consciousness change occurs). As I search for methods that advance empathy, I turn to Ram Dass, who suggests an openness to potential methods of learning empathy:  “we look anew at how each situation can teach us, how it can help us evolve in our ability to confront and help alleviate suffering” (Dass 72). As a result, I must abandon my cynical presuppositions about religion and instead evaluate empirics objectively. Historically, social justice has been tied to religious movements while being “represented by John Locke” or including “Martin Luther King, liberation theology, and much of African American religious thought” (Shiffrin 108). Moreover, churches “took a leadership role in the fight against racial discrimination in the years leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964” (Shiffrin 131). Even the “progressive reform movement’s support of economic reforms had strong religious backing” (Shiffrin 131). This historical record seems to indicate that progressive material changes were institutionalized with the help of religious movements. Although none of these are as radical as the empathy we are seeking, it is still hopeful news nonetheless.

this religiously-affiliated movement facilitated massive consciousness change about race

Steven Shiffrin. The Religious Left and Church-State Relations. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009), 108, 131.