Sunday, October 9, 2011

Resonance across texts

Have a group member post in response to this prompt Monday after class:

How do the arguments in Milk's and Allen's texts resonate with other themes we’ve discussed in the other readings from this section (by Jefferson, Douglass, Anthony, and Friedan)? After having written at least five sentences (but you’re invited to write more) with your group in class on Monday to answer this question, have a group member post your group’s answer here, with all group member names included.

7 comments:

  1. Whit La Torra, Tony Lenox, David Kreinbring:
    Whenever two cultures come into contact invariably one culture becomes dominant and significantly changes the cultural roles of the less dominant culture. All of the pieces we've read talk about some part of society being suppressed by another part, wether it be the white man oppressing the black man in Douglass' piece, or the government oppressing the people in Jefferson's piece, or Allen's discussion of the oppression of native people by Euro-american people. All of the writers also talk about the schism between the culture that they were born into and the culture that has subjugated them. All of the writers express the effects that cultures have on each other and the myriad of ways that their cultures change. These writers are also all writing causal arguments since they all investigate the effects of the imposition of one culture on another.

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  2. Tyler Cecil, Spencer Brown

    These two texts (by Milk and Allen) and the texts by Jefferson, Douglass, Anthony, and Friedan, all explore the effects of oppression on both small and large scales, both in the context of minority groups and in the context of society at large. While Jefferson, Douglass, Anthony and Friedan all argue specifically for the liberation of particular groups, Milk and Allen try to prove instead that their particular groups are strong. Milk's argument is that this strength is what gives hope for any gay movement, especially given the success of other movements for liberation. Allen's argument is that the culture clash that Euro-American occupation of North America caused is particularly harmful to Native American women, who were traditionally equal (in a manner of speaking) to men. By proving the negative affects of the status quo, both Milk and Allen indirectly prove the need to dissolve the social constrictions of their time.

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  3. Jeff Mills, Melanie Palmer, AJ Burns

    Throughout the centuries the central theme of revolution is rising above the oppressing power. Jefferson, Douglass, Anthony, Friedan, and Allen all use this as the central themes for their arguments. By rising above the oppressions of men in power, cultural enigmas, and slavery, we have effectively grown as a society. Allen portrays the need for these movements with in the Native American women, and moves them to the action of remembering their history and culture. Each of these readings has focused the audiences attention upon the a problem at hand, a hope for the future, and a remembering of how it used to be.

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  4. Zach W, James H, Lisa V

    In all these sections the authors have discussed conflict among tradition and culturally accepted standards that have impacted them personally. The authors are attempting to direct the attention of the reader to the problem and demonstrate the need for change. In Friedan's situation she describes the oppression that most women felt from men. This oppression can be observed in Allen's essay along with a few key differences such as religious/ritualistic obligations. A similar comparison can be made concluded throughout all the pieces of how the oppressed try to bring recognition to their unjust treatment.

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  5. Tim Ricard, Tracy, Ashlynne
    The texts contend that there are natural rights for equality, and attempts to dismiss cultural stereotypes. The Declaration of Independence is based upon the idea of natural right, which Douglass and Anthony utilizes in the core of their arguments. Friedan and Allen use natural rights in a more subtie manner, but natural rights still remained as the basis of their arguments. Allen also supports natural rights through the traditions of the native peoples of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Douglass attempts to dispel the stereotypes that individuals of African origin have a lesser mental potential than their European brethren, while Anthony, Friedan, and Allen attempt to dispel stereotypes of women in Euro-American culture.

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  6. Will R, Jeric J, Evan H:

    Unlike the previous essays we've read, which showed the path that certain minority groups took to gain their rights, this essay completely changes directions. Allen shows that Native American women had many rights, and only lost them when their lands were colonized by the Euro-Americans. Due to the collision of two very different cultures brought on by this colonization, native women began to relinquish some of their rights. In the end, they had to fight along with the rest of America’s women to regain the ground they had lost. Also, just like Friedan’s essay and Douglass’s speech, there is a struggle portrayed between an oppressive overlord and a minority group. One group is fighting to keep the status quo, the other fighting to gain their freedom.

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  7. Bryce, Russel, Eric

    All of the texts we have read so far involve an oppressed group and their struggle for equal rights. Though unlike in the other texts, Allen does not have a central argumentative claim that appeals for equal rights for Native Americans. Instead, Allen demonstrates how the power of Native American women has diminished with the onset of assimilation into Western culture. She uses her experiences to highlight how Native American women have had to face social injustice brought about by the shift from their traditional culture. Like in the other texts, Allen makes a strong case about the evils of cultural oppression; however, she does not demand reparations or a dissolution of the status quo.

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