Thursday, November 1, 2012
Reflection #7
I read professor Hardig's post on Orientalism which made me really look back on my own thoughts on the Middle East and try to see where I may have strayed back to that facade of a mindset. Recently I have been trying to divert my thought process recently from the orientalist train of thought and see the MENA region differently than the typical Westerner. I must say, the transition is extremely difficult when generalizations against Middle Eastern communities are rampant on news stations, the internet, even everyday conversation. But when I talk about civil society in the MENA I have been taking time to deeply think about what I say first to make sure the conversation does not loop around back to even more generalizations. Aside from me trying to swap minds when thinking about the MENA, it has been a real eye opener recently to see how many different organizations there are in the Middle East fighting oppressive governments for ideas like human rights that many Americans now take for granted much of the time. CSO's in the MENA have truly gained my respect in this regard, and so far this seminar course has helped me make many connections between our American civil society and the Middle Eastern civil societies, showing me that we are not much different as two separate peoples.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
When I read Professor Hardig's post on Orientalism I had the same reaction. It's weird to think about all of the views we place upon other cultures and things foreign to us subconsciously. It's interesting to think about my views on the region before and after this class. It's difficult to look at the region through the lens of someone else's mindset or through a completely biased mindset. Since taking the class, I think of the MENA region in a much more cause and effect kind of way, and how culture plays a part in that. I agree that this course has really succeed in drawling connections between the development of familiar western states and the MENA region.
ReplyDelete