Category: Homework

From listening to “The Invention of Race” I learned that scientifically everyone is believed to be from African descent but we all look different based on where people moved to when they left Africa. This was interesting because when people started exploring the world they weren’t looking at race because it wasn’t a thing yet, but they did look at how everyone looked different. They also discussed how “there is more genetic variation within groups that have come to be called races than there is across groups that have come to be called races”(1). Race was not something that was thought about until religion became a large practiced idea in England. While people were always owned and bought and sold no one was thought of as lesser until this point. The radio show also discussed well known figures like Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson and how they were involved in the making of race.

• Why is it difficult to answer accurately “Exactly who is a Native Hawaiian?” Why does the answer to the question matter – both in everyday life in Hawaii and to us as we think about the realities of social identities?

It is difficult to know who is a native Hawaiian because there is so much mixing so there is no distinction between the different races. These people are not distinct because they do not fit into a certain group.

What is a “community of descent?” In what ways is a “community of descent” different from an “ethnic group” or “racial group?” Pull together and explain material from Olson’s text to define these terms and explain why Olson thinks the concept of “community of descent” is a useful way to think about mixed ancestry

 

Race is real because people face discrimination everyday. Even though race is not in our genes it does shape how you’re viewed in the world because of how you look. Race can impact job opportunities even if a person doesn’t want to associate with their race or tries to escape the stereotypes. Race is real because it is what makes our appearances unique by how races are mixed together. A lot of the differences of race are cultural but they only formed to differentiate themselves and had to make cultures because they are looked down upon.

I could have done better to prepare for this last paper. I missed classes and did not complete all of the homework leading up to the paper. By not completing all of the reading when they were due, I was behind in the discussion in class so I was not able to get the most out of talking with my classmates. I did complete the first assignment which is under my reading log with my annotations on the assigned pages. I also have quotes from the first section of the Yoshino document in my quote/word bank. My quotes were very useful in the structure of my paper. I think I am not yet meeting my goals on the engagement with the text because I fell behind on the material but I think I am getting on a path towards becoming an expert now that I am aware of the effort necessary to do well in the course. My writing could have used more elaboration on the ideas that I had for clarification to what I believed. I also could have integrated my ideas with the sources. I have not yet reached the goal of using the source to sufficiently support my argument. I am a novice in many areas that I should be excelling at during this stage of the writing process.

a. According to Yoshino covering is “to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream.” I believe this means not showing parts of your identity that would be considered annoying or would put you in a bad light. In my experience I have being “covering” being loud or outgoing because it can be seen as annoying and unfavorable by other people.

b. Winnicott states that “The True Self is the self that gives an individual the feeling of being real, which is “more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself, and to relate to objects as oneself, and to have a self to retreat for relaxation.” He further explains that the False Self protects your True Self by conforming the False Self to what is expected by “environmental demands.” The False Self’s one positive function is to protect the True Self. “Winnicott believes both selves will exist even in the healthy individual.” He thinks the False Self is eventually only used as a “polite and mannered social attitude” so that the True Self can be recognized.

My mom says when she was pregnant I would always kick when she would watch figure skating on tv. She thought I would become a figure skater. So she named me Daria after a Russian figure skater from 1998. I have not found who this figure skater is but according to my mom I was most active while she would skate. Most people older than me associate my name with the MTV show “Daria” which for the most part I can relate to. She is someone who is very sarcastic and has a dry sense of humor which I believe most of my friends with agree I can at times.

My nickname from middle through high school was DarDar which was given to me during a school activity that I can’t quite remember but it stuck. This is name that came from a fellow classmate and that many of my classmates referred to me as.

Many people mispronounce my name in different ways. Most commonly I get the “Dar” pronounced like dare followed by “ia”. It’s mispronounced so often that I respond and often don’t correct people anymore just because they usually continue to mispronounce it.

While my first name has no significant meaning to my family, my middle name has a connection to my mom’s side of my family. My middle name is Christina and it was given to me by my mom because it was my great grandmother’s middle name. This name has a lot of meaning because my great grandmother asked for it to be in my name as the first or middle name. My mom and grandmother feel that it connects to her since I never met her as she died hours before I was born. So my middle name closely connects me to my great grandmother for my family where as for me I never met her so it connects me to my family who thinks I am a lot like her.

My last name connects me to my dads family. I’m not sure where the Letcher name originates other than from my dads father. In some quick searching I found out that Letcher is a variation of Lecher which is related to someone who lives near a stream. I found that interesting because I live near the Mississippi River, so it’s not a stream but it’s still a body of water. So my last name disconnects me from my mom’s side of my family but my middle name makes up for it with its connection.