CHICANO 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Feminist Epistemology, Commodification, Structural Adjustment
7 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Theoretical Concepts in Chicanx Studies
About the material in this class:
Knowing the names of authors is part of knowing a field
-
We're learning the concepts to be able to apply them
-
Labels and Identity
Chicana/o
"a name we have selected for ourselves" (Gonzalez, 377)
○
A "cop out" to use other names (Anzaldua, 84-85)
○
-
This is a very personal, individual decision
-
Takes place in context of history, place
-
Main point is to understand this context and own your decision
-
Traditional History - Juan Gomez-Quiñonez - Emma Perez - Gloria Anzaldua
(progress)
Richard Rodriguez
"Hunger of Memory"
-
1982, Autobiography
-
Immigrated with his parents
-
Struggled with his skin color
-
Argues against bilingual education
-
Disdain for affirmative action
-
Education helps him assimilate, but alienates him from his family and
culture
-
Georgina Guzman
"For me as a first generation Latina college student, the university was an
alienating place that operated on a foreign kind of emotionless register - a
cold distance, measured affect, and high strung competitiveness seemed to
permeate all interactions in the classroom. Getting to know the students
(much less dining hall workers or dormitory cleaning ladies) was regarded
as being at odds with productivity and self-advancement. Although I
intuitively sensed this affect, I was unaware that this type of ethos was a
result of larger economic and ideological forces at work within the
university." (463)
-
Affect
"When we talk about affect, we are referring to what Ngai identifies
as 'seemingly minor, often imperceptible, but deeply-felt inner
feelings' (2005, p. 17). Unlike 'more visible feeling that rise to the
surface, like anger' (p. 17) for example, the kinds of affects that
circulate around assimilation, such as shame and anxiety, are more
nagging, inwardly felt feelings that are difficult to discern: they are
vexing feelings that linger within and between people." (463)
○
According to Muñoz: dictates belonging
○
"hegemonic protocol of 'american' conduct"
○
"those that do not perform or exercise this affect can be regarded as
less American" (464)
○
Affective Anemia
"A hegemonic de-valorization of immigrant Latina subjects and their labor
in the US that results in apathy and a lack of basic human empathy and
mutual human recognition for the underprivileged." (459)
Lacking in the ability to see and relate to other human beings,
especially if they are in positions socially considered to be lower
than your own
○
Trained to go through our lives not thinking about connecting to
human beings
○
The norm in higher education
○
Required of Latinx students moving from working to middle class
○
-
Neoliberalism
At the level of governments: political project associated with deregulation,
privatization and structural adjustment
Set of economic policies aimed at allowing the "market" to rule
○
Market-based development
○
Mass privatization of public assets
○
-
At the level of society: Economic doctrine or ideology that values private
enterprise and the market while suspicious of the state
Withdrawal of government responsibilities
○
-
At the level of culture: Internalized set of beliefs that shape out
worldviews to follow economic logic at individual level
-
Neoliberal Ideology
Progress driven by individual excellence
-
Choices
People are where they are because they made either good or bad
choices
○
"If you live in poverty then it's your fault!!!!1!1!1!!!111"
○
Pushes out certain groups of people from our society
○
-
Personal responsibility
-
Erases role of state and social institutions
-
Makes collective action less likely
-
Neoliberal University
Guzman
-
How education has been commodified
-
Commodification og higher education
-
Focus on uniformity, productivity, 'disciplined and selective sympathy'
(Newfield 2003: 108)(459)
-
Ethos of profit over people
-
Center individualism, minimize social responsibility (461)
-
Goal is to attract student "customers" who will be trained to be elite
workers (461)
-
Contrary to initial idealized goals of education for emancipation
-
Georgina Guzman
"with these principles structuring the university, students and professors
exist in a constant state of anxiety: they police and compare themselves,
their productivity and performance, all in an effort to be seen as exhibiting
high value as workers, as their utmost concern is getting and/or keeping a
job. Ultimately, students are professionalized to regard their education…."
-
These ideals are also present in the workplace
-
"There is a certain Latinx affect - typified by a specific body
language…successful in the workplace (463)
-
Nepantla
Place of space between colluding cultures (459)
○
College students can serve as bridges between social classes
○
Cross class solidarity explored here through poetry
Bridging English with Chicanx studies
§
○
-
Calderon, et al. (514-517)
Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE)
Draws heavily on concepts of Anzaldua
○
Privileges life experiences and knowledge of Chicanos
○
-
Chicana Feminist Epistemology -Sharim Hannegan-Martinez Guest
Lecture
Epistemology
A branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, source and
limits of human knowledge.
-
The study of what we know and how/why we know what we know
-
Methodology
Provides the theory and analysis of the research…
-
Epistemological Racism
Centering a European lens when it comes to students of color
-
Cultural Intuition
A complex process that is experiential, intuitive, historical, personal,
collective, dynamic and is achieved and nurtured by many sources
Personal experience
○
Existing literature
○
Professional experiences
○
Analytical research process
○
-
Expanded in ways that queer, indigenize, decolonize and spiritualize the
research process
Bodymindspirit
○
Spiritual activism
○
Pain, pleasure and desire
○
Sexuality
○
Place and land
○
-
"A theory in the flesh means one where the physical realities of our lives -
our skin color, the land or concrete we grew up on. Our sexual longings -
all fuse to create a politic born out of necessity."
-
Epistemology informs pedagogy
How you live your life teaches other people how to live theirs
-
How we live the world, what personal experiences we draw from
-
Must challenge and expand epistemological frameworks
-
Re-frame how we look at self defeating sensibilities
-
Lecture'8
Wednesday,) April)25,)2018
10:03)AM
Theoretical Concepts in Chicanx Studies
About the material in this class:
Knowing the names of authors is part of knowing a field
-
We're learning the concepts to be able to apply them
-
Labels and Identity
Chicana/o
"a name we have selected for ourselves" (Gonzalez, 377)
○
A "cop out" to use other names (Anzaldua, 84-85)
○
-
This is a very personal, individual decision
-
Takes place in context of history, place
-
Main point is to understand this context and own your decision
-
Traditional History - Juan Gomez-Quiñonez - Emma Perez - Gloria Anzaldua
(progress)
Richard Rodriguez
"Hunger of Memory"
-
1982, Autobiography
-
Immigrated with his parents
-
Struggled with his skin color
-
Argues against bilingual education
-
Disdain for affirmative action
-
Education helps him assimilate, but alienates him from his family and
culture
-
Georgina Guzman
"For me as a first generation Latina college student, the university was an
alienating place that operated on a foreign kind of emotionless register - a
cold distance, measured affect, and high strung competitiveness seemed to
permeate all interactions in the classroom. Getting to know the students
(much less dining hall workers or dormitory cleaning ladies) was regarded
as being at odds with productivity and self-advancement. Although I
intuitively sensed this affect, I was unaware that this type of ethos was a
result of larger economic and ideological forces at work within the
university." (463)
-
Affect
"When we talk about affect, we are referring to what Ngai identifies
as 'seemingly minor, often imperceptible, but deeply-felt inner
feelings' (2005, p. 17). Unlike 'more visible feeling that rise to the
surface, like anger' (p. 17) for example, the kinds of affects that
circulate around assimilation, such as shame and anxiety, are more
nagging, inwardly felt feelings that are difficult to discern: they are
vexing feelings that linger within and between people." (463)
○
According to Muñoz: dictates belonging
○
"hegemonic protocol of 'american' conduct"
○
"those that do not perform or exercise this affect can be regarded as
less American" (464)
○
Affective Anemia
"A hegemonic de-valorization of immigrant Latina subjects and their labor
in the US that results in apathy and a lack of basic human empathy and
mutual human recognition for the underprivileged." (459)
Lacking in the ability to see and relate to other human beings,
especially if they are in positions socially considered to be lower
than your own
○
Trained to go through our lives not thinking about connecting to
human beings
○
The norm in higher education
○
Required of Latinx students moving from working to middle class
○
-
Neoliberalism
At the level of governments: political project associated with deregulation,
privatization and structural adjustment
Set of economic policies aimed at allowing the "market" to rule
○
Market-based development
○
Mass privatization of public assets
○
-
At the level of society: Economic doctrine or ideology that values private
enterprise and the market while suspicious of the state
Withdrawal of government responsibilities
○
-
At the level of culture: Internalized set of beliefs that shape out
worldviews to follow economic logic at individual level
-
Neoliberal Ideology
Progress driven by individual excellence
-
Choices
People are where they are because they made either good or bad
choices
○
"If you live in poverty then it's your fault!!!!1!1!1!!!111"
○
Pushes out certain groups of people from our society
○
-
Personal responsibility
-
Erases role of state and social institutions
-
Makes collective action less likely
-
Neoliberal University
Guzman
-
How education has been commodified
-
Commodification og higher education
-
Focus on uniformity, productivity, 'disciplined and selective sympathy'
(Newfield 2003: 108)(459)
-
Ethos of profit over people
-
Center individualism, minimize social responsibility (461)
-
Goal is to attract student "customers" who will be trained to be elite
workers (461)
-
Contrary to initial idealized goals of education for emancipation
-
Georgina Guzman
"with these principles structuring the university, students and professors
exist in a constant state of anxiety: they police and compare themselves,
their productivity and performance, all in an effort to be seen as exhibiting
high value as workers, as their utmost concern is getting and/or keeping a
job. Ultimately, students are professionalized to regard their education…."
-
These ideals are also present in the workplace
-
"There is a certain Latinx affect - typified by a specific body
language…successful in the workplace (463)
-
Nepantla
Place of space between colluding cultures (459)
○
College students can serve as bridges between social classes
○
Cross class solidarity explored here through poetry
Bridging English with Chicanx studies
§
○
-
Calderon, et al. (514-517)
Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE)
Draws heavily on concepts of Anzaldua
○
Privileges life experiences and knowledge of Chicanos
○
-
Chicana Feminist Epistemology -Sharim Hannegan-Martinez Guest
Lecture
Epistemology
A branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, source and
limits of human knowledge.
-
The study of what we know and how/why we know what we know
-
Methodology
Provides the theory and analysis of the research…
-
Epistemological Racism
Centering a European lens when it comes to students of color
-
Cultural Intuition
A complex process that is experiential, intuitive, historical, personal,
collective, dynamic and is achieved and nurtured by many sources
Personal experience
○
Existing literature
○
Professional experiences
○
Analytical research process
○
-
Expanded in ways that queer, indigenize, decolonize and spiritualize the
research process
Bodymindspirit
○
Spiritual activism
○
Pain, pleasure and desire
○
Sexuality
○
Place and land
○
-
"A theory in the flesh means one where the physical realities of our lives -
our skin color, the land or concrete we grew up on. Our sexual longings -
all fuse to create a politic born out of necessity."
-
Epistemology informs pedagogy
How you live your life teaches other people how to live theirs
-
How we live the world, what personal experiences we draw from
-
Must challenge and expand epistemological frameworks
-
Re-frame how we look at self defeating sensibilities
-
Lecture'8
Wednesday,) April)25,)2018 10:03)AM
