...Virginia Leslie. She is mixed with Mexican and Anglo-American background. Leslie grew up on a reservation called Laguna Pueblo. She attended a school on her reservation until fifth grade, she then relocated to a Catholic school in Albuquerque. She was not allowed to speak her language but it never stopped her from becoming successive. She then went and got her Bachelor’s degree at University of New Mexico in 1969. The same year she printed her first story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds.” She attended law school for a short time but left to continue her writing in 1971. She won an award called the National Endowment for the Arts Discovery Grant in 1971. Leslie accomplished many things throughout her career. She was awarded a-lot throughout her years of writing including for the Pushcart Prize for poetry and the MacArthur “Genius” Award....
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...longer reflects that of their identity but of their new cultural surroundings. When an immigrant, immigrates to a new country they become marginalized, they’re alienated from common cultural practices, social ritual, and scripted behavior. It’s not without intercultural communication and negotiation do immigrants conform to new surroundings. In “Drown,” the title story of his narrative collection, Junot Diaz enumerates the story of a Hispanic youth growing up in New Jersey. Though Diaz explores issues of queerness, shamelessness, and familial relations within this selection, it is his use of language that proves most intriguing. Rather than simply describing the struggles of adapting to a new language or customs, Diaz portrays how, at an early age, he manipulated language as a tool to makes sense of his new hybrid identity. The use of language in Junot Diaz’s Drown is spare and unadorned, often rendered in "Spanglish," an unpredictable mixture of both English and Spanish. Diaz uses Spanish words in the midst of standard English sentences to fortify the differences between Dominican and American cultures. Although, the integration of street slang with Spanish may confound the typical reader, it accurately depicts the taxing experience of new immigrants struggling to make sense of new phenomena in the United States and engages the harsh reality of the multilingualism. The difference in language between the Dominican and...
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...Indigenous Policy Journal Vol. XX, No. 3 (Fall 2009) Book Review Essay Reviewed texts: The Politics of Minor Concerns: American Indian Policy and Congressional Dynamics, by Charles Turner. University Press of America, 2005. Taking Charge: Native American Self-Determination and Federal Indian Policy, 1975-1993. George Pierre Castile. University of Arizona Press, 2006. Why has there been so little social science research trying to explain recent changes in Federal Indian policy, particularly given the dramatic shifts of the last 40 years? Since 1970 the previous policy of termination gave way to an evolving selfdetermination policy, a dramatically expanded role for tribal governments, and the emergence of large scale Indian gaming. Even with these striking changes - and the expansion of Indian affairs as a policy area – there have been only a handful of social science analyses of the Indian policy domain (most notably Gross 1989). Much recent scholarship in the area has been primarily descriptive or interpretive (Castile 1992, Bee 1992), with research commonly driven by area expertise rather than guided by policy related theory. In his nuanced and theoretically-driven account, Charles Turner argues that Indian policy, like many other areas, is a "minor concern" to both policymakers and policy analysts. As such, Indian policy often doesn't fit the conditions or provide the variables featured by main theoretical approaches to explaining policy outcomes more generally. Unlike...
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...Composition 12 February 2013 In the essay, Se Habla Espanol writer Tanya Barrientos writes a memoir about a Guatemalan born Latina brought to the United States as a child but failed to learn about her native culture. Now as an adult, she fights to regain her Latino identity and acceptance. Barrientos was brought to the United States at a very young age by her parents who absorbed her into the American culture by speaking only Spanish. This was to serve the purpose of blending her more readily into her new society and thus, ensuring her success. She describes how Americans during that time were not culturally tolerant and expected foreigners who entered the country to “leave their cultural baggage at the border”. As a result of her parents decision Barrientos embraces to her new culture and rejects her old one. She took pride in not being able to speak Spanish; and furthermore, she took pride in her American peers saying that she did not seem Mexican. Barrientos states that those comments “made me feel superior. It made me feel American. It made me feel white.” Once her father realized how she felt about her native culture he set out to change her feelings. He sent her to spend time in Mexico City and his plan worked. She returned to the United States with a new appreciation for her Latino roots. She continues on to state that as she became more accepting of her native culture so had American society. The nation that had once ostracized ethnic cultures now accepted them as part of...
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...In the response to Simon Wiesenthal’s book titled “The Sunflower”, Jose Hobday explains why he would have forgiven Karl if he was in the same position as Simon. He does this through a narrative of his own life and beliefs as a Native American who has seen prejudice and discrimination his whole life. Although he did not personally live through the Genocides and wars of his people, American history is built on these atrocities and the native people teach their children of it as it was a part of their culture. In the beginning of Jose’s essay response, he poses the question of “What right does Karl have to ask forgiveness” but then immediately answers by stating whether or not Karl had the right is irrelevant; The fact of the matter is that he DID ask...
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...literary influence brought about by the Spanish colonization; however, according to the Philippine Literature: A History & Anthology, English Edition (Lumbera, B. & Lumbera C.), the pre-colonial period of Philippine literature is considered the longest in the country’s history; - Literature in this period is based on tradition, reflecting daily life activities such as housework, farming, fishing, hunting, and taking care of the children as well; - Oral pieces told stories which explained heroes and their adventures; they attempted to explain certain natural phenomena, and, at the same time, served as entertainment purposes; - Pre-colonial literature showed certain elements that linked the Filipino culture to other Southeast Asian countries (e.g. oral pieces which were performed through a tribal dance have certain similarities to the Malay dance); - This period in Philippine literature history represented the ethos of the people before the arrival of a huge cultural influence – literature as a cultural tradition, than a form of art that had a particular set of decorum. · Early Forms of Philippine Literature: o Bugtong (riddles; a bugtong contains a metaphor called, Talinghaga), Salawikain (proverb); o Pre-colonial poetry – Tanaga (expresses a view or a value of the world), Ambahan (songs about childhood, human...
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...storytellers, which influenced her to display her battles of immigration to the United States at a young age and her experiences growing up as a Latina-American being raised in New Jersey through her poetry and short stories; Ortiz Cofer's work is also inspired by the Latino-immigrant community who share the struggles she once faced and is still confronted by. Judith Ortiz Cofer was born on February 24, 1952, in the small town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. When she was only four years old, Ortiz Cofer and her family immigrated to Paterson, New Jersey, where they resided for the next eleven years; Cofer and her family frequently visited their...
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...Immersed in American culture since she was three, Barrientos is fighting to be accepted by the Latino Community. The problem is that she struggles with speaking Spanish; her native language. In Se Habla Español, Barrientos says, Spanish is the unofficial meter of how strong a Latino’s roots truly are (Barrientos, 2004). This summary will analyze the essay “Se Habla Español” by Tanya Maria Barrientos. I will discuss Barrientos’ purpose, her audience, the genre and her tone. As a child, Barrientos was proud of not knowing how to communicate in Spanish. She believed, “speaking Spanish translated into being poor.” (as cited in Barrientos, 2004). She hated being labeled a Mexican and just wanted to fit in. Barrientos wanted nothing to do with being Latino and enjoyed just being an American who happened to from another country. As she grew older, America evolved and so did her views of being a Latina. Wanting to learn more about how Latinos lived as Spanish-Americans, she interviewed Latinos of various spectrums. She learned that if nothing else, Spanish is what ties them all together (Barrientos, 2004).Barrientos inability to speak Spanish made her feel like she couldn’t really call herself a Latina. She worried, when other Latinos see how much she struggles to speak the language, she’ll get that confused stare she witness so many times (Barrientos, 2004). Most people assume she already knows how to speak Spanish because after all, she is Guatemalan. Barrientos...
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...Although Clay cites support from Jefferson and Hamilton in his appeal on behalf of protectionist policies, the American System envisions a world more Hamiltonian in nature than Jeffersonian (Clay 86). Jefferson’s vision of yeoman’s republic excludes manufacturing and industry, while Clay celebrates what he sees as the expansion of industry and agriculture due to the American System. His rhetorical strategy relies heavily upon appeals to patriotism, stating that it is “American legislation, fostering American industry” that has been so beneficial (Clay 84). His call for unity around the concept of “America” is matched by his aggressive attacks on those opposed to the tariff. He accuses opponents of treasonous intentions, of not assimilating...
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...Leslie Marmon Silko, a reservation-born Pueblo Native American writer, writes “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective” to introduce the style and characteristics of Pueblo-Indian literature to those unfamiliar with the culture. Silko describes that the language used in Pueblo Indian culture functions through the sum of simple ideas and thoughts, which unify together to create a story. Silko intentionally presents this essay in an oral and nonlinear structure to stress that ideas are meant to be heard rather than read. In the first two paragraphs of her oral essay, Silko establishes loose, reverent, yet composed attitude using syntax inversion, simile, and anecdote. Silko uses syntax inversion in the first sentence of her essay to emphasize the important ideas of the sentence in a subtle way . Normally, a sentence starts with the subject, followed by the verb, and ends with the object. Silko’s first sentence starts with the object, followed by the verb, and ends with the subject. By placing “unpremeditated and unrehearsed” (346) in a separate dependent clause, Silko emphasizes the value of the spoken story, directly from the heart and full of one’s raw emotions. Silko is able to indirectly support this...
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...This paper is a brief analysis of James Cameron's Avatar, a massively successful film that has managed to gross, so far, a half billion in revenue. With its popularity and mass appeal, it has also incurred a considerable amount of criticism from a variety of sources, targeting a variety of topics of the film, from its presentation of alien natives and a colonial corporate military, to race issues and a depiction of cigarette use. This essay attempts to explore main threads of the film, analyzing criticism, and offering its own critique and deconstruction. It will employ diagnostic critique, as well, in order to analyze how Avatar is equally a reflection of and an active influence on contemporary culture. Avatar takes place in the virtual world of Pandora, created by Cameron with digital technology and colonized with fantastic creatures and an indigenous race of tall blue aliens called the Na'vi. The film is presented in three-dimensions, a technology that has been around for some time but this is the first time it seems to be used without reference to novelty. In this way Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox made a film, or rather an experience that cannot be pirated; a considerable amount of its revenue is from viewers paying extra to watch it in three dimensions, undoubtedly multiple times, on a monolithic IMAX screen. The virtual world within Avatar is closely reminiscent of virtual spaces like Second Life; in both environments, individuals use avatars to plug into the space...
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...Lauryn Waddle Selected research topic: Bacon’s Rebellion. Research question: How did the ruthless attacks, known as Bacon’s Rebellion, originate? Thesis statement: During this era, English settlers could not seem to get along; Bacon’s Rebellion is one example of the many squabbles between the races, the poor, and the wealthy. The poorest Virginians were at an extreme disadvantage in 1676. They were struggling to survive while the “English gentlemen” had the finest of living. The land the poor had was far inland and pushing into the Indian territory. They found it unfair that they had to live the way that they did, competing for land while the wealthy did not have to do the same. Nathaniel Bacon was among the many who were not happy with the...
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...north, and calling for action against the cruel institution of slavery. Employed as a teacher by Pace University in 1968, Jean Fagan Yellin wrote and published her dissertation. While re-reading Incidents in the 1970s as part of the project and to educate herself in the use of gender as a category of analysis, Yellin became interested in the question of the text's true authorship. Over the next six-years, Yellin found and used historical documents including the Amy Post papers at the University of Rochester (Post was a close friend of Jacobs), state and local historical societies, and the Horniblow and Norcum papers at the North Carolina state archives, to establish both that Harriet Jacobs was the true author of Incidents, and that the narrative was her autobiography. Her edition...
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...Expressive Essay (Observation, Ethnography or Memoir) First Draft ENC 1101 – CR Junkins Purpose: What do I want the student to do? In this course, we will explore the two most commonly used forms of writing for college students: expressive writing and academic writing. Expressive writing captures what is important to the writer. In order to succeed, writers must understand themselves. Such writing is deeply personal. Expressive writing is designed to prepare students for writing outside academics—communicating feelings and observations, beliefs and opinions, community and individuality—all skill sets that will enable students to succeed in any discipline or career path. From a learning perspective, expressive writing is often an easier form of writing than academic. It allows students to begin working with such concepts as language, reasoning and mechanics while working with material they find worth discussing. In this assignment, I want students to carefully examine both themselves and their community. What makes their community unique? What is their place within the community? How did their unique, individual personality take shape? Project Overview: How do I want the student to do the assignment? Component One: Personal Students will choose to write on one of the following three topics: • One’s sense of place (observation) • One’s place within a community (ethnography) • One’s relationship to an event from the past (memoir) ...
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... Film 1006: Post-War World Cinema 15/5/09 Critical Essay: Jamaican Cinema (focus – The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1971) ‘Representing Jamaican culture on the screen, how The Harder They Come triggered the development of Jamaican cinema.’ The Harder They Come was the first movie made in Jamaica, directed by a Jamaican and with a Jamaican theme. The film opened the country’s eyes to the creation of film and the industry that surrounds it. It also gave the world (particularly the West) its first filmic taste of the cultural, social and historical issues of 20th century Jamaica. It was not only successful in the eyes of its audience but also in the eyes of film critics worldwide. Geoff Parker writes “Indisputably the greatest Jamaican film ever made, The Harder They Come is also one of the finest films yet made about the third world.” (2001). At first glance Perry Henzell appears to be using a narrative to document Jamaican roots Reggae music (especially that of Jimmy Cliff); but although The Harder They Come went a long way towards creating a huge global Reggae following the film had many other underlying issues. Even though most critics (Cham, Parker, Yearwood and others) discuss the film as the one that popularised Reggae music in the West it is the task here to illustrate that The Harder They Come brought Jamaican society and its culture into cinematic visibility. Cinema in Jamaica had only a western and predominantly...
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