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Re: In/visibility and If I Ever Get Out of Here
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From: Sarah Hamburg <srhf92_at_hampshire.edu>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 15:19:06 -0500
>
> Ha! This was not exactly what I meant by "for whom". I wasn't asking which groups are measurably less seen, but rather, as Debbie had, what is meant by the idea of "invisibility" itself and whose gaze is implied in this privileged seeing/not seeing? The "for whom" referred to the implied viewer who defines this supposed invisibility-- and I consciously used "for whom" and not "to whom" because I think this construction of invisibility very much works to the benefit of, and in the service of the self-creation of that implied viewer. Sorry! I'm a humanities person.
>
> I had actually written a long response to the original truth/beauty post, but in the interest of Ebony's request to give energy and attention to the positive, I'll ask others about If I Ever Get Out of Here instead. Did anyone else see these themes of claiming self-definition vs. being defined by others (whether Lewis feels he has to "translate" himself to be recognized outside his own community, and what those kinds of feelings, translations, or recognition might mean) as being central to the book? They seem like themes that are very caught up with adolescence in general, as others have mentioned, played out here in this specific and personal context.
>
> Sarah
> (Sorry! Just saw Uma's beautiful post about the book.)
>
> On Feb 28, 2014, at 1:21 PM, "Charles Bayless" <charles.bayless_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Sarah Hamburg said: Since the conversation has come back to it and because I think it very much relates to If I Ever Get Out of Here, I wondered if I could direct attention back to Debbie Reese's original post about invisibility (copied below. Sorry about my wacky font.) In it she asks: invisibility *for whom*? I feel like this "for whom. . .
>>
>>
>> Just having looked at the Google Ngram Viewer for multicultural children’s literature a couple of days ago, it also occurred to me to look at the frequency of terms we use regarding ethnic identity. As I mentioned in my response to Judith regarding the relative invisibility of Native Americans versus Aborigines, it depends on what constitutes invisibility, with the answer being different if we are talking about civil rights focus or commercial/political power.
>>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 15:19:06 -0500
>
> Ha! This was not exactly what I meant by "for whom". I wasn't asking which groups are measurably less seen, but rather, as Debbie had, what is meant by the idea of "invisibility" itself and whose gaze is implied in this privileged seeing/not seeing? The "for whom" referred to the implied viewer who defines this supposed invisibility-- and I consciously used "for whom" and not "to whom" because I think this construction of invisibility very much works to the benefit of, and in the service of the self-creation of that implied viewer. Sorry! I'm a humanities person.
>
> I had actually written a long response to the original truth/beauty post, but in the interest of Ebony's request to give energy and attention to the positive, I'll ask others about If I Ever Get Out of Here instead. Did anyone else see these themes of claiming self-definition vs. being defined by others (whether Lewis feels he has to "translate" himself to be recognized outside his own community, and what those kinds of feelings, translations, or recognition might mean) as being central to the book? They seem like themes that are very caught up with adolescence in general, as others have mentioned, played out here in this specific and personal context.
>
> Sarah
> (Sorry! Just saw Uma's beautiful post about the book.)
>
> On Feb 28, 2014, at 1:21 PM, "Charles Bayless" <charles.bayless_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Sarah Hamburg said: Since the conversation has come back to it and because I think it very much relates to If I Ever Get Out of Here, I wondered if I could direct attention back to Debbie Reese's original post about invisibility (copied below. Sorry about my wacky font.) In it she asks: invisibility *for whom*? I feel like this "for whom. . .
>>
>>
>> Just having looked at the Google Ngram Viewer for multicultural children’s literature a couple of days ago, it also occurred to me to look at the frequency of terms we use regarding ethnic identity. As I mentioned in my response to Judith regarding the relative invisibility of Native Americans versus Aborigines, it depends on what constitutes invisibility, with the answer being different if we are talking about civil rights focus or commercial/political power.
>>
---
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Received on Fri 28 Feb 2014 02:21:28 PM CST
