Part 1: Comparison and Contrast
The paper interlinks all the three readings based on the identification and living of black racial life, especially his/her social identity in contemporary US. DiAngelo’s White Fragility talks about the discomfort that crops up when white people fully recognize their race, the inconvenience in acknowledging it. While Eric Liu’s “The Accidental Asian” discusses the struggle of the Asian American identity; seen to be disparate and incoherent; Kevin Nadal’s article focuses on the Brown Asian American movement that supports South Asian, Southeast Asian and Filipino American communities. The work “ The Homeland, Aztlán” by Anzaldúa shows a picture of the U.S.-Mexican border as a point of conjunction between cultural and racial (Rareinke 29), whereas Judy Rohrer’s “Haoles in Hawaii”, researches the process of dynamism of definition of the term “haole” in Hawaii (Rohrer 33).
Despite the fact that DiAngelo highlights the difficulties of white individuals in recognizing their racial identity (DiAngelo 13). Liu discusses the Asian American identity and internal contradictions in it (Liu 63). Nadal further elaborates with regard to the broader Brown Asian American movement, which concerns issues peculiar to the South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Filipino American communities (Nadal 7). Anzaldúa’s overview contributes to the cultural analysis also from a different perspective making the convergence of the American and the Mexican cultures at the U.S.-Mexican border one of the points of focus. Rohrer’s work contributes to the discussion because he looks at haole as a fluctuating and changing term in Hawaii (Rohrer 49).
Part 2: Answering Questions
What confused you about the readings and what was your best attempt in resolving this confusion?
The first form of confusion presented in Liu’s “The Accidental Asian” emanates from the need to reconcile the fact that Liu is often at odds with the Asian American identity he purports to personify (Liu 65). The resolution was achieved by recognizing the dual nature of his affiliation with that identity – an emotional connection and frustration. This recognition, therefore, accentuated the complexities of identity and the problems one may face while exploring it.
My most plausible attempt at clarifying the confusion was to realize that Liu’s identification and disagreement with the concept of being an Asian American are not necessarily incompatible. His complicated relationship highlights multiple aspects of identity, revealing that the constitution of cultural and racial identity is not simply to identify with or to reject. This recognition allowed for a more subtle understanding of the intricacy within identity navigating.
What is the most significant thing you read and explain why?
The largest component given is the identification with race as addressed in Anzaldúa’s “ The Homeland, Aztlán” through the successful capturing and working into a vivid picture of the U.S.-Mexican border as a cultural and racial crossroads, which makes it possible to stress the complications in belonging and how the borderland dynamics affect identity.
How did the readings affect your assumptions/values?
The readings questioned prejudices on identity that tried to project identity as one that was set in stone, in a rigid and non transformative cage of one’s racial background (Du Bois 7). In addition, they highlighted colonization on cultural identity, reflecting a recalibration of racial and ethnic views.
How did the readings intersect with another reading that was due on a different day?
DiAngelo’s white fragility is also closely related to the trend of the Brown Asian American movement explored by Nadal’s paper that demonstrate the difficulties of approaching the affirmation or other challenges belonging of the race groups living in a inequal society.
What issues were left unexplored by the author? What are some further implications of the reading that were not present in the article?
Indeed, the readings offered insightful standpoints on racial identity. Still, their blind spot was the intersectionality of identities and the subjective position of someone standing in a space between several marginalized identities. Other implication subtopics can be the reconsideration of the impact of colonial history on modern racial relations and the collective memory as an identity marker (Trask 49).
In conclusion, all the readings taken together jointly offer a fine understanding of race, identity, and the barriers that surmount the journey of walking down the avenues of race and identity in a multicultural society.
Works Cited
DiAngelo, Robin. “Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. .” Publishing Research Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2018, pp. 164–65, https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02680460. Accessed 23 Apr. 2019.
Du Bois, W. E. B. “The Souls of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois.” Gutenberg.org, 2019, www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm#chap01. Accessed 8 Dec. 2019.
Liu, Eric. “The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker.” Goodreads, 1998, www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37462. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
Nadal, Kevin L. “THE BROWN ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT: ADVOCATING FOR SOUTH ASIAN, SOUTHEAST ASIAN, AND FILIPINO AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.” Asian American Policy Review, vol. 29, annual 2019, pp. 2+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A645063413/AONE?u=anon~2ec6735b&sid=googleScholar&xid=38168463. Accessed 5 Feb. 2024.
Rareinke. “Gloria Anzaldúa, ‘the Homeland, Aztlán.’” Biopolitics, Race, and Gender, 12 Sept. 2013, biopoliticsracegender.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/gloria-anzaldua-the-homeland-aztlan/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2024.
Rohrer, Judy. “Haoles in Hawaii.” Amazon, edited by Paul Spickard, Unknown edition, University of Hawaii Press, 2010, www.amazon.com/Haoles-Hawaii-Race-Ethnicity/dp/0824834054. Accessed 5 Feb. 2024.
Trask, Haunani-Kay. “Settlers of Color and ‘Immigrant’ Hegemony. ‘Locals’ in Hawai‘i.” University of Hawaii Press EBooks, Dec. 2017, pp. 45–65, https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824861513-005. Accessed 5 Feb. 2024.
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