Monday, March 4, 2013

Race, Class and Gender


Please answer the following questions?  Use textual support to back up your responses.

Did this reading give you any new  ideas or make you think differently?  Make sure to use specifics from the chapter, “Shifting the Center” to support your ideas.  How might you change your perceptions based on this reading?  This is a very open response, but it requires you understand its ideas and to discuss what they mean to you.
Also respond to how you view the power of words.  What do they do?  Why are they powerful?

26 comments:

  1. As I read I felt like the author's points were not applicable to me. I consider myself educated on the topic of slavery, social oppression, and minorities. "How much did you learn about the histoory of group oppresion in your formal education? You probably touched briefly on topics like slavery, women's suffrage, perhaps even the Holocaust," This statement made me feel indigneous and defensive of my perspective, that I indeed have an opinion shaped by knowledge not only of dominant groups but "of those who have been devalued, marginalized, and excluded." But it is not to my advantage to be defensive of my perspective, rather it is better to try to take the passage and run with it. In an attempt to "think inclusively", as the author emphasizes the importance of this, I realize that I must gather together the knowledge I have and attempt to form a more broadened and complete perspective. The author suggests moving the minorities from peripheral view to center focus, and this suggestion confuses me because wouldnt shifting focus from one group to another change the limitations of my perspective instead of broaden them? The author uses words to their aid, just like any good author should. Words, if strung the right way, can convey any point and win any argument. Words are a weapon.

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  2. I'm not sure this reading really changed my perception but more reminded me about keeping an open mind. I've always been one for not following stereotypes but find myself judging people based on the way they dress or how they act in many cases. When the author said "--thereby removing the filters (or stereotypes and misconceptions) that groups bring to what they see." I couldn't help but wonder why it was so hard to do this. Why can't we get to know someone before assuming what they do or how they act? I think part of this could come from having, as the author put it, "...partial or distorted knowledge." We take the little things given to us instead of building upon it. We tend to think that we know enough about a certain race or culture that we can automatically come to a conclusion about someone or something. I believe words can be more powerful than anything. Sticks and stones may break my bones but when you say words can never hurt me I have to laugh. It's a front we put up to think that words can't change the world but they can. Everyone knows the words "I have a Dream..." and we all know what they stand for. We think about the man behind them and what he fought for. This piece of writing proves that words, even when on paper without any inflection given, can make someone think a different way, or prove a different point. Words can change minds.

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  3. I agreed strongly with the author that our history is primarily composed of the successes, or failures of powerful groups. We as humans have attention spans kept by entertainment. By over-the- top news and events in which have the most “wow” factor. Although I agree that we do need to think differently instead of merely sharpening our focus, I though some of the points were idealistic. Expecting us to integrate this “new society” without bias? Unrealistic. My ideals changed only to the point of agreeing that “This does not mean that women’s studies is about ‘male bashing’” That we really do need to push for being able to take each viewpoint seriously. That we need to stop sugar coating the problems we hold as a society, and to work towards knowledge that isn’t distorted. I also liked that the author went into detail about the steps we need to take in order to look centrally on the encompassing factors of race, class and gender. Not one in particular distorted by money, wealth and power, or viewpoint as told in a history book. I feel words are only as powerful as the person behind them. They mean nothing without belief and confidence to make them a reality. Having a written record is often used as evidence, as power pointing towards education, a society, and an opinion. Words provide the gateway to which enables us to gather information- a powerful asset if loaded with bias.

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  4. Like Taylor, I would agree that the reading did not necessarily change my perception. I agree completely with what the author says though about just remembering to keep other people and groups in mind. I think that sometimes people-and even myself don't realize that we have been grown in a world that looks primarily at ourselves. I believe that especially as an America we can be misguided to only looking at ourselves as important and worthy of noting. I really like what the author said on the fourth page, "This may not be because you are intentionally racist, anti-Semitic, sexist, elitist, or homophobic; it may simply be because you do not know any better." I think that this really rings true with how I feel. I think that ignorance causes us to be insensitive to other ideas and perceptions. I think that words have the power to change our perceptions and ideas. We just have to be willing to listen. I think that one of the biggest problems that we face with our society is that not everyone is willing to listen to everyone else. Everyone is so focused on themselves that they don't take time to appreciate the thoughts of others. Often, I am surprised by what I learn from someone that I have misjudged. I honestly think that if everyone took everyone else's ideas into account we could build a strong more unified society.

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  5. While reading this passage, I understood what his point was and what he was trying to say, but I didn't feel it applied to me. I could tell that he was speaking to white people of his time, trying to convince them to see both sides of the story and look through a different lens. So because of this, no, it didn't cause me to think differently. It also didn't give me any ideas because, while it may have been a revolutionary idea at the time it was written, it is a common theme in many things today. And even though my generation grew up with this sense of taking different view points, I feel I can still apply this more in my life. I try to look through others' eyes as much as possible, but it doesn't always get done. That is one way my perceptions might change. I feel motivated to make this change because I have seen the effects it has, like the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Women's Rights Movement.
    The words used in this passage are very powerful. I noticed that 'inclusive' or some form of this word was used many times throughout the writing. I think it was powerful because it was the perfect word for each time it was used and conveyed his point perfectly. It created the sense of letting others into a group, and listening to them and their ideas.

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  6. The strongest message I took away from this chapter was the message of variety. I would say that I am guilty of only looking at one or two aspects of a person's background before grouping them. However, the alternative of taking time to note the different qualities of an individual does not seem all too complicated. Collins and Anderson lay out a path in front of us, saying, "Inclusive thinking means seeing the interconnections between these experiences and not reducing a given person's or group's life to a single factor." Further into the article they add, "Age, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, physical ability, region, and ethnicity also shape systems of privilege and inequality." When I think about these traits, I can attribute each one to every individual I know. The tricky part is combining these thoughts when I consider them as a whole. Usually, just one or two of the categories seems to pertain at a time, but the article challenges us to look beyond the current interest. In reality, all of these influence the person, and we cannot afford to overlook any one aspect in the modern, advancing world.
    I would agree with Jen, in saying that words are powerful thanks to the message they convey. Without an important message, even the most eloquent of words can fall short. However, the opposite is also very true. Without effective, well-chosen diction, the intentions and potential of an author's thoughts can never fully be conveyed to the audience. The reason for the power found in words comes from the variety and possibilities they bring. Even the simplest of words must work and flow with their counterparts to generate a complete message. When an author can command these words to display his beliefs, power is found in the unbending nature in which they illustrate it, something that can only be achieved in one specific way. Each writer, each individual, finds a different use for words, and there lies its secret-compatibility.

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  7. “Shifting the Center” made me realize a few things about perspective. It first opened up with explaining, “How might we see the world differently if we were to shift our vision... to the lives of those who have be devalued, marginalized, and excluded?” People should start looking at different ways to view people and ideas. Look at them from the negative side as well as the positive side. The excerpt then goes on to say, “Shifting the center is not just about illuminating the experiences of oppressed groups... also changes how we understand the dominant culture.” Showing we, as society doesn’t need to just uproot and change our entire thinking, just be more inclusive and aware of everything. Then the title itself, “Shifting the Center” meaning our focus will change. Our focus on life, and ideas and people will all just shift. I realize that this change of focus won’t just happen all of a sudden because it involves changing the way people think. Thus far, the way society thinks has been shaped over centuries. Slowly though, thinking will be changed.
    Words are powerful. Words are personal. They come from people. Words also make you feel a wide range of emotions. Like what has been stated above, words are tied with a person. The person either convinces you of the message being portrayed or it doesn't. It’s also important however that the listener can receive the message, or at least understand what the words mean. They can be used in a variety of ways such as writing, and verbally. Either way words are powerful but it takes bother the speaker and listener to give them power.

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  8. I thought that this article really brought the authors perspective to life. One quote that stood out to me was, "Think of the process of taking a photo. For years, women and people of color-and especially women of color-were often totally outside people's frame of vision. But, as you move your angle of sight to include those who have been overlooked, new subjects come into sight." Often times society looks through the viewfinder and only sees one perspective or group. If you just slightly turn the camera you can get a totally different image. In order to get the bigger picture you have to look a the image from all 360 degrees.There is so much history and culture throughout the world that may be different, but is still valuable. This article definitly made me think about the way I percieve these different groups.I would like to think that I consider all the different perspectives and views, but I know sometimes I judge people and situations without even knowing it. I need to remember to "change the lens" that I look through, and I need to think about what history is really behind my knowledge.I think that words are more powerful than many of us realize. I know that gossip that goes around school can have a huge impact on an individual. If words can have that much of an impact just in Arapahoe, they play an even bigger role in America and across the world.Sometimes it just depends on what is behind those words, and sometimes it depends on the way they are delivered.Words can make or break a situation.

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  9. In the chapter "Shifting the Center" the idea of the power of a single story is through,y presented. In many ways the winners of history get to write history. The winners get to tell history from their perspective. It is extremely important to remember that in today's world. I learned that almost everything that is written or presented has an agenda. As the article says, "knowledge had been constructed largely from the experiences of the most powerful groups..." One of the most powerful lessons that I learned was how important knowledge was. Knowledge is the key to not be swayed by a single story. I think that was one of this article's main points. If you have the knowledge of a scenario then you are able to see through the bias of a single story. The power of a single story also comes with words. With a few simple communicative phrases, lives can be changed. Our words have power. They have meaning. We could be victims of the single story effect right now just because someone masterfully used words to grasp our attention. The massive power of the winner's story, that one single story is astounding. It makes one wonder what single stories we have let go unhindered today.

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  10. This reading did not make me think differently or give me new ideas. If anything else, this reading just enforced the reasoning and knowledge that I have already learned about the world. Referring to knowledge, the idea of getting ‘ both sides of the story’ has just become common sense to me. I agree with the reading when it says, “To begin with, knowledge is not just some abstract thing¬-good to have, but not all that important. There are real consequences to having partial or distorted knowledge.” I think that this quote truly means that knowledge can only benefit us as long as the information that we have or learn is a variety. Otherwise, we are only seeing one side of the story. With that being said, I think that I need to challenge myself to not let stereotypes control my first impressions of people and through talking with that person create some background knowledge about their personality before I judge their character. “Instead, it means actually seeing things differently, perhaps even changing the lens you look through.” I need to understand that in order for this change to occur I have to change what I focus on during that first meeting. The power of words set the mood for your personality and your knowledge. Words bridge a gap between people and may make thoughts become actions. Words are powerful because they allow communication between two different sides to occur and with that, problems that people face everyday are solved.

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  11. I wouldn't necessarily say that it changed my perception. I do agree however with many of the ideas presented. "Thus, shifting the center is fundamentally about reconstructing what you know to include those whose perspectives about life experiences have not been heard." I agree with this completely. Many perspectives have been overlooked in the world, and I agree that we need to change that. However, I also think that this is no easy task. We're talking about taking away everything you know in order to change their perspective. "This is more than just adding in different group experiences to already established frameworks of thought. It means constructing new analyses that are focused on the centrality of race, class, and gender in the experiences of us all." It's almost as if the author plans on re-wiring the human brain. All humans will judge and all humans will categorize people. It's part of human nature. What the author's talking about sounds like a really great idea that I fullheartedly agree with, I don't think it's very realistic, at least not in the way he explained it. He said it as if it was a scientific process, not a gradual culture change, as it has turned out to be.

    Words are extremely powerful. They can inspire millions. They challenge readers to better themselves. They make people want to keep turning the page. However, I don't think the written word is nearly as powerful as a visual. People tend to believe what they see as opposed to leave it up to imagination. Though imagination can be a very good thing, I personally feel that the visual is much more powerful than the written word.

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  12. After reading this passage, I don't feel like the author's point applied to my life. His point being that we, as people, need to change our focus from white men and what problems they experienced, to those that the minorities and women faced and had to deal with. When the author said, "By minimizing the experiences and creations of these different groups, we communicate that they have no history..." it made my mind immediately retreat to the fact that, as a Native American, I have a vast knowledge on what the Natives went through, and that people nowadays don't even realize what the AIM act is. However, I also can see it from another perspective and having learned this skill through my life, I feel like I have a very broad center.
    Words are an important part in any argument, and I agree with Kaytee when she said that words are weapons. However, I'm going to take it one step farther and say that words are power. At least, in this day and age they are. Nowadays, people trust others too much due to the interconnectiveness that today's society relies on. With this much faith in others, I believe that are able to turn and twists other's opinions sheerly based on the fact that one person can sound more educated that another without really knowing anything.

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  13. From reading this article, and then reading the posts of the others, I feel like today the education system has taken this idea maybe even too far. We spent an incredible amount of time on the Civil Rights movement, but we spend little time on anything past the 70's. We talk a ton about slavery, and about how many American Indians were killed when Columbus and the Colonials came from Europe. Sometimes we talk so much about the plight of minorities that we don't have time to look at many of the other part of our history. Has America become guilty? The back page of the article said, "Knowing only the history of African Americans, for example, or seeing that history in single-minded terms will not reveal the historical linkages between the oppression of African Americans and the exclusionary and exploitative treatment of other groups." Maybe instead of focusing on how white Americans have "excluded and exploited" other groups, we should focus on the other groups themselves. Their culture and how they have contributed to America. This article has really shifted my perspective by showing me how focused we are on highlighting the plight of other groups. Maybe we should take a more optimistic approach and look at how they are treated today. Most people do not want or try to exclude or exploit minority groups today, so maybe we should stop feeling guilty about our past and move on to a more cooperative future.

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  14. I think that the most important message that i took away from this is the idea of variety. We not only need to get our information from varied sources in order to see things from more than one perceptive, but we need to look at things in our lives from varied angles. This way we are not influenced by a single story. Shifting the center can help us to better understand things that happened in the past and even things that happen today, because as Anderson and Collins said, "knowledge has been constructed largely from the experiences of the most powerful groups." This article made me think about how I categorize the things I se and the people I know. If we continue to "reduce a given person's or group's life to a single factor," we will never be able to better understand what is going on around us because we are stuck in the thought that to fully understand something we only need to look at it from one view point.
    Words can have many different effects. one phrase can have five different meanings depending on how we use tone or voice inflection. I think that more emphasis that we put in our speech the better understood we will be. When you look at any great speaker, you can truly see and feel the passion that they have for what they are speaking about through how they talk. Words are very powerful because they have so much meaning, even behind the simple and basic definition of these words. The more we try and understand what someone is truly trying to say, the better we can interact with that person.

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  15. I think that this reading reminded me of all the people that get overlooked in society. "Think of the process of taking a photograph. For years, women and people of color - and especially women of color - were often totally outside people's frame of vision. But, as you move your angle of sight to include those who have been overlooked, new subjects come into sight." This quote really allowed me to consider all the times in my life that I have overlooked people, not necessarily because of race but because of my personal dislike of them, not really with a valid reason. I think this passage encouraged me to go into the world with an open mind and listen to everything everyone has to say. It breaks my heart to think about all the ways that people have been discriminated over the years because of their race. Other races should be embraced, not pushed away. "What you know frames how you behave and how you think about yourselves and others." This quote is extremely true because a person's knowledge allows them to live a certain way. I wonder how people would live differently if they were called out on ignoring different genders and races. How would our world be different today? Would it be different at all?

    Words are important in that there are so many ways they can be interpreted. Words are dangerous. A person can say one thing and people may take it differently. Words can be held to you, even if you change your opinion. Words can't always be controlled, they are able to start a wildfire of new ideas within a society.

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  16. This chapter, "Shifting the Center", did not bring up new ideas, but it did clarify some old ones. For example, I think that it is important to recognize the beauty in diversity and individuality. Everyone, even the unspoken minority, has something valuable to add. However, in today's society we are often controlled by the most powerful voice even thought the minorities might be the ones holding society up. My soccer coach once said "The loudest voice controls the team, even if they don't do any work". I think this applies to "Shifting the Center" because it reminds me of the quote, "...knowledge has been constructed largely from the experiences of the most powerful groups...". The most powerful group controls the knowledge, even if it is incorrect, because the life experiences and perspectives of the minorities have not been heard. This creates a problem because "there are real consequences to having partial or distorted knowledge". In Hughes' “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”, the whites control the knowledge of what is ‘beautiful’ and so black culture is lost. Sometimes, a quiet voice can surprise us. For example, at my bible study yesterday a transfer student from Spain gave us his perspective on the day's topic: The Meaning of Life. He changed my perspective, and made me rethink my opinion of him. The moral of the story is to be open-minded to the gifts and talents of the minorities because they often introduce a new light.

    Words are a way for the unspoken to express themselves. Fredrick Douglass expressed himself through a groundbreaking slave narrative. Maya Angelou expressed herself by an autobiography. Hughes expressed himself through poetry. Words are the path of sharing knowledge and ideas. Words can sometimes break through the unhearing ear. Each of these writers, all a part of a minority, were able to voice their perspective through the written word.

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  17. This reading gave me some new ideas to think about. In the second column on the second page the article states, "It also changes how we understand the dominant culture and groups who have more power and privilege than others." I found this interesting because I believe that we, as American students who take our education for granted, think we know about all the history of struggles and slavery and genocides etc; however we don't stop to think who is feeding us this information. We learn all of this from American textbooks telling us about events from a powerful American perspective which tells us what they want us to know. We rarely learn about these events from the other side. I don't believe we are as educated on social topics as we think. I also think that Americans have an easy time in their minds "shifting the center". I think this occurs because with the Internet people think they can google something and automatically they can become an expert. Now this is true in some respects that perhaps they can memorize some facts and rattle them off again social event and to them that may be the definition of an expert. But to me an expert who has "shifted the center" is a person who has experienced the feeling and emotion that goes hand in hand with the facts. I believe words have so much power in portraying a story and a point of view. Everyone picks words that will make the audience feel for them and understand where they are coming from and what they are trying to say. This article shows this by the repetition of "shifting the center" (scattered through the paper). These repeated words put emphasis on what the authors are trying to convey. By repeating the phrase throughout the paper the reader begins to focus on that particular phrase the most. Which in turn enables the authors to accomplish their goal of making their voice heard.

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  18. I wouldn’t say this reading gave me new ideas or made me think differently, more that it broadened my own thinking by supporting similar concepts and ideas I already possessed. What I think we can apply more to our society and lives is when the article discusses knowledge and changing false ideas and thinking that we may have and may not even understand how it is wrong. “Second, having misleading and incorrect knowledge leads to the formation of bad social policy…” and “ This may not be because you are intentionally racist, anti-Semitic, sexist, elitist, or homophobic it may simply be because you do not know better.” Both these quotes I think are saying that the wrong knowledge can shape our ideas and views on things, and maybe not as drastic now as it was then, but I kinda applied this to when someone says something offense without even realizing it is wrong. I think that no matter how much we say we have an open perception, even though most of us do or try to, this article is saying take a deeper look on what we think we understand, because it could be solely ignorance that is upholding that stereotypical “frame of vision.” This just reminds me to make sure my own thinking doesn’t contain any misperceptions or distorted knowledge on people, race, or anything, and to be patient because many people I have to be surrounded by don’t know or understand how some things they say and do can be offensive ( their “ exclusionary thoughts and acts”).Words are very powerful, I mean they hold the capabilities for people to express themselves, cause movements and wars, to build a person; or break. I agree with Sanjay and Jen. With the right combination of diction, words, and voice, there is a potential and opportunity for a message to be transpired and illustrate a point or an idea. With words, there is an unlimited amount of ideas and potential.

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  19. This article didn't get me to think differently mainly because of the time gap. If I had the same views as the people reading this at the time it was written I'm sure it would have. But in today's society people are more accepting of everyone. If you don't know something about a group of people or their history it is easy to look it up and learn more about it. We are able to fill in blanks and look at everyone the same way.We have now reached a time when we can celebrate diversity and acknowledge that we are not all the same. On the second page in the first column it says "You probably touched briefly on the topics like slavery, women's suffrage, perhaps even the Holocaust, but most likely these brief excursions from an otherwise dominant narrative that ignored people of color and women, along with others." I had never really thought about what we had learned. But I both agree and disagree with this. It is true that we did not get a wide arrange of views while studying this but we now have the resources to look deeper and to find the details and as many different view points as we want.
    I believe that words have the power to change us, it is just who is willing to listen. Many figures throughout history have been able to change the world through either their writing or through speaking. These words can be used in many different way. They can be used to change the world for the good or they can be used as weapons against one another.

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  20. This reading did not give me any new ideas. If anything, I almost disagree with it. I agree with the idea of being open to new perspectives, but in terms of shifting the center, I don’t think that people should simply shift their focus from one area to the next, but rather people should broaden perspective all together, viewing more than one group at a time. He says, “Think of the process of taking a photograph…But, as you move your angle of sight to include those who have been overlooked, new subjects come into sight.” I think that variety and new perspective is valuable, however I just feel that it is more effective to look at the big picture instead of limiting yourself.
    Words trigger many emotions and feelings. Words can persuade. Words can destroy. Words have the power to do anything and everything. The infinity of words and what they can create when strung together in intricate phrases is why they are so powerful. There will never be a limit to what they can create.

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  21. After reading "Shifting the Center", I became much more aware of the variety in culture and personality. In the beginning of the chapter, they begin by saying, "How might we see the world differently if we were to shift our vision of society from one that is typically centered in the voices and experiences of dominant groups to the lives and thoughts of those who have been devalued, marginalized, and excluded?" They show that everyone can contribute in order to transform social arrangements. Although it would apply to many people, specifically those that are not very open-minded, I feel as though it doesn't apply to me as much. I have seen many cultures, people, and ideas, and I have become very open to all of them, as Collins and Andersen stated, "Age, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, physical ability, region, and ethnicity also shape systems of privilege and inequality." I believe that many of these characteristics are overlooked when trying to understand a person or a culture, and I agree with the authors that this has to change. As they said, "Thus, shifting the center is fundamentally about reconstructing what you know to include those whose perspectives about life experiences have not been heard."

    Words are much more powerful than people realize. It was the words spoken by Gandhi that moved the world, not his actions. It was the words of Abraham Lincoln that influenced the minds of countless people. Words are something that can let the reader feel the way the author thought, hoped, felt, and dreamt. It gives a sense of connection, even if you've never known that person. They can be used as a weapon, or as a cushion, to attack or to comfort. Words are a way to express the deepest emotions conceivable and in that way, is one of the most powerful things in the world.

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  22. Reading "Shifting the Center" It really became apperet to me how different cultures are and how those different cultures lead to different lifestyles. I was aware that people in our world lived differently, but I had never really taken the time to think about how very different these lifestyles are from the one I live in and how much I would struggle if I was forced to adapt and change in to one of these cultures.
    "But Shifting the center is more than just valuing the diverse histories and cultures of the different groups who constitute society. It is also recognizing how groups whose experiences have been vital in the formation of society and have silenced in the construction of knowledge about this society." This quote really touches on how we have forgotten the people who make up so much of the world and have contributed so much to the formations of our world today. I feel like all I ever hear about our major countries and I am almost unaware of the happenings of most of the world around me. That needs to change, we definitely need to spread knowledge of international affairs on a larger broadcasting system.
    This reading really made me think and reconsider how I live my life and what I value dearly to me and also it made me aware of how drastically different my lifestyle is from others around the world.

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  23. To begin I don't agree with what the author is saying about how the people with the most power have had the most experiences and usually they are wealthy because they have had more opportunity in education. "Part of this process is recognizing that knowledge has been constructed largely from the experiences of the most powerful groups- because they have had the most access to systems of education and communication" (Andersen 1).I believe that people with less opportunity have greater experiences in a way because than they look for opportunity and don't expect them to happen. The author changed my view point though on how we need to shift the center of our society. At first you might think that what the author is trying to say is that we need to focus more on including those people who have been rejected all these years but then you come to realize that the author not only wants that but also wants society to recognize their experiences, those experiences that shaped the formation of society and shaped the well being of different cultures. Instead of changing my view points, it more reinforced what i had forgotten about and made me look at a more detailed and harsh reality of it all. In terms of the power of words, I think that can really be the make or break for a piece of writing. In the end, depending on the words, it can change the future of people's thinking and can ultimately create another view on a topic. A lot of the times it's the words that stand out because it's the element people can connect the most with. Sometimes, people go to a movie and walk away with a slight emotion but without having been touched. Everyone has heard words in their lifetime and can base those words off an experience, memory, or idea of life. Words can influence and can be the base for power, if used correctly.

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  24. I have to say that after reading "Race, Class, and Gender", I would have to both disagree and agree with what Andersen says. In way, he is right by saying that we need to shift what we know to include those whose perspectives and life experiences have not been heard. We need to learn about all of the groups of people that have been oppressed and educate ourselves on all of those topics. He says, "Think of the process of taking a photograph. For years, women and people of color, and especially women of color, were often totally outside people's frame of vision. But, as you move your angle of sight to include those who have been overlooked, new subjects come into sight" (Andersen 1). I think this quote is exactly right and it really makes me think of what our world would look like if everyone took a step back and learned about every kind of person that exists today. Everyone is important, and we just need to accept that. I do have to say that, on the other hand, there were lots of times that I was reading along, and had to totally disagree with what Andersen had to say. For example, when he was talking about the fact that in schools, we're not learning as much as we should be about the groups of people in the world's history who were challenged in some way. He says, "How much did you learn about the history of group oppression in your formal education? You probably touched briefly on topics like slavery, women's suffrage, perhaps even the Holocaust" (Andersen 2). I have to say that what he wrote here, is a false statement. He is guessing what we are learning in school, and the fact is, is that we have actually spent a lot of time learning about those subjects and we didn't just briefly discuss them like Andersen so angrily says. One thing that I did notice when reading "Race, Class, and Gender" was all of the powerful word usage. Andersen really picks his words carefully to make a point and they really grabbed my attention when I was reading. By using such strong vocabulary, I knew exactly where the author wanted to go.

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  25. There seems to be a common theme throughout this chapter that I noticed which is to notice those that are not usually noticed. This is the wrong message to be sending. I actually relate this to bullying in school. Teachers and administrators like to say that they are doing everything they can to stop bullying, but they really aren't. All that they do is notice the problem and help bring awareness to it, which is only one step in the whole process. One section said, “For years, women and people of color- and especially women of color- were often totally outside people’s frame of vision. But, as you move your angle of sight to include those who have been overlooked, new subjects come into sight.” This is the absolute perfect example of what I’m talking about. You aren’t integrating anything into your picture taking; all you are doing is including more people in.
    Now you might be thinking, what would you do about it? As I said before, noticing is only part of the battle. There was one section that really struck me as weird in their stance, “Race, class, and gender are social structural categories. This means that they are embedded in the institutional structure of society.” Now, what I’m about to say is the end goal, but we should strive to make those three words, race, class and gender, have no meaning in our world. As in, they should have absolutely no factor in judging a person’s character. I hate that the authors mentioned nothing about this because it is the problem with, as I said before, bullying. People aren't taking steps to stop it necessarily, just to draw attention. This is the reason I really didn't like this chapter, although they do bring up some excellent points, they leave out vital ones as well.

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  26. After reading “Shifting the Center” I realized how many stories can be skewed based on what society wants to hear. Throughout American history, and the history of many cultures, the most powerful people at the time have been the ones to share their perspectives. In today’s society, who tells the majority of the stories? Is it the underprivileged community or the wealthy media? The dangerous part is that the powerful media can tell a story any way they want, put any sort of twist on it, and a greater majority of American citizens would still believe it. There is peril in acquiring all of your information from one source, especially one with a strong bias. Partiality not only affects the story being told, but also the thousands of people hearing it. This is exactly why “knowledge” in America has been successfully “constructed from the experiences of the most powerful groups.” This knowledge that we now label as credible is actually the opposite because of the prejudice that has swayed. I believe that people so easily accept information that is presented to them because of the power of words. Language is very powerful and the media has mastered the manipulation of words. Their use of words causes people to be satisfied with a single story; therefore, words can create victims of the people with no voice. This reading has opened my eyes to how easily I accept what we, as Americans, call knowledge. It has taught me to question stories and explore all of the different sides and perspectives of a situation. This might change my personal views on issues, such as racism, and allow me to think for myself more often. As the chapter says, “We believe that shifting our perspective by thinking about the experiences of those who have been excluded from knowledge changes how we think about society, history, and culture.”

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