Gates, Jr.:
- Gates, Jr, argues that race is a trope, i.e., a word/concept that is used figuratively, what does he mean by this?
- Contiguously, is there a problem with the metaphor that he offers? More specifically, does Gates, Jr., by relegating race to an abstract concept, a metaphor, fail to account for the real, material effects fomented by race?
- Gates writes that (pp.591 of the original text) many Western writers and (pseudo)scientists have sought to reify race by arguing that it is inherently biological, i.e., on page 595 of the original reading, that it is “natural, essential, and absolute.” What, in your opinion, would prompt these writers and scientist to espouse this particular stance, and, whose interests does it serve (explain)?
- Likewise, Gates argues that there has been and continues to be an (erroneous) conflation between “race” and intelligence that permeates and pervades western thinking regarding innate ability/intelligence; who are the beneficiaries of this line of thinking?
Fredrick Douglass, Narrative life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave
- On page 53 of the original text, Douglass recounts the vicissitudes of his own literate awakening. What does his account speak to regarding the internalization of negative, oppressive reinforcement?
- What caused Douglass’ aversion to thinking? Why did it quickly become the bane of his existence?
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ReplyDeleteI’m Mary Wen. And I would like to answer the first question of author Douglass.
ReplyDeleteApparently, in the original text, Douglass experienced the fate of an American slave and he had been served in many different families. His inner activity was entangled.
In the previous original text, the idea of ‘a slave for the life’ continually takes root in his mind, which had a negative impact on his thought of being free one day. But after reading the book, his mind changed. There are five periods that I think he accounts speak to regarding the internalization of negative reinforcement.
The first period: when he started reading and writing, he found these documents enabled him to utter his thoughts. Once he thought it was his destiny to be a slave for life, however, the speeches strongly opposed the idea so Douglass began to feel that there may be one way to get rid of this kind of life.
The second period: the more he read, he found that the life of slaves was set up at the beginning. They didn’t have the right to choose what they want to do. They were just like commodities and people would just feel sympathy or indifference on them.
The third period: when he finished these reading, he began to doubt whether it was benefit to learn reading and writing, for he thought he would never had the chance of being a ‘normal man’.
The forth period: he began to envy those slaves who had no knowledge at all. For them, life was easier because they just have to follow the masters’ orders and everything would be all right. To himself, reading was no longer useful and finally became a tool to torment him.
The fifth period: deep in his soul, he still wanted freedom, however, the desperation aroused from his heart. In the original text, he used parallel sentences ‘I saw nothing without seeing it, I heard nothing without hearing it, and felt nothing without feeling it’ to express this kind of feeling.
Although he had literate awakening, these five periods forced him to think about the question should he learn reading and writing? And this is the internalization of negative reinforcement.
Frederick Douglass’ account of his learning to read describes how he was unable to relish in his achievements and was instead infected with pain and torment over them. Douglass said that his reading about the arguments for and against slavery “gave tongue to the interesting thoughts of his own soul”, which was a gift in one hand but a curse in the other. This is because he was also then more aware of his cruel condition, “a slave for life”, while still being unable to do anything about it. The slave owner did not want his slaves to be able to read because they would then become “unmanageable and of no value to his master”. He knew that keeping another human as a slave depended on his ignorance, for if a slave could read and think for himself he would realize that his condition was unfair and unacceptable. Douglass reinforced the pain and suffering of slavery in his own mind by doing what his master didn’t want, thinking, only this time he was doing it to himself. Yet he didn’t stop, he kept reading, and slowly developed a sense of hope that maybe one day he could be free. He battled the internal oppression he was inflicting on himself and then set out to battle the external one as well, his enslavement. Douglass was able to overthrow the oppression of slavery by becoming a free man, and overthrow the internal oppression by using his gift of literacy to help the cause he was so passionate about as an abolitionist. His ability to be able to finally smile at his accomplishments proves that oppression can be battled and beat, but never but never from a lack of perseverance.
ReplyDeleteMary, I am not totally sure that those particular "periods" are what constitutes Douglass' internalization of negative reinforcement.This phenomenon, more likely, was the byproduct of Douglass' obsequious position within greater society. He was a slave; and because he was mere property, he began to think of himself in that way. That is, he began to feel as though he deserved his inured existence.
ReplyDeleteZora Neale Hurston “Race consciousness is a deadly explosive on the tongues of men”.
ReplyDeleteRace is a trope as argued by Gates Jr. describes that statement. He means that race is a concept/word that was formulated, concocted, and derived by the dominant people, or those in power. The dominant persons are of whom that is considered to be human beings and all others not like them are the “others”. This otherness describes the extremity of difference with black African being the most different, the furthest from humanity as possible.
I agree with Gates Jr., his theory as race being unreal because it is a man made phenomenon. Being that it is a man made, I think Gates Jr. gave real life examples of how those in power created such a phenomenon from a simple abstract word that could have an extreme negative affect on those different from them. Also Gates Jr. did not make the hardships of those of the insubordinate “race” nonexistent but a reality merely based on their race.
In my opinion, these writers would espouse this stance because there history allows them to. Gates Jr. explains use of writing as a “commodity to confine and delimit a culture of color”. This writing constructed a reality for those who believe such ignorant assumptions. Due to this fact I think because the interests of the people who chose to continue the ideal of race especially one race being better or “superordinate” than others wanted to remain “the power” of the world, another sense of conquering a people and its culture.