Daily Archives: February 7, 2012

Key terms (HUM455)

Here are some of the key terms we discussed today in class.

geographical imaginary (see this pdf entry– geographicalimaginary –from the Encyclopedia of Human Geography)

palimpsest

de/re-territorialization

To this short list we could add an idea we discussed last week: the notion of “the Other.” See what you think about the following.

The colonized, as Albert Memmi notes, is wedded to the colonizer in that each in some sense is constitutive of the other. Moreover, she internalizes her abjection: “Willfully created and spread by the colonizer, this mythical and degrading portrait ends up being accepted and lived with to a certain extent by the colonized.” The colonizer produces the colonized by erasing him; the colonizer renders the colonized an object lacking any distinguishing features, with no individual worth or existence– the native is simply an amalgamation of negative traits. “They all look alike,” says the colonizer. “They’re lazy and impecunious. If you don’t watch them they’ll steal you blind.” Exploding this non-identity, this stereotyped subjectivity, is accomplished with destruction of the one who imposes it.

Continue reading →

Title/Key Terms/ Student Voices (HUM470)

Page 85: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself.

I may begin to tape our classes in order to record the ground we’ve covered. In the meantime, I’ve formulated a short list of key terms we discussed today. If you can think of anything of note that I’ve missed, please pass it along.

moral suasion

miscegenation [for PJ, et al: miscegenation Etymology:  Irregularly < classical Latin miscēre to mix (see mixed adj.2) + genus race (see genus n.) + -ation suffix.]

partus sequitur ventrem= that which is brought forth follows the womb

sentiment

manliness (The classic cultural history of this concept is Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization. Great book.)

Finally, Student Voices, an SFSU website, collects testimony from students who have been adversely impacted by tuition raises and budget cuts. Student Voices is linked with the California State Student Association’s The Buck Starts Here campaign.