Article of Interest

After reading a few of the insider/outsider debate articles, i stumbled across this article from the New York Times (see bottom.) I am putting it up here because to me, it shows that the insider/outsider debate is not just limited to literature. Rather, it can take hold in any aspect of life, even art.

(Click here to read article)

This article was found in the New York Times. In short, there is a controversy over the sculptor making a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. The man who was hired to do this project is an Asian American who also has done sculptures of controversial people who do not really fall in line with the things which MLK stood for. The people who chose this man say that it has nothing to do with any political action. however, many people believe that the sculptor should be an African American and should also stand for the same things which MLK stood for.

one point which the article made is that it is difficult to NOT have something be political, whether it is intended to be or not.

i think that this is a particularly interesting article, especially considering that we are reading so much about the insider./ outsider debate.

The debate.... before.

When considering the topic of diverse literature, the question of who can be considered to be an author of diverse literature seems to become a very prominent question.

[please take note that this is written before reading this weeks' assigned reading]

it can be said that anyone can write diverse literature, because without literature of the 'mainstream' culture, no other literature could really be considered diverse.

however, i question the appropriateness of people writing about experiences that they have not truely been able to experience. i say this with the thought of how i would feel if someone would try to write a narrative about what it is like to suffer from fibromyalgia. it is something that i could not truly describe accurately to anyone, therefore no one could ever really portray this experience nearly as accurately as someone like me could second hand.

i think that it would be the same for many other experiences that are not mainstream or quite as common as others.

therefore, i don't know if it is appropriate if people who don't experience something can write about the possibilities of that experience.

Sample Entry

This will only be up until I write an actual entry based upon Course Readings or other related experiences.