began reading "Nigger" by Randall Kennedy
and tried out for "Angels in America"
it has been quite a day...
Today at lunch I started to use the word gay as a synonym for other words, like chair, or coffee, or other things.
Such as, "Wow! This gay that I'm sitting on is really comfortable, and also geeez, this gay is way to hot to drink now.
I used this tactic throughout a conversation that I had with my friend that constantly uses the word gay to mean to mean bad. At the end of the conversation I couldn't stop laughing because i was sounding so absurd to myself; my friend was very confused.
I noticed that Randall, though his book is titled "Nigger" and is supposed to be about the word, that he uses many synonyms for the word nigger, such as negro, black, and others. This is interesting to me because he seems to weave them in and out of the text so inconspicuously. He writes once, "a candid portrayal of the n-word..." and then in another passage, "for some observers, the only legitamate use of the word nigger (nigger being italicized but i couldnt figure out how to do that.)" He seems to shift the way her refers to his topic so gracefully and without a trace that it really seems to demonstrate the way the word has so many shades of meaning. He has also choosen to being the book with some case examples, and also some infromation on how the word nigger was used in politics, by politicians, in laws, and then how laws began to form up around these instances. I am really enjoying the way this book is organized. It is a very tough read, if I allow my heart to be in it. I try to take my heart and put it somewhere else why I am reading this book. But that is not always easy,
5 comments:
I think taking up this topic, this term, is quite courageous. It's always easier to talk about something easy, like "diversity." I wonder if Kennedy will discuss the question of the use of the n-word in educational settings, and the effect of schooling on its "meanings" and its current prohibition. You should of course also be listening to NWA, to really bring this discussion back to youth. Last question: what are you doing your "thesis" about, or is "about" the wrong way of thinking of what you're doing?
Wow...fascinating topic. I never really thought of how many different meanings some words have. Its interesting how these words are seen as discriminatory but now have other, 'less harmful' (i use those words loosely, mind you) meanings behind them. I'm really interested to see what you get out of the book you're reading. It looks like your really diving into this...keep it up!
I went ot a poetry reading last night and a woman read a poem entitled"nigga"...and she used the word quite often. Afterwards, one of her students said that they had never heard her speak that way. At any rate, she seemed to define that type of person-fitting of the term- as one who is lazy or doesn;t see their potential, or rather uses it to unjust means...who groups with others likethem to make something bad instead of beautiful...
I think that I should just ask her for a copy of the poems.
My thesis is about the n-word-and who can use it, who can't and where it has come from where it is going...that sort of this. I am trying to conduct interviews, and read at the same time. When do you suppose that I can get that camera from you?
I will also be having a discussion with BSU when the clib resumes after Black history events. Also, I will then invite BSU to my building in Brannon to have an all campus discussion about this.
Ultimatley my goal is to learn as much as I can about being black and the other history that is our american history so that I can be a better teacher.
Last semester I did of mice and men with my students. I didnt really know how to approach the word "nigger" which is used in that book.
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