Dear Dorie, David, et al,
Actually one of the striking things about Rodriguez's book, imho, is
that it is a well-wrought chronicle of one who, though extremely
articulate, ultimately seems to reflect a near perfect form of
internalized oppression. While he recounts painful experiences of
having his race/ethnicity/cultural values ripped apart or ripped away,
rather than condemn the oppressor he, instead, chooses to embrace the
notion that assimilation at the expense of family and cultural ties is
"the way" and now reflects that viewpoint in his politics being often
anti-bilingual education or anti-affirmative action, etc.
Rather than critique the oppression itself; he seems to embrace it and
lend his political voice to its work.
In Peace,
K.
Dorie Evensen wrote:
> David - The book is about the author's experience as a child of
> Mexican immigrants educated in quite traditional Catholic schools in
> California (1960s). It's the story of his "losing" his family and
> ethnicity as he came to embrace the discourse of traditional (and
> mostly classic) education. The book has undergone criticisms because
> of Rodriguez' position against affirmative action - he was admitted to
> (now here is where my memory fades), I think, Yale (I also think it
> was a graduate program) under affirmative action protocols - his
> argument is that af. ac. should not be for people like him. He winds
> up refusing the position. Rodriguez works now for the Pacific News
> Service and does occasional essays on the The News Hours (PBS). What
> remains with me about the book is his vivid sense of loss coupled with
> a strong desire for the new development he is so aware of having
> experienced.
> Dorie
>
>
> At 05:02 PM 4/4/2005, you wrote:
>
>> Dorie,
>> Sorry for not knowing the person, but could you please say more about
>> this book?
>> David
>>
>> David Preiss
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile: www.puc.cl
>> PACE Center at Yale University: www.yale.edu/pace
>> Homepage: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~ddp6/
>> Phone: 56-2-3544605
>> Fax: 56-2-354-4844
>> E-mail: david.preiss@yale.edu, davidpreiss@puc.cl
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dorie Evensen [mailto:dhd2@psu.edu]
>> Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 1:38 PM
>> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>> Subject: Re: Butterflies and life
>>
>>
>>
>> I wonder if people think that Richard Rodriguez' autobiography, Hunger
>> of
>> Memory, provides some insights into losses associated with development?
>> Dorie
>>
>>
>>
>> At 01:28 PM 4/4/2005, you wrote:
>> >Well, those butterflies and some notion of an elsewhere or other that
>> >is unfettered... Would that it were so. I am especially fond of the
>> >Monarchs -- an endangered species precisely as they travel across
>> >space. Actually, the butterflies - we could think of them as actants in
>>
>> >some species of ANT - part of the system and with no autonomous agency
>> >-- feed along the way on milkweed, treated with pesticides as a
>> >"noxious weed", as well as genetically-modified corn that produces a
>> >protein toxic to the larvae of monarchs, and their habitat in their
>> >wintering grounds in Mexico is being lost to devastating logging,
>> >resulting in a huge drop in the population of Monarchs.
>> >
>> >And so here we have a kind of cautionary tale about the impacts of
>> >"development" <science, construction, the economy> on forms of life and
>>
>> >living. The kinds of loss produced by "development" produces an
>> >interesting line of inquiry.
>> >
>> >Mary
>> >
>> >On 4/3/05 7:48 PM, "Marie Judson" <mjudson@ucsd.edu> wrote:
>> >
>> > > It does relate to the topic, Kris, in the sense that
>> > > the butterflies come across the border freely, unlike
>> > > the humans.
>> > >
>> > > Marie
>> > >
>> > > --- Kris Gutierrez <gutierrez@gseis.ucla.edu> wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> THIS IS OFF TOPIC BUT IT CAN'T GO
>> > >> UNNOTICED--SOMETHING CLOSE TO HOME
>> > >> FOR THOSE OF US IN THE SOUTHWEST and hopefully
>> > >> something else to
>> > >> ponder: KRIS
>> > >>
>> > >> Soldados Mexicanos Muertos en Irak" (Xenophobes of
>> > >> the Minutemen
>> > >> Project want to play soldiers on the
>> > >> Arizona-Mexico border, hunting
>> > >> down "illegal aliens." Meanwhile, Mexicans are
>> > >> dying in Iraq for the
>> > >> US government) -- FULL TEXT:
>> > >>
>> > >
>> <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/04/soldados-mexicanos-muertos-en->
>> > >>
>> > >> irak.html>
>> > >> --
>> > >>
>> > >> Kris D. Gutierrez
>> > >> Professor
>> > >> GSE&IS
>> > >> Moore Hall 1026
>> > >> UCLA
>> > >> Los Angeles, CA 9009501521
>> > >> 310-825-7467
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> > > Marie Judson
>> > > Ph.D. Candidate
>> > > Department of Communication
>> > > UCSD, Mailcode 0503
>> > > 858.643.9090
>> > > mjudson@ucsd.edu
>> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> > >
>
>
>
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