A04
Week 3
While conducting our reading for this week, one part that struck me was the paragraph describing progressive thought today. Yes, it is a step in the right direction to advocate for social justice regarding sexism, racism, etc., but it does not do enough to sufficiently challenge institutional oppression. I think I really related to that because I realized I was part of the progressive thought who was proud of ideas of advocating for social justice, because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. I didn't think it was only the beginning of what I needed to do.I am excited to learn more about what I can do as a student and member of society to sufficiently challenge those in power.
I liked the idea of trying to question our accepted norms and conduct reverse social engineering. I think many of us have had a point in their lives where they realize that alot of the norms they take for granted as natural are a product of something more complex or deliberate, and often shouldn't be a norm. One really simple example I had was when I fully learned about the crimes Christopher Columbus committed. I couldn't believe someone so horrible who has brought so much pain to the communities he took over was taught to me as just another genius famous historical figure during elementary school. It's pretty sad to remember me coloring pages of him drawn as a lovable cartoon figure. It just shows how euro-centric our education system can be, even from elementary school. I feel like that narrative would be like if schools taught Hitler as someone likeable because he brought Germany out an economic depression and just forget to mention he started the Holocaust.
One question I have would be as college students, what should we do to fight academia's oppression? I think it is really cool how a class offered by the university is teaching us about its critiques on the university and institutional oppression, but I think most other classes wouldn't do that. So as a university student, what should I follow if the university itself is an example of institutional oppression? I guess one answer could be to continue looking for classes like this, whether in the ASA department or perhaps another subject, that is willing to critique the university. The reading mentions reverse social engineering but I feel that doing it alone would be very difficult, so I am glad we have this class to teach us.
References:
Eşanu, Eugen. “Norms Decide User Behaviour.” Medium, UX Planet, 4 Nov. 2019, uxplanet.org/behavioural-economics-descriptive-norms-97770a32a094.
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
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