Resisting the Urge to Empathize

After today's carousel activity, I'm finding myself resisting the urge to relate to the texts we're reading. This whole conversation about empathy shook me up a little because I feel like the best way I learn is by trying to relate the texts to my own life. I try to find connections that I can make to others because too much theory can overwhelm me.

I still don't really know if I agree with Sommer's idea that we shouldn't try to look at things in a more universalist lense. I understand what she's saying and agree with her to some extent, but I don't know if I'm willing to change the way I learn and think about things because it's problematic (in her eyes). I feel like in my last post for this class where I was making a connection (or empathizing as Sommer would probably say), I wasn't necessarily trying to relate to my experiences of hardship to Rigoberta or the Quiché. Or maybe I was. I don't know. I was trying to connect my experiences to my mom, who could probably relate more to Rigoberta's stories or horror and hardship than I ever could. I suppose my mom's life story (or any story told by a refugee escaping genocide) would be more worthy of relating to Rigoberta's. I think when I posted that I was just too homesick and missed my mom... I'm so ready for Fall Break.