Feminism

Ndifrank, Sunshine, and I discussed this earlier, but I'd like to add on that they have graciously allowed me to join their group. I realy agree with how well this has been thought out, especially how it takes into account different levels of comfort & ability, and the need for the humanization in this debate. In addition (I thought of this after our in-person conversation), it might be a good idea to set up an anonymous way to add in comments, to even make confidentiality & accessibility greater. 

Can't wait to get this going!

We want to focus on body image and the health center. Keeping in mind the techniques of monsoon and benaifer, the health center and the students will talk one on one. Meaning that members of the health center will get to share their experience as much as the students.

It woudl be interesting to talk about how we view black Americans and black Africans differently. And how black Americans and black Africans view each other. I think the term "black American" instead of "African-American"itself is indicative of a lot. It is a term my mother uses, and to me places "African-Americans"as completely American, without any assaciaton to their roots elsewhere. 

Like bridgetmartha, I was interested in the way American culture and "being" or "acting" American was linked to higher class status by many in Americanah. And I was interested by the in-between role Ifemelu played in America as an observer and distanced perspective on American culture and race relations, as well as someone who seemed to understand America deeply while holding on to her own Nigerian culture.

One of the interesting aspects Adichie explores in Ifemelu's transition to the United States is the role media plays in Americans' self image, and the ideal of happiness. Ifemelu has watched American television programs and films for much of her life because they are available in Nigeria, but she is first exposed to American advertisements when she arrives in the U.S.

Throughout these first chapters and moving forward through the book, Adichie makes many allusions--some more obvious than others--to the connections between Americanism, class, and language. Being a part of American culture is seen as desired for many of the people around Ifemelu because, as Obinze told her and his mother, "America is the future" (84). America is the place to go to be educated, to get a stable career and perhaps send money home. But this mindset is also restricted when we look at the glorification of America as framed by class.

We’re all doing a lot of emotional as well as intellectual work in this 360! Sunshine’s and ndifrank’s posts are helping me to think about incorporating conversations about nonvisible disabilities and about the theory and practice of accessibility and “accommodation” into our class. As Jay Dolmage and other disability studies scholars have noted, access is always aspirational, never perfectly achieved. But it’s always worth aspiring to, and I think we need to address what access, accommodation, and universal design might look like in a classroom/ our classroom.