May 15, 2015 - 12:44
Engaging with difference also means engaging with different viewpoints, both in content and in approach. That was something that I grappled with and felt bettered by in this semester. Having both voices that I agreed with, and worked together to talk about common experiences with was valuable. So also was listening to and engaging with voices that I had trouble understanding, or had trouble interpreting in a way which was helpful and productive. As a teacher, as an academic, as a grown human, that is a useful skill. I tried, too, to engage with others even when my own words were not perfect, as part of their own process of dealing with and interpretinga alternate viewpoints that was practically an practical example of aspects of the class.
While I was aware of the broadness and scope of multiculturalism before, dealing with its consequences, thinking about implications is a longer, more complex process. How do you deal with difference to celebrate it, to depathologize it, and to include it appropriately in work? I feel that between the readings and the in-class experience dealing with difference and sameness, that there's a lot more experience there, and more ability to interpret without judging so much.