class today

I left class today a little spread all over the place. I feel like having the topic of intersectionality is important, but I feel as if the way we came into was a little forced. I struggled with our activity simply because Im stuggling to even appreciate the text itself. I was hoping for more discussion about the characters themselves, before getting into how they function as intersectional bodies, which is a radical and political platform. Anne mentioned a comment about the black artists being percieved as making a statement rather than just art. I feel like the statement in Parks' novel is important and is definitiely present. However, Im struggling because I don't feel like I'm concentrating on the work and reading it as is. I agree with Franny's post a lot. "my comment is below" I feel like we are making these books political all of the time and that makes it more difficult for me to read the text. I'm not saying it's not important to make statements, but it was just hard to look for intersectionality when we havent taken a lot of time to look at the characters 

I also might just be thinking too deeply about this and feeling too much, but I'm struggling with finding a groove and feeling like im leaving with good discussion in mind. and i think we can find that if we just open ourselves up to approaching the text in different ways

--comment :)

"I agree. I want to talk about the books. I want to appreciate the work and learn from that. I would just push back on the language of "more complicated conversations" It feels a little damaging to me. Because it seems to discredit the emotions and energy that people are bringing. if im being honest with you, even though i have gone to a private boarding school and have made it to haverford college and currently have this "seat at the table" (go listen to solange's album btwss), my way of getting here has solely been through my ability to speak/display my pain/trauma and draw from my identity in the classroom. i was never as smart (in terms of figuring out the form, and literary terms, and correct grammar, or equations as everyone else--main reason why computer science didnt work for me). but what made me engage was that i was able to show people that i understood what was happening based off of my experiences, where i come from, and my emotions. 

just to be clear, i agree with you 100%. to be honest, i've been feeling SUPER drained, because it feels like all I have been able to contribute to this class is my trauma, my hurt, my pain, and the fact that i am black woman, and I've been saying that politically. not in a liberating way. 

i guess what i'm asking for, is a push towards a balance. because everyone reads and processes in different ways. some through their identity, some through the structure. However, both are equally important. and i am going to push my self to see the form. however, lets not discredit other ways of engaging with a text. and hopefully, with a focus on balance, it would give more energy and fruit to the discussion, rather than drainage and disengagement. "