My Website!

Here's the link to my website for my final project!
Please take a look around and let me know what you think!

http://annastew.moonfruit.com/

Reflecting on International Week

International week is definitely one of my favorite weeks.  I am lucky to be attending such a diverse university because these events occur frequently, they are just more concentrated during this week.  I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on a few of these events.


One of the most notable events happened last Monday.  Arun Gandhi, the grandson of the Mahatma Gandhi, spoke at MemAud.  I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, however, I was really interested in the reactions to the talk.  I heard several critiques claiming that the general audience would not have found the lecture to be so profound if he hadn't happened to be the grandson of Gandhiji.  To be honest, there was really nothing radically new or life changing I heard at the talk.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to Arun's experiences and his take on Gandhi's philosophy.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, I heard many fluttering around about the chills they got from being in the same room of Gandhi's grandson.  Again I thoroughly enjoyed the event and have read Arun's books before, but I felt this reaction defeats the purpose of much what Gandhi wanted to get out there.  Gandhi's teaching don't lead me to believe he was someone who would want someone's blood to be the root of their popularity or fame.  Why can we not just appreciate Arun Gandhi for his own message, his own experiences and his own perspective on his grandfather's legacy?


I also attended a talk on an ancient Hindu epic, the Ramayana.  Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and got a lot from it.  However, I happened to have a general understanding of the topic before going.  If you didn't, you were probably lost the whole time.  I felt many of those students were lost.  I appreciated the event.  Yet, I dislike that the audience seemed to be made up of sleepy students trying to get extra credit for a class.  There were actually few international students there.  


Finally, I can't forget about the street fair!  Although I believe last year's may have been better, it was still a good time.  Of course, the best part is the food.  I was a little disappointed to see less food there than years prior, that's probably why I liked last year's better.  Anyways, I had some tasty Indonesian food and got a little toasted from the sun that finally decided to show up in Ohio.  

Senior Dance Concert

This weekend was the Senior Dance Concert.  The title pretty much gives it away.  The concert is a series of solos and group pieces composed by members of the senior class of the dance department.  As I am doing a BA (Briefly, the BA program is more intensive than the minor and less performance intensive than the BFA) in dance, in addition to anthropology, I am very biased to the success of this concert.  However, I realize many people do not feel the same way.  So what genre of dance is this, you ask? Modern.

Modern is a relatively new genre of dance that only emerged around 100  years ago and has radically evolved.  It first emerged out of artists protesting against the strict structure of ballet.  Since then, modern dance has continued to rapidly evolve and constantly be influenced by cultural, social and political movements.  There was even a post-modern era, which I'll admit, was a little out there.  Most people don't consider eating a sandwich on stage or walking up a brick wall to be dance.  But hey, movement is movement.

So nowadays students see this not-so-familiar form of dance and they don't know how to react.  In between pieces they whisper about "what...the...hell...was...that?"  It seems the only pieces they understand are the ones that heavily poor emotion to the point of almost being theater, So You Think You Can Dance style or hip-hop.  It is so unfortunate for artists in the dance world to be solely represented by competition dance shows on TV.  It is like saying that what is on top 10 radio is the epitome of all music.  Or that a Thomas Kinkade painting is the only true and accurate form of painting.  While I'm not so far out there that I will be painting my toenails on stage and calling it a dance, I am totally for the exploration and investigation of movement in an artistic environment.  It can just be frustrating that when many students go to a music concert in the school of music they don't expect American Idol; yet, when they come to the school of dance, they think they were supposed to be at ABC studios.  Let dance be an art form, too, not just entertainment.

A version of my interview

Despite living here for nearly a decade, Asha doesn’t see herself as an American.  She still strongly defines herself as Indian and as Hindu.  Not that she sees being an American as a bad thing, she respects all cultures, but she is quite satisfied with her own identity.  Yet at the same time she doesn’t find every culture as an atmosphere comfortable for her.  Smoking and drinking are out of the question.  To do this around Asha would be disrespectful.  When she arrived in the U.S., Asha found herself having trouble understanding concepts like “personal space” and “bubble.”  This concept doesn’t even exist in India.  Yet now she was paranoid about invading this invisible wall around people.  Regardless of having good English, there were and are many phrases Asha doesn’t always understand, but she’s now no longer uncomfortable explicitly asking for a meaning. 

Some South Asians in this area find themselves mostly socially interacting with individuals within regional proximity to their home, Asha does not.  She believes it is more important to cherish the Indian community as a whole and not specific regional identifies.  She also finds it important to take advantage of this culturally diverse atmosphere and immerse herself into other subcultures.  Recognizing that some individuals in the community are slightly more exclusive and perhaps even look differently at Asha for branching out, she is bothered by the idea of actually cutting off her ties to the community.  These connections link her to her homeland.  She still cares for them very deeply like family. 

Adjusting to and living in this country wasn’t always easy for Asha.  She finds herself dealing with generalizations about Indians being smart or like the characters off of Slumdog Millionaire.  There are also personally discomforting and awkward moments.  For example, Asha had trouble explaining why she still cannot bring herself to eat that veggie burger because it was grilled on the same grill as one covered in beef grease.  It’s difficult to find a line between following your religious beliefs and being respectful towards your host.  For her this is just a reminder of how important it is to learn about other cultures.  So taking the opportunity to cross many, what she claims to be easily permeated, borders between cultures, she learns about other ways of living.  Even if she finds herself having bad experiences, it’s a reminder that one must see the bad before they can value the good.  Most importantly, Asha wishes her family could be here to share the experience.  

An Audible Culture Shock.

Language is, no doubt, a big part of culture.  The concept of accents is kind of weird if you think about it.  The fact that just by hearing the words coming out of someone's mouth you can know where they are from....crazy.  A few days ago as I sat in the doctors office in my hometown, the accents I heard around me seemed more noticeable than before.  Those drawn-out sounds, that bit of a twang-it just sounded more exaggerated than normal.  How does it work?  Even just two hours south of here people have accents that seem much more southern than just two hours south.  How is it that some people have heavy accents and others, who have also lived there their whole lives, have accents half as thick?   How is that my accent fades away when I leave the area?  Those accents seemed bolder than ever.  I found myself thinking in and constantly reverting back to speaking with that draw the entire day.  

#AmericanDiversity#Patriotism#OsamabinLaden

I spent the past few days in Washington D.C. getting more acquainted with the university I will be attending for graduate school: George Washington University.   That is to say I spent the past few days digesting overwhelming feelings of anxiety as I recognize the transition from living in Athens to D.C. will not be an easy one.  Most of all I will probably miss the cheap rent.   More than taking in the pecuniary downfalls of this city, I noticed the cultural diversity on this specific trip than any before.  I'm not just talking about actual ethnic diversity.  We all know that this city holds a lot of diversity.  It's seen in the prevalence of international food markets and restaurants and it's heard in the myriad of foreign languages being spoken.  More than just colors of skin, varying distinct cultures thrive here.  Beyond the obvious, I noticed the presence of insider and outsider cultures.  It is not hard to pick out the city inhabitant walking fast off the metro knowing exactly where they are going and the Midwest American tourist looking for the Lincoln Memorial in a dilatory manner.  It's astonishing how the vibe changes from street to street based on whether it is full of natives or visitors.  How is that the man next to me on the metro that just openly acknowledged he speaks no English is more at home in our nation's capitol then many life-long inhabitants of this country.  If that doesn't highlight the diversity of subcultures in this country, I don't know what does.  Is there really even an American identity? 

Now, not to digress but I actually find the trending topic of #OsamabinLaden applicable to my recent visit to D.C.  Last night as I watched the crowd of GWU students in front of the White House I couldn't help but to think a.) "I was just standing there 24 hours ago, weird" and b.) "GWU? Well that's my new school, those will soon be my fellow peers, also weird."  Then as I saw Abbottabad, Pakistan pointed out on a map I had another thought.  "I was just in India several months ago, standing by the border looking into Pakistan."  Then I headed on over to Google directions and thought "gee, at one point a few months ago I was 4 hour and 33 minute car drive away from Osama bin Laden."  I'm not sure of the signficance of these thoughts, if they have any at all, I was just struck by the strong spatial recollection I had at that moment.  

 

I'm sure we could all write blogs and blogs about this historical moment but I have no desire to do so.  I understand the significance of this event.  We have socially constructed Osama as the symbol of terrorism and his death appears to be the symbolic death (or triumph?) of the war on terrorism.  But why do I find myself feeling torn?  I'm an American and shouldn't I be as happy about this as the people outside screaming? Instead I find myself sickened.  I cannot celebrate the death of an individual.  I do not, and never would, condone Osama's action-but I cannot celebrate the death of any human being.  I cannot let these feelings of patriotism get the best of me and jeopardize my individual morality.  I just heard a NBC news reporter refer to Afghanistan and its people as "primitive."  I didn't know we still used this word to describe those cultures and individuals that are different from us.  My facebook newsfeed is filled with people dogging Obama.  Are we really going to use this opportunity to once again rag on our President?   The celebration of one person's death makes me feel like the money spent on this war, the lives damaged and the lives lost over the past decade were all for this moment.  Oh and what other secret operations are going on that we don't know about?  I don't feel like I have given justice to my argument and I could indeed go on, but I said before that I didn't want to do that.  To some this will just seem like banter or prattle but, no matter how opposing arguments are, it is important for each to be heard.   

 

The daily closing Ceremony at the India-Pakistan Border

A Response to Stranger with a Camera

Being from Appalachia myself, Stranger with a Camera struck close to home.  I found the documentary effective but it also left me with feelings of ambivalence.   As times have changed and modernity has spread, there are fewer cases as severe as the one depicted in the film...but they do certainly still exist.  After watching this in class I, unconsciously, kept questioning my position as if it were my own hometown in that film and came to the conclusion that I was split in three ways.  


1.  My first instinct is something I'm not proud of.  At first I was taken aback by how impoverished, narrow-minded and uneducated these people were.  Dare I say the word "backwards?"  This country is supposed to be one of the most well-developed nations in the world and you're taking your shotgun to someone who just took a picture?!  Murder is Murder.  I've been to communities like that and there are enough well-off and upper-class people to offset those not-so-sharp mentalities.  In fact, I felt like one of those upper-class Kentuckians of the time as I internally shook my head and wagged my finger at those journalists for generalizing that community the way they did.  Those places really aren't like that. About 30 seconds later I realized that reaction was narrow-minded itself.  I was so quick to judge because those are the reactions that much of American culture and media has embedded within me.  I almost forgot to think for myself.


2.  No, I did not grow up in those conditions, per say, but I sure did witness them.  That kind of environment is my home and the home of my parents and their parents.  It really is like that!  Those images that rolled across the screen were no different from the pictures I see of my great-grandparent's home, what I see when we drive down the streets of my parent's hometown, and certainly no different from what I see when I just drive two or three miles away from my own home.  The difference is that we never knew, I never knew, that it was bad.  It was just what we knew and that's all there was to it.  That part of me is okay with how Appalachia has been documented.  No, it has not always been shown in the best light, but I know very well that that doesn't defeat the sense of pride those individuals have.  That is there home, their life and they work hard for everything they have.  At first their demeanor may seem disturbing, but they are some of the true images of the American Dream.  There are few people with as much pride and gratitude as them.  The man with the shotgun was just a product of his own culture, just as we all are.  


3. Okay, so perhaps both the stereotypical portrayal of Appalachia and the murder are morally wrong.  Yet, I'm totally okay with how these cases are shown to the American audience on one condition: I want Americans to try and understand the causes.  First, it should be well noted that people don't choose to live in those conditions.  These conditions exist because of flaws in the institutions that run our society.  The flaws continue to exist because our institutions are not quite comfortable with change.  While how our social institutions prohibit prosperity for all places and people is a whole other polemic, it just important to remember the term accessibility.  Such locations as seen in the film do not have access to all of that those do in other parts of the country.  They do not choose to send their children to inadequate schools; they do not choose to live in unstable housing; they do not choose to live without healthcare.  The list goes on.  The point being is that access is limited for the inhabitants of these environments.  With that notion of limited accessibility, individuals must adapt.  Thus, they create a new culture and their offspring only become products of the same culture.  Patterns are terribly hard to break.  Just remember that no matter how foreign or problematic Appalachian life may seem, it is not a conscious choice, it is a cultural phenomenon that has resulted from structural flaws in the institutions of our society.  




For fun I'd like to leave you with some examples of modern cases that raise some of the same ethical dilemnas that those images of Appalachia did over half a century ago...


This is where I'm from.  There are definitely problems concerning weight and health here.  But from a first hand experience, generalizing and broadcasting on national TV the whole city as obese did NOT go over well at home.  

This is a clip from a documentary that has become quite popular.  I have even watched this in classes during my time at OU.  Boone County is not all that far away from my hometown.  For that reason, I usually find myself slinking down in my seat and cringing at the remarks and generalizations most students have after watching this film.  Introducing The Dancing Outlaw: Jesco White...

SNL@Alden!

From the 2nd floor of Alden Library I bring to you Saturday Night Live: a cultural experience!


.....A cultural experience? What? How? 

You see, the highly diversified environment of students spending their Saturday evening in the Learning Commons could not possibly be anything short of a cultural phenomenon.  Floor number two is more than just a place where students can come work.  It's much more complicated than that.  These noble souls choose to spend their evening laboring for the sake of this educational institution.  Noble souls?  Choose?  Yes, these words seem problematic to me, too.  These poor losers are forced to forfeit a night at the bars so they don't flunk out.  Each of these unfortunate individuals fall into subcategories based on the spatial construction of floor number 2 of Hell.  Now who makes up Alden's SNL cast? 


First there are the tables.  There are the foreign-born Asian students studying in groups, the individuals diligently working alone, the pairs of girls or couples doing more talking than studying and then the loners that are just staring into space.  Then there are the group study rooms.  There are the small groups sitting and talking, however, soundproof rooms prohibit us from judging their levels of academic efficiency.  Then there are the larger groups that are professionally reviewing slideshows and excel documents that serve to remind you why being an economics or business major would blow.  There are the circles of computers.  Here we have the student who is just staring at a blank Word document followed by the student that has the Word document with their name, class, date and title typed.  Then there are those that are obsessively checking blackboard and Catmail as a less-guilty mode of procrastination.  Next we have those on Facebook followed by those that are trying to conceal being on Facebook.  There are others with their work spread in front of them and intensely stare at the task at hand as they shamelessly eat and crumple wrappers/drink/text/search for another escape.  Oh, there are also a few that are successfully working.  There are the floaters and other miscellaneous individuals.  There John and Jane are standing at the printer and waiting the five minutes for it to warm up because people watching is better than 5 more minutes of homework.  Can't forget the other John and Jane that are going to the restroom every 5-10 minutes, most likely just for something to do. There are the few older individuals that you question. Grad students? Faculty? Townies? There is nothing comfortable about sitting next to the individual you think you should be institutionalized.  Mhm, the one walking around talking to herself, the same one you that follows you down an alley uptown and freaks your stuff a bit.  There is also not much that is comforting about sitting next to the guy that is mumbling to and laughing at the computer screen.  Nor does the older guy that is making those mysterious calls about his unidentified posting on Craigslist give me those fuzzy feelings.  But without them would this really be a Saturday night at Alden? Yes, probably.  But it is the mysticism and complexity of the environment that provide for an unforgettable Saturday night. 




Still convinced SNL@Alden is not the cultural experience you want next weekend?  If you answered anything but "yes" I must conclude we are sufficiently incompatible.  

Holi Festival

To do my review of a cultural event I chose an event that actually relates to the subculture I am studying.  I attended the Holi celebration held by the Indian Students Association.  

Holi is considered to be one of the two largest Hindu festivals celebrated in India (the other being Diwali in October/November).  This holiday, which always falls around the beginning of Spring,  is known as the "festival of colors." While the holiday has a religious story behind it, it is often more commonly known for how it is celebrated.  If you were in India during Holi you might be taken aback by the "throwing of colors."  Children and adults alike join in and throw brightly colored dry powered dyes at each other.  Anyone is fair game.

So while the throwing of colors might not be fully appreciated on OU's campus, the Indian Students Association hosted their annual Holi Festival.  The celebration was well attended by Indian and non-Indian students alike.  Many, including myself, wore brightly colored traditional Indian garb and henna in celebration of Holi.  The event started with a short explanation of the origins of the holiday and soon followed with the entertainment.  Students performed various forms of dances and songs, some of which were Indian in origin and others not.  Regardless, this event held true to its Indian context as the audience remained energetic and very involved in the performances.  Of course dinner followed soon afterwards because no Indian gathering is complete without food.  The menu included many richly flavored curries, rice, naan, samosas, chutneys, and one of my favorite deserts, gulab jamun.  The night did not end there, however.   In addition to the elaborate food, another trademark of Indian celebrations is the dancing.  So the event continued on into the night as guests danced to popular Bollywood hits.  

The Indian Diaspora at Ohio University

The subculture I have chosen to study is the Indian Diaspora at Ohio University.

Box 11: Positioning Yourself
Before entering the field and continually during my field study, I must question my relation to the subculture.  I know that as I am not an Indian national myself, fully becoming an insider of this group would prove difficult.  The different cultural backgrounds we have will greatly shape my position in this subculture.  As this is a relatively large community and time allotted for this project is minimal, I will also have to pick and choose which aspects of the subculture I will focus more on.  However, there are several factors that positively influence my position in the field.  I have several friends in the Indian community at Ohio University which allows me to easily gain access to personal interviews and insider knowledge.  My former internship with the Friends of India organization on campus updates me on Indian events and has introduced me as a familiar face at such events.  Finally, my experience in India and my knowledge of the culture will help portray my respect for their heritage and hopefully increase the level of trust.  

Subjectively, studying this subculture has its benefits for me.  In increments I have studied the culture of India and the subculture of this Diaspora at OU in the past.  My academic studies largely incorporate India as a focus area.  As a result, studying this subculture will continue to propel my studies.  I am already slightly involved in this subculture as I am studying the Hindi language, attend many events and frequently communicate with several members of the community so my choice to study this subculture is also quite convenient.  

The Phenomenon of Culture

Box 1: Looking at Subcultures
Humans are unique from other living organisms in their ability to embody a conscious identity.  This identity is often inherently defined by the larger culture we are from.  While we may not have much control over the customs that are enculturated into our lives, we are actively choosing and participating in various subcultures.  These subcultures help shape and define our beliefs, interests, mannerisms, personality and other social traits.  These subcultures shape and define our identity. 


Some of the subcultures to which I belong include:
The School of Dance:  Like many of the arts, the School of Dance inhabits a small community of extremely individual, vocal (and perhaps dogmatic) artists.  All the members share a common interest in dance but they all come from different backgrounds.  Their backgrounds influence the subcultures within the School of Dance.  Some of these include those that are strictly ballet dancers, modern dancers, competition dancers, choreographers, etc.,  
The Preservation Department:  I work as a preservation technician at the university repairing and preserving books and other materials from the library. More than just sharing the knowledge of the jargon or proudly pointing our work out when we see it in the library, there are many customs we have established.  We use our acquired skills to make our own journals and we have a tradition of creatively baking/cooking every Friday for "Food Friday" (somewhat of a friendly competition).  
India-goers: That is indeed a horrible title for a subculture but I know of no real name for it.  There are a number of students, like myself, that have spent time in India.  While we share a common experience, what is more relevant is how we see India playing out in popular culture nowadays and where we fit into between the two cultures.  This is the subculture I would like to explore more for this post:


We have all been to India for different reasons and had very different experiences.   There is no club or precise title for this subculture, either.  However, this common interest ignites something spectacular.  The excitement is anything but discreet and every rant ends with a "no matter how I try to explain  India, people just don't understand!"  


While these India-goers share the capability to suddenly come alive and bond with even the most opposite of people over this experience, what is interesting about this subculture is its position in limbo.  No matter how much we know about India, how well we can get around in that chaos or how well we are accepted by other Indians, we will never be Indians nor is that the goal.  Yet as Indian culture seems to have increasingly infiltrated American culture, we recognize the use of Indian culture without the understanding of it and sometimes get defensive.  Like how some must have their "chai tea" (although saying "chai tea" literally means "tea tea") but don't know where it even comes from.  Or how the yoga craze has swept Western culture and produced many self-proclaimed yogis, yet in translation the whole philosophy of this ancient practice was essentially lost? Or how about the "OM" symbols tattooed on many girls often on their feet (which is actually quite a desecrating place to put that religious symbol)?  Not everyone has the opportunity, time or desire to travel to other countries or learn about other cultures.  But this sub-culture is not about that.  It is also not specific to India.  The subculture belongs to all of those that have taken the time to experience and learn about other ways of living and now stand on the border.  India-goers, like other cultural enthusiasts, make a noble attempt to try and understand the beauty of the culture the best they can.  However, this makes them see their native culture in a new light and permanently changes their perspective.  


A quote that has had great significance for me and seems quite relevant to the subject matter: 

"Fish never know they are wet because they lack a contrast. Likewise people unfamiliar with other patterns of belief and behavior can never realize the particular nature of their own patterns and customs, nor can they surmount them. To the extent that we take our cultural patterns for granted, we are captives of them. Intellectual and personal freedom begins with an awareness that alternatives are possible."
-Douglas Raybeck

Box 2:  Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
Using an outsider perspective to alter a common ritual 
Several times a week I voluntarily subdue myself to physical pain.  I make a point to assign time at least several days a week to do so.  I begin by altering my appearance so if people see me they automatically know what I'm about to do.  This uniform inform includes a loose shirt, pants or shorts specifically designed for this act of physical self-torture and finally a pair of shoes that are bulky and manufactured so as to make this act of pain easier to carry out.  I start by stretching and pulling my limbs as if trying to snap my muscles and tendons in half.  I pretend that my rubber band-like capabilities are greater than they actually are.  Depending on the day, I may choose a different form of torture for what comes next.  Frequently I decide to run even though I am in no hurry and have no destination.  As I run my legs burn from being overworked, breathing is uncomfortable and hard to do and I am even becoming glossed with my own sticky sweat.  Even so, I continue to run.  Once I have pushed the limit of the pain I can tolerate, I decide it is time to pursue another method of self-inflicted agony.  I decide to lift heavy things.  I repeatedly lift awkwardly heavy objects in distinct motions until my muscles are on fire and my limbs slightly trembling.  After I have caused myself an over-sufficient amount of pain, I once again revert back to contorting and stretching my limbs before I finish my ritual act of inflicting pain.  It is difficult to subject myself to such pain continuously, but I am told if i do not I will be unhealthy.