Assignment #3

A Diaspora is the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland. In this unit we focused on diasporic identities. In The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junto Diaz, there is a focus on the Dominican diaspora and identity shown through all the characters in the book. Oscar is an overweight, nerdy, Dominican character that doesn’t typically fit the stereotype of what a Dominican man is. His woes and misfortune start from his mother, Hypatica Belicia Cabral. BelI was forced to leave the Dominican Republic after getting in a sticky situation with a gangster associated to Rafael Trujillo. The curse of Trujillo, or fuku, on Oscars family seemed to have followed BelI to the United States and her children, Oscar and his sister Lola. Focusing on Oscar, he goes through life in America as an outsider struggling to find where he fits in. His only ‘friend’ through college is Yunior, who is the complete opposite of Oscar. Yunior is the epitome of a Dominican man; masculine, a player, and smooth with the ladies. Oscar attempts to be like Yunior but his nerdiness deflects his efforts and eventually he gives up. There isn’t much hope for Oscar to become what his nationality expects him to be. He ends up going back to his homeland on vacation. Something like what had happened to his mother happens to him where he falls in love with the wrong person and ends up being beaten almost to death. The curse that has followed Oscar’s family for generations shows in his struggle as a first generation American.

Jean-Michel Basquiat was another first generation American. His father being Haitian and mother from Puerto Rico. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and was a very bright kid. He ran away from home at age 17 to Manhattan to pursue his artistry. The struggle Basquiat went through to fit in in his diaspora is shown through his art work. Inspiration from his background is definitely shown through all of his artwork, he tried connecting his heritage into his art. His expressions in his work shows his difficulty getting by in the world on his own, and trying to find his own identity as a lost soul.

Assignment 2

When authoritarian regimes arise, the individualities and freedom of the people decline. This was what happened during the hostile takeovers in Germany and Czechoslovakia after World War II. The government will try and control the minds of their people, and those who try to go against the word of the government they will be punished. Those who were writers, scientists, and artists were seen as a threat to the government because of their opinions. These people were closely watched to make sure they weren’t doing anything that would be ‘harmful’ to the government. In “The Lives of Others” and “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”, the characters were in situations where they were being watched by the secret police because of their ‘suspicious’ activities.
In “The Lives of Others” Dreyman was a writer who was seen as a threat by the Stasi to the German government. He was placed under surveilance by the secret police to make sure he wasn’t writing anything that would go against the government. Dreyman was able to keep is individuality by writing an article that spoke out against the regime. Even though he didn’t know he was being watched, this was a risky move for him. Secretly writing and publishing this article about the government covering up suicides in West Germany was a dangerous thing for Dreyman to do because it could’ve lead to a bad ending. But this daring move showed that he would not be silenced by the government and others shouldn’t be either.
In “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” Mirek was experienced threats to his creativity and individuality during the Russian takeover of Czechoslovakia. He was a well know scientist who refused to give up his beliefs even though the government removed him from his job and had him followed by the secret police. Because he refused and never gave into what was demanded of him, he was sentenced to six years in prison. Keeping his freedom and not giving up his beliefs was very important for Mirek, he could have easily followed the orders of the government and kept his mouth shut, but for the sake of what he believed in he stood up for his freedom. He was determined to follow his destiny and stand up to the government.
The movie and the book both show characters standing up for themselves, their beliefs and their freedom. People are programmed to stand up for what they believe in even if it means risking their lives. If you are extremely passionate about it, you shouldn’t have to give it up. People cannot be deprived of their right to express their individuality and their creativity. These two characters, Dreyman and Mirek, both demonstrated how even though the government was trying to control everyone, there will always be those who will stand up for freedom.

Assignment #1

The excerpt from Angela Davis’ autobiography is focused on her time spent in Frankfurt, Germany and how living there and the people of Frankfurt had impelled her to stop her studies and return to the United States.
It starts with her explanation of how her living situation was like; she was given a pay of just $100 a month while attending University of Frankfurt and living with a German family. Later she moves into a loft of an old factory with other students, furthering her studies in philosophy.
When she arrived in Frankfurt she was merely a graduate student trying to finish her studies. After a day where she visited East Berlin, she was convinced that East Germany was handling the effects of fascism better than the West Germany. The other students that Davis was living with at that time in the factory were members of the German Socialist Student League. This group was, “very seriously stricing to arrive at some form of practical resistance capable of ultimately overturning the enemy system.” (255) Davis participated in many of the groups actions. The goal of the party was similar to that of the movement happening in the United States. They opposed the Vietnam war and Germany’s political involvement, nuclear weapons, and protested that many former Nazis were still in high powers in Germany. As this was happening in Germany, the Black Power Movement was growing in the United States. Davis would hear stories of their growth and felt the need to be apart of it. She was conflicted between contributing to the Black Power Movement and staying in Frankfurt to complete her doctorate.
I feel like Angela Davis’ participation in the actions of the German Socialist Student League, at the same time the Black Liberation Movement was growing, had influenced her to go back to the United States and be apart of the Black Liberation Movement. Being in Germany while that was going on in the United States seemed to have swayed her from her graduate schooling and influenced her activism.
When you are in a situation where you’re in a foreign place, there is nothing you can do but adapt to the changes. Angela Davis moved to Germany to continue her studies in philosophy and ended up becoming an activist against the fascist ways with her fellow students. This was happening parallel to the liberation movements in the U.S. and inspired her to leave Germany to contribute to the movements. The end product of this journey to Germany had changed Angela Davis in to a powerful activist associated with different parties and movements.

First Blog Post

I’m Hana. Pronounced haw-nuh. Nearly everyone mispronounces it. I am from Santa Cruz, not too far from here and I am a freshman majoring in sociology and minoring in Spanish. I don’t know what I want to do with my life after school, but my roommate and I want to open up a wedding planning business. I love to eat and sleep.