Leslie Marmon Silko's interview

Leslie Marmon Silko: Beautiful woman with many stories to share

Hello there,

I found interesting interview of Leslie Marmon Silko by Thomas Irmer at altx.com

There are two parts of the interview, click here to read part I and click here to read part II.

In Part I, Silko talked about several of her works including Ceremony and diversity of issues in Native American community and more.

(http://www.altx.com/int2/silko.html)

In Part II, the interview focused more on her work in Almanac of the Dead.

(http://www.altx.com/interviews/silko2.html)

Hereunder is a clip of Silko's reading:

Dear class, Hang in there! The semester is almost over! :)

Jstor

Leslie Marmon Silko’s Almanac of the Dead is indeed a thick book. The novel contains different cast of characters, which surrounds the story in historical, geopolitical, drugdealing and more subjects. In this book, the author deals with many issues related to American Indians, especially when the European conquest the land and its culture.

If you're interested in writing about this novel for your paper, maybe this link will help:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4128505 You can read the full article with Baruch Jstor Database.

Good luck to us all! it's almost the end of the semester!

The Almanac of the Dead - comments and video

What is your reaction to Leslie Marmon Silko's critique of European culture in The Almanac of the Dead.

Please watch this short video made by a group of students. Is this clip useful in reading Silko's controversial book?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvmO_60IOU&feature=related

Globalization - Globalism > Theoretical perspectives

These are some very useful scholarly resources about various theoretical perspectives on globalization and globalism. These articles can be extremely helpful in creating a stronger, more elaborate final paper argument:

http://www.polity.co.uk/global/whatisglobalization.asp

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/globalization/

Globalization and Humanitarian Aid

Here is a link to a blog/article that closely relates to our discussion from class yesterday about humanitarian aid.

http://blogs.uit.tufts.edu/gettinghumanitarianaidright/2007/12/globalization_a.html

Laptop

The significance of laptop in What is the What confused me at the beginning. I had several questions like my peers, “Do they have Wifi Access?” or “Can they afford the electricity?” My questions first occurred when I tried to set up a birthday donation to VAD foundation. Under the ideas of how we can help, the site listed “$500 provides the school with one energy-efficient laptop computer”. Then my questions wondered, “really? a laptop?” tonight’s class lecture helped me to grasp the essential purpose of a laptop in this society. Laptop can make people access the World Wide Web, which is allowing people to connect with the rest of the world. Become aware with other parts of the world and extremely useful in today’s globalization era. Laptop (especially with internet connectivity) can store and process information and helps societies to prosper.

I would like to share this document about a study of communication technologies in Sudanese nation, maybe it'll help for the final papers.

You may click www.uneca.org/icadla1/docs/Friday/Ghobrial.doc to view the document.

St. Valentino vs. Valentino Achak Deng

Valentino Achak Deng is a truly inspiration for million readers who are intrigue by his story. Personally, I am amaze by the meaning behind his name Valentino. Previously known as Achak, Father Matong gave Achak a new baptize name, which is Valentino. The name Valentino was derived from St. Valentino who was able to restore the sight of a blind girl. Father Matong purposely gave Achak his new name in hopes of “enlighten” the greater society about their plight. Father Matong says, “I think you will have the power to make people see … and someday you will find your own jailer’s daughter, and to her you will bring light” (287).

Valentino indeed “bring light” to his readers. Touched upon so many lives and increase awareness about Sudanese/ Lost boys’ difficulties in Sudan to greater audiences. In the Preface, Valentino said, “I wanted to reach out to others to help them understand Sudan’s place in our global economy”. In away, one can see the resemblance of St. Valentino in Achak Deng’s personality. St. Valentino and Valentino Achak are very selfless, always put others’ need first before their personal need. He is able to rebuild and donate to Marial Bai building schools for the children from the book’s proceeds. In the eyes of many people, Valentino is a truly inspiration, he is a hero.

Click here to show some support and follow Valentino Achak Deng's FACEBOOK page.

Human Intervension

Is human intervention a necessity for conflict nations? If yes, what should the methods be to approaching these nations without actually acting as a crutch for them? Is there a method in which is a long term solution to their problems? Can all of the above occur in reality?
These are questions that stayed in my mind after the lecture. There are some people that want to help but do not know how to help. Others do not have the sufficent resources to help and many just feel sympathy but do not do anything about it. The introduction of the book, The Amplification of Seldom-Heard Voices by Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak Deng, deals with this problem. They wrote the book to show that these people are human not just statistic or victims, to show the faces and give a humanist outlook of what has happened and how it still affects them till this day.
This information could be found in the link that was given to us.

http://www.voiceofwitness.com/out-of-exile-2#introduction2

Dave Eggers - oral history and literature

Among the numerous literary, educational and cultural projects of Dave Eggers and his foundation, this is one that I see very relevant to our class conversation, the publication of books that seek to "illuminate human rights crises through oral history." Please check out some of the materials available online at:

http://www.voiceofwitness.com/out-of-exile-2#introduction2

Any ideas about research papers based on these materials?

From refugee camps and slum cities

Please watch the following clip :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Js_g7M60M

This is Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities, another book that deals with the topic of global poverty and migration. I also recommend to you Mike Davis's Planet of Slums.

Valentino Achak Deng Foundation

I just wanted to share with you all the link to the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation website...

http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/

I think it's definitely worth checking out because there's tons of pictures, videos, and slideshows of him, his village, and even Dave Eggers to accompany our reading. It's very interesting to see where he came from.

Journey of Doubt 2

What is the political significance of the camp within the 'journey of doubt' (to use Sly's phrase)? I'd like to hear some concrete thoughts about this place which we call refugee camp, based on what we are reading in What is the What, a unique literary document about individual and collective life in Pinyundo and Kakuma.

Journey of Doubt

It's interesting how Eggers weaves this story. Achak has these different encounters with all kinds of people that could be somewhat construed as parables. Like any "epic" quest this story takes on characters that appear just when Achak is destitute or lacking faith. This is not to say that the characters he meets, like say the "round-bellied man" restores or lessens his faith. But, faith, God, religion and humanity all come into question. As when "God was taking the weak from the group" on page 198. And on page 199, Achak "realized" that God still wanted the Sudanese, as a people to survive. Therefore, "Only the smartest and strongest of us can make it there." An acrid desert climate, a battle versus humanity's enemy, (itself) for the sake of survival of humanity, and questions to answers that man must answer as well as a boy who must find the answers for himself.

For instance, in his encounter with the "round-bellied man" who's camouflage was superior: it blended perfectly into the landscape." The man's "admission" of "a ghost from nowhere" has "angelic" implications, page 204. The man "fixes" his leg, feeds him nuts and water, pages 201-203. He instead poses the question back to Achak, (page205) and does not answer the troubling question based on the "What." The man’s appearance takes on mysticism and prolongs the story's riddle of the What. I feel, that the manner in which the man "appeared" and "disappeared" left me puzzled, like an unexplained spirit’s call. And like Achak, left me hoping for an answer to a very cryptic question.

Later, the boys approach the tree a few days away from Ethiopia and meet with soldiers from a unit of the army called The Fist, page 215. Achak see’s how worn these soldiers look and is not comforted by them. “The Fist, which to me sounded very capable. But then the men were starving, dying.” Achak goes on to say how the dead Fist soldier troubled “more than any death of any boy along the way.” Meaning, how can a boy survive if a Fist soldier cannot? Is God really taking the weak and letting the strong survive? Is anyone going to survive?

Achak is surrounded by as many questions as predators. All he has is the group. It seems his faith is losing the grip on him he so desperately needs to survive. Just as William K had re-entered his life, Achak stated: “I felt it was God giving me this gift of William K after taking away Deng.” Achak had decided not speak again after Deng’s death, page 156. Almost accepting his fate because he had no answer to this calamity and that he would be next.

Then, Achak’s childhood friend William K dies and he sits next to the dead body while holding his hand, page 217. “I no longer had any faith in our journey or in our guides.” Achak continues that it seemed logical that the insurmountable “walk up the mountain” would continue. The infinite journey would only end when the boys were all dead.”

The epic journey continues to a promised land of salvation yet with no end in sight. Maybe this land does not exist? And in almost a martyr-like fashion Egger writes from Achak’s lips: “I could not cry; there was not the water in my body to spare.” It sounds so dismal yet with religious connotations. God has not given of his body to save my body yet I venture on to an empty promise of unseen salvation.

Why the book stands out...

I don’t have too much to contribute to the discussions surrounding this novel. I can say that it’s smartly written by Dave Eggers, which makes the many mundane stories seem more interesting. I understand the point of the book, so I’m trying to keep an open mind while reading it. It’s so easy to be contrary and talk negatively about the novel. One of the reasons I do like it is it’s honest. Deng’s stories are endearing while not giving us readers the impression that he’s feeling sorry for himself. He’s embraced the adversity in his life and lived to tell the tale—kind of sounds like a cliché. How many people suffer but survive to tell their story? Countless. I guess what makes Deng stand out is that he’s given voice to the Sudanese, something that’s rarely, if ever, been done before.

Imagining Other People

Something that we discussed in class today had me thinking about the way we, as the reader approach certain literary works such as What is the What. One question that had us stuck was something that the professor asked us. How do we imagine other people? It's a very difficult thing to do because you will have to imagine everything about them yet you do not know their story. How does a person sympathize with others with just a few hints about them. Just utilizing certain things that we see but their just assumptions. Just like Valentino and how he imagines and sympathizes with TV boy without actually having a conversation with him. Valentino just analyzes the situation and imagines TV boy's life through his own experiences as a soldier boy and assumes it's the same life experience. How do we acquire the skill of imagining other people when we know nothing about them?

The Bridge of Two Worlds

There are major disparities between the Black Diaspora that finds common grounds in affliction, disenfranchisement, and many other misfortunes. This is why the characters of Michael (TV Boy) and Valentino relate in such a clashing way.

The long history of struggle and social inequality have garnered a kinship amongst many black people around the globe. It was no shock to me that Valentino understood the plight of Michael, even while a misdeed was being done to him. He could relate to the hardships and misguidance that he too was plagued with. Valentino was empathetic to the naivete of Michael and knew he was an instrument not of his own use, but those of others. The clashing of a culture lost and a new culture gained is where many blacks lose their commonalities and shift from an understanding to an sheer disdain for one another.

The struggles of blacks have crossed borders and sociological boundaries. It is the full of understanding of the entire puzzle of hardship that many Africans pride themselves with. It is almost in likeness to interpreting a painting that Africans had a front row seat to watch the creator at work while it was painted in front of them. On the other hand, African Americans (it is so thought by some Africans) cannot fully grasp the meaning of the painting because we do not understand or know its roots.

This new culture that blacks was thrown into was imparted on the blood sweat and tears of many Africans. It is the notion of African Americans in the new society to take pride in being the new, and Africans representing the old and carnal of their former selves. This is why you witnessed the disparaging remarks made in What is the What when Valentino was getting robbed by Michael and his sister.

Similar differences can be found in other sub-cultures of Black history, as in the case of house slaves and field slaves. The latter was seen to be less privileged than the other because of the former's newly granted status and "masked" opportunities afforded to them. The field slave saw that there wasn't much of a difference while the other felt a sense of pride of their new status (albeit a status dredged in servitude and obedience). Many Black Americans feel the same sense of pride today in the society that they were and are in many respects still looked upon as being subservient and less-than. Plenty of Africans frown upon these detrimental self-righteous feelings of Black Americans and feel that they do not take advantage of many opportunities given to them.

All in all, the Black Diaspora has many nuances and major disparities that have yet to abridged because of these very differences. It is in those differences that many Blacks choose to dwell upon and further denigrate each other instead of propagating their likenesses and struggles that are prevalent throughout history. Being Black, or African American (which ever term is considered PC) has allowed me to witness these disparities but also bear witness to the similarities and unifying cultural consistencies that Black people share. History is important for anyone, I try to educate myself and expose myself to many cultures and beliefs as possible to get a better understanding of people, and ultimately--myself.

Raising Global Awareness

I'm just going to start this post by stating the fact that I'm not really an informed global citizen of the world system in which we live in today (although I realize that it's something that is very important.) In fact, I'm lucky if I can catch snipits of the Metro on my way to work and see what's going on in New York City so when it comes to current events that are happening, I'm often times completely ignorant of what's going on. Reading 'What is the What,' has definitely been an experience for me and as I read about what Mr. Deng and his fellow countrymen have gone through, it has certainly been a very educational and emotional read. I'm very grateful that this 'gift' was written as an attempt to reach out to inform us of these tragic events that have happened because it creates an awareness that is essential when making foreign policy and decisions regarding how Americans interact with other states in the world system. As awareness causes public opinion, this can be used as a powerful force in affecting the policies adapted by governments on various levels, from the lowest of municipal government up to the highest of federal government policies and that's why having this awareness is so important. The problem with public opinion weighing so heavily on the decisions of leaders, especially in foreign policy making, is that its citizens are generally ignorant of all the important issues they needs to understand before making a rational decision. I think that 'What is the What' is a valiant attempt at raising this awareness for all those who had suffered and their plight as they struggled to stay alive and piece back together their lives that had been destroyed by all the conflict in Sudan.

Videos -- History of Modern Sudan and the Civil War

These brief videos are a much needed cultural-historical background to What is the What. How is Dave Eggers's book, his literary rendering of Valentino Achak Deng's autobiography, different than the journalistic account of Sudanese history and culture? The journalists featured in these news reports are from The Economist Magazine and The Al Jazera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj4hWU3VNr0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9odkmRuLSw

Please consider the informative videos loaded on their Youtube page by the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation:

http://www.youtube.com/user/vadfoundation

What Is the What as a "Gift"

I may be stealing Aaron's fire with this post, but I figured it was best to get this down while it was still fresh and bubbling:

I understand where Aaron's coming from with his objection to describing What Is the What as a "gift." In such context the word carries an uncomfortable, almost religious weight. Aaron's example of an Evangelical declaring "Jesus was a gift to humanity!" well conveys this feeling; I immediately pictured Old World Catholic missionaries bellowing it as they whip heathen natives to salvation. The gravity of the word implies something about the recipient, prejudges their reactions and compartmentalizes them into rigid little cells. Wholehearted acceptance is assumed, and the minority that does reject it is considered foolish, insolent, even self-destructive. There is a smugness attached to the use of "gift" in such a way that we see in the preachers, zealots, and all the other "all-knowers" that we disagree with.

I think WItW is best characterized as a gesture because, after all, what else are Deng and Eggers doing but shouting into the void in the hopes that you'll hear them, tossing a bottle with a note into the turbulent tides of today's media hoping a reader will find it. Of course, the same could be said of anyone setting a pen to paper, paint to canvas, pick to string, but Deng and Eggers case is unique as they intentionally seek to communicate the dire, desperate stories of millions whose lives sit precariously on hands that are often callous, if not about to be curled into a fist.

Yet Deng and Eggers are not your typical charitable hucksters. Some may argue that because the novel's proceeds are directed to a nonprofit foundation, WItW amounts to the same old charity, but I doubt that most casual readers are aware of that arrangement. The book doesn't come with a "I am a conscionable person" premium.

WItW is not a gift because gifts are tangible in their benefit (after all, even Jesus comes with the promise of Paradise -- a pleasure deferred). WItW is a gesture. It is someone shouting and if you listen, you aren't bestowed with a sticker that says you care or commandment to do something in response. If you hear it, all you get is the intimate knowledge that, while we live in the paycheck-to-paycheck, hand-to-mouth comfort that is our grueling, luxurious existence, millions are naked and starving, besieged by violence and anonymity, dying and being buried in shallow graves if at all.

What is the What?

There are so many ironies in this book. One, the Lost Boys of Sudan "Prey" on the conscience and sympathies of Americans as they were preyed upon by the SPLA and the government of Sudan. Two on page 26 we find out Valentino is being "Guarded" by an African American boy, a soldier of sorts rather like himself. It is no wonder he feels a kinship to this "TV Boy" Michael. This term of endearment makes Valentino's experience surreal, like an American TV show. Three on page 27 Sudanese men are moving from the great plains of Africa to the Great Plains of America. In addition the Sudanese men are working in the cattle industry slaughtering cattle after escaping a similar horrific threat. In Sudan, many of these Lost boys ended up killing Sudanese people. And some were guarding cattle or goat that was stolen from their fathers by the Baggara. Is this not in some distorted way a "Mirror world" of sorts? How are we so "Different" from one another anyway?