Well, this is it. The last blog entry for this class. I can't say I'm sorry to see the end of the semester come. I'm exhausted! So ready for a break. But I really would like to say that I found this class very enjoyable and informative and enlightening.
In closing I guess it only makes sense to tackle the subject of travel and the value of travel writing. In short: I'm in favor of both.
I would love to travel more than I do. One of my dream vacations is to visit Egypt and the Pryamids. I've always been fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians. I've always marvelled at their architecture and the many feats they managed during those long ago centuries. None of that has changed. I'll still research the Ancient Egyptians just for the sake of sating my curiosity. However, I think I'll begin to pay more attention to Egypt's neighbors and the diverse culture that surrounds its borders.
I've never wanted to visit the Middle East. I've always been content to view it from afar. Mostly this contentedness has to do with safety. I'm all for travelling as long as I feel secure in doing so. The Middle East can't boast of safe passage for visitors, especially in today's world, and that means I'm perfectly happy to stay at home and read or watch TV.
Not exactly the best way to learn about a foreign culture, is it? I don't think so, either. However, you work with what you have. And now I realize I have access to a lot more information than I ever realized.
Right now I'm working on my final paper for this class and I have to admit I'm enjoying the research more than I had anticipated. I found a book in the library that gives a voice to the Middle Eastern women. Not one voice. Many voices. Instead of getting a travel writer's perspective on this populace, I'm able to read the Muslim woman's perspective on herself, her culture and her values. If not for this class, I'm sure I ever would have given this book so much as a second glance. What a waste that would have been.
I think that's the thing I've taken away from this class: the opportunity to break down stereotypes is all around us, but many of us don't take advantage of those resources and are content to live with the images sold to us by the media. Courses like this generate more than conversation. They provide an opporunity for growth.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Snow - The End
I really enjoyed this book. It managed to surprise me here and there, not through grand revelations but with minor insights and observations. I have to admit I like it when my initial, instinctual reactions are confirmed, which I felt had happened by the end of the novel.
I could go on about the author's writing style and character development, but I don't think that's suppose to be the focus of our energies. Instead, I think it might better serve the purpose of this course to step back and look at the big issues the author chose to tackle: the headscarf, Islam Extremists, Muslim perception and self-perception.
If we pull out those passages in the book where the story deals with the headscarf, I think it supports my earlier opinions on the subject. The headscarf is an outward declaration of either faith and/or social/political ideology. I've come to the conclusion that the veil (or headscarf or hijab) is no different than my choice to wear a little gold cross on a chain around my neck or my sister's choice to wear the neopagan symbols that represents her belief system. The characters in Snow pretty much give voice to my perspective on the matter. While one woman may wear it because she believes that's what the Koran instructs her to do, another may wear it in support of a less devout cause.
Since I plan on writing my final paper on this subject matter, I'm going to stop there and skip ahead to the Extremists. I really think Snow gives the most sympathetic view of Islamic Extremists that I've seen. Of course, this could be because the Extremists were kept focused on Turkey and not seen as madmen plotting the destruction of the West. Sure, there was a lot of bashing and deriding of Western values, but nothing that seemed comparable to al-Quaeda. I think this is important because it helps to broaden the definition of an "extremist" and their goals.
What I truly found interesting in this book was the whole concept of perception. In many ways, I feel this was truly one of the main objectives of the author. While most people are concerned with how other's perceive them, this story seemed to emphasize the depth of this worry in the Muslim and Turkish communities. The struggle for identity echoed the struggle between Eastern and Western values. The need to reject and denounce Western influences helped define some characters, just as the opposite need to mimic Western society seemed to define others.
I can see now the value in this book, even if it is only a piece of well-written fiction.
I could go on about the author's writing style and character development, but I don't think that's suppose to be the focus of our energies. Instead, I think it might better serve the purpose of this course to step back and look at the big issues the author chose to tackle: the headscarf, Islam Extremists, Muslim perception and self-perception.
If we pull out those passages in the book where the story deals with the headscarf, I think it supports my earlier opinions on the subject. The headscarf is an outward declaration of either faith and/or social/political ideology. I've come to the conclusion that the veil (or headscarf or hijab) is no different than my choice to wear a little gold cross on a chain around my neck or my sister's choice to wear the neopagan symbols that represents her belief system. The characters in Snow pretty much give voice to my perspective on the matter. While one woman may wear it because she believes that's what the Koran instructs her to do, another may wear it in support of a less devout cause.
Since I plan on writing my final paper on this subject matter, I'm going to stop there and skip ahead to the Extremists. I really think Snow gives the most sympathetic view of Islamic Extremists that I've seen. Of course, this could be because the Extremists were kept focused on Turkey and not seen as madmen plotting the destruction of the West. Sure, there was a lot of bashing and deriding of Western values, but nothing that seemed comparable to al-Quaeda. I think this is important because it helps to broaden the definition of an "extremist" and their goals.
What I truly found interesting in this book was the whole concept of perception. In many ways, I feel this was truly one of the main objectives of the author. While most people are concerned with how other's perceive them, this story seemed to emphasize the depth of this worry in the Muslim and Turkish communities. The struggle for identity echoed the struggle between Eastern and Western values. The need to reject and denounce Western influences helped define some characters, just as the opposite need to mimic Western society seemed to define others.
I can see now the value in this book, even if it is only a piece of well-written fiction.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Snow - to page 237
Guess having a long weekend helped. I actually managed to get caught up in both classes. Go me!
The book is picking up speed. While I'm enjoying it, I have to remind myself it's not a romance novel. I'm going to blame this romance mind-set on my current WIP (I'm 87K words into the novel now and obsessing about getting the hero and heroine back together). I have to remind myself that even though Ka's main goal - in his mind - is all about the woman, the story is really about something completely different.
So some random thoughts/observations so far:
1) The Revolution didn't come as a surprise - the political tension pretty much took a front seat in this book in Chapter One. What did come as a surprise was the location of the first revolutionary act. I figured something would happen at the theatre, just not that the actors on the stage had such a big role to play.
2) Another surprise was Blue and Kadife. I'm not sure I like the interpersonal exchanges between them. It feels...forced...faked...misleading. It probably isn't, but right now they just seem like a very odd couple despite their similiarities.
3) Although I'm beginning to worry a bit less about Ka's survival, I'm still not convinced he's going to come away unscathed. Probably the suspicious reader in me having issues with the narrator is the source of this unease..
4) The poetry. I talked a bit about this in class, but I really do feel like he's channelling the opinions of those he associates with during the course of the book. This is not to say his creativity is in question or his passion suspect, but I find it interesting how the voice of the common people ends up incorporated into each poem, sometimes word for word.
The book is picking up speed. While I'm enjoying it, I have to remind myself it's not a romance novel. I'm going to blame this romance mind-set on my current WIP (I'm 87K words into the novel now and obsessing about getting the hero and heroine back together). I have to remind myself that even though Ka's main goal - in his mind - is all about the woman, the story is really about something completely different.
So some random thoughts/observations so far:
1) The Revolution didn't come as a surprise - the political tension pretty much took a front seat in this book in Chapter One. What did come as a surprise was the location of the first revolutionary act. I figured something would happen at the theatre, just not that the actors on the stage had such a big role to play.
2) Another surprise was Blue and Kadife. I'm not sure I like the interpersonal exchanges between them. It feels...forced...faked...misleading. It probably isn't, but right now they just seem like a very odd couple despite their similiarities.
3) Although I'm beginning to worry a bit less about Ka's survival, I'm still not convinced he's going to come away unscathed. Probably the suspicious reader in me having issues with the narrator is the source of this unease..
4) The poetry. I talked a bit about this in class, but I really do feel like he's channelling the opinions of those he associates with during the course of the book. This is not to say his creativity is in question or his passion suspect, but I find it interesting how the voice of the common people ends up incorporated into each poem, sometimes word for word.
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