Otherness in the Context of American Identity
Andrew Pham’s sense of otherness and his search for identity are experiences to which many students of color can relate. In otherness, the dominant society is perceived as the norm and judges those who do not meet the norm. Often students of color feel marginalized when they are perceived by the dominant society as not belonging and as being different in some fundamental way. This marginalization can also be manifested in the school setting. For example, many times African-Americans are marginalized because their mode of dress or behavior may not be sanctioned by the majority’s norm of what is considered appropriate. The result, as Gloria Ladson-Billings observes in her article “But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy,” is that school can become an inhospitable place for students of color, “perceived as a place where African-American students cannot ‘be themselves.’”13 Correspondingly, if students feel that their behavior or appearance may not be accepted as the norm, what happens when they are systematically confronted with classroom texts that fail to reflect their culture or experiences, essentially discounting who they are as students, reinforcing their otherness? These experiences become tacit reminders that there is no place for them in the paradigm of what is considered appropriately American. Conversely, while a lack a representation in literature can lead to feeling excluded from the dominant society, the appropriate, relevant choice can authenticate their own experience, and also present students with an opportunity to discover and define for themselves their place in our society. As Cristina Vischer Bruns asserts in her book Why Literature? The Value of Literary Reading and What It Means for Teaching, literature has the ability to “result in a changed or even transformed sense of the self, as formerly unconscious moods or states become available for self-knowing and as the object or experience encountered in transitional space leaves its imprint on the world.”14 Admittedly, the exploration of otherness through literature does not negate the conditions that are associated with the status of otherness, but it does give students a greater understanding of the world that they inhabit. This understanding has an empowering effect on students and has the ability to change the dynamics of the classroom. As Iliana Alanis points out in her article “Developing Literacy through Culturally Relevant Texts,” “Using students’ ‘funds of knowledge,’ can make the classroom an environment in which all children feel a sense of belonging and accomplishment.”15 The appropriate choice of literature gives voice to students of color by validating their experiences and making them feel less like outsiders in the classroom, giving them an inviting environment to confidently express themselves.
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