"Otherness"
Okay, I don't know if any of you guys have discussed this in any of your classes but my "history" class focuses on this subject every class. We really dont learn about history in high school : memorizing the text, tests every week, regulated by our slyabus, weekends filled with headaches and so on. Well in my college histroy class we learn about otherness from this 70 year old man. We dont read the text, we get 40 page packets each week that no one reads and an essay assigned once and awhile that isnt due till about three weeks after it is asigned. So ya this class is pretty easy but I'm still trying to grasp the concept of otherness. So here is was I know...stay with me, there is a point to my entry.
Otherness: The representation of the self. One will never be able to understand another because of biases and prejudices. When you com into contact with someone you come into contact with their representation of who they are not who they really are. Then when you communicate to someone else about that person it is your representation of their self.
So ya that last essay we wrote is about an explore, and how even though exlpores are educated and open minded they will never fully understand another culutre becasue they will base everything against theirs/ Their idea of rich, modest, educcated etc. comes from their culture. So ya...do you understand??? I hope you do...now I have to write an essay about this trial that took place in the seventeenth century about this woman's husband who left her for eight years and when "he" came back everyone was happy but it turned out it was an impostor. The judge that trialed his case wrote a representation of this event saying that the woman was a dupe and stupid (just a woman) however a new historian came along and wrote a new spin that says that the woman conspired with the "husband" because she was never in love with her old husband, and there is no way that the woman wouldnt have known that wasnt her husband becasue she had sex and that is so personal that one will never be able to forget the touch of your man.
Well ya, you can give me tips on what you think about that story but I think its funny how we each see eachother differently and always will. No one will ever see you like you want them to see you. So how do u see me? Because I know how I see each of you, and it is different from how everyone else sees you. I think this concept is interesting and I had never heard of the term otherness till I took this class, so ya please comment and if you give me your representaion of myself then I will do the same for you* ;)
Love Alicia