[MUSIC] Okay, welcome back. This discussion is going to be a recap of the four thinkers you've come across on this course. So we've been introduced to Woodward, Thornton, Sichone, and Blommaert. And I just thought we could sort of have a wrap up session, just looking at what they've got in common and how they differ. With Woodward, she brought up that in order for sameness to exist, there needs an other or different. So a Spanish speaking person identifies themselves with other Spanish speaking people and as being different from say, a Mandarin speaking person. So it is kind of paradox, the sameness and otherness. >> Yes, she would argue that you cannot construct sameness without difference. And what really stands out is when we construct sameness we need to develop meaning around symbols and so she speaks about representations. So how we represent something becomes a symbol of what a particular group identity is or stands for. And she grapples with the notion of identity in that identity is constantly changing, so you'd move from a high school pupil to becoming a university student. So you've left one identity behind, the identity of a high school pupil and you've taken on this new identity as a university student. And so the question which is often posed is, as we go through all these different transitions, is there anything that remains constant? And we would argue yes, you know, all aspects of the identity remain constant, but at the same time there are all these changes happening as well. And Woodward would simply say, if we're in a particular context, we bring certain aspects of our identity to the fore, which makes a dynamic. So identity is as much as about what's being said as what's not being said, and I think there's a thing that really stands out in a reading is that we don't get to validate our own identities. The in group does that, people have to see through my practices, what I say and how I perform, if I am who I say I am. So others get to validate my identity for me. >> And also, sometimes, we start shaping or constructing our identity based on how others perceive us. >> Exactly. >> In another reading she speaks about someone going for a job interview and imagining from the outside how she will be perceived when she goes into that interview. How, so whether she should dress formally or informally, and constructing her identity according to those perceptions. But the symbols that you mentioned are very interesting because they echo what Thornton would call cultural resources, yes? >> Let's move on to Thornton. >> So if you think of the passport, for example, a passport signals to someone that so and so is a foreigner. And so immediately people start engaging in a process of identity construction of this is a foreigner and therefore sometimes what people do is they make assumptions of foreigners as well. And we saw this in the Sichone article. Black South Africans made, not just black South Africans, I think his article does point to the fact that many people in South Africa have xenophobic ideas and sentiments. And so what he shows then is that purely through looking at people's physical features, people start constructing identities of foreigners in specific ways. >> And what's quite nice about that, if you look at the whole Woodward notion of identity construction, Woodward would argue that when you meet someone for the first time, the first thing that pops in your head is to look at the physical markers. So we categorize things into these neat boxes and the minute you don't fit into a box you become an anomaly. And we are wondering what it is that we do with you. So we constantly are in the process of trying to define and to identify what it is that we are dealing with. I think interesting question is this idea of trying to categorize or classify people is it something that is specific to a certain group of people or is it something that all human beings do? I think what Thornton and people like Woodward would argue that all human beings do this. We all try to classify or categorize people. So it's a way for us to >> Well it creates order in our lives. >> Yeah, that's what they would argue. But I think what's important here is the negative effects of that classification process and the negative effects of identity constructions that lead to discrimination. >> So if you take the theory of identity construction as a theory right, or as Thornton would argue that the borders are imagined, we create them. But although they are imagined the consequences of that are real. So if you look at the South African context, during apartheid, where people were restricted from living in certain areas, they only had access to certain jobs. So although our emotional blackness and whiteness is thought to be imagined, the consequences are very, very real in people's lives. >> To add to your point on difference, that difference by itself may not be a problem but it's the assumptions that we draw based on these differences. And we are all different, we are all diverse, but the conclusions, the inferences that we make on that basis and how that becomes a justification for violence which is quite problematic. >> Yeah, that interesting because when one categorizes certain things, even in terms of racial groups, white, black, Indian, colored, whatever, right, the categories itself isn't problematic. It's the meanings we apply to those categories that become problematic, because in the purse you see a hierarchy of values. >> In the case of Blommaert, then, he's looking at letters that have been written in parts of Africa and looking at how those letters travel. And sometimes those letters don't travel well. So, there is girl who writes a letter in English and In her country, she would be perceived as being fluent in English, but when that letter travels, she's perceived as not being literate because her version of English is not perceived as being a prestigious version of English. That by itself might not be problematic, but what's problematic is then the conclusion one draws about her as being literate or not literate. So, there are consequences that come with these texts that we carry across the borders. And we can also see maybe the physical body as a text so even when the physical body travels across boundaries, across borders, whether they are national borders or from, let's say, high school to university. That has consequences on the person crossing the boundaries, because they are meanings that are inscribed onto the body themselves that may be viewed as acceptable in one context, but not as acceptable in such >> So, give an example >> Other context. So for example, if you have students belonging to a certain group that tattoo themselves, in a certain context, that might be viewed as fashionable, and in, and trendy. However, if they go into religious space, those very tattoos would define them as deviants. And therefore, they might not be as welcomed in that religious space as they would be welcomed in a club or somewhere were you have the youth engaging in such practices. >> I think also in the way we get socialized, sometimes we are socialized to believe that people from a certain part of the world should look a certain way and should act a certain way. And so we take those identity markers and we start assigning them to people, right. And so we might find we will have a torrid time sitting in an airport using those cultural markers, using those identity markers, to assign people in specific categories. I think this is what Sichone highlights in his article. It shows how South Africans attacked South Africans during the xenophobic violence purely on looking at markers that they assumed are associated with particular groups of people. And this shows you how dangerous it is to engage in identity constructions that kind of negative effects on people. >> I just wanted to go back, I mean, with all four of these thinkers, this concept of borders and boundaries comes up. Thornton obviously speaks a lot to it, \but the others also. >> Yeah, for Woodward much more obvious in terms of creating social boundaries, she makes a distinction between personality and between identity, on the other end. And she would argue that personality, or part of what's innate, our moods, if we're shy, if we're outgoing, etc. But she would argue that individuals also have an element of choice when it comes to adopting particular types of identities. Sometimes, those identities are forced upon us, there are some aspects of identity we can't escape. So If you were born with a white skin as opposed to a black skin, when you cross that border, that white skin or black skin has currency or lacks currency when you cross that border. So that's something you can't escape. But if you look at something like an accent, you know a black South African student could easily learn how to speak like an American and adopt an American accent. And the minute you take on that accent, people's perception of your change. because the accent allows for that, yeah. >> And they have to rework that accent when they go back home. >> Exactly. >> Because there are other norms that are in place back home so it's always a performance and performance on what's the script here. >> Exactly, and that's what Woodward would argues, Woodward speaks about the practices associated with identity in terms of performance, you know, this script. Society allows certain roles to be performed. And so growing up in a particular society means that you have to recognize the role which sort of suits you. And so you adopt a script, right? So where heterosexual marriages are the norm, right something like a gay marriage would be frowned upon because it goes against the norm. So in that way the structure then restricts one's sense of identity. And it's quite important to think very carefully about elements of choice when we close boundaries. >> I mean I was just thinking let's just remind ourselves about the issue of boundaries with Thornton. Moeain, do you want to? >> Well I think Thornton's notion of boundaries is important when you think of how we construct identities. Thornton argues that boundaries are created, they are imagined, they are not real. So you think of the boundaries of race, class and gender, we acquire these boundaries through a process of socialization. And so obviously, because we acquire them, we can also unlearn them and we can discard them as well. We can construct and deconstruct, and we can re-imagine the world today. >> I think for me, the issue of unlearning also makes I mean within the South African context anyway, makes us aware of how difficult it is to unlearn, given the vast social economic inequalities. And I think, well if you back on Sichone, what Sichone makes us aware of constructing these boundaries is the extent to which social economic and cultural factors impact this notion of unlearning. And it does problematize it, if people had equal access to resources, I don't think it would be as problematic as it is now. I think what all the readings do quite well is to make us all aware of our own capital. The type of resources that we have and how those resources come to be valued in some context, and devalued in other contexts. And I think what other leading point to is the consequences of that valuing, devaluing process that happens. because the consequences are real, though the boundaries are imagined, the consequences are real. So, as our context, students moving from one continent, even from a different continent altogether into this continent, they need to be cognizant of their own resources and how those resources are going to be navigated, negotiated, in the different contexts. And it's about value, how can I add value to the context I'm in, and what can I learn from the different contacts that I enter in, in terms of enriching my own cultural repertoire so to speak. >> Okay so we hope that this wrap up discussion will help inform your draft writing process. And it's time for us to say goodbye and wish you well with your final draft. [MUSIC]
