Week 5: Rock

One of the most recurring themes in our novels so far has been death of/with fathers at the end. I am a father of four, all adopted – three white, one primarily Filipino and Thai. Two of which, have died. I have almost known death a few times and my two surviving children are well aware of this fact.

In relation to my project’s definition of home (where you feel you belong), being a father has a social and cultural expectations – some of which I meet willingly and some I don’t.

Continue reading

Rock: Week 3

If I’m going to study representation and identity, it would do well to delve into racial identity development. There are three core development models.

Cross – POC Identity Model (Originally for black poc [1971] but can be applied to non-black poc. [1991])

Helms – White Identity Model

Poston – Biracial/Multiracial Identity Model

(Lecture by Rashida Love from TESC’s First Peoples Multicultural Advising Services)

Continue reading

Rock: Week 2

Stereotypes and expectations, a Venn Diagram or complete synonyms?

stereotype (n) – a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing

  • strong synonym: pattern
  • mild synonyms: average, boilerplate, convention, custom, fashion, formula, institution, mold
  • poor synonym: received idea

expectation (n) – a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future

archaic – one’s prospects of inheritance

  • strong synonyms: assumption, chance, confidence, fear, forecast, hope, intention, likelihood, notion, outlook, possibility, prediction, promise, prospect, trust, view
  • mild synonyms: apprehension, assurance, calculation, conjecture, design, expectancy, motive, presumption, probability, reliance, supposition, surmise, suspense
  • poor synonym: looking forward

tvtropes has an absurdly long list that I’ll delve in at a later post.

I originally had this all typed out and explained with context but honestly, I need to lay down.

 

Rock: Week 1

What is a home?

“It raises the question whether or not home is (a) place(s), (a) space(s), feeling(s), practices, and/or an active state of being in the world? Home is variously described in the literature as conflated with or related to house, family, haven, self, gender and journeying. Many authors also consider notions of being-at-home, creating or making home and the ideal home.” – Shelley Mallett, Understanding home: a critical review of the literature

“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” – James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

What is pop-culture?

“Sejal had not thought of her home, or of India as a whole, as cool. She was dimly aware, however, of a white Westerner habit of wearing other cultures like T-shirts – the sticker bindis on club kids, sindoor in the hair of an unmarried pop star, Hindi characters inked carelessly on tight tank tops and pale flesh. She knew Americans like to flash a little Indian or Japanese or African. They were always looking for a little pepper to put in their dish.” – Adam Rex, Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story

“A lot of my friends have tattoos; I realized that it’s not only just a part of pop culture, but a bit of a map on someone’s body, which says something about people. A part of their life, like an armor or a crest.” – Christian Louboutin

Continue reading