Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Week 6 Discussion
Hey, are either of you confused about what we were going over in regards to chapter 7 of The Unheavenly Chorus? I understood the general idea of how one's political participation may be directly and indirectly influenced intergenerationally, but I got lost when we started referring to intergenerational impact and privilege not being 'helpful' in explaining or relating to it?...
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Jeffery, I don't really understand your question, but what I gathered from intergenerational participation is impacted by inequality. The direct effect is being raised in a politically rich environment- such as having political discussions in the home. An indirect effect is education and affluence, which have a much stronger impact. Like we discussed in class, lower socioeconomic schools tend to discuss politics less and have less political discussions and debates. This reduces the students' political efficacy and leads to them being much less likely to vote. We also brought up factors that are controlled vs. non controlled. Certain factors one is inevitably born into, such as race and affluence. Others, such as gender and sexuality, are random. This means that there are uncontrollable aspects that might change how one is impacted in society- such as being a woman opposed to a man.
ReplyDeleteHopefully this answered your question!
This week we also discussed John Dewey's work. He talked about philosophical pragmatism and the relationship between community and politics. I found it interesting when we discussed the difference between community and association and how different people defined community. How do you guys define community? We talked about how community is essential to the functioning of a democracy and the importance of communication. I think this ties in to political participation because communication between the people and politicians is crucial towards addressing issues effectively. What kind of factors could contribute to communication or lack of communication?
ReplyDeleteJeff, along with what Milly was saying about impact and privilege, our was making the point that, as you know, race/ethnicity and low SES are passed down intergenerationally, making that inequality (as opposed to gender and sexuality) grow exponentially. Because these are indirect effects of systematic differences, they are much much harder to change. I hope that makes a little bit more sense.
ReplyDeleteDewey's definition of community - interaction with each other, a common goal, and a sense of belonging - rings true for me. Some factors of impeding communication can include lack of education. This does not mean only academia but includes cultural, perceptual, and interpersonal understanding. If folks aren't aware of reality from a perspective other than their own then there will always be miscommunication. What do y'all think about what makes effective communication or lack thereof? What are some examples of strong communities you've been a part of or really admire, and why?