The way Buruma describes Dutch actions in Murder in Amsterdam makes the level of irony very clear. One example is how anyone who speaks a word that might be biased against another ethnic group is deemed to be racist or called a Nazi supporter. There's incredible vigil against this kind of behavior but it is clear that in Dutch history, their actions did not speak as loud as words do today. From another angle, the rapper's violent words is also a very Dutch expression. There are unspoken rules against certain kinds of conduct but alternatively citizens are very open and direct vocally. However, verbal expression can contradict the speaker's true intentions or express intentions that cannot actually be followed through.
I think in a similar way in 'Critical Accountability' society hypes up expectations and promises that can't be fulfilled and thus waste effort and resources. In this case, there is too much spent on the technicalities and not really the mechanisms or methods actually used in the research. It is also interesting that it's becoming common in e-research to include various fields of study. While this is important in our current world in that there isn't any real way to isolate science and avoid the political or social implications, there is also undoubtedly disagreements and information overflow that results. There often isn't one solution to cure all.
The quote about dress as an expression of difference just as much as an expression of religion is ironic in the sense that it could very well be that the dress no longer holds much of the same meaning had someone been living in their native country. To the Muslim women who wear a head-covering in Amsterdam, this action could be an expression of their personal take on their family values which may vary from person to person. The meaning has changed from its original context as clothing often carry cultural value (from both the indigenous side as well as the 'outside' foreign side) - to the natives the clothing carries a set of codes and to the outsider it carries another set of codes. These codes can be the nearly the same or very different.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Reflection on Clothing: Sartorial Exercise
Part I:
I hereby describe a female student of Asian descent who sat on the side of the classroom near the front during the period. Age seemed to be in within range of late teens and did not seem to have any visible markers of religion. In fact she lacked of any kind of jewelry or “aesthetic” adornment.
Her clothes consisted of an orange Adidas sweater that was fully zipped up so it was hard to discern the number of layers she was wearing but it appeared there was a robin egg blue t-shirt underneath the outer sweater – a clear contrast of colors of blue and orange which definitely is striking to the eye. This may be a personal choice that expresses individuality or favorite color schemes or it could just be a coincidence. It could also indicate a) a lack of color coordination or b) blasé attitude towards picking clothes. She wore gray sports pants and basketball shoes. The shoes seemed pretty worn and the laces were not tightly tied indicating she probably wears these on a regular basis. She had a blue outer jacket hanging on her chair.
Besides these articles, the only other accessories on her body specifically were her turquoise Armitron analog watch which would most likely be classified as being of the diving watch style. The watch is very minimalistic in style however and stands out as particularly interesting especially in conjunction with the orange sweater. Overall you get a sense from these items that the individual is sports oriented and active and likes simplicity albeit the sports aspect is countered by the student’s facial décor which tells an entirely different story.
The other item she wears besides the diving watch is her own glasses which are a mauve color. A much more subdued hue in comparison to the other colors we see her wear. The glasses are also oval shaped and nothing about them look particularly cutting edge. Her hair is briefly layered but short and jet black. Perhaps this is a stylistic choice, a reflection of her personality, or it could be for easy maintenance, or both. No hints of dye that we see commonly among Asians. Again very simplistic look yet an emphasis on tradition which countered the active element seem in her garments.
Part II:
After reflecting on my own choice of clothing I realized that it was rather dichotomic. It wasn’t really a conscious effort but it turned out that I tend to prefer comfortable and casual clothing which often ends up being a sports article. I also like wearing a coat just in case it rains outside or turns chilly. Seattle weather is pretty cool for the most part so it has become a habit. I guess I also like the feeling of comfort that sweaters or loose clothing give me. I don’t dress for school really any differently than what I dress at home except maybe a few less layers in a heated environment. The interesting element of Monday’s garb was that my orange sweater was a part of my outer navy blue coat so both of them had the Adidas insignia. I didn’t purposefully choose the orange color my mom got the jacket for me. I generally have no real preference for clothing color as I range from bright orange to black quite frequently. Most of my pants are of a darker shade and I think I just find I need a balance with brighter and darker shades. I’m a person who kind of swings in emotions at times and my dress reflects that.
My hair length is actually a result of an impromptu hair cut over this past summer in China where I was visiting relatives and found it too hot to deal with lengthy hair and decided to try out short hair for the first time since my elementary years. I found it easy to manage and simplistic so I kept with it. I also find it unnecessary to wear jewelry or other décor unless it has a lot of personal meaning to me or is a gift from someone I hold dear. I feel that I can only fully cherish gifts if I use them and those are good excuses for me to wear accessories but otherwise I find them cumbersome and easily broken so I avoid them.
I hereby describe a female student of Asian descent who sat on the side of the classroom near the front during the period. Age seemed to be in within range of late teens and did not seem to have any visible markers of religion. In fact she lacked of any kind of jewelry or “aesthetic” adornment.
Her clothes consisted of an orange Adidas sweater that was fully zipped up so it was hard to discern the number of layers she was wearing but it appeared there was a robin egg blue t-shirt underneath the outer sweater – a clear contrast of colors of blue and orange which definitely is striking to the eye. This may be a personal choice that expresses individuality or favorite color schemes or it could just be a coincidence. It could also indicate a) a lack of color coordination or b) blasé attitude towards picking clothes. She wore gray sports pants and basketball shoes. The shoes seemed pretty worn and the laces were not tightly tied indicating she probably wears these on a regular basis. She had a blue outer jacket hanging on her chair.
Besides these articles, the only other accessories on her body specifically were her turquoise Armitron analog watch which would most likely be classified as being of the diving watch style. The watch is very minimalistic in style however and stands out as particularly interesting especially in conjunction with the orange sweater. Overall you get a sense from these items that the individual is sports oriented and active and likes simplicity albeit the sports aspect is countered by the student’s facial décor which tells an entirely different story.
The other item she wears besides the diving watch is her own glasses which are a mauve color. A much more subdued hue in comparison to the other colors we see her wear. The glasses are also oval shaped and nothing about them look particularly cutting edge. Her hair is briefly layered but short and jet black. Perhaps this is a stylistic choice, a reflection of her personality, or it could be for easy maintenance, or both. No hints of dye that we see commonly among Asians. Again very simplistic look yet an emphasis on tradition which countered the active element seem in her garments.
Part II:
After reflecting on my own choice of clothing I realized that it was rather dichotomic. It wasn’t really a conscious effort but it turned out that I tend to prefer comfortable and casual clothing which often ends up being a sports article. I also like wearing a coat just in case it rains outside or turns chilly. Seattle weather is pretty cool for the most part so it has become a habit. I guess I also like the feeling of comfort that sweaters or loose clothing give me. I don’t dress for school really any differently than what I dress at home except maybe a few less layers in a heated environment. The interesting element of Monday’s garb was that my orange sweater was a part of my outer navy blue coat so both of them had the Adidas insignia. I didn’t purposefully choose the orange color my mom got the jacket for me. I generally have no real preference for clothing color as I range from bright orange to black quite frequently. Most of my pants are of a darker shade and I think I just find I need a balance with brighter and darker shades. I’m a person who kind of swings in emotions at times and my dress reflects that.
My hair length is actually a result of an impromptu hair cut over this past summer in China where I was visiting relatives and found it too hot to deal with lengthy hair and decided to try out short hair for the first time since my elementary years. I found it easy to manage and simplistic so I kept with it. I also find it unnecessary to wear jewelry or other décor unless it has a lot of personal meaning to me or is a gift from someone I hold dear. I feel that I can only fully cherish gifts if I use them and those are good excuses for me to wear accessories but otherwise I find them cumbersome and easily broken so I avoid them.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Narrowing Down Our Research Question
Ditto Irina's Blog:
After much stress and confusion, Shirley and I feel that we have narrowed down our ideas into something that is researchable online before the trip and will be researchable within Amsterdam and surrounding areas. Aside from conducting interviews, we also hope to find locations that are saturated with certain immigrant populations so that we can observe their habits in public locations. Below is our general research question followed by our methods. Enjoy!
Does assimilation in Amsterdam discourage immigrants from openly discussing the issues of oppression and lack of access to equal opportunity while attempting to integrate them into society? It will be an attempt to probe into the views of the “less accepted” surrounding the way society deals with internal issues. Do people of non-Dutch descent feel that they are truly accepted into society or are they made to believe so for the benefit of the society?
The three ethnic groups that we are most interested in studying are: Moroccans, Turks, and Surinamesse. (They may/not be associated with the Islamic religion). We would like to have one group not associated with the religion, or even a family with multiple views. We hope to find them at Ethnic cultural centers, or find them prior to departure through contacts provided by Julie and Clifford. It would be most interesting to find a family that has worked themselves out of the lower class status, integrating into society with less oppression. To narrow the scope of our interests, we are most interested in the interpersonal relationships (psychological, social) between natives and immigrants. We would also have a viewpoint from the immigrants about their struggles and successes in integrating into society. Within the interviews process, we are also interested in seeing what the effect of new immigration policies are having on currently successful immigrants.
After much stress and confusion, Shirley and I feel that we have narrowed down our ideas into something that is researchable online before the trip and will be researchable within Amsterdam and surrounding areas. Aside from conducting interviews, we also hope to find locations that are saturated with certain immigrant populations so that we can observe their habits in public locations. Below is our general research question followed by our methods. Enjoy!
Does assimilation in Amsterdam discourage immigrants from openly discussing the issues of oppression and lack of access to equal opportunity while attempting to integrate them into society? It will be an attempt to probe into the views of the “less accepted” surrounding the way society deals with internal issues. Do people of non-Dutch descent feel that they are truly accepted into society or are they made to believe so for the benefit of the society?
The three ethnic groups that we are most interested in studying are: Moroccans, Turks, and Surinamesse. (They may/not be associated with the Islamic religion). We would like to have one group not associated with the religion, or even a family with multiple views. We hope to find them at Ethnic cultural centers, or find them prior to departure through contacts provided by Julie and Clifford. It would be most interesting to find a family that has worked themselves out of the lower class status, integrating into society with less oppression. To narrow the scope of our interests, we are most interested in the interpersonal relationships (psychological, social) between natives and immigrants. We would also have a viewpoint from the immigrants about their struggles and successes in integrating into society. Within the interviews process, we are also interested in seeing what the effect of new immigration policies are having on currently successful immigrants.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Reflections Via "European Cities Information Societies & Global Economy"
Even though this article is focused upon European cities and how they are leading a transformation to the Information Society I really think that some of the same concepts can be compared and contrasted here in Seattle. Both America and Europe are in the "North" which according to the article holds the upper hand in relations because of informational wealth. The center of wealth is now in the suburbs and middle to upper class neighborhoods. In this context, with the development of localization, there is a strong emphasis on the role of immigrant influx into Europe and how the shaking of local identities will present a threat of rising racism and intolerance.
Comparing that to our experiences on Pike Place, I feel here in Seattle, unlike Europe we do have a focus inward on our own community but there isn't as strong of a historical identity attached to it. Immigrants do often work in lower paying jobs and probably live in lower class neighborhoods but there seems to be enough diversity in our city at least that it diffuses against intolerance towards one particular group since no one is singled out in particular. Perhaps that occurs in other US cities. Another possibility is this looming threat in terms of assimilation is largely unique to Europe. These are issues worth looking into.
Comparing that to our experiences on Pike Place, I feel here in Seattle, unlike Europe we do have a focus inward on our own community but there isn't as strong of a historical identity attached to it. Immigrants do often work in lower paying jobs and probably live in lower class neighborhoods but there seems to be enough diversity in our city at least that it diffuses against intolerance towards one particular group since no one is singled out in particular. Perhaps that occurs in other US cities. Another possibility is this looming threat in terms of assimilation is largely unique to Europe. These are issues worth looking into.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
City Reading
Irina and I decided that we would go the International District in order to be able to catch different ethnicities interacting. Irina came up with a great idea to visit Pike Place because diverse ethnic groups were there, unlike International District which is predominantly Asian. We felt that wouldn't translate very well to our studies in Amsterdam, where Asian populations are comparatively less significant.
We took a stroll along a block in the Pike Place Market area. We acted as Marginal Participants because we could just be visitors/tourists like everyone else. This way we were able to look at which kinds of people were there, what they were doing, what they were shopping for, and their interactions. Because we were on the walk the whole time we decided to use photography to take snapshots and record the urban setting. Our photos are located here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7787602@N04/
We noted that we were very close to the water and could see the bay from our viewpoint. The streets that we visited were pretty crowded and lively. As we walked along one street, there were various small bakeries and shops with signs hanging outside of each one which were uniform in size. It was interesting that various ethnicities were present but a large majority of people there seemed to be native Seattle-lites that were enjoying exotic food in a tourist-like fashion. In other words, the signs were very commercial in purpose.
Most people there were together in families, especially true for immigrants. However, we never saw the groups interact much. They pretty much traveled together, independently. We had to make some assumptions for immigrants - the main one being the language we heard spoken because we couldn't realistically ask people if they were immigrants or not.
We saw people having selling their special crafts in the open air and then we went inside a covered market. We noted that outside, the individuals selling their crafts seemed to be separated culturally and socially despite the fact that they were right next to each other's tables. Inside, the flower selling stands were all working together and talking amongst each other as a community. Despite selling flowers from different sources, there didn't seem to be blatant competition. We hypothesized that flowers are such a universal theme. For the individuals selling their products, they are using their culture as a selling point and by emphasizing one's unique identity, one may end up avoiding interacting and mingling into other cultural circles.
That is a very interesting observation that we plan to take to Amsterdam. Right now we are curious whether the pressure to assimilate in Amsterdam can cause the opposite of what we see here - a feeling of oppression and lack of freedom because immigrant groups cannot stand up and speak out thoughts or complaints. Is forced assimilation detrimental? If it is, is Seattle a kind of alternative? Whether good or bad is debatable too.
We hope that in Amsterdam we can do this kind of urban exploration to get ourselves situated before we go to find particular people to interview. It's a great way to be able to understand how people interact and what reactions to expect out of people before venturing into specific research.
We took a stroll along a block in the Pike Place Market area. We acted as Marginal Participants because we could just be visitors/tourists like everyone else. This way we were able to look at which kinds of people were there, what they were doing, what they were shopping for, and their interactions. Because we were on the walk the whole time we decided to use photography to take snapshots and record the urban setting. Our photos are located here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7787602@N04/
We noted that we were very close to the water and could see the bay from our viewpoint. The streets that we visited were pretty crowded and lively. As we walked along one street, there were various small bakeries and shops with signs hanging outside of each one which were uniform in size. It was interesting that various ethnicities were present but a large majority of people there seemed to be native Seattle-lites that were enjoying exotic food in a tourist-like fashion. In other words, the signs were very commercial in purpose.
Most people there were together in families, especially true for immigrants. However, we never saw the groups interact much. They pretty much traveled together, independently. We had to make some assumptions for immigrants - the main one being the language we heard spoken because we couldn't realistically ask people if they were immigrants or not.
We saw people having selling their special crafts in the open air and then we went inside a covered market. We noted that outside, the individuals selling their crafts seemed to be separated culturally and socially despite the fact that they were right next to each other's tables. Inside, the flower selling stands were all working together and talking amongst each other as a community. Despite selling flowers from different sources, there didn't seem to be blatant competition. We hypothesized that flowers are such a universal theme. For the individuals selling their products, they are using their culture as a selling point and by emphasizing one's unique identity, one may end up avoiding interacting and mingling into other cultural circles.
That is a very interesting observation that we plan to take to Amsterdam. Right now we are curious whether the pressure to assimilate in Amsterdam can cause the opposite of what we see here - a feeling of oppression and lack of freedom because immigrant groups cannot stand up and speak out thoughts or complaints. Is forced assimilation detrimental? If it is, is Seattle a kind of alternative? Whether good or bad is debatable too.
We hope that in Amsterdam we can do this kind of urban exploration to get ourselves situated before we go to find particular people to interview. It's a great way to be able to understand how people interact and what reactions to expect out of people before venturing into specific research.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Online Manifestation
The following are a couple links we found:
http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/imes/publications/imesdownloads.html
This is a major one Irina and I found on Monday which belongs to a research group currently undergoing extensive research with various angles of study centered around immigration and ethnic studies. From this page we found a couple articles that gave us some focus and direction.
http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/urbex/resrep/r19_rotterdam.pdf
This article describes integration issues in the Netherlands, which has inspired us to maybe narrow down our topic even further to whether immigrants feel oppression due to integration problems. I found it interesting that influx of migrants, especially from the middle east as this article seemed to emphasize, produce the perception of resource scarcity which leads to negative perceptions of ethnic groups despite the fact it may all be imaginary. So maybe there is difficulty in attaining cultural acceptance stemming from economic and psychological issues.
http://immigrantpolitics.org/?p=51
This is a blog post that I found describing immigration in Europe and specifically mentions the Netherlands. This was found on a blog that was opened by professors in California to discuss immigration in US and abroad. I really think it might be interesting to do some research into what makes life as an immigrant in Europe or specifically Netherlands particularly unique. There are first person accounts that immigrants feel themselves being "ripped apart" by different values and expectations. Is that a feeling of oppression? The inability to be fully integrated? that would be interesting to research.
I'm still having trouble finding a locus or web of sources because to find first person accounts would require finding blogs that usually are not in English. Finding research organizations like the first link I posted is very helpful in finding what areas are worth studying but I'm not sure where they connect to the everyday life. However, I think right now I might try to focus on the news articles and research groups because they are more accessible. Later on, once we understand the framework and cultural atmosphere it would be more beneficial to look at individual cases.
http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/imes/publications/imesdownloads.html
This is a major one Irina and I found on Monday which belongs to a research group currently undergoing extensive research with various angles of study centered around immigration and ethnic studies. From this page we found a couple articles that gave us some focus and direction.
http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/urbex/resrep/r19_rotterdam.pdf
This article describes integration issues in the Netherlands, which has inspired us to maybe narrow down our topic even further to whether immigrants feel oppression due to integration problems. I found it interesting that influx of migrants, especially from the middle east as this article seemed to emphasize, produce the perception of resource scarcity which leads to negative perceptions of ethnic groups despite the fact it may all be imaginary. So maybe there is difficulty in attaining cultural acceptance stemming from economic and psychological issues.
http://immigrantpolitics.org/?p=51
This is a blog post that I found describing immigration in Europe and specifically mentions the Netherlands. This was found on a blog that was opened by professors in California to discuss immigration in US and abroad. I really think it might be interesting to do some research into what makes life as an immigrant in Europe or specifically Netherlands particularly unique. There are first person accounts that immigrants feel themselves being "ripped apart" by different values and expectations. Is that a feeling of oppression? The inability to be fully integrated? that would be interesting to research.
I'm still having trouble finding a locus or web of sources because to find first person accounts would require finding blogs that usually are not in English. Finding research organizations like the first link I posted is very helpful in finding what areas are worth studying but I'm not sure where they connect to the everyday life. However, I think right now I might try to focus on the news articles and research groups because they are more accessible. Later on, once we understand the framework and cultural atmosphere it would be more beneficial to look at individual cases.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Research Outline
Irina and I plan to do an exploration into immigrants on their experiences with adapting to the culture and society of Amsterdam as well as differences on oppression and discrimination felt between natives and immigrant populations. We would particularly like to see if there are changes in attitudes that have changed over time between generations. What we can do is do in-depth interviews with a couple families with 3 generations in Amsterdam. We can also compare that to parallel native families for 3 generations and see if attitude changes are by era or there are unique factors that affect feelings of oppression and attitudes on society that are unique to the immigrant experience.
Our general outline right now consists of doing statistical research before leaving for Amsterdam to find out percentage of immigrants, top 3 or so immigrant populations, the socioeconomic conditions of immigrants, and where they are often concentrated. Once at Amsterdam we hope to go to centers where immigrants frequent and gather information from the immigrant population groups we would like to focus on. We might take note of other groups as well for comparison. One of our major goals we would like to at least try is to find a couple families with 3 generations living in Amsterdam and do in-depth interview sessions with them. We would like to cover Amsterdam and also some rural areas to get a balance.
Some problems we might encounter is the difficulties of narrowing down immigrant populations especially if there are quite a few significant groups in the Netherlands. The most critical problem we might have is finding 3 generation families however, if that doesn't work out we can limit to 2 generations or collect as much data as we can on individual interviews and piece the information together.
Our general outline right now consists of doing statistical research before leaving for Amsterdam to find out percentage of immigrants, top 3 or so immigrant populations, the socioeconomic conditions of immigrants, and where they are often concentrated. Once at Amsterdam we hope to go to centers where immigrants frequent and gather information from the immigrant population groups we would like to focus on. We might take note of other groups as well for comparison. One of our major goals we would like to at least try is to find a couple families with 3 generations living in Amsterdam and do in-depth interview sessions with them. We would like to cover Amsterdam and also some rural areas to get a balance.
Some problems we might encounter is the difficulties of narrowing down immigrant populations especially if there are quite a few significant groups in the Netherlands. The most critical problem we might have is finding 3 generation families however, if that doesn't work out we can limit to 2 generations or collect as much data as we can on individual interviews and piece the information together.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Brainstorming For Research Question
What I really wish to focus on is the intriguing idea of how 2nd generation immigrant children and especially teens deal with living in a city like Amsterdam that is considered exceptionally liberal. In what ways do they feel empowered and in what ways do they feel suppressed? Is there both empowerment and suppression in their society as well as cultural heritage or is there more empowerment in one than the other & vice versa? I want to explore how living in the current internet and mass communication era has affected their own thoughts and outlooks on life in particular. Has it helped them stay in touch with family or friends in their parents' home countries? Do they use it as a form of escape? There are so many things I would like to delve into on this subject.
One main goal I hope to get out of this is to also explore some of the psychological factors that influence a level of dichotomy in immigrant personalities that Buruma had cited in his work Murder in Amsterdam. I find the statistics of schizophrenia in 2nd generation immigrants particularly intriguing. I want to test to confirm this as well as to explore it in more qualitative detail. Coming from an immigrant background myself I want to explore the relationship between technological/social environment and cultural upbringing and how those factors ultimately influence personalities and subcultures. I believe strongly that culture has a strong influence on people's views as people have to deal with it on more personal level than government policies for example.
Some methods of gathering evidence would include going out and talking to young adults and teenagers from all sorts of immigrant backgrounds. I would like to pull out commonalities between them as well as particular cultural upbringing factors that may differ amongst ethnicities or may be unique to a few people. Patterns as well as exceptions will be important. I think I will also have to gather some statistics from the web to measure certain tangible aspects of technology and communication but other aspects will be from face to face or group interviews. I think a school environment would be a good place to begin for those or a center where young adults gather - like shopping centers, parks, or performance houses.
One main goal I hope to get out of this is to also explore some of the psychological factors that influence a level of dichotomy in immigrant personalities that Buruma had cited in his work Murder in Amsterdam. I find the statistics of schizophrenia in 2nd generation immigrants particularly intriguing. I want to test to confirm this as well as to explore it in more qualitative detail. Coming from an immigrant background myself I want to explore the relationship between technological/social environment and cultural upbringing and how those factors ultimately influence personalities and subcultures. I believe strongly that culture has a strong influence on people's views as people have to deal with it on more personal level than government policies for example.
Some methods of gathering evidence would include going out and talking to young adults and teenagers from all sorts of immigrant backgrounds. I would like to pull out commonalities between them as well as particular cultural upbringing factors that may differ amongst ethnicities or may be unique to a few people. Patterns as well as exceptions will be important. I think I will also have to gather some statistics from the web to measure certain tangible aspects of technology and communication but other aspects will be from face to face or group interviews. I think a school environment would be a good place to begin for those or a center where young adults gather - like shopping centers, parks, or performance houses.
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