"Habibi" and such

I thought that last Wednesday's discussions on "Habibi" went very well as a lot of good issues were brought up. Because the Arab American culture is very rarely heard from the "insider" perspective I think it is good to read such texts. If anyone is looking for another good read also dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although much more in your face and raw, I recommend the book "The Attack" by Yasmin Khadra.

In regards to the point made about "Habibi" being one-sided, I think that it is important to remember that this was written from just one person's point-of-view, and that we should approach it with this in mind. We can not always expect to hear both sides of the story; if this were the case I think we would have a lot different opinions about much of what we "know".

Also, while I do believe that when both sides of the story are told it is possible to portray the other point of view inaccurately; I also believe that one person's portrayal of their culture may not always match up with someone else's portrayal from that same culture. There are cultures within cultures, thats what makes us all so unique; no one else can say they've lived the lives we have!

Oh yes, more Bob Dylan

So I was burning away some time watching videos of Bob Dylan on YouTube instead of confronting my homework as I commonly do, when I randomly stumbled upon this, solving the issue of how my next post would include Bob Dylan.

What are the chances that today's date, September 23, 2008, would host the release of a Bob Dylan lyric-based children's book? I couldn't find a whole lot of information on the book so I am not sure how I feel about it yet, but apparently the illustrations (Paul Rogers) compliment the lyrics quite well. The best blurb I could find on it was at Amazon which can be seen here.

I suppose this doesn't exactly fall under the category of multiculturalism, but it definitely applies to children's literature and is right down my alley.


If you want to check out the complete song you can listen to that here. Or there's a pretty awesome version of it here with The Band at their "Last Waltz".

Multiculturalism & some Bob Dylan

After engaging myself into the arguments proposed by each of the given authors I found myself deep in thought about what the word “multicultural” truly means, and what exactly it is that defines a piece of literature as multicultural. After grueling hours of pondering and thinking, and a lengthy night of sleeping on the issue, I was able to come up with a few concrete points to explain my newly enlightened point of view on multicultural literature

I agree with Shannon and his definition of multicultural. In his article he defines culture as “a shared set of ideas, behaviors, discourses, and attitudes which internally and externally define a social group,” therefore to be multicultural literature is to examine or highlight any of the great variety of these cultural and social structures (Shannon 2). The problem with this definition is that multicultural literature then provides the possibility to delve into the realm of any culture imaginable, be it by race, gender, religion, etc. By using the term multicultural, literature written from any perspective or written about any group of people is included in this definition allowing all literature to fall under the category of multicultural therefore defeating the purpose of classifying literature at all.

In the rebuttals of Sims Bishop and Harris they too agree with Shannon’s definition of culture, but omit his opinion of what multicultural literature should consist of. Allowing mainstream literature to qualify as multicultural defeats the purpose of creating the subgroup as it desensitizes the importance of presenting the unheard story or the “story that has not yet been adequately told” (Sims Bishop 7). As Cai writes in his article, a part of the ongoing multicultural debate, the purpose of what is known as multicultural literature is to help students “become aware of racial discrimination and oppression” (Cai 315). Perhaps then the choice to define this literature of the unheard minority as multicultural is the wrong route to take. I agree with Harris in the idea that multiculturalism should be an effort to “concentrate on those who are most excluded and marginalized” as historically, and still today those people, typically people of color, have been overlooked (Harris xvi).

In terms of whether or not it is necessary for the author to be a part of the culture he/she is writing about, I believe that as long as the author has adequate background knowledge and a solid understanding of the experience of being part of that culture and how that culture operates within society, then the author’s cultural heritage should not matter. If the story can be accurately told and presented to the masses in a respectable manner then it is successful in getting the point across and exposing society to a different perspective. A perfect example I would like to highlight is Bob Dylan. Based upon my blog you are probably beginning to realize my infatuation with Bob Dylan, but that aside, I would like to focus on his writing for a moment, as I believe it falls under the category of, for lack of better wording, multicultural literature (although not children’s literature) by presenting the “untold story” with songs like “Hurricane” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”.

First Blog & some Bob Dylan

Well I've never "blogged" before but I suppose in this tech-savvy world we live in these days it probably would not be a bad idea to start. As of now I have nothing to say but I figured I'd try this baby out.

In the meantime, check out this song by Bobby Dylan. The lyrics are genius:

Tombstone Blues

The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
The city fathers they're trying to endorse
The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
But the town has no need to be nervous

The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
To Jezebel the nun she violently knits
A bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits
At the head of the chamber of commerce

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

The hysterical bride in the penny arcade
Screaming she moans, "I've just been made"
Then sends out for the doctor who pulls down the shade
Says, "My advice is to not let the boys in"

Now the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside
He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride
"Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride
You will not die, it's not poison"

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief
Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"

The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry"
And dropping a bar bell he points to the sky
Saving, "The sun's not yellow it's chicken"

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save
Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves
Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves
Then sends them out to the jungle

Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch he burns out their camps
With his faithful slave Pedro behind him he tramps
With a fantastic collection of stamps
To win friends and influence his uncle

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

The geometry of innocent flesh on the bone
Causes Galileo's math book to get thrown
At Delilah who sits worthlessly alone
But the tears on her cheeks are from laughter

Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

Where Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped their bed roll
Tuba players now rehearse around the flagpole
And the National Bank at a profit sells road maps for the soul
To the old folks home and the college

Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain
That could hold you dear lady from going insane
That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain
Of your useless and pointless knowledge

Mama's in the fact'ry
She ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley
He's lookin' for the fuse
I'm in the streets
With the tombstone blues

Copyright ©1965; renewed 1993 Special Rider Music