A Look at the Other

A Look at the Other: What does it mean to be the Other?

For this comparative paper, we are going to veer away from the realm of theory and into the realm of cultural studies. In some ways, the two are very closely linked. Theory is the theory (the ways of thinking) and cultural studies is applying those theories into practice.

“The project of cultural studies is to understand the functioning of culture, particularly in the modern world: how cultural productions work and how cultural identities are constructed and organized, for individuals and groups, in a world of diverse and intermingled communities” (Culler).

A poem to get us thinking : “Riding into California” by Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Essential Question: Who or what is the Other in this poem?

If you come to a land with no ancestors to bless you, you have to be your own ancestor. The veterans in the mobile home park don’t want to be there. It isn’t easy. Oil rigs litter the land like giant frozen birds. Ghosts welcome us to a new life, and an immigrant without home ghosts cannot believe the land is real. So you’re grateful for familiarity, and Bruce Lee becomes your hero. Coming into Fullerton, everyone waiting at the station is white. The good thing about being Chinese on Amtrack is no one sits next to you. The bad thing is you sit alone all the way to Irvine.