Ibrahim, Kubota & Lin, Rich & Troudy

The Ibrahim article describes continental Aftricans experiences with language in Canada and the influences of the hip-hop culture of the Africans in the Canada. Ibrahim first establishes that hip-hop is not just a type of music but a dress, a talk, and a walk. There is also a definition of becoming black as a process. There is a cultural society and a racial society. Race can be judged by the outside. He concludes that the hip-hop culture and language can be beneficial to a learner of a second language because of the strong connection between identity and language learning ACCORDING to his definition of learning. However, the negative sexual and homophobic relations that rap has should also be identified.
I think it is interesting how the students identify with the hip-hop culture despite their lack of historical connection to the rap world. Mukhi says that it is a genetic thing. I wonder if they say that because of what society sees her skin as. It reminds me of my friend Joyce whos parents are from Ghana. At first I foolishly assumed that the group of students she hung out with was from a black American society, but when I attended her African Student Association meeting I saw what a diverse Black community we have a ISU. I quickly learned not to assume that all blacks that may speak in a similar way, have a heritage in the United States.


It turns out that scientists and many others agree that genetics has nothing to do with the formation of race, but it is a historical and social construct. Kubota's article defines race, ethnicity and culture as being different but still having othering qualities. Today's understanding of racism as a social and historical construct somehow gives people an excuse for their racist attitudes.
Page 479 of Kubota's article talks about epistemological racism, the knowlege and practices of the  White privilaged, and is something that I have been questioning.  Is exposure to race an internal factor of a persons racist attitudes?  During an interview with one of the TESOL professors at ISU I was asked whether or not I would hire a foreign teacher to teach in a school.  I thought that I would hire them for sure because of the little exposure I had to non-native english speaking teachers.  Why were all of my teachers white, native-english speaking females?  I always wonder if I would have more of an understanding of race and culture if I were exposed to cultures as a young child.  Not cultures like my native Spanish speaking friends, my teachers, the people I looked up to.  I think that if I were exposed to a non-native english speaker it would have enhanced my understanding of the world and perhaps created a better understanding of race.  I am also still confused on racism and stereotypes, is a stereotype a subcategory of racism or is racism an intensified form of a stereotype?  We have spoken about stereotypes before and confirmed that we all have them, so are all of us racists?


The Fich and Troudy article points out that there are two sides to being othered as a race.  One is that they are offended and alienated from the some people in society.  The other is that they bond with others of their own race.  It was interesting that one of the students believed that the international student as something to do with people othering them and some girls thought it was because of their gender.  This made me wonder, are things that you view as apart of why you are different the way you view yourself or actually how others view you?