Has anyone watched the English Patient? Because I recently have, and it got me thinking about identities and the role of nationality. There's this theme when it comes to defining someone's identity in this movie, that is a stark disparity between who someone is according to their name or their papers and the person that stands behind all that. Although there is a lot of international mixing an mingling - or precisely because of that - the primary aspect people in this movie seek when defining any person's identity is apparently their nationality. That is natural in that sort of situation - I suppose - but it forces a role upon the characters, and while some seem to embrace this role others seek to escape it.
Weirdly enough in a western world that seems to have bound together to some extend I can still relate to that. Now, I don't suffer it as much as say Almásy does - thank god - but every now and then when I interact with people from other places, I feel how they are trying to force a role on me based on where I come from. You'd think that nowadays that we westerners eat food and use products from all over the world, watch movies from Hollywood to Bollywood, and converse with people from every which country via the Internet, where you come from wouldn't really make that much of a difference. Now, I'm not saying that my origin didn't leave it's mark on me, but I definitely wouldn't consider it to be among the primary aspects of my identity.
But what then does define my identity? To what extend is identity even definable? Isn't any attempt to "define" someone's identity a fundamental error? Not just because of the multitude of facets, but also because such an attempt usually presupposes the false assumption that identity is a static concept. And am I really gonna relate more to people of my geographic region, religion, gender, age, academic degree or job? Or aren't all of these mere conversation starters? The parts of the Venn diagram that is you and them. But that I think might be the very crux of the matter. Because in the end it seems like who ever attempts the definition is as vital to defining your identity as you yourself are. In a way then how your identity appears to someone is inevitably defined by their own point of view. So once again it all boils down to perspectives, and that means that the role they seek to force on me is probably revealing more about them than about me.
July 30, 2013
July 24, 2013
On Empathy and Perspective
When people ask what I do, and I tell them that I'm majoring in ancient history, they tend to look at me funny. They tend to sport an expression that might best be described as a curious mix of disbelief and pity. Some of them even ask how I ended up there - like something must have gone really wrong for me to land in what they consider to be some form of purgatory. But if I'm really being honest, I would probably have had a similar reaction - were history classes from school my point of reference, that is.
Curiously though, history in school was worlds away from the way we approach it at university now. Back then it was a very simplistic picture. A string of dates and facts. Knowledge neatly packed into little labeled boxes, ready to be checked of on formulaic tests. History fell into the category of memorization subjects.
No one ever mentioned that dates particularly in antiquity are often anything but certain, that what was sold to us as facts might still have been up for debate, and that sometimes in view of recent studies those 'facts' become outdated. Because in reality history as it is studied and reviewed is actually a quite fluid concept and it revolves a lot around empathy and perspective.
My parents used to allude to that when they told us that what they had learned in their history classes differed quiet considerably from what we learned - or from what our grand parents had learned for that matter. That is because perspectives tend to change over time. And not to burst your bubble, but none of these perspectives were ever objective, nor are they ever going to be. Some tried more to be objective than others, but I don't think there even is such a thing. Our zeitgeist influences our view of historical events as much as new discoveries do.
Look at the world today. The very same events are experienced in such a variety of different ways. There never is only one truth. Do you really think that looking back from the future is gonna change anything about that? If you tell only one story you're telling the truth as much as you're telling a lie. That, by the way, should also answer those pesky questions about whether or not there are still new things to discover in the study of history or any academic field for that matter.
Anyway, many people instinctively use empathy when they try to understand the lives and experiences of other people and so do historians. Admittedly that can get you a long way, but you'll have to ask yourself, if sometimes you're not too much of a child of your own time and place to really relate. The question is, how much of our nature and experience is fundamentally human and therefore translatable and how much of a role does our culture play in that. In order to answer that, you need to take a step back from your own perspective and that's the hard part. Unfortunately a lot of people can't really do that.
But I don't think you're doing those people from the past justice, if you don't at least try to take into account the full spectrum of their experience and assume that they felt just like you do. An awareness of the flexibility of the human mind and the resulting multitude of perspectives is what will take you to a whole new level of understanding, not just of past cultures but present ones as well.
Curiously though, history in school was worlds away from the way we approach it at university now. Back then it was a very simplistic picture. A string of dates and facts. Knowledge neatly packed into little labeled boxes, ready to be checked of on formulaic tests. History fell into the category of memorization subjects.
No one ever mentioned that dates particularly in antiquity are often anything but certain, that what was sold to us as facts might still have been up for debate, and that sometimes in view of recent studies those 'facts' become outdated. Because in reality history as it is studied and reviewed is actually a quite fluid concept and it revolves a lot around empathy and perspective.
My parents used to allude to that when they told us that what they had learned in their history classes differed quiet considerably from what we learned - or from what our grand parents had learned for that matter. That is because perspectives tend to change over time. And not to burst your bubble, but none of these perspectives were ever objective, nor are they ever going to be. Some tried more to be objective than others, but I don't think there even is such a thing. Our zeitgeist influences our view of historical events as much as new discoveries do.
Look at the world today. The very same events are experienced in such a variety of different ways. There never is only one truth. Do you really think that looking back from the future is gonna change anything about that? If you tell only one story you're telling the truth as much as you're telling a lie. That, by the way, should also answer those pesky questions about whether or not there are still new things to discover in the study of history or any academic field for that matter.
Anyway, many people instinctively use empathy when they try to understand the lives and experiences of other people and so do historians. Admittedly that can get you a long way, but you'll have to ask yourself, if sometimes you're not too much of a child of your own time and place to really relate. The question is, how much of our nature and experience is fundamentally human and therefore translatable and how much of a role does our culture play in that. In order to answer that, you need to take a step back from your own perspective and that's the hard part. Unfortunately a lot of people can't really do that.
But I don't think you're doing those people from the past justice, if you don't at least try to take into account the full spectrum of their experience and assume that they felt just like you do. An awareness of the flexibility of the human mind and the resulting multitude of perspectives is what will take you to a whole new level of understanding, not just of past cultures but present ones as well.
July 20, 2013
On Great Expectations
As I alluded in my previous post, I recently had a birthday and as usual that got me thinking.
I remember when I was younger I had such high hopes for my birthdays and my birthday parties. I used to be all giddy and exited for weeks in advance. On this very day life was going to be so much better than ever before and the party was going to be spectacular, downright transcendent and yada yada yada. Then the big day finally came and needless to say ... it never lived up to my expectations. So I always ended up being sad and frustrated, building up even higher hopes for the next year. A classic vicious circle. Eventually this pattern let to me simultaneously hoping for this magical birthday and dreading the inevitable disappointment. So this day even manifested itself as one of the turning points of the year for me.
However, when you reach a certain (or not so certain) age (because it is different for everyone) other aspects come into play. At some point you are gonna get very nervous about being yet another year older. You start to fret about what you have achieved so far - which is never enough - and where you're gonna end up and all that jazz. If you have reached that point in your life, you will know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, lucky you or not so lucky as you're about to find out.
Because in an ironic turn of events this very anxiety now seems to counteract the ridiculously high expectations for *~the~magical~birthday~* and makes this day a much happier event for me than it ever was. Sure, there is some anxiety about the future but on the very day it's much more about what I managed to accomplish the past year and the happy memories I made along the way.
I remember when I was younger I had such high hopes for my birthdays and my birthday parties. I used to be all giddy and exited for weeks in advance. On this very day life was going to be so much better than ever before and the party was going to be spectacular, downright transcendent and yada yada yada. Then the big day finally came and needless to say ... it never lived up to my expectations. So I always ended up being sad and frustrated, building up even higher hopes for the next year. A classic vicious circle. Eventually this pattern let to me simultaneously hoping for this magical birthday and dreading the inevitable disappointment. So this day even manifested itself as one of the turning points of the year for me.
However, when you reach a certain (or not so certain) age (because it is different for everyone) other aspects come into play. At some point you are gonna get very nervous about being yet another year older. You start to fret about what you have achieved so far - which is never enough - and where you're gonna end up and all that jazz. If you have reached that point in your life, you will know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, lucky you or not so lucky as you're about to find out.
Because in an ironic turn of events this very anxiety now seems to counteract the ridiculously high expectations for *~the~magical~birthday~* and makes this day a much happier event for me than it ever was. Sure, there is some anxiety about the future but on the very day it's much more about what I managed to accomplish the past year and the happy memories I made along the way.
A New Adventure
This Journey started about a year ago between the four walls I live, work and sleep in. I don't exactly remember what specifically roused the desire to have a voice, but at some point I knew I wanted to write a blog, talk about the things that I care about, and share the things I create - maybe even find some like-minded people, because they don't seem to dwell where I usually attempt to socialize.
So, as you do when you're an overly insecure person like me and rarely ever leave the house, I've been doing a lot of research on how to get this thing off the ground. I read about content strategy, layout, platforms, illustration and copyright issues - you name it. I've even prewritten some posts. But there's only so much you can do without actually doing the deed. So, I come to this party late and totally over prepared in theory, yet probably totally clueless in practice - the usual.
I've set myself a deadline to get this thing going before my 27th birthday. It wasn't a bad feeling to see it pass by - maybe because the stage fright somehow went along with it and I finally got up the courage to really put myself out there. So this, in a sense, is an ending as much as it is a beginning - the ending of preparation and fretting and the beginning of the actual adventure. I'm leaving behind the safety of those snugly four walls and step out into the big wide world of the Internet with all it's perils and temptations. I'm still somewhat apprehensive, but I'm putting one foot in front of the other and keep my eyes on the price i.e. gaining confidence and meeting some like-minded people along the way or getting some different perspectives to enrich my understanding of the world.
I know I might just be talking to myself here, but if anyone were to ever reads this - because it's out on the Internet now and this kind of thing tends to happen sometimes when things are out on the Internet, feel free to talk back - in a civilized manner, please.
Farewell fellow hermits
So, as you do when you're an overly insecure person like me and rarely ever leave the house, I've been doing a lot of research on how to get this thing off the ground. I read about content strategy, layout, platforms, illustration and copyright issues - you name it. I've even prewritten some posts. But there's only so much you can do without actually doing the deed. So, I come to this party late and totally over prepared in theory, yet probably totally clueless in practice - the usual.
I've set myself a deadline to get this thing going before my 27th birthday. It wasn't a bad feeling to see it pass by - maybe because the stage fright somehow went along with it and I finally got up the courage to really put myself out there. So this, in a sense, is an ending as much as it is a beginning - the ending of preparation and fretting and the beginning of the actual adventure. I'm leaving behind the safety of those snugly four walls and step out into the big wide world of the Internet with all it's perils and temptations. I'm still somewhat apprehensive, but I'm putting one foot in front of the other and keep my eyes on the price i.e. gaining confidence and meeting some like-minded people along the way or getting some different perspectives to enrich my understanding of the world.
I know I might just be talking to myself here, but if anyone were to ever reads this - because it's out on the Internet now and this kind of thing tends to happen sometimes when things are out on the Internet, feel free to talk back - in a civilized manner, please.
Farewell fellow hermits
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