Insider/Outsider Debate

After spending time reading and contemplating this weeks articles on Multicultural literature, I am still struggling with my stand on the insider outsider debate. Though the articles made a few points on who should be writing multicultural lit I felt the main focus of the papers were on what defines multicultural literature and how it should be viewed and used. It would be easy to debate my point of view on many of these issues based on the reading but that was not the assignment. So based on the short statements on the insider/outsider debate in our reading and my personal experience I would say that yes it is possible for an outsider to write about a particular group.

I say this with great apprehension. I feel that an outsider of a group can never fully put themselves in the shoes of the group or person they are writing about. Yes, they can write a very good book about a person from another culture and if they are socially conscious the book should be free of generalizations or stereotypes. On the other hand, I feel that it is near impossible for the outsider to fully understand what it is like to be a part of that culture and face the experiences that group may face. Thus I am very hesitant when taking the yes stand on this.

Can the outsider write the book without knowing those emotions and still have the audience feel them? Are the emotions and feelings around the experiences of a culture important to the story? These are the questions I am left with unanswered in my head when attempting to understand my stance on this debate.

As well, I find it a misnomer that people feel or believe that just because someone is an insider that they are the expert on that group or qualified to write about it or write at all for that matter. This is a result of personal reading experiences that left me questioning why a (insider) writer felt qualified or was allowed to write such a story. Realizing that you can find issue with and insider and an outsider leaves me with my stand that yes a qualified and socially conscious outsider can write a book about a culture or social group that they are not a part of.

About Me

I am a senior elementary Ed intergraded science major. I currently work as a daycare teacher at Kindercare. I really love working there and getting to watch the children learn and grow. I am taking this class because I really enjoyed TE 348. I also have a great interest in the celebration of diversity. In the past, I have worked for different diversity organizations. In high school I helped found our multicultural club, which introduced me to the diversity organization I work with now. That organization is called The National Conference of Community and Justice or NCCJ. I generally work for their youth division. This division works exclusively with high school student’s teaching/ training them different techniques to bring to their schools to promote the celebration of diversity. I have also worked with middle school students through this program. It has been great having the opportunity to learn how students view diversity. I am really looking forward to hearing and learning about your experiences with diversity and your take on the readings from this class. I also welcome any questions or conversations.
Sincerely,
Natasha