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Final Project Proposal

Posted on October 7, 2017October 7, 2017 by Josh

After a careful review of the available options, and spending some time reflecting on class content thus far, I have found myself attracted to the digital story telling option for the final project. I see this as a natural extension of the opening assignment of the course, the Mo’olelo, but with the added opportunity to reflect on how I might see my own story in the light of course content. I feel as if this will foster a nice sense of continuity for the semester, and a provide a 360 degree view of the course.

The journey through my undergraduate Social Work education and training was a highly reflective exercise, as every semester presented not only opportunities to learn new content, theories, practice methods and skills, but also offered, along the way, insights into the social realities that I live, and have been personally conditioned by. Considering this, it might be easy to see how “yet another reflective assignment” may be a bit redundant, however, it seems apparent to me that these are not so common times that we are living. The larger events that have overshadowed all of our lives politically and socially as a nation, not only over the last few years, but even within these last few months here on campus, have most certainly left an indelible impression, for better or worse, upon the minds and hearts of us all, both personally and collectively. This project, therefore, might serve well as an opportunity to scrutinize my own lens of perception, and the attitudes and assumptions that inform it as a white male, and to hold them up to the rigor of critical analysis, yet again, and at this most interesting time in history.

Reflecting on class content in the light of my personal story, I have, as I have in the past, often felt a bit culture-less. As a white male that never assimilated well into the greater social reality that I was exposed to, and openly dissenting from the dominant cultural views, norms, and attitudes which carefully informed my natural peer groups, I was often left by the wayside, cast out of the dominant stream of cultural expression. Unlike many of my peers, I had my own enculturation process violently interrupted, and while some of my cohorts seemed to recover from that experience more readily than I did, I never took to the recovery process, and lived a life plagued by the cultural imperialism that the majority of my peer group merely assimilated into.

My whole enculturation process become a statement of counter-culture protest, part momentum and part intention, I became the antithesis of assimilation, and struggled to not become a mere parody of myself. Rejecting, with prejudice, everything from cosmological view to mere media expression, I found myself moving further and further outside of any norm of assimilation and cooperative living until I was found homeless and alone, searching for some ground to identify with, and for something to believe in. Because of this, I don’t feel as if I could merely bring some M&M’s to a celebration of my culture’s food, as I still find the shallow commercialism and consumerism that largely defines dominant western culture an utterly repugnant cancer.

More sensitive issues are certainly at play in my life today that add to this sense of cultural in-between-ism, but it ought to be enough to say that, despite these truths, I recognize that I do walk with some unearned privileged in life, and find that it is worthwhile to continually evaluate, and reevaluate my own conditioning. Despite the fact that I may not identify with “whiteness” on a conscious level, or find myself intentionally playing into any sort of masculinity based dominance games, I understand that awareness is an ongoing project, and the cultivation of wisdom must be constantly attended to against the numb conditioning of our blind assumptions.

Therefore, I propose to look at a particular aspect of my life story through the general lens of course content, with an eye on cultural imperialism, and form a strengths based perspective. I will, as I tend to, connect these insights to certain secular Buddhist theories, and demonstrate this as the core of the strengths based portion of the narrative, turning loss of identity into a strength that need not be tampered with.

I look forward to this adventure, and to seeing what discoveries might emerge in the light of any new perspectives that have not, as of yet, presented themselves, throughout the course of the semester.

6 thoughts on “Final Project Proposal”

  1. Jonathan Rothman says:
    October 8, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Josh, thanks for sharing your ideas. Continue to be humbled by your insights and willingness to openly engage with sensitive and uncomofortable topics. Looking forward to seeing the final product towards the end of the semester. Good luck! 

    Reply
  2. Carlie says:
    October 10, 2017 at 1:04 am

    I am really interested to see what you find and come up with through looking at your life story in a different way. This sounds like it will be a great project for the rest of us to see but also a great learning experience for you!

    Reply
  3. LeTorrian Jackson says:
    October 10, 2017 at 2:11 am

    Hi Josh! Thank you so much for your poweful insight. I think it is a beautiful thing to  reflect on one’s own life to explore uncomfortable topics. I am really interested to see what you are able to find and come to terms with in exploring your life. I am ready to learn from you!

    Reply
  4. Mubeen says:
    October 14, 2017 at 6:54 pm

    I appreciate your willingness to share your journey.  As someone who struggles balancing multiple identites being an American Pakistani Muslim, I can appreciate someone taking the time and being as vulnerable as you were.  Like you, I think the best way to overcome our lack of understanding is by enddulging ourselves in what we don’t know in order to get better sense of who we are.  There’s an element of that journey that I truly appreciate.  Best of luck.  

    Reply
  5. joshu says:
    October 14, 2017 at 10:42 pm

    I got a bit overzealous in a comment on someone else’s final project proposal, and wrote a bit of a novel, but it has some points that I want to keep track of for my own project, here’s a link (for my future self)…

    Reply
  6. Mike Spencer says:
    October 18, 2017 at 8:04 pm

    Josh,

    Thanks so much for giving a great backgroud to why you want to do the project.  I think it could be quite powerful.  I like the interlay between being a person of privilege and at the same time rejecting the dominant culture.  It is a sign of a reflective person who seeks justice and someone who is aware of the dynamics of oppression that occur regardless of the beliefs you hold.  Just keep this in mind.  As a POC, I can be 100% assimilated and still experience oppression based on culture and race.  As a white person, you can be 100% against the dominant culture and still reap great privilege, even if you’ve felt like an outcast.  Like it or not, others will asscribe an identity to you as much as you asscribe your own identity.  The same goes for maleness.  There are costs and benefits for stepping outside the box.  You have suffered some costs, but those costs are not the same for others who step outside the box because of identity.  The same is true for me.  I think if you can take your analysis to this level and not just focus your own personal costs, but also the benefits, this could truly be a valuable learning experience for all who read it!

    Reply

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