Jordan Pehler

February 18, 2017

Globalization and Me

In Search of Empathy: Examining Our Hybrid Identities

We are currently living in an interesting, confusing, and let's be honest, weird time in the
United States. A time when facts don't seem to matter, yet facts are more accessible than ever, a
time when hearsay is passed off as news , and a time when the misunderstood or different is
promptly rejected instead of carefully examined. As Ira Glass described this phenomenon of
post-truth in news and politics, "with so many of us getting our news from social media and from
sources that we agree with, it's easier than ever to check if a fact is true, and facts matter less than
ever" (para 28).

We witnessed a time before the recent election that the nation could only be described as
deeply divided, and in the months since, that division seems to only be widening. A common
thread that ran throughout both sides of the two major political parties was this deep rooted, half
veiled theme of us vs. them. This us against them mentality couldn't simply manifest in the form
of Democrats vs. Republicans, the negativity seemed to spread into every facet of our lives and
our culture. I beg to question, who are we, and are we really that dissimilar from them?

Who are we? Who are they?

The answer to this question is as simple and as complicated as this, we are humans. As
humans we tend to find comfort and safety in numbers, as humans gather together in numbers we
find civilizations, cultures, societies, and associations that are built upon a bond of shared values,
traits or experiences. This bond may be built on shared race, gender, religion, orientation,
interests, or any combination of these qualities.

Groups and individuals that exist outside of the acceptable criteria for acceptance into
that group are found to be the other, or the them, in us vs. them. Often these groups can operate
independently or cooperatively with each other, but the moment a threat, real or perceived, is
presented to one of these groups, conflict is born. In reaction to these offenses, the affronted
group will react and retaliate with words, protests and sometimes violence. Throughout history,
groups with similar beliefs, or circumstances will join forces with the offended group to defeat or
halt the original intruder or offender. Knight (2009) describes how this is often escalated by
"invoking images of nationalism, and channeling fear and anger towards perceived enemies and
threats" (p. 71) as well as, "vilifying adversaries by framing the conflict as one of good versus
evil" (p. 72). When both sides are asked what exactly caused the dispute, more often than not, the
original dispute is unrecognizable if not entirely lost.

More Importantly, Who am I?

Part of growing up is assessing who we are and where we belong in society. Deciding
which groups we would like to associate with, and which to avoid, deciding which practices or
traditions are fit for us, and which we will stray from, we decide who we want to be moving
forward into the future. When asked who we are, often we will answer with our name, our origin,
our profession or title. But I suggest we dig a bit deeper than that. Think about where you are
from, is this a place you were born, or one you moved to? Think about your family, is this family
blood, adopted, or a little harder to define? Think about your heritage, where are you or your
ancestors from, how did they get here, and why did they leave their land of origin? Think about
your interests, your significant other, your hobbies, your habits? Now tell me who you are. It's
not so simple to put a label on, is it? So why do we find it so easy to put labels on others? Easily
defining and possibly rejecting them by something superficial, their skin color, their religion,
their country of origin, or even their orientation.

Artists and Educators, Agents for Empathy

Olivia Gude (2009) suggests assisting students develop self awareness through art, "the
self becomes vitally interested in other selves, sensing the possibilities and problems of those
selves within" (p. 4). This elevated sense of self, perception and sensitivity will promote empathy
and decision making well into the future. Stuhr (2003) similarly suggests that with quality art
education and promotion of self discovery, students can "create meaning and understanding of
their lives in the present and imagine possibilities for their lives in the future" (p. 303), as well as
"actively participate in a world that has reference for life and values social justice" (p. 303).
 Contemporary artist like Kehinde Wiley and Wendy Red Star reflect on their identity and
unique heritage and create stunning work that grants individuals a glimpse into their unique
story. Wiley, an African American painter, wanted to create images that looked like him, his
paintings "quote historical sources and position young black men in the field of power " (Wiley,
2016, para 6). Like Wiley, Wendy Red Star works to bring power, respect, and history of Native
Americans, specifically Crow Indians, back to this indigenous group. Red Star creates "new and
unexpected perspectives in work that is at once inquisitive, witty and unsettling...along with
creating a forum for the expression of Native womens voices in contemporary art."(Red Star,
2016, para 1). Red Star utilizes racism, colonialism, stereotypes, and ignorance as a source of
inspiration. Her work begs the viewer to evaluate and revaluate their perspective or biases
towards Native culture.

Globalization and Me

Our classrooms are filled with unique individuals that all have a distinct story, all of them
are worth exploring and sharing. Through this process of self discovery and critical evaluation,
we find the globalization, and the intermixing and intertwining of cultures and societies all over
the world has left us with a twisted and tangled, beautiful mess of a story. This story is one of
heartbreak and loss, one of triumph and failure, one of tears and smiles, with a cast of characters
from all walks of life, from far-off locations.

Delacruz (2012) said that "we live in a nation of immigrants, but growing up as a new
immigrant or as a member of any minority group in America is anything but easy"(p.234). When
students see images or stories describing the various facets of being an immigrant or minority in
the U.S., they can look back to their experiences and the experiences of their not so distant
relatives or friends, to see that this struggle is not far removed from them. This connection will
hopefully lead to empathy and understanding of individuals from all backgrounds, and assist
them in how they will consume, evaluate and react to the complicated information they are
bombarded with every single day.
 References

Delacruz, E. M. (2012). What Asian American artists teach us about the complicated nature of

21st century Americans multilayered, transcultural, and hybridized identities and art

practices: Implications for an intercultural and social justice oriented approach to

teaching Art. In Chung, S. K. (Ed.). Teaching Asian art (pp. 234-240). Reston, VA:

National Art Education Association.

Glass, I. (2016). 599: Seriously? Retrieved from https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-

archives/episode/599/transcript

Gude, O. (2009). Art education for democratic life [NAEA Lowenfeld Lecture]. Retrieved

March 1, 2016, from http://www.arteducators.org/research/2009_Lowenfeld Lecture_

OliviaGude.pdf

Knight, W. (2009). Never again: A (K)night with Ben. In E. M. Delacruz, A. Arnold, M.

Parsons, and A. Kuo, (Eds.), Globalization, art, and education (pp. 68-75). Reston, VA:

National Art Education Association

Red Star. W. (2016). Biography. Retrieved from http://www.wendyredstar.com/bio

Stuhr, P. L. (2003). A tale of why social and cultural content is often excluded from art education

and why it should not be. Studies in Art Education, 44(4), 301-314.

Wiley, K. (2016). About. Retrieved from http://kehindewiley.com/about/