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Summary Of Takaki's A Different Mirror

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Perhaps the greatest bane of the notions of equality, justice, and unity that define the U.S. today is the institutionalized exploitation of different minorities. Carl Bagely and Ricardo Castro-Salazar argue in New Frontiers in Ethnography that this perennial exploitation happens due to the inability to respond to the, “sensory, emotional, and kinesthetic realities of the twenty-first century” (Bagely Castro-Salazar 153). In an effort to rectify these travesties, the authors suggest the implementation of critical performance ethnography (CPE), a method of societal correction via critical race theory (CRT), counter life history narratives (CLHN), and performance ethnography (PE). The parts of CPE are not individually powerful, however together …show more content…

The ability of CLHN to shape the perspective of external groups is powerful because it gives a voice to the historically powerless, which by extension creates an entirely new narrative that amalgamates both the majority’s and minority’s stories to catalyzes social change. A paragon of this notion is Ronald Takaki and his book A Different Mirror in which he details the constant sociopolitical struggles he faces as an Asian American in the United States. Takaki’s novel is an attempt to utilize CLHN to highlight the story of the minority in a day and age when the majority chokes the throats of the minorities with an iron fist in a velvet …show more content…

Both of these views are fundamentally flawed due to their narrowmindedness. Advocates of the former such as Dr. Benjamin Carson argue that although racism is still present, “the American Dream is accessible to my fellow Americans, regardless of color, ethnicity or background” (Carson 1). Although he has been more successful than other people of color, he is the exception to the rule. The reason he is held to such a high esteem is because many others were not as lucky as he was. CPE is meant to create more Ben Carsons so that everyone can have the same opportunity. Those who argue against the latter are partially correct. CPE cannot fix society by itself. However, no one idea will truly fix racism. Instead, it will be a collection of ideas that when used together will change the

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