Regina Lee’s chapter “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness” breaks down how we should understand diaspora. “I want to begin with the argument that diasporic communities tend to exhibit, broadly, three main types of psychological states, or forms of consciousness, which are: idealization of homeland, boutique multicultural manifestation, and transitional/transformational identity politics” (Lee 53-54). Lee argues that these three forms while are not all encompassing, they still highlight the important basis of a diaspora. In particular with boutique multicultural manifestation, “A direct effect of globalization has been the increase in cultural plurality, giving rise to more and more multicultural societies, resulting in debates over the granting of equal recognition and equal worth to minority cultures” (Lee 61). With more communities emigrating to the U.S., there are more people that do not fit in the majoritarian White story. For example, growing up at school in Texas in Seattle, we were mainly taught state and U.S. history. We rarely branched out to learn about other countries or other people’s history. Even when we learned about the Vietnam War in AP U.S. History, we only discussed how college students protested it and how it was a “quagmire” for the U.S. I had the privilege of taking ASA classes with Professor Maira to learn about the true history of the Vietnam War, yet many do not get this opportunity.
How can we create a society that gives “equal recognition and equal worth to minority cultures” (Lee 61)?
Bibliography
Regina Lee. “Theorizing Diaspora: Three Types of Consciousness.”
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