Reflecting on the Quarter so far

Reflecting on what we have learned this quarter, I found what really interests me is the ways in which marginalized cultures, specifically immigrants, are able to make themselves heard or seen in a larger society. I am interested in ways in which marginalized voices are being silenced, and almost every reading we have done has in some way discussed that aspect. We just read the article about the artwork in Spain immigrants and marginalized groups used to make their voices heard. But more specifically, living in a large westernized culture and traveling to Berlin, we assume we know what people from other cultures want. We assume the type of education they want, and the ways in which they want to assimilate into society, but what we rarely choose to ask them, and that contributes to the destruction and the oppression of these groups. In the article that we read by Eva Youkhana, the artwork was one way people have their voices heard, but on page 28 of Age of Migration, the author talks about how even children want to live a certain lifestyle that ignores the cultural desires of certain groups.

            I have learned in this class as well as the other classes I am taking this quarter that nationalism is important to many countries which is why many countries are not open to allowing people with different cultures to come in. Overall this fear constitutes as xenophobia, but as many people, including kids coming into the country, easily adapt to the changes in culture. But because most people choose to leave their country due to government issues, war, or other means of finding safety, what immigrants actually want is what most interests me. Would people coming to different countries really be interested in learning about the culture of the new country, and what stops them and encourages them? I am specifically interested in children. Children minds are easily mended, but what would encourage them to change their culture and what factors encourage them to keep them? How do parents respond? Do parents ever care about their kid’s safety in a new place, and if so, for what reason? Finally, my last question is how children feel by their needs are listened to, and what they do for their voices to be heard. From what I have read, children seem most willing to adapt to the culture, but being the future, how can their voice make a difference.