Kristi Soriano-Noceda: Identity

Archive: Takeaway from our first lecture, an interactive discussion-based class regarding inclusivity, exclusivity, sense of community, and how we consider ourselves and others in the context of personal identity (including racial/ethnic/religious/gender/sexual-preference, and other factors).

I really enjoyed Ms. Soriano-Noceda's interactive presentation regarding personal identity, because it contextualized our cultural experiences as students (friends, family members, colleagues) and sought levels of intersection among these experiences. Through the group discussion, she invited me to consider not only about how I think about racial/religious/gender/cultural groups that are different from my own, but encouraged me to very consciously place myself in a space of social interaction with all of these communities.

There was one point during which I felt most uncomfortable during the discussion; deciding which M&Ms would constitute which racial/ethnic groups. On one hand, I was quickly able to recognize negative associations between identity and color based on the historical narratives of subjugated peoples; this included derogatory names, caricatures, and assumptions that at one point were popular terms of identity in history, and were the basis for exclusion of many different populations. I thought about themes I recognized from courses I have taken in racial/gender representation in media, as well as study of immigration law practices and citizenship. Though I personally reject the use of those once-popular terms to define people, and I know that these assumptions came from an educational space, I was concerned that it was so easy to recognize these negative associations simply by looking at different colors of M&Ms. I want to continue exploring/challenging these themes and assumptions via the medium of heritage language usage.

My favorite part of the presentation was thinking about how we can practice respectful, DIRECT, and inclusionary community-building. What is very interesting to me is understanding the balance between recognizing and celebrating differences (including the diverse cultural backgrounds that influence our unique identities) and simultaneously fostering our similarities (our common life experiences, educational goals and interests), and using this as the basis for creating a community that can be as inclusive as possible.