Vorschlag B1

Feeling different

Dieser Vorschlag bezieht sich auf Hanif Kureishi: My Son the Fanatic.

Der vorliegende Vorschlag enthält in Aufgabe 3 alternative Arbeitsanweisungen.

Outline what the author misses and what she criticizes about Pakistan. (Material)

(25 BE)

Relate the text (Material) to Hanif Kureishi’s “My Son the Fanatic”.

(40 BE)

Choose one of the following tasks:

3.1

“England seemed to centre itself, its offerings and its institutions, around the rich and the white. I had to work twice as hard in order to be considered worthy of these invisible privileges.” (Material)

Taking the quotation as a starting point, discuss if the author’s experiences are common challenges people of colour in the USA have to face.

3.2

You are part of a team preparing an international seminar on race and ethnicity called “Celebrating ethnic roots”.

For the seminar’s website, write an article assessing to what extent different ethnicities are celebrated in contemporary British and American society.

(35 BE)

Neha Maqsood: The Way Back Home (essay, 2021)

[...] For me, the notion of home has always been devotedly tied to Pakistan. I have spent my

impressionable years growing up in Karachi, a metropolis that endlessly throbs with possibility. I saw

how young people – aspiring actors, activists, students and entrepreneurs – would arrive in Karachi in

droves, hoping to change the trajectory of their lives for the better.

When I was 18, I set out with the same hope for my future – but far from Karachi. It was my first time

leaving my home, to study at a university in England. It was also the first time when I realized how

strongly connected and utterly dependent I was on Pakistan – how deeply attached I was to the notion

of home and belonging.

In England, I longed for Pakistan. I ached for the gentle nurturing of my family, the vibrant culture,

conversing in Urdu and celebrating religious occasions like Eid. During particularly dreary days, I

found myself reminiscing over the intense heat which hit Karachi in the mid-afternoons. In England, I

felt like I was performing, donning additional layers of protection to securely acclimatise to this new

environment. Only when I returned to Karachi would I peel back those layers until I attained some

semblance of normalcy.

Away from home, I became an anxious person who felt deeply adrift from her True North. Initially, I

had pegged this problem as the average 18-year-old being afflicted with homesickness but, over time,

I realised that what had settled within me was more of a permanent grievance. I had gone through

something more traumatic – the loss of a homeland.

[...] Pakistan is not a country without flaws. It is stratified, disorderly, led by opportunistic

politicians, it offers limited mobility for women in public spaces, unjustly deals with heinous crimes

and struggles with a broken educational system. It is a place where patriarchal norms have prevented

even privileged women like me from self-actualising and maturing in ways which women from other

more liberal countries can. Yet, despite its blatant failings, I’ve failed at reducing my devotion to this

country. [...]

There are certain privileges, particularly as a woman, which come with living in the West. There are

certain things I can do without thinking twice: I can enjoy a cup of coffee under the sun or aimlessly

loiter without trepidation. But regardless of all the First World benefits which the West undeniably

offers, there I will always be considered an ‘other’.

In England, I found myself an unwarranted recipient of an unwarranted marker of identity – “minority

status.” On and off campus, I was the victim of multiple micro-aggressions and racist assaults – from

old, white men proclaiming that I was a member of Al-Qaeda, to professors repeatedly and

unconsciously entrusting white peers over me to lead presentations and seminars.

My name, heritage and nationality were perpetual reminders of my otherness. I would observe the

ways my white peers moved, how they shifted and occupied spaces so nonchalantly, while people of

colour, including myself, seemed to orbit around them. As a brown Muslim woman, I couldn’t take up

space as easily as my white peers, and there always existed the looming threat that came with

practising Islam.

England seemed to centre itself, its offerings and its institutions, around the rich and the white. I had to

work twice as hard in order to be considered worthy of these invisible privileges.

Alongside the otherness, I also felt like a hindrance. In London, people were always on the move and

had a general air of being ‘too busy’. As a dawdler, I would find myself getting in the way of others

all the time.

Though a similar hustle and bustle existed in Karachi, it was far more languid in comparison. There

were multiple moments in the day which were designed to facilitate communal interactions, including

haggling with fruit vendors, hailing a rickshaw and making small talk with the aunty standing next to

you in a queue. In London, modernity had wiped out the need for communication; it was infantilising

interacting mainly with robots for self-service checkouts and contactless payments, for instance.

[...] My educational experience in London seemed monotonous. Every moment felt dull, and it

seemed as if I were watching myself follow a system which I had never questioned. I would wake up,

commute to work and college in a metal box crammed with uncommunicative passengers staring at

their phones, be delivered to an air-conditioned high-rise, grab an expensive meal-deal and return

home in the dull subway carriages, only to repeat the same routine the next day.

In the three years I spent in England, I tried my hardest to create something soft for myself within the

dark, sanitary greyness of it all. When I was alone in my dorm, I would try to reassure myself that the

life I had led in Pakistan was real and that it didn’t simply exist in my mind. But ultimately, London

got the best of me.

I was terrified of it in a way I never was of Karachi – the pace, the scale, the crowds. I found that,

while London was the epicentre of arts and culture, it was also the centre of a rapidly growing finance

culture, of rampant consumerism, toxic power and fast fashion. I felt increasingly out of touch with

my own humanity and spirituality. And so, at 21 years old, I scuttled back home swiftly after

graduation. [...]

(902 Wörter)

Neha Maqsood: The Way Back Home, in: Dawn, 03.10.2021 (abgerufen am 20.08.2024).

Hinweis

Neha Maqsood is a Pakistani writer. Her articles and essays about South Asian culture, race relations and feminism have been published in international magazines and newspapers, one of which is the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

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Note:
Our solutions are listed in bullet points. In the examination, full marks can only be achieved by writing a continuous text. It must be noted that our conclusions contain only some of the possible aspects. Students can also find a different approach to argumentation.

the author deeply misses the sense of home and belonging that she feels in Pakistan (Karachi)
longing for the care of her family, vibrant Pakistani culture, speaking Urdu, and celebrating religious occasions like Eid
misses the frequent, meaningful social interactions in Pakistan, such as bargaining with vendors, flagging down rickshaws, and chatting with people in queues
she misses the calmer and more laid-back life pace in Karachi compared to the fast-paced life in London

Main Body
What the Author Misses about Pakistan

criticises Pakistan as a country run by tiers, messy, and opportunistic politicians
points out the limited mobility and access to public space for women
she stresses the patriarchal norms that prevent even privileged women from self-expression
author criticises the country's handling of hideous crimes and the broken education system
criticising the social norms in Pakistan that restrict the growth and maturity of women as compared to more liberal countries

Criticism of Pakistan

Both Neha Maqsood's essay The Way Back Home and Hanif Kureishi's short story My Son the Fanatic explore themes of cultural identity, belonging, and the complex relationship between the East and the West. While Maqsood reflects on her deep connection to Pakistan and her struggle with feeling like an outsider in England, Kureishi explores the tensions between a father and his son as they confront their differences in attitudes towards Western values and Islamic identity. These narratives highlight the challenges faced by people caught between two cultures, emphasising the sense of alienation and the search for belonging.

Introduction

Maqsood's attachment to Pakistan
$\rightarrow$ views Pakistan as her true home, with deep cultural and emotional ties
$\rightarrow$ misses the familiar customs, language, and community interactions of Karachi
$\rightarrow$ In England, she feels disconnected and inauthentic, as if she is "performing" to fit in.
$\rightarrow$ struggling with homesickness and a sense of permanent loss while away from Pakistan.

The struggle of Parvez
$\rightarrow$ believes in Western ideals of success, freedom, and integration as key to a better life
$\rightarrow$ facing internal conflict as his son Ali increasingly distances himself from these Western values
$\rightarrow$ Ali's embrace of a stricter religious identity is seen as a rejection of Parvez's efforts to integrate into British society
$\rightarrow$ father-son relationship becomes strained
$\rightarrow$ relationship highlights the tension between cultural assimilation and preserving one's original cultural roots

Main Body
Sense of Belonging and Cultural Identity

Maqsood's Experience in England
$\rightarrow$ she is confronted with microaggressions and racist incidents that reinforce her outsider status
$\rightarrow$ struggles to connect with the dominant culture
$\rightarrow$ feels out of place in social and academic environments
$\rightarrow$ sense of loneliness and a sense of separation from her true self
$\rightarrow$ masking her true cultural identity as she feels forced to perform
$\rightarrow$ misses the communal interactions and cultural practices in Pakistan

Ali's Rejection of Western Culture
$\rightarrow$ views Western society as morally and spiritually lacking, leading to his rejection of its values
$\rightarrow$ struggles with his identity, feeling torn between his cultural roots and the Western environment
$\rightarrow$ embraces a more rigid form of Islam as a way to assert his identity and reject Western influences
$\rightarrow$ radicalization creates tension with his father, who embraces Western ideals
$\rightarrow$ Ali's actions stem from a desire to find a community and sense of belonging that he doesn't feel in Western society.

Disassociation and Otherness

Maqsood's disappointment with London
$\rightarrow$ feels London is dominated by consumerism, fast fashion, and toxic power
$\rightarrow$ contrasts this with Karachi, which she views as more connected to humanity
$\rightarrow$ critiques the superficiality and emptiness of Western society, feeling it lacks deeper values

Ali's turn to religious extremism
$\rightarrow$ criticizes Western materialism and excess, viewing it as sinful
$\rightarrow$ turns to religious extremism as a reaction against Western consumerism
$\rightarrow$ Kureishi highlights the dangers of rejecting one culture entirely, leading to extremism.

Criticism of Western Materialism

Both Maqsood and Kureishi explore the challenges of navigating cultural identity between the East and West. Maqsood emphasizes the deep ties to one's homeland and the alienation felt in the West, while Kureishi examines the generational conflict over cultural assimilation. Together, they highlight the complexities of belonging and the ongoing journey of negotiating between cultures.

Conclusion

3.1

The quotation, "England seemed to centre itself, its offerings and its institutions, around the rich and the white. I had to work twice as hard in order to be considered worthy of these invisible privileges," highlights the systemic inequality and racial discrimination faced by people of colour in predominantly white societies. Although the context is specific to England, the feeling translates very well to the experiences of people of colour in the United States. The universal need to work harder to gain recognition, respect, and opportunity is a reality that deeply affects many marginalised groups in the US.

Introduction

unequal access to quality education as many communities of colour in the US have limited access to quality education due to underfunded schools
lack of access often leads to poorer academic performance
path from school to prison disproportionately affects students of colour, especially Black and Hispanic students
students of colour often face lower expectations from teachers
fewer opportunities for advanced courses and gifted programs
students internalise these low expectations
lack of diverse cultural representation in curricular materials can alienate students of colour

Main Body
In Education

People of colour are often discriminated in recruitment processes
even when employed, People of Colour are often paid less than their white counterparts
People of colour are significantly overrepresented in lower-paid occupations
underrepresented in leadership positions, which exacerbates economic inequalities and limits upward mobility

Employment and Economic Inequality

long history of racial discrimination in the US, including slavery, segregation ...
intergenerational wealth gap that makes it difficult for people of colour to move up the social ladder
People of Color in predominantly white spaces often bear the burden of representing their entire ethnicity
pressure to perform, contributing to a sense that they must work "twice as hard" to be seen as equals
privilege of being white is often invisible to those who have it, and it manifests itself in everyday interactions

Social Mobility and Systemic Barriers

The challenges in the quotation highlight the systemic inequities that people of color in the U.S. face, where they must work harder for the same opportunities as their white peers. These disparities are rooted in society's institutions, requiring collective action to dismantle barriers and ensure equal opportunities for all.

Conclusion

3.2

A Reflection on Contemporary British and American Society

Heading

In today's multicultural societies, celebrating ethnic roots is both a recognition of diversity and a challenge in the face of ongoing issues of racial inequality. In the UK and US, where histories of immigration and colonialism have created a rich web of cultural identities, the extent to which different ethnicities are celebrated varies considerably. This article explores the celebration of ethnic roots in contemporary British and American societies, assessing both the progress made and the challenges that remain.

Introduction

improved ethnic representation in films, TV shows, and music
greater visibility of diverse cultures and backgrounds in mainstream media
However, representation often remains symbolic, with ethnic characters and stories often portrayed through a stereotypical lens.
White, Western narratives dominate the media landscape

Main Body
Representation in Media and Pop Culture

festivals like Notting Hill Carnival and Juneteenth celebrate ethnic traditions
Heritage months (e.g., Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month) promote cultural awareness
ethnic contributions are celebrated through awards and honors, such as the BET Awards in the USA
celebrations are often seen as superficial or limited to specific times of the year
big need for continuous engagement with and respect for diverse cultural identities

Cultural Festivals and Heritage Months

despite outward appearances of progress, invisible barriers continue to limit opportunities for people of colour
societal structures often favour white, Western norms, making it harder for ethnic minorities to succeed
true equality requires dismantling these unseen obstacles to create a more inclusive society
real progress demands addressing the systemic biases that hinder true inclusion and equality

Persistent Challenges and Marginalization

While British and American societies today have made progress in honouring ethnic roots through media representation and cultural events, these efforts are often overshadowed by the ongoing challenges of systemic racism and inequality. A true appreciation of ethnic diversity requires not only recognising and celebrating different cultural identities, but also addressing the underlying issues that prevent full and equal participation in society. Only through sustained efforts to break down these barriers can we ensure that all ethnicities are truly celebrated and respected.

Conclusion

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