Because of a snow day we were unable to hear our planned guest speakers for Week 7. I was most excited about the possibility of learning more about community gardens and urban agriculture in Detroit. What are the possibilities of urban gardening to helping to develop and redevelop depressed urban communities? How do we ensure that these gardens remain in community control and serve the needs of the community? Is there a possibility to create an agribusiness model that does not stifle community involvement and maximizes resources and economies of scale? All of these are questions that I hope the students were able to think about as they did the reading on Community Gardens.
Concerning larger issues of alternative energy, a question might be raised both about the importance of policy but also about the political will. What political will exists to make the necessary changes to create a more sustainable energy environment. I think on some levels we can all agree that the current model, while enriching a very few is certainly not sustainable. What would sustainability look like and how might we encourage those in the energy business to shift from unsustainable to more sustainable energy practices.
During Week 8 we had a variety of interesting speakers. The students seemed highly motivated by seeing presentations from students who were not too much older than themselves. I was pleased that they had an opportunity to hear from young people who were motivated and working on making positive changes to their world.
Concerning the readings for this week, what I really wanted the students to get from the readings were two main points
a) the need for true community participation in alternative energy production, resource allocation and retention. What we learned in much of the reading was that many of these projects, no matter how well intentioned often had the effect of alienating the communities they purported to support and 'develop.'
b) I also wanted the students to think seriously about the issue of 'enclave tourism' The article is listed in the readings so please go to the public website for the course www.netvibes.com/adpbotswana and check the class Wiki. I know that many of the students are excited about the possibility of visiting a game park or going on safari while we are in Botswana. To that end I want them to think about these experiences quite critically while they are enjoying these experiences. Who benefits from these enclave tourist spots? How might we more effectively funnel our tourist dollars to the local communities. How can locals be better incorporated at the higher levels of the tourist industry (i.e. in management positions, as owners etc.) What responsibility, if any does the Botswana government have to make sure that local Batswana can partake in the tourist industry of their country?
Well this will be the last blog entry before we depart to Botswana. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
HIV/AIDS and Sex Education in Detroit
This week (Week 6) is the first of three sessions whereby students will be treated to guest speakers. As a professor it is always nice to have guest speakers particularly when they can illuminate an aspect of the work and the issues that bring the readings to life in a way that is not always possible to do as the instructor for the course.
Therefore, I was very grateful for our two guest speakers Barb Flis and Laura Hughes who each offered interesting perspectives on issues related to HIV/AIDs in contemporary Detroit.
Flis did an amazing job pointing out several aspects that I hope the students will take with them.
a) that sexuality is a healthy and important part of everyone's life even the lives of young people
b) that policy has a significant effect on how sex education works in schools
c) that local school districts and local parents have a significant say in how sex education policy gets implemented.
What I hope students retained from her presentation was the importance of policy in determining how sex education gets implemented and what kind of sex education is implemented. Ultimately, this is a process that is intensely political.
Laura Hughes was the second speaker for the day. I enjoyed her presentation about HIV/AIDs in Detroit, the Ruth Ellis Center and the types of vulnerability and marginalization that puts young black lgbt youth at risk for HIV/AIDS.
In many ways, her presentation did a great job of bringing to life the readings for this week particularly Marlon M. Bailey's "Performance as intervention" and Cathy Cohen's "The Boundaries of Blackness." Both of these texts speak of intra-racial community politics and the ways in which black lgbt folk (and those affected by HIV/AIDs in black communities) face forms of marginalization within already marginalized groups.
What I would like the students to think about is how do structural and systemic inequalities based on gender, race, class, and sexuality work to produce the forms of marginality and vulnerability that place particular communities at greater risk for HIV infection and what does it mean when HIV disproportionately affects those whose "bodies don't matter" to paraphrase Judith Butler. What persistent inequalities are revealed by the HIV/AIDs crisis in the United States that points to ways in which our political system is flawed and how can we deepen our own democracy? I hope to get students to question this particularly in light of several democratic revolutions occurring on the African continent at this time.
Therefore, I was very grateful for our two guest speakers Barb Flis and Laura Hughes who each offered interesting perspectives on issues related to HIV/AIDs in contemporary Detroit.
Flis did an amazing job pointing out several aspects that I hope the students will take with them.
a) that sexuality is a healthy and important part of everyone's life even the lives of young people
b) that policy has a significant effect on how sex education works in schools
c) that local school districts and local parents have a significant say in how sex education policy gets implemented.
What I hope students retained from her presentation was the importance of policy in determining how sex education gets implemented and what kind of sex education is implemented. Ultimately, this is a process that is intensely political.
Laura Hughes was the second speaker for the day. I enjoyed her presentation about HIV/AIDs in Detroit, the Ruth Ellis Center and the types of vulnerability and marginalization that puts young black lgbt youth at risk for HIV/AIDS.
In many ways, her presentation did a great job of bringing to life the readings for this week particularly Marlon M. Bailey's "Performance as intervention" and Cathy Cohen's "The Boundaries of Blackness." Both of these texts speak of intra-racial community politics and the ways in which black lgbt folk (and those affected by HIV/AIDs in black communities) face forms of marginalization within already marginalized groups.
What I would like the students to think about is how do structural and systemic inequalities based on gender, race, class, and sexuality work to produce the forms of marginality and vulnerability that place particular communities at greater risk for HIV infection and what does it mean when HIV disproportionately affects those whose "bodies don't matter" to paraphrase Judith Butler. What persistent inequalities are revealed by the HIV/AIDs crisis in the United States that points to ways in which our political system is flawed and how can we deepen our own democracy? I hope to get students to question this particularly in light of several democratic revolutions occurring on the African continent at this time.
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