Centre / Margin

• Engels
• HBO
• Studiejaar 2

Centre / Margin

Can you belong to two cultures at once?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Only if they're not in conflict

can you explain?

what could this look like?

Speaking multiple languages

Celebrating multiple holidays or traditions

Navigating different social norms depending on context

Feeling "in-between" or hybridized, but not necessarily divided

think of immigration 

multicultural families

What do all these maps have in common?

Europe is placed in the centre

Concept

- centre = dominant, colonising powers

- margin = the colonised, often suppressed

- claim to civilise 

we talked about the concept of "the other" in relation to colonisation. the only way to successfully colonise and overrule a country is to create a difference (border). this relates to the concept of centre / margin

this is a model that theorists use to clarify how colonisers exercised power, by creating a divide.

colonisers created a mental map of the world that wasn’t just about geography, it was about power.

The “centre” = colonizing powers (like Europe), seen as powerful, civilized, and important.

The “margin” = colonized places and people, seen as weak, uncivilized, and less important.

Europeans called themself the centre of the map, that's where they were placed, literally and symbolically. everything outside Europe was pushed to the margins. these colonizers claimed they wanted to civilize these margins, but in reality this idea served to justify their control over it.

Derek Walcott

Mau mau uprising

born in Caribbean 

African & European 

the poem we're about to read is set in the Mau Mau uprising.

How do the pictures support the text? 

now we are going to read / listen to a poem by Derek Walcott

How is Centre / margin depicted?

The speaker is torn between centre (British culture/language) and margin (colonial violence and African ancestry).

What other concepts could be related to the text?

The other / binaries: the gorilla and superman. Colonised and coloniser. He sees himself as the other; he is divided in himself. Africa – English. Savages – upright man. 

Third world: colonial violence 

What do the ‘gorilla and the superman’ symbolise?

gorilla = suppressed Kenyan colonized 

Superman = British colonial power

What might Walcott mean by being ‘divided to the vein’?

Clash of Claims

Round 1:

+-5 minutes to prepare 2 arguments 

each group present their arguments

Round 2:

+-5 minutes to prepare counter arguments 

2 different students present these

Round 3:

Discussion!

Group 1:

Thomas

Fehime

Lieke

Wouter

Suzan

Stijn

Femke

Group 2:

Kiara

Roos

Kyan

Sam

Floyd

Hanne

Manou

If we keep using this centre/margin model, we might accidentally keep the same structure alive.

one group is for

one group against