"La Mar as she appears here is not only a mirror for black Atlantic queerness; she is a black Atlantic that mirrors queerly. Her song creates figures of comparison where terms are not equated but rather diffracted and recomposed, reflected in a broken mirror whose fractures are part of their meaning-creation. Let me point to two examples of “mis-mirrored” terms in this passage: languages (Spanish/English) and couples (yolabound/shipwrecked). In the second paragraph a centered, italicized Spanish-language poem — whose distinct visual arrangement recalls the vêvés (figures drawn on the ground in Voudoun ceremonies) that La Mar sings of — interrupts standard English prose; although the next paragraph offers an indirect, still bilingual translation (“Amor, I long for your kisses”), this translation remains notably inexact. Amplifying this chain of repetition with difference, the words of the poem are then revealed to be “really” spoken in the drowned slaves’ unrepresentable “languages that escaped the trappings of sound”: instead of speaking two languages that mirror each other, La Mar’s song contains three intertwined yet unequatable lenguas, proliferating and connecting across difference with each translation. Similarly, the star-eyed lovers at the bottom of the sea — those thrown overboard during the Middle Passage without their presence being definitively liquidated — do “twin” sea-crossing lovers Miriam and Micaela, but also do not. Miriam and Micaela remain on the waters’ surface while the ironclad lovers remain submerged and the love of the former helps them stay afloat while the amor of the latter comforts them in their sinking. The present repeats the past with a difference, and the spectacular figure of La Mar that joins them appears as the surplus — the overflow, the temporal and cultural gap that cannot be dissolved by their connection." Question: What is the connection between language and middle passage/queer black atlanticism? What I mean by that is simply, what/ how does language tie into it, and how can we describe complicating our understanding when looking at new languages as a result of middle passage?
" Gilroy places narratives of sexuality in competition with histories of race, as he notes that “conflictual representation of sexuality has vied with the discourse of racial emancipation to constitute the inner core of black expressive cultures.”11 But later, tension between these two melts away as Gilroy concludes that, actually, talking about sex is another way to talk about race. Black love stories in popular songs and elsewhere, he writes, are “narratives of love and loss [that] transcode other forms of yearning and mourning associated with histo- ries of dispersal and exile.”12 Sex is not about sex, then; it is about pain"
I'm not sure if I'm just misreading/misinterpreting but I'm not really getting how discussions of sex is another way to discuss race. Like is that just for the specific instance of the middle passage or is it applicable to other instances besides the middle passage?
Also sort of unrelated question, how can an aff perm a neg's performance? Like even if they replicate the performance they still wouldn't have the neg's affect would they?
If you can locate being white and male, you have the ability to locate yourself in other identity categories and investigate how those different identities interact.
White men often think that because they are white and male that they can opt out of a discussion, but an investigation of what it means to white and what it means to be male, and more importantly, what it means to be both at the same time.
What does the topic mean to me? (MY understanding of topic) What do I mean to the topic? (the topic's understanding of Me) Why debate? (an analysis of place/space) Whats the story? (how will I present it)
The formula above helps you to write any argument (aff or neg). There is no set way to perform. However, an example of a particular performance could be the aff exploring the ocean through the lens of the middle passage.
"La Mar as she appears here is not only a mirror for black Atlantic queerness;
ReplyDeleteshe is a black Atlantic that mirrors queerly. Her song creates figures of
comparison where terms are not equated but rather diffracted and recomposed,
reflected in a broken mirror whose fractures are part of their meaning-creation.
Let me point to two examples of “mis-mirrored” terms in this passage: languages
(Spanish/English) and couples (yolabound/shipwrecked). In the second paragraph
a centered, italicized Spanish-language poem — whose distinct visual arrangement
recalls the vêvés (figures drawn on the ground in Voudoun ceremonies) that
La Mar sings of — interrupts standard English prose; although the next paragraph
offers an indirect, still bilingual translation (“Amor, I long for your kisses”), this
translation remains notably inexact. Amplifying this chain of repetition with difference,
the words of the poem are then revealed to be “really” spoken in the
drowned slaves’ unrepresentable “languages that escaped the trappings of sound”:
instead of speaking two languages that mirror each other, La Mar’s song contains
three intertwined yet unequatable lenguas, proliferating and connecting across
difference with each translation. Similarly, the star-eyed lovers at the bottom of the
sea — those thrown overboard during the Middle Passage without their presence
being definitively liquidated — do “twin” sea-crossing lovers Miriam and Micaela,
but also do not. Miriam and Micaela remain on the waters’ surface while the ironclad
lovers remain submerged and the love of the former helps them stay afloat
while the amor of the latter comforts them in their sinking. The present repeats
the past with a difference, and the spectacular figure of La Mar that joins them
appears as the surplus — the overflow, the temporal and cultural gap that cannot
be dissolved by their connection."
Question: What is the connection between language and middle passage/queer black atlanticism? What I mean by that is simply, what/ how does language tie into it, and how can we describe complicating our understanding when looking at new languages as a result of middle passage?
" Gilroy places narratives of sexuality in competition with histories of race, as he notes that “conflictual representation of sexuality has vied with the discourse of racial emancipation to constitute the inner core of black expressive cultures.”11 But later, tension between these two melts away as Gilroy concludes that, actually, talking about sex is another way to talk about race. Black love stories in popular songs and elsewhere, he writes, are “narratives of love and loss [that] transcode other forms of yearning and mourning associated with histo- ries of dispersal and exile.”12 Sex is not about sex, then; it is about pain"
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I'm just misreading/misinterpreting but I'm not really getting how discussions of sex is another way to discuss race. Like is that just for the specific instance of the middle passage or is it applicable to other instances besides the middle passage?
Also sort of unrelated question, how can an aff perm a neg's performance? Like even if they replicate the performance they still wouldn't have the neg's affect would they?
How do I, as a white male, engage in discussions about the intersectionality between gender and sex and race?
ReplyDeleteIf you can locate being white and male, you have the ability to locate yourself in other identity categories and investigate how those different identities interact.
DeleteWhite men often think that because they are white and male that they can opt out of a discussion, but an investigation of what it means to white and what it means to be male, and more importantly, what it means to be both at the same time.
Thank you for asking this question!
How would an aff perform the discussion of gender, sex,and race in relation to the ocean in a debate round?
ReplyDeleteWhat does the topic mean to me? (MY understanding of topic)
DeleteWhat do I mean to the topic? (the topic's understanding of Me)
Why debate? (an analysis of place/space)
Whats the story? (how will I present it)
The formula above helps you to write any argument (aff or neg). There is no set way to perform. However, an example of a particular performance could be the aff exploring the ocean through the lens of the middle passage.