For

our class on November 25th, please read Arts of the Contact Zone, by Mary Louise Pratt. It is in our Ways of Seeing book, pages 581-596. This is an essay with complex language and difficult ideas. If you dont understand every word, dont worry about it. Id like you to try to work through this essay on your own. If you are really struggling, you can meet with me for helpplease send me an email to arrange a meeting. For class on Friday the 25th, please bring your response with you. As always, think about these questions as you read Pratts Arts of the Contact Zone. Then respond to the reading (in at least 300 words): you dont have to answer all of the questions, or even address any of them in your response. There are no real right answersthe prompts are just meant to guide your reading and thinking. If there is something interesting in the text that youd rather respond to, go ahead! We will talk about these questions and your responses in our class. Also, please try to avoid summary. I want to hear your ideas, not hear you regurgitate the reading to me. If you use someone elses words or ideas, you must cite them. Anything else is plagiarism cheatingand you will receive a zero for your work. If you have questions about this email me to set up a meeting. 1. There are several difficult terms Pratt uses repeatedly in here essay, for example: autoethnography, contact zone, and transculturation. Pick one of these three terms, define it in your own words, and then give an example from the real world. Explain how your example represents the term you choose. 2. Is our class a contact zone? Why or why not? Is the Literature Department at Selcuk University a contact zone? What about your role as bilingual students studying literature in another language? How do you feel after reading Pratts essay? Do you identify with Guaman Poma? As you read, think about how and where this essay might be said to speak directly to you about your education as a reader and writer in a contact zone. (Adapted from question 3 on page 596) 3. Although Pratt uses some big, difficult words, perhaps the most difficult terms used is culture. In your opinion, what is culture? How is it defined, constructed, or envisioned? Is it homogeneous or heterogeneous? What might it mean to shift the way you think about culture? Can you do itthat is, can you read the New Chronicle from both points of view; make the two points of view work in your own imagination? What does Pratt assume to be the dominant point of view now, for her readersdo we relate more with Guaman Poma or the Spaniards?(Adapted from question 4 on page 596) 4. Think of a community of which you are a member. Think of the utopian terms used to describe this community (terms used by Benedict Anderson and highlighted by Pratt on pages 591-2). Now think about that group in Pratts termsas a contact zone. How would you name and describe this social space? Is your community homogenous or heterogeneous? How does authority and/or power fit into your community? Which model makes more sense to imagine your community: Pratts model of a contact zone or Andersons model of a strongly utopian [community] embodying values like equality, fraternity, liberty.