Lecture Notes: Language, Culture, and Identity
Introduction
- Speaker: Tanya Cushman
- Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
- Main Topics: Learning languages, understanding cultures, identity, and art
Personal Background
- Speaker's Identity
- Nationality: Haitian
- Profession: Artist
- Collaborator: Yu Yu, a dancer and translator
- Early Life
- Born near Manchester, England
- Discusses the impact of accents and gestures on identity
Main Themes
Language and Culture
- Multilingualism: Learning different languages to understand various cultures
- Cultural Perceptions
- Misunderstandings or assumptions based on accents
- Example: Using Mandarin to mask Northern English accent
Identity and Representation
- Cultural Identity
- Challenges with wearing culturally significant attire (e.g., Indian robes)
- Identity shaped by various cultural influences (e.g., Kung Fu movies, comics)
- Exploration of Identity Through Art
- Art as a medium to challenge assumptions related to gender, race, class
- Personal story of shaving hair to imitate father’s 1960s immigration look
Influences and Inspirations
- Childhood Influences
- Inspirations from Spider-Man, Bruce Lee
- Bruce Lee Quote: "Be formless, shapeless, like water"
- Bruce Lee's Hypothetical Advice
- Imitation and Authenticity
- Learning by imitating childhood heroes, parents
- Imitation leading to self-discovery
Language Learning and Experience
- Challenges with Learning Chinese
- Writing frustrations into Chinese and memorizing it
- Issues with tonal differences in language learning
- Humorous misunderstanding of learning in a woman's voice
Conclusion
- Artistic Identity and Expression
- Authenticity through imitation failures
- Art as a pursuit of genuine self-discovery through various cultural lenses
- Closing Thought: Identity shaped by diverse cultural influences, not just heritage
This lecture highlights how language and culture are interconnected and the role of imitation in shaping identity, as well as the speaker’s personal journey in exploring these themes through art.