The following is written in English, because a large number of you do not speak (much) Dutch. From the US, we want to thank our Dutch speakers for reading this in English!
Welcome students, Dutch, American, and other, to the Nederland-Amerika: Zwarte Piet 2014 blog! We look forward to reading your introductions and your discussions about Zwarte Piet. We are 3965.5 miles or 6381.9 kilometers away from each other so first a hiep hiep hoera for technology!
Some of you are taking Dutch in a Dutch in high school, some at an American university, and some of you are taking a course on tolerance in Amsterdam and Dutch culture. All of you know that Zwarte Piet has been a heated debate in The Netherlands this fall. The topic has been of some interest for some time, but never to this extent, and never with as many opposing voices by people of color.
Some of you are taking Dutch in a Dutch in high school, some at an American university, and some of you are taking a course on tolerance in Amsterdam and Dutch culture. All of you know that Zwarte Piet has been a heated debate in The Netherlands this fall. The topic has been of some interest for some time, but never to this extent, and never with as many opposing voices by people of color.
Many native Dutch (autochtonen) are fed up with the topic and feel that the controversy is at best mundane and at worst an insult to their beloved tradition by troublesome "others". Some native Dutch are trying to change the tradition in a piecemeal fashion. Many Dutch people of color are angry because they feel zwarte piet is racist and their voices are not heard. Other Dutch people of color embrace the tradition. People in many other parts of the world struggle to understand the prevailing Dutch point of view that zwarte piet isn't racist. This blog is a rare opportunity to talk to each other!
Students in Ann Arbor: Please publish one blog post by Friday, November 14. In it:
Language:
If you are taking Dutch, write the intro and question in Dutch, and the Zwarte Piet discussion as much as possible in English, but you can switch to English for the latter. If you are in the Amsterdam seminar, you can of course write everything in English. If you are in the Netherlands, please write everything in English.
Name in title:
Please put your full name (first and last) in the title of your post(s) and the country you are in. So, for example, "America: Annemarie Toebosch"
Greetings!/Groeten!
Simone en Annemarie
Students in Ann Arbor: Please publish one blog post by Friday, November 14. In it:
- Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, what are your interests. Include a link in your introduction to something you would like students in the Netherlands to see.
- Give your own cultural perspective on the tradition of Zwarte Piet: your thoughts/ideas, emotions, and possible solutions.
- Ask your blog mates in the Netherlands a question. This can be about anything.
- Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, what are your interests. Include a link in your introduction to something you would like the students in America to see.
- Give your own cultural perspective on the tradition of Zwarte Piet: your thoughts/ideas, emotions, and possible solutions.
- Answer the question of the blogger you are responding to.
If you are taking Dutch, write the intro and question in Dutch, and the Zwarte Piet discussion as much as possible in English, but you can switch to English for the latter. If you are in the Amsterdam seminar, you can of course write everything in English. If you are in the Netherlands, please write everything in English.
Name in title:
Please put your full name (first and last) in the title of your post(s) and the country you are in. So, for example, "America: Annemarie Toebosch"
Greetings!/Groeten!
Simone en Annemarie
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.