This week’s ethnographic readings really drew me in and made me interested in this subject in a way I had never thought about before. I have always been someone who really loves and enjoys literature but hadn’t really thought about it in the way that Taneja does through these readings. The ties and depth that can be drawn between literature and our lives seemed to explain some of the feelings that I would have when reading a really good book or reading poetry that sparked a certain mood while reading them. Taneja discussed how words were used in protests and the impact that they have on the ways people interact with their identities and that was something that I found especially impactful. However, this leaves me with a question of how can we use words to get closer to the ideal world we would like to live in? At the end of the Hindustan reading from Taneja, a time where different poets come together to discuss and exist with one another is described and I think that this holds part of the solution to our issues. If we’re able to talk more and find points of agreement together, I think it is possible for us to potentially become more unified, but this would not be a quick or smooth process at all.
I would say that this week’s readings really helped me to understand the value behind field notes and the deeper connections that they have. From Taneja’s description of how Hindustan is talked about and described through different interactions with people, whether it be at protests or through someone listening to Jaun Elia’s writings, the words of Urdu poetry have a definitive impact on people and this speaks to the power of words. Overall, this reading pushed me to want to make sure that I understand the importance of the words that I use to write about experiences and how I describe the people that I will be interviewing for my project. I think this also connects back to Shange’s ethnography from last week because you could see how carefully she was thinking about the way she chose to write about her students.