Summary/Response to “Identity as an Analytic Lens for Research in Education.” M.Elizabeth Garza, 7/17/18
Gee, James Paul. “Identity as an Analytic Lens for Research in Education.” Review of Research in Education, vol. 25, 2000,pp. 99-125. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1167322.
Summary:
In this article “Identity as an Analytic Lens for Research in Education,” by James Paul Gee, explains that Identity has been seen an important instrument to identify with schools and communities. Identity has become abroad in the literature view. Identity is originally viewed according to James Paul Gee as a “Persona” everybody behaves or acts a certain way in public or around family. A person’s behavior detects their “Persona” your individuality. However, James Paul Gee tells us that there are many ways that we can perceive “identity,” but he wants to concentrate on one piece of that broad word and use the term, “sketch” referring to the characteristics of an individual to better understand the Identity. Identities that have been perceived in the past as contrary are now, viewed and classified, for example, a child in a classroom is not disruptive but instead identified as a child that has “ADHD.”
Response:
I think that that the Gee’s article explains very well how he wants us to perceive Identity differently. At the beginning of the article, he gives us excellent examples that we can relate to. Also, he gives us a proper presentation of how he wants us to see “Identity as an Analytic Lens for Research in Education.” I like the ideas that he uses the word “sketch,” to present the view in “Identity,” as a theoretical concept. When I read the word sketch, I mentally picture a drawing. Moreover, I think that is what he is trying to by relating Identities explicitly by using social discourses. I like the example and scenarios that Gee uses to give a further openly view the analytic lens to see in the classrooms. He uses two different situations that describe an ethnically distinct second-grade schoolroom in a public school. This article makes me think of the time when I was teaching ESL students. It is so important to remind ourselves that each child is different and that we need to view to their efforts and abilities with a different lens to be an effective teacher.
Quotations:
“One cannot have an identity of any sort without some interpretive system underwriting the recognition of that identity (107).
CITATIONS:
Kelly, Gregory J. “Developing Critical Conversations About Identity Research in Science Education.” Identity Construction and Science Education Research, 2012, pp. 189–196., doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-043-9_13.
"Identity is originally viewed according to James Paul Gee as a “Persona” everybody behaves or acts a certain way in public or around family."
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting quote for me; it insinuates that identity is not something that is innate and fixed, but something that is constantly changing and adapting to the environments and individuals that are present. I like this definition.
Elizabeth, in your summary you mentioned,
ReplyDelete"Identity is originally viewed according to James Paul Gee as a “Persona” everybody behaves or acts a certain way in public or around family. A person’s behavior detects their “Persona” your individuality"
I think this is one way of looking at identity through the way it is perceived by others as mentioned the 'persona.' But where I question, or rather, would like to expand on is, though our behavior is a way of other people to identify us and recognize our 'persona's' those aspects only show a small piece of us and our personas. And though I do like the term 'sketch' I feel as if basing an entire theory or argument (using this lightly here) around the things that are easily identifiable in a person, or more specially, a student in a diverse classroom I do see where some problems might arise.
Need to mention here that I read a few pages of the article you posted about and I feel there are some core aspects of it that should have been mentioned, especially the part about "core identity." Which is really helpful to distinguish the work around 'sketch' and how it seeks to solely mention one way to approach identity. I suppose I simply have an issue of those trying to 'define' others identity based on the things we see and can recognize about people. (which I believe he mentions briefly in the intro) There's actually a lot going on in this article in regards to current issues.
I will say that your response caused me to want to look at the article and see what the author was talking about. And to my surprise there's a lot of interesting ideas being talked about in there aside from those you mentioned.
Elizabeth, I was unsure about the definition of sketch. You write, "'sketch' referring to the characteristics of an individual to better understand the Identity." I'm not sure how "characteristics of an individual" is different from "identity." One thing I need to know is how Gee defines identity. Only then will I understand the difference--though I think I need a clear understanding of sketch as well. One thing that might help would be one or more of the examples or situations you tell us Gee gives the reader.
ReplyDeleteCan you clarify these ideas?
I found the example of the "disruptive" student versus the student with ADHD very interesting. Labels are a strong force that affects how you identify who you are and how others identify you. In one of Dr. Noe's classes, we read a chapter on identity from an ethnography by Ralph Cintron. In the chapter, the young boy is identified primarily by his learning disability. At school, he is an LD student, at home he is 'tapado', and with himself, he struggles to find ways to counter the identity that others have given him with this LD label. Even if he grows up to move past this label, the effects of having been given that label in the first place have already affected his identity formation. This, I feel, further solidifies that identity is a social construction.
ReplyDeleteI know I went off from your article but I just thought that one point was interesting.