Better Lives Blog Post 4
I chose Sadikchaya’s blog post to reflect on because it’s very well written but also because it is something I can relate to on a personal level, thus making it so much more intriguing to me. It is very clear that she has understood all three Better Lives themes and was genuinely engaged in the lectures. Her interest in the topic of diversity parallels my interest in that same topic as well.
I can relate to her experiences with diversity and her thought process behind this complex concept as I am Arab-Circassian. Therefore, I have had my own experiences with diversity and cultural appropriation. Due to my interest in this topic, I dedicated my Better Lives critical design project to the same topic of diversity regarding religion and ethnicity. I was born in Jordan thus making me Arab. However, I am also Circassian (south of Russia), but I never had the chance to learn my language or even visit my home country. To most that seems like I do not fit the criterion of being Circassian, and I also do not fit to the criterion of being an Arab. So I have struggled with my identity for a while now. That is why her blog post is interesting to read and something I can relate to on a deeper level.
Overall your blog post was a good read, however I found it extremely thought-provoking when she mentioned that it “is fine to take inspiration from other cultures but as long as you understand and acknowledge the history and value behind it.” I do not think I could have phrased that sentence in a better way. I completely agree with what she said. I think that acknowledging the history as well as the value behind a culture is the most important thing. Each culture holds an enormous amount of antiquity and history behind it, that it is not reasonable for certain people to disregard that.
I enjoyed the personal feel to this blog post, I felt as though Sadikchaya really opened about how this topic has affected her. I also think that she showed a deep understanding of the three concepts that we are supposed to focus on. For further development I think that Sadikchaya can portray more examples of cultural appropriation in more depth, and that she could suggest possible ways in which conflicts within this topic can be overcome.