Memories and Re-Memories of My Mom’s Eye Bandage: Trans-Relation Among the Norms, Otherness, and Resistance
Main Article Content
Keywords
South Korea, otherness, visual impairment
Abstract
A mother and daughter from South Korea construct re-memories about the mother’s visual impairment. The paper uses the concept of re-memory that Toni Morrison uses in her novel, Beloved: the act of revisiting a memory in order to reconstruct “past realities.” The aim is not to “tell” the story of what it means to live as a person with a visual impairment while being a single mother and working as a special educator in Korean society, or what it means to live as the daughter of that person. There is no attempt to claim an authoritative version of “our stories.” Instead the goal is to recognize our own social construction and cultural conditioning through re-reading our shared memories. Conceiving ourselves as sites for cultural critique and social change, the presentation will interrogate the ways in which mother and daughter have been constituted by historically, socially, and culturally specific discourses. The presentation will interrogate the ways in which our memories and experiences are enmeshed in a web of ableism, classism, sexism, and ageism. Finally, the paper will discuss what ethical work mother and daughter may/can do on themselves as educational researchers and teacher educators.
References
Biklen, D., Attfield, R., Bissonnette, L., Blackman, L., Burke, J., Frugone, A., Mukhopadhyay, T. R., & Rubin, S. (2005). Autism and the myth of the person alone. New York: New York University Press.
Biklen, D. & Burke, J. (2006). Presuming competence. Equity & Excellence in Education, 39, 166-175.
Blackburn, L. (1999). Lucy’s story: Autism and other adventures. Redcliffe, Australia: Book in Hand.
Britzman, D. P. (1995). “The quest of belief”: Writing poststructural ethnography. Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(3), 229-238.
Butler, J. (2006). Giving an account of oneself. New York: Fordham University Press.
Charlton, J. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Couser, G. T. (2005). Disability and (auto)ethnobiography: Riding (and writing) the bus with my sister. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 34(2), 121-142.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edition (pp. 1-28). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fine, M. (1994). Working the hyphens: Reinventing the self and other in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 70-82). Newbury, Park, CA: Sage.
Leonardo, Z. & Broderick, A. (2011). Smartness as property: A critical exploration of intersections between whiteness and disability studies. Teachers College Record, 113 (10). 2206-2232.
Miller, J. (2005). Sounds of silence breaking: Women, autobiography, curriculum. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Mooney, J. (2007). The short bus: A journey beyond normal. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Mukhopadhyay, T. L. (2000). Beyond the silence: My life, the world, and autism. London: National Autistic Society.
Spivak, G. C. (1987). In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics. New York: Methuen.
The Maternal and Child Health Act § 14, 1, Republic of Korea § 9932 (2010).
Ministry of Health and Welfare (2003). Rules of degree of disability. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Weiss, L., Fine, M., Wessen, S., & Wong, M. (2000). Qualitative research, representations, and social responsibilities. In Lois Weis & Michelle Fine (Eds.), Speed bumps: A student-friendly guide to qualitative research (pp. 32-66). New York: Teachers College Press.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
RDS Journal is an open-access journal, create a free account to read full articles and to submit a proposal. For visual arts and multimedia, submission will be considered evidence that you are offering RDS the right to display your work without penalty, compensation or royalties.
Su Jung Um, Teachers College, Columbia University
Su Jung Um is a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a former teacher who has served as a classroom teacher in an Elementary School in Seoul, South Korea. She earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Teacher Education at Stanford University. She is currently teaching at Woosuk University in Jeonju, South Korea. Her research interests include understanding inclusive and exclusive schooling practices from postcolonial studies and preparing pre-service teachers for democratic education.
Jong Lye Won, Professor, Department of Care & Education for Young Children with Disabilities, Korea National College of Welfare
Jong Lye Won is a professor in the Department of Care & Education for Young Children with Disabilities at Korea National College of Welfare. She is a consultant, author, advocate, and scholar who works with teachers and families to provide supports for young children with disabilities. She is a former special educator who has worked with students labeled as having an intellectual disability and emotional disturbance. Her research interests are full inclusion, teacher education, and positive behavior support.