What appears as a straightforward question contains a lot of implicit assumptions. One of those close to the surface is, for example, the idea that 'being from somewhere' means having been born and grown up there. What if a person was born in one place, moved somewhere else before they could even remember themselves, then … Continue reading Where Are You From?
Spreading the Word: Healing Inherited Traumas
A family tree is an interesting metaphor. Each new generation inherits something from its ancestors through genetic connections, just like every new branch grows out of the one before it. While each branch is different from the rest, just like any family member is unique, all are linked through the tree trunk to their shared … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Healing Inherited Traumas
Spreading the Word: Being Ashamed Of Your Accent
Immigrants are often ashamed of their accents or feel uncomfortable because of how they sound. Why? Because language is not just a tool, it contains a world of implied social and cultural norms, values, beliefs, and presuppositions. In many languages, there is one way of speaking it that is considered 'proper'. I have read and … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Being Ashamed Of Your Accent
Spreading the Word: What Is True Cosmopolitan?
What does it mean to be cosmopolitan? The word literally translates as a citizen or resident of the world. The entire world. Is it possible to belong everywhere? Doesn't that mean to belong nowhere? In today's short and inspiring video, the author Elif Shafak talks about cosmopolitanism and how we all have multiple belongings shaping … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What Is True Cosmopolitan?
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