Challenge 6: What is the third wolrd, and why are some countries developing while others claim to be developed?
Discourses create a minority group already, this is what Foucault makes us aware of. He is simply using a languag, which constructs pictures in our head. For example if you say "Africans live in huts" or "Europeans live in houses" you claim that Africans are poor and that they can´t afford living in houses. You make it sound the way you want. By saying certain things you create an image in the listeners head, which creates a picture of a certain group of people. "Ministry of peace" is at the same time actually just a "ministry of war". These examples show that language can form groups or the opposite.
Further on we talked about a book "Systema natura" which was published in 1735, it creates a culture that justifies slavery. This shows very well what language can do. It was called a scientific work. Writen by a French guy, who described the Americans, Asiatics and Africans in a pure racist way. In fact the European was described as gentel, acute, governed by laws, in a very nice way. It shows that those stereotypes created by certain person can influence people and make them think the way others want them to.
Later on we talked about the Truman discourse. It was shocking to see how a president can influence his country and talk about a society in such a rought and distributing way. For example he is saying "very few communities are willing to pay the full price of economic progress" it means they are to lazy or just can´t do it. Being poor is what he relates to being primitive. He regards poverty as a handicap and threat. Therefore he adresses a large group of people. He says the Americans are "peace loving people". A greater production is the "key to peace", if you are not able to afford a greater production and you are poor in his mind you are not a "peace loving country". The shocking part of his speech is that it is actually accepted by the United Nations, who justify and accept it. Truman says that it is the poor peoples own fault if they don´t succeed, they have to do something to achieve something. If they are poor he regards them to be to lazy.
But aren´t we still looking at developing countries in such way. We still treat developing countries as a threat, and regard the "being poor" fact as "being under developed".
We also talked about power relations in a text about Eritrea. It is a secret power relation for the white western guy over the native teacher. It shows that the white teacher is wealthy he has a camera and came from a rich country to improve the native teachers lessons and the schoolwork in general. Further more the teacher has a power relation over the children in being a good teacher, he helps them to have fun while they are learning. Other teachers use their power differently they carry sticks and electrical wire around with them and use it to spread fear and respect. They need these "wappons" to get respect from the children, because they can´t get it by their teaching abilities. I would even say, that they use it as a teaching method, because they haven´t learnt it any better. In the worst cases they even torture the students by making them kneeling in the sun, hands over their heads. This is the punishment for being late to school. Some Indian teachers even use their power relations to force sexual favours from the girls in order to let them pass their exams. A western teacher who will see and hear all this can´t really change anything while being there for a certain time. He could just tell them how to do it differently. Personaly I don´t think it is easy for us to change those peoples mind, because we are in the power relation over them and they won´t allow us to judge over their traditions and behaviours.
To conclude this challenge I would like to add that we keep developing countries in a certain position that famous ourselfes. But just because we are rich and developed we can´t put a label on other countries to be devoloping.
