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Why you should take a break: Prioritizing mental health in schools | Hailey Hardcastle | TEDxSalem

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story | TED

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I personally did not like this book because of the misogynistic/male gaze-y narrator, but some of it does well in showing a different view of Japan than people normally think of. It's not portrayed as a mecca of technological advancements, but a real place with mountains, countrysides, and more.

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In a year of reporting on Muslims across this country, I walked away knowing that there is no one story to tell, there are many stories. And yet so often, Muslims are spoken of as a monolith rather than the diverse mosaic of practice, culture, tradition, race, gender and sexualities that they are.

But members of a new generation of American Muslims are intent on telling their own stories - in their own words and on their own terms. Muslims still make up just about 1 percent of the country's population, but the faith is growing and is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in the country.

The young Muslims I met say they are tired of being put in a box labeled either villain or victim. So they're breaking it open. From the very religious to the Ramadan Muslims to the nonreligious, they're turning the stereotypes on their heads as they enter fashion, politics, academia, Hollywood, broadcasting and smoky comedy clubs.

Usama Canon, an American preacher and teacher, has described Islam, quoting a great scholar, as "a pure, clear water that takes the color of whatever riverbed it flows over." He said he hopes Muslims in America "can kind of color that bedrock in a beautiful way and can contribute to what is the American project in a way that when that water flows over it, it has a uniquely American and a distinctly American color and flavor but is authentic to itself as a faith tradition."

So we asked American Muslims to tell us how they are crafting their own stories - through art, music, activism or just their daily lives - and whether anything has changed in this political climate. We received nearly 200 responses, including people defining their own narratives in quiet ways, like a woman who wears a pin identifying herself as a Muslim, and louder ones - like the musician blending Middle Eastern tunes with jazz, rock and funk.

"I tell my story how I want"

"After 9/11, I was adamant to prove that I was just like everybody else. I called my hijab a scarf when it was so much more than that. When asked, I insisted that I wasn't hot in my hijab (even though it was 102 degrees out and everybody was hot) in a desperate attempt to show them that I wasn't oppressed. But now, in this current political climate, I refuse to let societal predisposition control me. The fear and intimidation I used to feel now strengthens me. It puts an extra skip in my step, and honest to God, I even started walking a little taller. I tell my story how I want, when I want. And ain't that just the American way?"
- Huda Fahmy, 33, Houston. She illustrates a Web comic called Yes, I'm Hot In This, riffing off a constant question - "aren't you hot?" - she gets when people see her religious head covering.

Blended musical identity

Courtesy Mustafa Stefan Dillon

"I personally define my identity through my various music projects. As an oudist [the oud is a Middle Eastern lutelike instrument] and guitarist, I bring elements of free jazz, rock, funk and Middle Eastern elements. It's culturally diverse and, in that sense, a very American music, someone once told me. I'm a Mexican American and came to Islam through music, but I also have a cultural connection via Lebanese half cousins. But I'm a product of American culture too, so Led Zeppelin and Miles Davis is as much a part of what I hear as is flamenco and Middle Eastern music."
- Mustafa Stefan Dill, 54, Albuquerque, N.M.

"Unapologetically everything"

"I write spoken word poetry, I dress in gender-nonconforming clothes, I smile and stare at strangers, and I share my faith, culture and personal story when I can ... Being unapologetically everything. Unapologetically Muslim, brown, trans, queer, nerdy, activist, and thorough about it. So people can know that if I'm all of their worst fears, then they truly have nothing to worry about." - Ameer Khan, 22, St. Louis

"I'm not sitting idle"

Political authenticity

"I tell many different stories"

"How do I tell my story to people who don't know me? How do I tell my story to my children, who I am not raising Muslim? How do I tell my story to religious Muslims who sometimes question my right to calling myself a Muslim because I'm clearly not observant? How do I tell my story in D.C. versus in rural Virginia, where my husband's family is from? I tell many different stories and I hope that they all create a picture that helps people understand that there is diversity within Islam and that a Muslim American is not a frightening thing."
- Myriam Fizazi-Hawkins, Arlington, Va.

NPR's Leila Fadel traveled across the country to meet young Muslims expressing themselves in new ways. You can see more from her Muslims in America series here and in the May issue of the National Geographic.

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Muslims In America: Telling Your Own Stories

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In a year of reporting on Muslims across this country, I walked away knowing that there is no one story to tell, there are many stories. And yet so often, Muslims are spoken of as a monolith rather than the diverse mosaic of practice, culture, tradition, race, gender and sexualities that they are.

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I recently learned about some controversy with the author, so another book with this setting should probably be chosen in the future if it were to be taught.

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Africa and Stereotypes

Stop associating Africa with hunger and lack

Africa is the world's oldest populated area made up of 54 countries. (Photo: Nothing Ahead)

There are hungry people in Africa. There are homeless people in America. But we don't associate America with homelessness simply because "some" of the people are homeless. Although there are hungry people in Africa, not everybody in...

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Stop associating Africa with hunger and lack There are hungry people in Africa. There are homeless people in America. But we don't associate America with homelessness simply because "some" of the people are homeless. Although there are hungry people in Africa, not everybody in...

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One of my favorite poems ever, and I first heard it in English 2 in high school.

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I really like the deeper meaning of this song and think that some of the lyrical techniques, such as repetition, could be analyzed. Also, there's the tension between being the archer and being the prey, which could be looked at through a New Criticism lens.

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Main Character is Blind - Set During WW2

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Main Character is Blind - Set During WW2

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Main Character is Transgender - Shows their Journey

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Main Character is Transgender - Shows their Journey

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​ Feminist literary criticism is the critical analysis of literary works based on the feminist perspective. ​ In particular, feminist literary critics tend to reject the patriarchal norms of literature "that privileges masculine ways of thinking/points of view and marginalizes women politically, economically and psychologically," according to Paul Ady, associate professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Instead, feminist critics approach literature in a way that empowers the female point-of-view, typically rejecting the patriarchal language that has dominated literature.

feminist critics approach literature in a way that empowers the female point-of-view

Historical Origins of the Movement

Modern feminist literary criticism had its roots in the post-World War II feminist movement that spilled over into the intellectual circles of America's colleges and universities. The true origins of the movement can be traced as far back as the late 18th century with Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" (1792).

Other writers such as John Stuart Mill, Margaret Fuller and Simone de Beauvoir followed suit from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.

From the 1960s onward, feminist literary critics proliferated. The approaches of feminist literary critics vary according to the personal interests of each writer.

In fact, as Timothy H. Scherman, associate professor of English at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago has noted, "there are no 'rules'-no 'recipe'-to doing feminist criticism."

Challenges to the Literary Canon

One major approach to feminist literary criticism revolves around ​ the desire to challenge or redefine the literary canon that has been dominated by men. ​ In particular, as Scherman again notes, "feminist criticism makes space for and listens to women's voices previously muted or drowned out by dominant patriarchal literary-critical practices."

"feminist criticism makes space for and listens to women's voices previously muted or drowned out by dominant patriarchal literary-critical practices."

In this sense, feminist literary criticism takes a particular stand against what the academic community has considered to be the norm for what it considers to be "literature."

This critique of traditional scholarship is an approach that rejects traditional norms on the assumption that traditional literary analysis has a political and ethical agenda biased against women.

For this reason, writers like Josephine Donovan hope to recapture the radical basis for feminist literary criticism by reinvigorating it with both the political and ethical components inherent in the inception of the movement.

By exploring previously ignored writers and studying the women's literary tradition, critics hope to unveil previously held assumptions that marginalize the place of women in society.

Textual Analysis

Another popular approach to feminist literary criticism is to examine closely what the text says, or as the case may be, ​ does not say ​. In other words, what the text leaves out says much about the writer, literature in general, and society as a whole.

By using this "hermeneutics of suspicion" literary critics hope to reveal how women are marginalized in the language of literature, according to Ady. In some ways, this approach to literary criticism assumes that there is an unconscious transference of previously held assumptions to the text through the act of writing.

What is written reveals what society believes.

What is written reveals what society believes. Influenced by the rise of post-modernism, feminist literary critics believe that the act of writing is not neutral, instead it is influenced by the values of the writer who then transfers those values to the text, often unintentionally.

​ By understanding these values, feminist literary critics hope to reveal these subconscious ideas to show how women have been marginalized in literature. ​

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What Is the Feminist Approach to Literary Criticism?

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​ Feminist literary criticism is the critical analysis of literary works based on the feminist perspective. ​ In particular, feminist literary critics tend to reject the patriarchal norms of literature "that privileges masculine ways of thinking/points of view and marginalizes women politically, economically and psychologically," according to Paul Ady, associate professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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From Homer’s Odyssey to Alexander Pope, it has been a source of fascination over the centuries. But was the ancient war a grim reality or pure myth? Daisy Dunn weighs up the evidence.

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Everything you need to know to read Homer's "Odyssey" - Jill Dash

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My English teacher sophomore year recommended this to me after I did a book report on The Girls by Emma Cline and it meant a lot to me.

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Reshma Saujani: Teach girls bravery, not perfection

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We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave, says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. Saujani has taken up the charge to socialize young girls to take risks and learn to program -- two skills they need to move society forward.

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So important!!

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From the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in communities around the globe to international protests against racism and discrimination, current events have shown that we are far from achieving equality. Trying to interpret and battle a multitude of injustices right now may feel overwhelming. How do we take on all these issues, and why should we? Intersectional feminism offers a lens through which we can better understand one another and strive towards a more just future for all.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American law professor who coined the term in 1989 explained Intersectional feminism as, "a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other," in a recent interview with Time.

"All inequality is not created equal," she says. An intersectional approach shows the way that people's social identities can overlap, creating compounding experiences of discrimination.

"We tend to talk about race inequality as separate from inequality based on gender, class, sexuality or immigrant status. What's often missing is how some people are subject to all of these, and the experience is not just the sum of its parts," Crenshaw said.

Intersectional feminism centres the voices of those experiencing overlapping, concurrent forms of oppression in order to understand the depths of the inequalities and the relationships among them in any given context.

In Brazil, Valdecir Nascimento, a prominent women's rights activist, says that, "The dialogue to advance black women's rights should put them in the centre." For 40 years, Nascimento has been fighting for equal rights, "Black women from Brazil have never stopped fighting," she says, noting that black women were part of the feminist movement, the black movement, and other progressive movements. "We don't want others to speak for black feminists-neither white feminists nor black men. It's necessary for young black women to take on this fight. We are the solution in Brazil, not the problem," she says.

Using an intersectional lens also means recognizing the historical contexts surrounding an issue. Long histories of violence and systematic discrimination have created deep inequities that disadvantage some from the outset. These inequalities intersect with each other, for example, poverty, caste systems, racism and sexism, denying people their rights and equal opportunities. The impacts extend across generations.

Sonia Maribel Sontay Herrera is an indigenous woman and human rights defender from Guatemala where systematic discrimination against indigenous women has gone on for decades. Herrera has felt the consequences of these historical injustices since she was a girl.

At ten years old, she moved to a city to attend school, an opportunity most indigenous girls don't get, she says. However, Herrera was forced to abandon her native language, K'iche', and learn in Spanish, which she experienced as an unjust burden for an indigenous woman, since it was the language of the colonizer. After finishing her studies, as Herrera searched for professional work, she immediately encountered racism and sexist stereotypes. Since she was an indigenous woman, some said that they only had work for her in the home.

"They see us as domestic workers; when they see an indigenous woman, they assume that's all we can do," she explains, outlining the ways in which she experiences compounding forms of discrimination based on her identity.

"Those who are most impacted by gender-based violence, and by gender inequalities, are also the most impoverished and marginalized-black and brown women, indigenous women, women in rural areas, young girls, girls living with disabilities, trans youth and gender non-conforming youth," explains Majandra Rodriguez Acha, a youth leader and climate justice advocate from Lima, Peru. That marginalized communities are the most impacted by natural disasters and the devastating effects of climate change is not a mere coincidence, she stresses.

While issues ranging from discrimination based on gender identity to disparate environmental burdens may seem separate at first, intersectional feminism illuminates the connections between all fights for justice and liberation. It shows us that fighting for equality means not only turning the tables on gender injustices, but rooting out all forms of oppression. It serves as a framework through which to build inclusive, robust movements that work to solve overlapping forms of discrimination, simultaneously.

As concurrent, ongoing crises unfold across the globe today, we can use an intersectional feminist lens to understand their linkages and build back better.

Intersectional feminism matters today because:

The impacts of crises are not uniform.

Countries and communities around the world are facing multiple, compounding threats. While the sets of issues vary from place to place, they share the effect of magnifying pre-existing needs such as housing, food, education, care, employment, and protection.

Yet crises responses often fail to protect the most vulnerable. "If you are invisible in everyday life, your needs will not be thought of, let alone addressed, in a crisis situation," says Matcha Phorn-In, a lesbian feminist human-rights defender from Thailand who works to address the unique needs of LGBTIQ+ people, many of whom are indigenous, in crisis settings.

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the challenges of the virus have exacerbated long standing inequities and decades of discriminatory practices, leading to unequal trajectories.

Rather than fragmenting our fights, taking on board the experiences and challenges faced by different groups has a unifying effect; we are better able to understand the issues at hand and, therefore, find solutions that work for all.

Injustices must not go unnamed or unchallenged.

Looking through an intersectional feminist lens, we see how different communities are battling various, interconnected issues, all at once. Standing in solidarity with one another, questioning power structures, and speaking out against the root causes of inequalities are critical actions for building a future that leaves no one behind.

"If you see inequality as a "them" problem or "unfortunate other" problem, that is a problem," says Crenshaw. "We've got to be open to looking at all of the ways our systems reproduce these inequalities, and that includes the privileges as well as the harms."

A new 'normal' must be fair for all.

Because crises lay bare the structural inequalities that shape our lives, they are also moments of big resets - catalysts for rebuilding societies that offer justice and safety to everyone. They provide a chance to redefine 'normal' rather than return to business as usual.

Taking an intersectional feminist approach to the crises of today helps us seize the opportunity to build back better, stronger, resilient, and equal societies.

"COVID-19 has presented us... with a rare opportunity," says Silliniu Lina Chang, President of the Samoa Victim Support Group, who has been advocating for improved services for victims of domestic violence during the pandemic. "[It is] a time for all of us to reset. Think outside of our comfort zone and look beyond to the neighbour that is in need."

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explainer-intersectional feminism-what it means and why it matters

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Intersectional feminism: what it means and why it matters right now

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From the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in communities around the globe to international protests against racism and discrimination, current events have shown that we are far from achieving equality. Trying to interpret and battle a multitude of injustices right now may feel overwhelming.

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Listen to The Odyssey - Homer on Spotify. The Odyssey is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems (the other being the Iliad), attributed to the poet Homer. The poem is commonly dated to between 800 and 600 BC.

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A great short story about growing up.

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I didn't read this until college and it wasn't even required for the class, just optional. When I learned about it more the next year in a history class, I realized how important this text was.

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I think Native American history is talked about so little and I did not learn anything about the ghost dances until college.

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I, Too by Langston Hughes | Poetry Foundation

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AboutKidsHealth - The Hospital for Sick Children

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You are not your thoughts | AboutKidsHealth at The Hospital for Sick Children

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Childhood Trauma and the Brain | UK Trauma Council