Normativity

There seem to be many definitions and great debate on normativity, so I will play it safe and take Foucault's reference to it in his definition of regimes of truth, as presented in class:

Normative conceptual systems that the state or an elite imposes on others in order to discipline them, defining the "normal" and the "deviant". Power/knowledge involves a particular kind of truth, which is located within the deep regimes of discourse and practice. The path to freedom requires us to detach ourselves from the regimes of truth associated with the human sciences, because these have become manipulative, if not dominating and enslaving.(Foucault 1980, p.153)

Bending the Discourse

Normativity, as I understand it, is the unspoken position of priviledge. It the the "standard" by which all things are judged. It is why I won't get pulled over in North Dakota by police with guns drawn.

Unfortunately for me, and thank god, normativity varies by culture. My deviance is why I will be surrounded by children in Himalayan villages, and why I'd be kidnapped and probably killed in Falujah, Iraq.

In an attempt to bend the Discourse of normativity in Eau Claire, WI, I grew my hair long but didn't smoke pot, was kind to old ladies but at all the protests, and never screamed at "the establishment." Was it effective? I hope it was, but never enough to give up on looking for more effective ways to broaden the scope of what what was acceptable in the Discourse of whatever group I encountered.

The final "paper" for my Fall 2004 "Multicultural Perspectives in Education" class with Gloria Ladson-Billings.