Agnessa Elman

20 October 2017

Even though I did not read Jamaica Kincaid’s book, the discussions and research I have participated in independently, have allowed me to get a slight grasp on not only the context of “A Small Place”, but its relevance to the United States. The United States, is a big melting pot, implying that the culture of the US is a large division of many different ethnicities and people that all have impacted and influenced the uniqueness of the United States. In Antigua, the small island that Kincaid is from, and that she writes about in her book, suffers a lot from its deficiency of pure culture, due to western civilizations adding their own manifestations from colonization. I noticed how her piece is relevant to the important topic of “disruption week,” because both her piece and this perspective allow people to reflect on the Earth and its place in human lives and activity. Disruption week has brought up a lot of discussions, as individuals engage in thoughtful conversations about it, because of how impactful and historical it is to recognize inequality after 400 years. I think it is important to be informed about “disruption week,” because it allows individuals to reflect on the past to provide a better and greater future. I understand both the book and this concept to support the idea of historical consciousness. Historical consciousness is a person’s collective sense of their history and shared awareness, impacting decisions made by people.
Disruption week also serves a purpose to allow people to deliberate about social change. Kincaid’s book showed its readers that the local people of this island were mistreated. The unequal opportunities relate to today’s society because workers (such as immigrants, women, and people of color) do not all get the same paycheck. People that visited Antigua were not motivated to visit the island for its true roots and indigenous people but motivated for self-pleasure. Most of the workers in the book she mentions, relied on tourists to make enough money to support themselves and their families. This type of treatment has caused a big clash in not only their culture deficiency but proves that unequal opportunities for people continue to exist today.
In today’s society, climate change is also a big topic that is discussed throughout disruption and is discussed in disruption week. The place Antigua, known for its superficial features and beauty, have distracted people from realizing not only the culture crisis but the unequal advantage that the indigenous people face. The United States is a big contributor to climate change, because of the amount of carbon emission from livestock and energy that gets emitted into the air daily. Social change not only needs to be committed towards equal opportunities to people but to the Earth as well (we see this in today’s society and in the book.)
Recognizing how after 400 years, social change and impact is still in the work of progress is a big wake up call. Acknowledging how the USA has placed itself in the world of many people and their view on historical consciousness. It is important to use the past to help format best outcomes for the future. Jamaica Kincaid’s book and Disruption week, both reach out to communities realizing the need for social change. Climate change, culture crisis and today’s work opportunities in both the island and the US, show people that as we continue to bring awareness towards social change, the more likely it will be to improve it. We need the memories of the past, like the 400 year anniversary, to remind us our current place in time and how it may affect the future.