Mohan Dutta: Culture-Centered Approach

Brown, muslim, male An interrupted body the savage marker of primitiveness in need for his savior. Brown, muslim, male An interrupted story of violence enacted on his body through generations of enlightenment, progress, and modernization. Brown, muslim, male wanting to make a living with simple dreams, interrupted through interventions wanting to recreate an enlightened world. Brown, muslim, male simply wanting to be silent, to be indescript and hidden, interrupted through excavations of the imperial gaze. Brown, muslim, male wanting to live wanting to breathe Silenced, erased And lost.

One of the concepts that we have continually discussed in the culture-centered approach is the vitality of communication as the gateway to social change. The idea built into the culture-centered approach is fairly simple: that when communities at the margins that have been historically erased from the dominant structures find a space in mainstream platforms, their wishes and desires no longer remain the sites of erasure. Rather, the articulations of agendas of community members working individually as well as in communities as collectives become the reference points for structural transformations. Voices of community members when engaged in dialogue with policymakers, program planners, and mainstream audiences, offer entry points to change through the creation of nodes of listening in these policy and program platforms. This concept of listening to the voices of subaltern communities as an entry point to achieving change was beautifully elucidated at the PhotoVoice exhibit today that...

Voices of Hunger: Thursday, May 5, 2011, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Patty & Rusty Rueff Galleries, PAO Hall Dear friends and colleagues, You have followed our blog postings drawing on the reflections from the "Hunger Project" over the last few months.Finally, it is time to voice these stories that have been weaved together collaboratively by community members in West Lafayette/Lafayette who experience hunger in the current political and economic landscape. The stories will not only draw you to the everydayness of hunger amidst which communities at the margins negotiate their lives, but will also offer you insights into the tremendous courage and conviction with which community members negotiate their lived experiences in the midst of absence of fundamental resources. The purpose of the project titled “Voices of Hunger in Tippecanoe County,” is to develop a collaborative partnership between Purdue University, Food Finders, and its clients to listen to the voices of hunger in ...