Social Studies

Waking up to 9 Nov 2016

written by Mari

Some people do want to turn the clock back to decades or even centuries
Where men should be cowboys and women were pea-brained barbies
Where coloured ppl knew their place
A world, where only one race and one faith could dominate…

There have been several decades of openness
And humanity advancement

But, like a marriage without money
It didn’t last

And once the thin surface of such illusion cracks open
It just reveals human nature is as ugly as ever…

– 9 Nov 2016, waking up to the results of US Election

Waking up to 9 Nov 2016 was last modified: November 9th, 2016 by Mari

9th November 2016

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Social Studies

The unavoidable verticality in charity

written by Mari

Once when I was on Pinterest looking for inspiration, I came across the photos below, they were part of the campaign "See how easy it is to feed the hungry?" from South Africa, 2008.

From a design point of view, I think this concept is really clever and powerful. By just adding a very simple touch to something all of us do almost every day – taking your grocery out from the shelf, and then putting them into your shopping basket, the images manage to turn one of our most mundane daily activities into a shocking revelation. Suddenly, the certainty of the wealth that surrounds our world seems to have subsided. Suddenly, we are stunned by both shame and guilt. These images are as poignant as someone had just come up and grabbed us by our shoulders, shaken us so violently that finally we woke up from our usual looking-but-not-seeing state. The message is clear – to encourage us to think of those less fortunate people in the world when we consume. However, there is also an undertone that sends a chill down my spine.

How small these people are being perceived; and how great we project ourselves to be.

The unavoidable verticality in charity was last modified: October 13th, 2016 by Mari

15th September 2016

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Feminism Social Studies

Women who found a way – creating a women’s language

written by Mari

In ancient China, women were excluded from any standard education. Women did not need to know how to read and write since their main function in society was to be virtuous wives and caring mothers. It was even considered better if a woman did not know much, as she would not be able to challenge any man, especially her husband. Therefore, there was never any formal education for women until the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and only those parents who were rich enough to “waste” money on the education of their daughters would hire private tutors for their girls.

Even though poor women were deprived of the right to receive any standard education, some still found a way. They created their own language—nushu; as of now, it is the only written language developed by women that has been discovered in the world.

Women who found a way – creating a women’s language was last modified: October 13th, 2016 by Mari

14th July 2016

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