Bearing Witness
The loving eye is a critical eye, always on the lookout for the blind spots that close off the possibility of response-ability and openness to otherness and difference. Love is an ethics of differences that thrives on the adventure of otherness. This means that love is an ethical and social responsibility to open personal and public space in which otherness and difference can be articulated. Love requires a commitment to the advent and nurturing of difference.
—Kelly Oliver
Bearing Witness aims to push social boundaries beyond recognition of otherness. Otherness in this instance includes all individuals who have been subjected to societal marginalization and discrimination. Historically there has always been an underlying struggle for recognition. Recognition cannot be conceived only as being conferred onto others by the dominant group, because then, we are only merely going backwards into the dynamic of hierarchies, privilege, and domination[1]. As Kelly Oliver has argued, “if we [can] conceive of subjectivity as a process of witnessing that requires response-ability and address-ability…especially through difference, then we will also realize an ethical and social responsibility to those others who sustain us[2].” It is essential then that we open up spaces where difference can be articulated and experienced. The loving eye can break through those barriers—barriers that close off the possibility of loving otherness and difference beyond recognition. Can we ask, then: what is love beyond recognition? It is a love that “requires a commitment to the advent and nurturing of difference[3].” Kelly Oliver’s book Witnessing offers a glimpse into that possibility of accepting and loving difference in otherness—an acceptance that extends beyond recognition of otherness.
Bearing Witness requires a public intervention strategy. The project will focus on the struggles of gay Latino men. These struggles emerge primarily from loving other men, the shame and guilt that is often associated with it in the context of family, traditional values and morals, as well as the stigma that often comes from being labeled as gay in Latino culture. Bearing Witness will explore four general areas:
Bearing Witness will be a forum for conversation among other gay Latino men and myself. The cultural site will occur in Los Angeles, California where I am currently collaborating with other Latino men in the audio recording of their stories and histories. The shape of the project will unfold from these testimonies and collaborative efforts. The navigable space in which others will witness the project will come out of the material. Some possibilities may include:
Bearing Witness will promote a cross-generational, cross-national movement that will use the cultural site of Los Angeles as a model to continue exploring the rich and diverse stories and histories of other Latino men in America. Bearing Witness will move into multiple areas across the states by strategizing other means of possibility for intervention that are relevant for each locale. Bearing Witness represents a movement that will extend the hopes and aspirations of gay Latino men and to build long lasting networks which create more venues and possibilities for community organization. Individuals who experience Bearing Witness will witness these narratives of gay Latino men that otherwise are not available to us—either in the context of response-ability and address-ability or in the communities that shape the lives of gay Latino men. The piece will extend a vision of love that thrives on the adventure of otherness and illuminates transcendence—transcendence that goes beyond recognition and shame by nurturing difference. Bearing Witness will be an ongoing public intervention site for gay Latino men.
As discussed at the thesis meeting, I will spend the winter break experimenting with different microphones and read the book Wild Soundscapes by Bernie Krause. Due to scheduling conflicts, I will not be able to audit Larry Andrews sound production course. In place of the requirement to seek professional assistance in the use of Audacity, I will receive private tutoring. I will also continue conducting more field research at the various sites Latino men occupy. In addition, I will read Bruce Jackson’s Fieldwork—this will enhance the ethnographic data I will collect in these sites (bars, clubs, parks, parties, etc.). I will collect some interviews during the winter break, but the majority of them will occur in the winter quarter. The heart of the project will spring from the stories and histories I collect in my fieldwork study of gay Latino men and their response to the project Bearing Witness. Therefore, the thesis committee has agreed to meet again in February to discuss the progress that has been made in Bearing Witness.
The thesis committee also advised that it would be crucial to seek out the advice and mentoring of an individual(s) who have an area of interest or focus in discourse about gay Latino men. Professor Shelly Errington suggested speaking to Professor Olga Najera-Ramirez first—whom I met on December 7, 2005—from this meeting came several suggestions: Tomas Almaguer, Pat Silvia, Carter Wilson, and the Lionel Cantu Library at Kresge College to name a few. I recently spoke to Professor Tomas Almaguer, a faculty member at San Francisco State University. However, he is currently on leave for two years and has agreed to provide some advice over the phone. More importantly, Professor Horacio N. Roque Ramirez from UC-Santa Barbara, and Professor Sergio De la Mora from UC-Davis have recently agreed to be on my committee – both have produced phenomenal work in the area of discourse concerning gay Latino men. Professor Errington’s suggestion of meeting with Professor Najera-Ramirez has established the relationships necessary for completing a successful thesis project.