IWA #2 (Presentation Week)

IWA #2
Due at 5pm


In Mary Pratt's essay, "Art of the Contact Zone" she makes the claim that, "Autoethnography, transculturation, critique, collaboration, bilingualism, mediation, parody, denunciation, imaginary dialogue, vernacular expression--these are some of the literate arts of the contact zone" (4). While the contact zone is a place where all of these are present, it brings to question, do all contact zones have the same things happening in them or are these just the characteristics of a "working" contact zone? Would there be distinct differences between a working contact zone and a contact zone full of chaos? If a contact zone is referred to as, "Social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today" (1). I do not think that the literal arts are present in certain situations because if a contact zone is a place where people are grappling and clashing then it doesn't seem as though mediation, dialogue, and collaboration. These seem as though they are important to the cohesiveness of a contact zone but if it directly contradicts what a contact zone is then how is it that we are supposed to believe that any contact zone is seem development. A better definition of contact zone is needed, a definition that leaves out the physical and verbal confrontational feel that it currently has. It needs to be clear that the people are not Physically grappling because that seems to be a  contact zone that lacks any literate arts whatsoever. A working contact zone is one where the collaboration and dialogue leads to an end to a contact zone and somewhere along those lines there is a change from contact zone to cohesive zone. Whether the Cohesive zone was created because of assimilation, acculturation, or agreement it is no longer a zone that grapples its a zone that grasps. The zone grasps for the dialogue, collaboration and mediation that it needs to make itself better but it is definitely no longer a contact zone.