Notion

Oral Anglais

Notion 1 : Seats and forms of power

  The notion that I will present to you is, seats and forms of power. To start, I'll define the seat and the power. A seat can be a building or an institution that exerts a certain form of power. And power can be the ability to control people in order to face the obstacles, resistances and oppositions. "Being different" is the subject I would treat. To approach this subject, my problematic is the following, what mean being different and how people react to different people? We saw in class multiple documents about it as an autobiographical text by Gary Shteyngart and a story about the Sikh community in the US.

  First, what can mean being different. There are several criteria which make each one is different from the other. These criteria are, culture, religion, appearance, personality, gender and origin. Often, this difference are the subject of racist or sexist remarks, which can sometimes hurt the person. Which brings us to the testimony of Gary Shteyngart, an American-Jewish citizen born in Russia and living in the United States, which has suffered many problems during his life in many different countries when he left America. He explains that he was always made for someone whether it be an Iranian, an Indian or an Arab. He was insulted, mistreated and even beaten. When he returned to New York, he felt safe because New York is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural city. But people started to be suspicious after the events of the World Trade Center. Like what, public opinion is formed from prejudices and stereotypes, it is sometimes limited even clothing style of the person.

  Which brings us to the second document. The document is a report on how the Sikh community is seen in the United States. A Sikh testifies us what he saw every day when he walks in the streets of Washington DC. He has the right to suspicious looks and different name as Ben Ladden or terrorist. In fact, it belongs to the Indian religious Sikh community. It is always mistaken for a Muslim because of her outfit and her skin color. Another Sikh tells us that their place of worship was desecrated with graffiti and egg, this is due to the events of the World Trade Center.

  Public opinion is therefore based especially on appearances, which can be misleading. The consequences can sometimes be dramatic, it can be verbal abuse but also physical attacks, which can sometimes leave marks. But some people, like Barack Obama, are fighting for these injustices disappear. That is why we have also been talking about racial discrimination that still exists today. I think today this discrimination has decreased compared to the last hundred years but is still existing. The most important for me is that people are still fighting for this cause.

Notion 2 : Space and exchanges

  The notion that I will present is space and exchanges. First, which means space and exchange. A space is an area or region. And exchange is the act of giving and receiving something in exchange for something else. An exchange may be economic or cultural. I would treat the subject in connection with this notion, "A student life". In some countries, some students do what they call gap years. Which means, a year of rest for students before entering the higher school. My problematic on this subject is this, is it that well to take a gap year? We saw in class different documents about this subject as a document summarizing the pros and cons of doing a gap year. And another document, a video, including testimony from university professors and students in universities.

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