A Critical Review of Tanya Richardson, Kaleidoscopic Odessa
Evaluate the author’s argument and state what he is trying to accomplish giving examples and evidence from the book
In Tanya’s kaleidoscopic Odessa, she explores the anxieties that are present between restricted and general identities putting in mind a view of the normal everyday life. Tanya depicts Odessa as a place that is finding its way in a complex social and political landscape. Odessa is a town that is being threatened with falling out because of issues to do with pollution and land erosion. Though it faces all these problems, it is still a place where many people like and enjoy being in. This paper thus aims at looking into the arguments that Tanya presents on the tensions constructed between local and national identities in a post-soviet setting, and the evidence she gives of the same (Richardson, 5).
The city was opened with an eventful ceremonious celebration where members gathered to take part in the event. There were cheerers and bystanders all over the city. Tanya goes further to show how spatial geographies can be slotted into theories of identity. The residents claim that the uniqueness of the town is characterized in its varied political and enriching records and the ways in which it is ‘un-Ukrainian’. This is because Ukraine being a border land is understood “spatially as a multi-ethnic borderland” (Richardson, 6).
Tanya reveals, through the high school history class and the elderly people who shared their stories that a dissimilar uncertainty and ambivalence brings about contradicting histories that are passed through kinship and family relations. The elders demonstrate how their lives have been characterized by privilege, prejudice and violence and they therefore look forward to a better life ahead. Despite all this however, they still keep their hopes high on what the city is holding for them (Richardson, 4).
Residents argue that the uniqueness of the town of Odessa is distinct and can accommodate all people. It can serve as an international, multiethnic and Jewish place where all the communities can easily fit in. the fact that it allows mixing of several nationalities, this has made it likely for the city to bring about tolerant attitudes, different dialects of different languages and depict the beauty that their women possess. The city is liked because it is believed to have brought forth renowned artists.
The author thus succeeds in demonstrating the uniqueness of the city in an authoritative and bold manner. This is demonstrated in the way he uses other people most of the time to exemplify the happening sin the city. She thus employs a false detachment between herself and the odessans. She decides for instance not to speak with friendliness. When she speaks about her friend Evgeny, a vendor at the old horse market stalls whom she accompanied to his stalls daily, she does not personally involve e herself in any of the activities (Richardson, 132). Thus, a reader is left wondering whether she was really present and why she chose to detach herself.
Evaluate the evidence: what sources does the author draw on? Are they used effectively? What could the author have done to be more convincing? Give examples drawing from the book.
The author employs evidence from empirical sources. She for instance seeks the opinion of high school students and elderly people who she uses to get information on the nature of the histories passed across by the different kinship and family ties. Through this she realizes that they have gone through much in the city and passed in the process through acts of prejudice from others. Tanya depicts observational evidence from self-proclaimed historians who seek and achieve historical importance of the city after they walk through the tiniest buildings around the city. This walk gives way to an experience around the city where discoveries of historical, architectural and designations of culture are made (Richardson, 143).
The author could have used other secondary evidence as well in order to get what other authors say about the city. This makes it possible to compare both the secondary and the primary thus allowing diversity. Interviewing the residents of the town should thus have been used together with other scholarly materials so as to utilize an extensive variety of sources.
Evaluate assumptions: what assumptions does the author make about how the world works, concerning philosophy, history and anthropology? How do these assumptions influence how the author draws her argument?
The author assumes that there is a disruption between the linear constructs of time and history. She therefore illustrates this by managing to ground the past and the present in the performance of place. She claims that there exists a mutual constitution between places and identity. This is because the idea of Odessa as a unique place is produced by connecting multiple and contradicting histories that happen to be ingrained in the site of the town. With this, she adapts the metaphor of the kaleidoscope which she utilizes in showing how the many overlapping geographies of Odessa work together to create some form of visibility and invisibility through a series of unlimited historical collections (Richardson, 23).
Tanya thus claims that her movement from place to place and the few people she met brought in a transformation as if they were viewed through a kaleidoscope. The elements she came across had some resemblance but the perspective brought into each element changed every time. Every time an object changed, it acquired a new meaning depending on the history and geography of that place.
The author assumes human beings tend to enjoy better the world in which they assume is good for them and favor them in every way. The people of Odessa believe for instance that the town is a good place to be in; coupled with much scenery and thus they describe it as unique. They consider the city to have given birth to many renowned people and thus is indeed the place to be in. filled with people of different cultures; it holds a mixture of different ethnic groups and appreciate this mixture to have led to the tolerance of different attitudes. This is because many people have lived together and thus have developed the behavior of appreciating one another despite their weaknesses. This has made the residents a people filled with happiness and their sense of humor is known by many. Their women too are admired because of their unique beauty (Richardson, 5).
These assumptions thus influences the way the author presents his evidence because she bases more on what the residents say about the city. This enables her to keep in mind a positive attitude that she employs when describing the scenery and the attitudes the residents hold about their town. “Odessa is a place where residents’ historical consciousness of pluralism and former regimes is especially strong …and where the consciousness has remained a powerful tool…” (Richardson, 6).
Conclusion: how does the book add to your knowledge of urban anthropology or what does it have to offer to this field as a whole? To whom would the book be useful?
The town of Odessa has been depicted and placed within the contexts of a nation and an empire. Tanya achieves this by revealing how histories are constructed in local museums, historical collections and city tours that bring about instances of ethical heritage. Thus, these aim at promoting particular histories yet, aiming at making others unclear, revealing “the friction encountered when different localities and religions are soldered together as part of a nation” (Richardson, 206).
The book would be useful to any persons living in a foreign country and the residents of that country as well. It teaches them to appreciate their country because in doing so they will allow for coexistence between themselves and the intruders. Thus, in doing so, a diversity of people learns to live together and appreciating the diverse cultures that each community brings. Tanya argues that the city of Odessa is unique and distinctive and can be compared with other countries like Ukraine. She argues that the local perceptions of sophistication shaped the identity of the city in a newly formed state which is appreciated by many people. Odessa is indeed a distinct locality where cultural geographies converge, thus getting an opportunity to share their cultures and diverse beliefs.
Work Cited
Richardson, Tanya. Kaleidoscopic Odessa: history and place in contemporary Ukraine. London: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
