Go to three different places you would not usually go, places where you will be an outsider. In these spaces, you could be an outsider physically, culturally, socially, politically … we all have different contexts in which we will feel ‘other’.
Spend some time in these places. Don’t just enter and leave, but really walk around. Look at people; investigate the smells, sounds, textures, colors. Try to articulate, using specific details, what about this experience is so disorienting, or destabilizing. This exercise is about trying to experience what it is like to be other. It is a state of being that most of us have experienced at many points throughout our lives. For those of us who can easily circumvent that position, rarely do we really try to examine the texture of this experience. What does it feel like to feel like an outsider? Is it frightening or challenging in any way? Does it feel liberating in other ways? Do you feel like you have to explain yourself and your presence? What do we take for granted in our normal contexts?
Write a 300-word response. Include images or sound clips if they would be helpful for you, but the writing exercise will be a critical component of your examination of this experience.
Sample Solution