I think that the insider/outsider debate is very fascinating. Who has the right to decide who is an insider or outsider? Is insider literature better than outsider? What constitutes literature as multicultural? Is there one correct answer? These are some of the questions I thought of as reading the articles.
I think that you cannot give someone one single label as either insider or outsider. To a certain extent someone may be an insider for growing up and living that aspect of their culture, but by no means does that make them the only insider. Is it wrong to consider someone an insider if they are not "from" that culture, but have immersed themselves in it and study it? I think that it is unfair to say that insider is better than outsider, or vice versa. Both have their own positive and negative aspects to them.
As a teacher, it is important to fill your classroom with multicultural literature. But, if you only use insider or outsider literature I think that cannot be considered multicultural. Different points of view from both aspects can spread greater understanding than only one view. I agree with Shannon when he says that "...multiculturalism is about changing the definition and reality of America until they stand for equality, freedom, and justice" (71). I think the "they" he refers to are all the readers of books and without the experience of multiculturalism, we will not be able to live like Americans.
It is not fair to label someone as strictly an insider or an outsider. As Harris suggested, we can all be part of multiple cultures that sometimes collide with each other (78). I think that if we are all part of multiple cultures, than no one is single handedly an insider. They may have extra experience in a certain culture of theirs, but they do not know every aspect of their culture. An outsider may not be an outsider if they are experts in that culture, or have even had some time of limited experience in that culture. The point of multicultural education is to dive into a world different from your own, and that can be achieved by both insiders and outsiders sharing their stories.
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I like the fact that you raised the question of multiple identities, but I still wonder if there are certain experiences that are particular to who you are and how the world sees you. For example, as a white person, I can study race, but I've never experienced living in a culture that discriminates against me because of the color of my skin. Or, I've studied African American English a little, but I don't know that I would ever be able to capture the cadence well enough to write convincingly. (And why would anyone prefer that I be the one to do so?)
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