Han Final border passage 2.docVIP

Final Paper Leila Ahmed’s A Border Passage Han Chen May 19, 2009 American University in Cairo Cairo, Egypt In Leila Ahmed’s A Border Passage, conditions of colonization, migration, travel, displacement and exile are constitutive paradigms of transculturation where territories overlap, distinct traditions interact and histories intertwine and the self becomes the meeting place of two the cultures. Leila Ahmed’s A Border Passage explores the different themes that form the paradigms of transculturation. These paradigms for understanding deal with issues of imperialism and colonization. Both issues are part of Leila’s experiences in Egypt, which was colonized by the British. Another paradigm examines life through migration, displacement, travel and eventually exile. All of these occurrences became part of Leila’s life. And the common thread in all of her experiences was a sense of multicultural encounters. Her life, while not spent at a particular border, was metaphorically a world of exchanges much like those which occur at borders. There were many metaphorical border crossings in her life. She moved between the culture of Egypt and the Westernized household in which she grew up. She later lived life in America as an immigrant, thrust into a new academic setting among the emerging feminist movement. She entered the world of academia at Girton, which juxtaposed with her life in the women’s harem of Alexandria. She moved from the safe feminine space at Girton to the male-dominated world for graduate school. Exploring each of these transitions or checkpoints of her life later on, Leila’s autobiography contains many reflections retrospectively. These observations add new depth to her experiences. Leila Ahmed’s book is a personal narrative, historical account, and social history centering on her native homeland Egypt. The book successfully blends first person storytelling and scholarly interpretation. Leila tries to see situations from multiple vantage points and socio