Theatre And Race Harvey Young Analysis

In the class reading from the book Theatre and Race, Harvey Young talks about racial thinking and says it is fueled by a “set of assumptions that preempt curiosity”. Young then gives an example of a white pedestrian crossing the street to avoid an approaching black person because of preconceived notions of black delinquency. According to Young, thinking in terms of assumptions is dangerous because it simply perpetuates common stereotypes and blinds people from seeing the truth. The actor and screenwriter Alan Alda also believes that assumptions affect our viewpoints. In his 1980 commencement speech to his daughter’s class at Connecticut College, he claimed that assumptions are “your windows on the world” and advised the graduates to “scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won’t come in”. Alda later suggested that making distinctions between entities and their outward qualities could help …show more content…
He claims that assumptions are flawed because they reflect how we think of the world versus how it actually is. He also points out that “the problem with assumption is that it can be whatever you want it to be”. However, assumptions are not solely used in social contexts; they can also be utilized in certain academic fields. In the online textbook by Boundless Economics, ceteris paribus, assuming “all things constant”, is one of the key concepts explained. Its main purpose is to simplify economical situations, making them easier to study. The text explains that “when the ceteris paribus assumption is employed in economics, all other variables - with the exception of the variables under evaluation - are held constant”. According to these sources, assumptions are double-edged swords. On one hand, assumptions can simplify and facilitate learning. On the other, assumptions can cloud one’s ability to look at people as