Howard T shirt
English translation: Howard University t-shirt/sweater
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| 02:36 Sep 15, 2013 |
| English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO] Textiles / Clothing / Fashion / slang | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Charles Davis Spain Local time: 04:27 | ||||||
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| 3 +4 | Howard University t-shirt/sweater |
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Answers
6 hrs confidence: 
peer agreement (net): +4
peer agreement (net): +4| howard t shirt Howard University t-shirt/sweater Explanation: I can't be sure about this. There are brands called Howard, but none, as far as I can see, that would have been standard apparel back in the 1980s/90s, when this seems to be set. I think it probably refers to a Howard University T shirt and sweatshirt, which would have been instantly recognisable, of course, because they would have read "Howard University" on the front. The character wearing these clothes is Miss Lora, in the story of that name. She is a teacher. She seems to be Dominican, like the narrator, who gets her pregnant. Howard is a quite prestigious university in Washington D.C., which is traditionally black. "From its outset it has been nonsectarian and open to people of both sexes and all races." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_University It's not that Miss Lora had necessarily attended Howard, but people often wear university t-shirts and sweatshirts without having attended the university. It seems quite likely that if she hadn't, Howard represents the kind of university she would like to have attended, a university someone like her, a Dominican immigrant, would aspire to. Since she is a teacher, university shirts and sweaters are the kind of thing you could imagine her wearing. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 10 hrs (2013-09-15 12:38:34 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- I don't know. Maybe she was at Howard before going to Harvard. It seems that this woman, who is pregnant, was black or Hispanic: "Only a bitch of color comes to Harvard to get pregnant. White women don’t do that. Asian women don’t do that. Only fucking black and Latina women" -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 13 hrs (2013-09-15 15:39:12 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- That seems quite possible to me. It's really impossible to tell, I think, though it's curious that two different characters wear "Howard" garments in the book. I am not at all sure about my suggestion, particularly for the "Howard sweater" in the second example. Garments with university emblems are usually T shirts or sweatshirts, rather than sweaters. It could well be a brand. I just don't know. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day8 hrs (2013-09-16 11:01:12 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Alison seems to have confirmed that this definitely does refer to Howard University. Here is the relevant bit of the transcript she found: "NNAMDI Let me get to the important stuff in this book, first. Because as you visited me before, you know I was born in Guyana, I turn to page 31, there's a mention of a woman from Guyana. I turn to page 48, there's a mention of a woman from Guyana and then I turn to page a 158 and somebody's wearing a Howard University sweatshirt. What's up? DIAZ You know how it is, us Caribbean folks, especially those of us of African descent. You're never more than one degree away from Harvard -- from Howard or from Guyana." http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-10-22/junot-diaz-how... |
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