4
ways of being, one’s world can be extremely complex and intricate. Though each individual’s
horizons are obviously different, it is possible to find and identify trends within the horizons of a
cultural group.
Gebser and hermeneutic horizons
Despite the possibility of illuminating common horizons, there are also forces that
complicate the emergence of common horizons among Indian-Americans. In the Indian-
American community, individuals’ horizons are effected by when a person came to the United
States, how long she has been here, why she came to the United States, where in India she came
from and gender. Thus, in examining the experiences of Indian-Americans, one finds multiple
layers that are intertwined and sometimes contradictory. At the very least, there are several
confounding horizons that can be identified.
4
Gebser utilizes the “method” of transparency to examine hermeneutic horizons. It is his
approach toward examining civilizational expression. Transparency is the capacity to “see”
several structures at once. This does not simply mean physical seeing. Rather, it is consciously
knowing that there are several structures operant at the same time. There are five structures of
consciousness presented in Gebser’s work. These structures are space/time structures in the
Kantian sense; they are inevitable conditions for the possibility of perception. These
cosmological structures, as space/time contexts wherein all events and things are understood, are
neither in one’s head nor are they “out there.” They are modes of perceiving. All the types of
communication or ways of being are ways of perception. For none of these structures is
4
Indian history is rich and varied in ways that are virtually impossible to document fully. Regardless, modern
Indians carry with them vital elements of their history that confound the nuances of the many layers of their identity.
The previous literature about Indian-Americans provides a specific, intentional view of Indian-Americans.
However, much of the historical context as well as the ancient traditional contexts of Indian identities have been
ignored and/or disregarded primarily because the effort to take them into account is daunting. Despite these
concerns, certain aspects of Indian history and tradition must be examined to gain a more complete understanding
about questions of identity within the Indian-American communities. (see P.T. Raju, 1985)
Convention