Response 31: "The New Modesty In Literary Criticism"

I really liked the relation of critical theory to real life situations, such as “scholars aimed to explode the foundations of Western metaphysics, foment a revolution of the sign, overturn gender hierarchies, and fight the class struggle” (1). I don’t know if I would agree that there has been “a decline in the social prestige of literary criticism” just because now there are different critical methods of looking at the text (2).  

There is an importance of close reading, as mentioned in page 3, I am in agreement with the statement that it can be “corrosive, similar to paranoia” where a critic is always looking for the hidden term or meaning instead of just enjoying reading the text (3).

I also am in favor of Moretti’s idea of “‘distant reading’” to “track the birth and trajectory of the novel around the world” instead of only reading a miniscule sample of literary texts from a relatively narrow part of the world” (4). This method also reminds me of deconstruction in a way because of this idea to defamiliarize oneself with the kind of literature they are used to reading.

I also liked Rorti’s goal “to not attain absolute truth, a false ideal, but better descriptions of the world”, partly because sometimes in literature, characters motives and actions are ambiguous and sometimes that may be frustrating but it also leads to the possibility of different interpretations (5). The idea of discovering the world through literature also complements Moretti’s idea of distant reading. 

Response 30: "Imagining The Manuscript And Printed Book In A Digital Age"

The part that stuck out to me the most in this reading was the part where Siemens discussed the form of the poem “’Easter Wings’” and this idea of incorporating form and context together and how holding, rotating, and closing the text each have a significant part in both form and context just because it’s different from the typical form of book and process of reading that we’re used to (832-833).

I also really liked the idea of the connection of binding a book by hand. Although it’s undoubtedly a pain to bind books for the whole day, the general notion of the “intimate relationship between the materiality of the book and physiological processes involved in producing, reading, and interpreting such texts” is oddly beautiful and comforting (828). I remember from class discussion, that when books were first made and circulated (before the printing press), that they were more expensive than they are now and were thus considered a sign of wealth.  

I do think that the form that the text comes in can influence the reader, but also that preferred forms of text vary with the reader as well (not just in relation to religious texts but literature as well). For example, carrying around a large book may be heavy but more preferable to some, while others may prefer the level of ease associated with reading tablets. In today’s age, because we are so used to tablets/books/laptops, exploring the older ways manuscripts or literature were transcribed on would be very interesting (for example, papyrus paper). 

Response 29: "Sanctuary For The Humanities"

I do not agree with the author’s critics that “all religious colleges should be denied accreditation as a matter of scholarly principle” and it seems unlikely that they would not provide education regarding evolution (1).

I also agree with his statement that “learning outcomes in the humanities cannot be standardized, for the simple reason that human experience cannot be standardized” (2). Standardized practice tests are a predictable indicator of performance in colleges that is true. But, they were also established by in the United States as an attempted excuse to bar those (such as minorities) with less access to education and resources for entrance to universities (a snippet of knowledge we discussed in high school U.S. history).

However, I disagree with the statement that “humanities of tomorrow will flourish for undergraduates only at religious colleges” or that “Only at religious colleges will the humanities find a broad market” (2). Also this comparison of expectations of students in religious, secular, and ivy league schools seems an unnecessary form of conflict between Noble and his critics. Would it not be more beneficial to discuss among themselves the different ways the approach, analyze, and teach the humanities; that way, they may actually be able to see the humanities from a different perspective from a different/unfamiliar/deconstructive perspective.

I also disagree that “It is probably not true that studying the humanities automatically promotes higher degrees of democratic engagement, not if esoteric, democracy-hating radicals like Plato are allowed on the syllabus” and I am increasingly apprehensive of his bias against students that are non-religious or different what he seems to expect to be on the “correct path” (2).

 “writing is crude and unreliable…Should our technology ever advance far enough to enable our species to revert to images and sounds, without loss of data-transfer efficiency, we will surely do so” (2). I am both in agreement and disagreement of this statement. While it is true that we prefer communicating through images (thus the popularity of emojis), I disagree that writing is “crude”, there is something beautiful about the written word and it is my opinion anyway that the written literature can describe stories in a beautiful and complex way that would be lost through simply using images. For example, consider the first caveman paintings, and while we understand the basic messages that they convey, we would be able to better learn about their lives and experiences if they were in the written word. And yes, “film and photography, social networking” are beautiful and changing things in their own ways, they are no substitutes for the written word (3).

While I agree that religion is important, and to many it is a fundamental part of their lives, I find myself disagreeing with his idea that non-religious students are not going benefit from studying the humanities and are simply wasting their money and time. 

Response 28: "Heading Off The Trail"

“For Raglon and Scholtmeijer, the linguistic turn led to a reductive approach to writing about the natural world, one where historically situated human paradigms impose an understanding upon that which is fundamentally autonomous and independent of human existence or control…In fact a binary opposition structures this extract: language versus literature” (759).

This passage got me contemplating not so much about a binary opposition between language and literature, but kind of about a binary opposition or perhaps more accurately a power hierarchy structure between nature and humans (since they aren’t exact opposites defining them as binary may not be the right description). While nature has existed for millions of years before humans ever did, we have been successful in damaging the earth and causing the extinction of so many species of animals. I had to read a book for a biology class in high school (I forget the name), which from a scientific perspective observed that humans are the parasites of the earth. It is true enough to the extent that films that “turn the tables and show nature rebelling against human dominance” are something “we enjoy watching” and that “These days, it is not even necessary that humankind triumph in the end. We feel sufficient guilt over our relations with the environment that a victory for nature now and again is not only tolerable but welcome” (763).

In addition, going back to the human/nature power hierarchy, while humans have been able to master technology, we don’t have a way to fight against large scale natural disasters. In addition, the mention of the termite queen on 746 also got me thinking of nature/the earth and how “she is helpless to evade the consequences of her power”, and because the earth has still been able to provide resources, humans have been able to keep living (764). I also do agree with the discussion in class that while talking about and raising awareness for problems the environment is facing are important, it is also important to take proactive steps, however small they may be. 

Response 27: "Theatre And The Autobiographical Pact"

Similar to autobiographies or biographies are “reality” shows on television, and they are great examples of “a ‘performance of a performance’” (738). Each person/character in the reality show interacts with the other cast members and this “performance of a performance” is easy to observe particularly because the characters on these shows have heightened reactions to events, in part because they are aware that their performance will be seen by thousands of people. For example, if another person on the show picks a fight with them, they may react overly defensive because they know there will be audience and they do not appear as weak.

“there are…interesting and complex explanations for our obsession with the personal. Auto/Biographies satisfy our desire for story at the same time as they promise to give us truths (if not Truth), to provide meaning, identity, and possibly even order” (739). In “reality” shows, each member also does a “confessional” section where they are the only on camera and they provide their reaction and personal thoughts to situations in the show. Perhaps people’s curiosity and need for truth is also one reason why “the other woman” involved in a political scandal can write a book and it is almost guaranteed to be a financial success.

It is important that “the autobiographical voice” is “available to minorities and to groups” as a form of self expression and truth of their experiences and struggles (740). Auto/biographies can also be tremendously inspiring to readers, such as in the case of public figures that are looked up to (such as Hillary Clinton and Nelson Mandela) and people “expect to be told the truth about someone’s life…that they live outside the text and go to the bank and grocery store as we do…despite our realization that we are engaged with art, not life” (741). Perhaps that (and the expectation of truth) led to many being outraged when it was found that many events in Three Cups of Tea were fictionalized events. An additional reason could be that because the author was a “lesser known…figure…and more conventional and flawed, or basically human” he was “more appealing and culturally resonant” with many readers (741). 

Response 26: "Answering The Question: What is postmodernism?"

Derrida  and deconstructionists would have approved of Lyotard’s “incredulity towards metanarratives” (202).

The definition of reality as not “simply a reelection the writing or painting, of the world as it is” but rather “realism is shown to be a way of representing the world as it should be” and the example of the Nazi party’s favor of “realistic” art depicting “sculptures of Aryan white muscular males heroically building the Third and Final Reich: the ethnically cleansed utopia that in fact was being built via the death and destruction of the Holocaust” showed an extreme danger of this “realism” that is aspired to (202). It reminded me of Lacan’s mirror stage, and in this example, it is a bit alarming the extents they went to achieve this mirror stage (not an individual mirror stage, but a mirror stage of society). Strangely enough, it also reminded me Lord Farquaad from Shrek banishing all the fairytale creatures in an attempt to create the perfect kingdom, and then later aspiring to marry a princess fit the ideal definition of a king as defined by the magic mirror.

I also liked Lyotard’s statement of creating text or work that is not “governed by preestablished rules, and they cannot be judged according to a determining judgement” and that “Those rules and categories are what the work of art itself is looking for” (204). This encouragement of exploration also rejects following an established metanarrative of the central established guidelines on how to create art. 

Response 25: "'Time' Has Ceased, 'Space' Has Vanished. We Now Live In A Global Village"

The discussion and emphasis of this reading on the importance of experiencing the world through other senses than just primarily relying on sight reminded me the movie Avatar where they connected to a center/tree to experience and share memories. While I do agree that “time and space have ‘ceased’” in the sense that “these are meaningless terms when any event or sensation can be simultaneously experienced by multiple people in multiple locations around the globe” the same thing that is broadcast around the world can have different perspectives (164). So, in that sense I guess it is important to learn “to trust diverse sources—and senses—of information, shifting away from the visual (we trust the printed text) to the multimedia (different information modes, such as the speculative, graphical, aural, or countercultural)” (164). One reason perhaps, is in regards to how political events are portrayed in the media. One example can be how propaganda varied according to the different political atmospheres of different countries during World War II.  If were presented with such propaganda today, it would be important to not just trust the text but also analyze it (be speculative, take into consideration the culture and political views of the origin of propaganda etcetera).

We sometimes forget the connective power of technology and one example of that is “the funeral of President Kennedy…[that] proved the power of television” as it involved “an entire population in a ritual process” (177). Another example of including people globally an experience are the royal weddings in Britain.