Transcript Document

What We Teach and Why:
Reading the Word
and the World with Adolescents
Deborah Appleman, Carleton College
The Puente Teacher Component Training.
February 22, 2007
The paradox of education is precisely this—that
as one begins to become conscious one begins
to examine the society in which he is being
educated. The purpose of education, finally, is to
create in a person the ability to look at the world
for himself, to make his own decisions…. But no
society is really anxious to have that kind of
person around. What societies really, ideally,
want is a citizenry which will simply obey the
rules of society. If a society succeeds in this, that
society is about perish. The obligation of anyone
who thinks of himself as responsible is to
examine society and try to change it and to fight
it—at no matter what risk. This is the only hope
society has. This is the only way societies
change.
- James Baldwin
The main reason for studying theory at the same time as
literature is that it forces you to deal consciously with the
problem of ideologies... There are many truths and the one
you will find depends partly on the ideology you start with.
[Studying theory] means you can take your own part in the
struggles for power between different ideologies. It helps you
to discover elements of your own ideology, and understand
why you hold certain values unconsciously. It means no
authority can impose a truth on you in a dogmatic way—and
if some authority does try, you can challenge that truth in a
powerful way, by asking what ideology it is based on...
Theory is subversive because it puts authority in question.
- Bonnycastle, In Search of Authority
Ideology
In essence an ideology is a system of thought or “world view” which
an individual acquires (usually unconsciously) from the world around
him. An ideology determines what you think is important in life, what
categories you put people into, how you see male and female roles in
life, and a host of other things. You can visualize your ideology as a
grid , or a set of glasses, through which you can see the world.
- Bonnycastle
The term ideology describes the beliefs, attitudes, and habits of feeling
which a society inculcates in order to generate an automatic
reproduction of its structuring premises. Ideology is what preserves
social power in the absence of direct coercion.
- Ryan
Ideological common sense is common
sense in the service of sustaining
unequal relations of power.
- Fairclough
Until lions tell their stories,
tales of hunting
will glorify the hunter.
- African Proverb
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind
at the same time and still retain the ability
to function. One should, for example, be
able to see that things are hopeless and yet
be determined to make them otherwise.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
No Such Thing as Innocence
Contemporary theory holds that there is no such thing
as an innocent, value-free reading. Instead, each of us
has a viewpoint invested with presuppositions about
‘reality’ and about ourselves, whether we are conscious
of it or not. People who deny having a critical stance,
who claim they are responding “naturally” or being
“completely objective” do not know themselves.
- Staton, Literary Theories in Praxis
A man with one theory is lost.
He needs several of them, or
lots! He should stuff them in
his pockets like newspapers.
-Bertolt Brecht
Critical Theories
Feminist
Marxist
Reader Response
Formalist
Deconstruction
Critical Theories
California Style
Archetypes
Historical
Response and Analysis
Stylistic
Biographical
Political
Upon Seeing an Orange
Feminist theory asks... 'What possibilities are available to a woman who eats this orange?'
Formalism asks... 'What shape and diameter is the orange?'
Marxist theory asks... 'Who owns the orange?’
Who gets to eat it?’
Postcolonialism asks... 'Who doesn't own the orange?’
‘Who took the orange away?’
Reader-Response asks... 'What does the orange taste like?’
‘ What does the orange remind us of?'
Structuralism asks... 'How are the orange peel and the flesh differentiate
into composite parts of the orange?’
Deconstruction asks... 'If the orange peel and the flesh are both part of an "orange",
are they not in fact one and the same thing?’
http://www.geocities.com/litcrittoolkit/defin.html
It is not that we shouldn’t care about
individual students and texts. We should,
and I do. We also recognize, however, that
students and texts are embedded in huge,
living, sometimes contradictory networks,
and if we want students to understand the
workings of textuality, then we have to think
about those larger systems.
- Bruce Pirie
Reading the World
The relationship between the text and the
world is not simply a fascinating problem for
textual theory. It is, above all others, the
problem that makes textual theory necessary.
- Scholes
Being an ‘enlightened witness’ means
becoming critically vigilant about the world
we live in.
- bell hooks
Jenny’s Response
Matt’s Response:
Ethiopia Versus Tiffany & Co.
Description
After we talked about Marxism and Of Mice and Men, I was looking at
the NY Times A section and saw these two items facing each other.
There’s a long article about famine in Ethiopia—I didn’t copy it all.
Then right across the page is this ad for diamond earrings. I thought
it was ironic enough and then I saw the price of the earrings, $10,500!
Analysis
Capitalism can be found alive and well in every corner of this paper.
The news alternates with ads for luxury goods. The Marxist lens makes
me think about the haves and have-nots as represented by these two
artifacts. Where is the middle class?
Conclusion
I found the ad obscene next to the famine article. I wonder if the
editorial staff even notices this stuff. Are people who can afford to buy
earrings interested in the famine article? Do people who care about
famine in Ethiopia tolerate earring ads? The typical reader of the NY
Times lives between the earrings and the famine.
Bridget’s Response
Sarah’s Response
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Juliette’s
Response
Ashton’s Response
J eremy’s Response
Re-reading Romance
Deconstructing the “Prince”
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Can We Use Critical Lenses
to Read the World?
“Yes, it helps a lot to try to analyze
things from different perspectives.”
“Yes, texts are used every day
and everywhere to influence us
and reinforce ideas of society.”
“Yes, it gives us many
perspectives on the same thing.
It basically makes it possible to
see more than just the obvious.”
“Yes, but it’s too much work;
almost anything can be
looked at through a critical
lens.”
“Yes, they are necessary
to determine the complex
and varied messages
being thrown at us every
day.”
“Yes, but
not everything in the world should be critically
viewed. We need to be able to use
lenses but not to over analyze.”
“No, we cannot use the critical lens to read the
world. We must endure what we are in. By analyzing
too much, the feeling we have is sucked out.”
”Yes, but we can’t focus on one
lens or over-analyze everything,
or we will not get anything
done.”
“Yes, although it can be
carried away. It is
necessary so you don’t
buy in to stereotypes and
products that would be
fulfilling false
stereotypes.”
“Yes, you have to, because
nothing is ever direct, you
always have to read between
the lines to get the entire
message.”
“No. We can use critical
lenses to interpret the things
we read in the world, but we
read at face value first. When
we read, we subconsciously
use lenses anyway.”
“Yes, we often use multiple
ones every day; however,
looking at only one at a
time can lead to seeing a
muted view of what is
happening.”
“Yes, but it may be overwhelming if you
do it all the time. I do think we do it a lot
without knowing it.”
“Yes, in a complex world where groups and individuals
are vying for power, it is important to analyze the
interests of the creators of media that form culture.”
Deborah Appleman
Carleton College
[email protected]
Handouts for this presentation can be accessed at
http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/
educ/faculty/Appleman/index.html