Why We Read?

I'll admit, I just installed the Stumbleupon toolbar for Firefox which brings me to all of these great sites (like the one with the buildings) and I found another one to share.

http://citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=16743

It's an article about loving books, and why the books we read when we're younger "May Be The Most Important Reading We Ever Do." Enjoy!

Just for Fun!

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Does number 12 look familiar? The other buildings are amazing too!

The Hours! (aka: Michael Cunningham is a genius)

Ok, the first thing I want to point out is on the page with the two quotes (before the prologue). The second quote, by Virginia Woolf, reminds me of her "tunneling" comment. "I dig out beautiful caves behind my characters," she says. The same concept? I believe so.

While reading Michael Cunningham, keep your eye out for subtle references to VW and Mrs. D. They litter every page, for sure. Some are not so subtle... like Clarissa Vaughn's nickname... but check out the names of the other characters. Most main characters have names we encountered in Mrs. D, but many are used for people who play a different role. Also, it's neat to observe how MC has changed the Sally/Clarissa story. And don't forget Mary Krull... you'll meet her later. And what does Wellfleet remind us of? Bourton? NO WAY!

Another thing that impresses me all the time about The Hours is MC's ability to create for us VW's mental state (and Mrs. Brown's, for that matter). His descriptions of diseased mental health are spot-on and very realistic. I am 100% convinced while reading this book that MC actually has lived inside VW's brain... he's that good.

This is one well-crafted novel, I'd say. But who am I to say? What do YOU say?!

Updated Page Numbers for Window References

Here are the page numbers for the window references in Mrs. Dalloway for the version all of you have. See my other blogs for my own two cents for some of the passages. Hope you're enjoying The Hours!

3, 5, 9, 13, 14, 15, 24, 30, 31, 37, 47, 48, 53, 54, 61, 88, 89, 112, 113, 126, 127, 134, 138, 149, 150, 163, 168, 184, 185, 186

Flowers in Mrs. Dalloway

There is literally a flower reference on every other page in this book, as I'm sure you've all noticed. I began to turn down all the pages on which flowers or plant-life was mentioned, but soon realized I had every page turned down!

Regent's Park was mentioned numerous times, and I included those examples with my flower references because I felt that they encompassed flowers and gardens and plant-life as a whole, a theme Woolf really delves into in the text. Regent's Park becomes a place where all the characters mentioned wander, either physically or mentally, and have some memory or experience there.

ROSE is mentioned perhaps more than any other flower. This is used to describe women of beauty, particularly Sally and Elizabeth, in the eyes of Mrs. Dalloway and her husband, in terms of his daughter. The word "rose" is also played with when used as a verb rather than describing a literal flower, as is the word "flower" used to also describe the emergence of people and ideas, such as, "It has flowered; flowered from vanity, ambition, idealism, passion, loneliness, courage, laziness, the usual seeds..." (page 84). When discussing time passing, weeds is mentioned (along with waves!).

"But she deared time itself, and read on Lady Bruton's face, as if it had been a dial cut in impassive stone, the dwindling of life; how year by year her share was sliced; how little the margin that remained was capable any longer of stretching, of absorbing, asin the youthful years, the colours, salts, tones of existence, so that she filled the room she entered, and felt often as she stood hesitating one moment on the threshold of her drawing-room, an exqisite suspense, such as might stay a digver before plunging while the sea darkens and brightens beneath him, and the wabes which threaten to break, but only gently split their surface roll and conceal and encrust as they just turn over the weeds with pearl." (page 30, DEFINITELY a PERIOD SENTENCE).

I thought it important to mention this along with the observance of flowers, because when people are compared with flowers in Mrs. Dalloway, they are always youthful and beautiful (Elizabeth and Sally in Clarissa's memory of her as a girl), and the view on time and age is played with throughout the novel. Growing older is generally unfavored among the different characters, and I think the inclusion of "weeds" within the sadness and helplessness of time really acknowledges this. I also thought it interesting that Clarissa remarks at one point that at fifty-two, she did not feel old yet, while Peter thought that made her quite old.

I also noted the mention of Mrs. Dalloway's "green dress" seemed to pop up quite often as well, and there were a fair share Shakespeare references. Religion played a part in the novel as well, and it was interesting to see the division between instituionalized religion and God, Nature verus Divinity, and human nature. Clarissa seems to revel in the concept of God, by shy away from what others consider to be sins, and also deeply analyzes her memories and feelings for Sally and the difference to her between a love for a man and love for a woman.

Big Ben/Clocks

4, 21, 48, 49, 70, 94, 101, 102, 117, 118, 127, 150, 186

Birds, birds, birds

Jessy did a great job of pulling out all of the important bird references. I just wanted to add an observation that relates to that.

At the start of the book, Clarissa is described as bird-like and beak-faced. She is also described, as Megan pointed out, as cutting people into pieces. The beak-face and the sharpness seem to go hand in hand, to me (I'm imagining a bird pecking things to bits). I think that perhaps this sharpness, and coldness, may be a form of defense for Clarissa. She thinks, in the novel, about how dangerous it is to live for even just one day (and Septimus is proof of this thought), which suggests to me that there is a good deal of fear inside Clarissa. Perhaps her sharpness and her quickness and her coldness are her methods for protecting herself from this danger.

At the end of the novel, when Septimus jumps from his window to escape the doctor, Lucrezia blocks the stairwell in order not to let the doctor pass. Septimus imagines her as hen-like, with arms out at her sides like wings to block the way. She protects him, defends him, as a bird. This seems like a parallel between Septimus and Clarissa (shock and surprise) who both appear to use birds and bird-like behavior as methods to defend themselves from the intrusive outside world.

3,7,9,15,20,22,23,24,25,28,29,

64,65,66,69,71,78,81,83,98,

112,134,138,139,144,148,153,182,191

Birds in Mrs. Dalloway

It seems that the thread of avian metaphors in Mrs. Dalloway is almost as pervasive as the appearance and description of flowers.

Because there were so many references to birds, I decided to only note the passages in which birds were deliberately mentioned or a character was described as bird-like.

Page 4 - Clarissa as a jay
Page 10- Clarissa's face being described as "beaked"
Page 14 - Septimus is "beak-nosed"
Page 35 - Sally as a flying bird
Page 43 - Clarissa as a "fluttering" bird
Page 56 -Peter sinking into the "plumes and feathers of sleep"
Page 82 - Septimus watching Lucrezia "as one watches a bird"
Page 102 - Sir William as a bird of prey
Page 145 - The screen in Septimus' room with birds on it
Page 146 - Septimus being described as a young hawk
Page 147 - Lucrezia's mind falling from branch to branch, like a bird
Page 148 - I'm a little confused - is Lucrezia referring to Septimus or Sir William Bradshaw?
Page 149 - Lucrezia as a "little hen"
Page 153 - Sally as a goose....a silly goose?
Page 162 - Miss Parry as a bird frozen to it's perch
Page 164 - Peter with hawk-like eyes
Page 168 - Clarissa's curtain with the birds of Paradise on it
Page 170 - Clarissa's curtain, again

There's so much that can be deducted from Woolf's constant bird-like descriptions of the various characters. While I still stick by my original idea of Clarissa and Septimus (and Lucrezia) being trapped in "bird cages" by their lives and society, I've also become more interested in how Woolf differentiates between males and females by using bird-like descriptions.
Many of the males, especially Septimus, are described as hawk-like or having qualities similar to those of a raptor.
The women, on the other hand, are described in a more delicate fashion. They are jays, hens, and fluttering birds.

I have seen this theme of men as raptors and females as delicate songbirds in other pieces of literature, and was interested to see that Woolf used this symbolism so deliberately in Mrs. Dalloway.

" Buds on the Tree of Life"

Throughout Mrs. Dalloway I noticed two threads that are metaphorically as well as literally connected, those being roots and trees. Although the appearance of trees was more prevalent in the beginning of the book, it still appeared in some way through the entirety of the story. The root and tree references sometimes referred to them as part of the landscape, but more often than not they were referred to in a bigger sense. Often they are brought up when talking about Septimus and his disgust in cutting down trees and ending life, this being a large obsession with him due to the fact that he was responsible for watching lives being taken away, some of those lives, being his closest friends. In other passages we see it through the thoughts of a tree and roots as a symbol of life.


“It was her life, and bending her head over the hall table, she bowed beneath the influence, felt blessed and purified, saying to herself, as she took the pad with the telephone message on it, how many moments like this are buds on the tree of life, flowers of darkness they are, she thought (as if some lovely rose had blossomed for her eyes only)….” (pg. 29)


Also seen (12, 15,22, 23, 29, 76, 83, 98, 121, 134, 154)

An Escape

The first half of Mrs. Dalloway often had more references to windows as a way to look out; to witness the world without actually being a part of it. The second half, however, had more instances of windows being the way to an escape. Though I cannot provide accurate page numbers to your newer versions, I want to share the passage when Septimus throws himself out of the window.

"Getting up rather unsteadily, hopping indeed from foot to foot, [Septimus] considered Mrs. Filmer's nice clean bread-knife with 'Bread' carved on the handle. Ah, but one mustn't spoil that. The gas fire? But it was too late now. Holmes was coming. Razors he might have got, but Rezia, who always did that sort of thing, had packed them. There remained only the window, the large Bloomsbury lodging-house window; the tiresome, the troublesome, and rather melodramatic business of opening the window and throwing himself out. It was their idea of tragedy, not his or Rezia's (for she was with him). But he would wait till the very last moment. He did not want to die. Life was good. The sun hot. Only human beings? Coming down the staircase opposite an old man stopped and stared at him. Holmes was at the door. 'I'll give it you!' he cried, and flung himself vigorously, violently down on to Mrs. Filmer's area railings." (108, some page much later in the newer editions)

Though not to that extremity, Clarissa uses a window as a way of escape from her party after hearing about Septimus, and shares the moment with observing the outside world and others as he did in his last moments.

"[Clarissa] walked to the window. It held, foolish as the idea was, something of her own in it, this country sky, this sky above Westminster. She parted the curtains, she looked. Oh, but how surprising! -- in the room opposite the old lady stared straight at her! She was going to bed. And the sky. It will be a solemn sky, she had thought, it will be a dusky sky, turning away its cheek in beauty... She was going to bed, in the room opposite. It was fascinating to watch her, moving about, that old lady, crossing the room, coming to the window. Could she see her? It was fascinating, with people still laughing and shouting in the drawing-room, to watch that old woman, quite quietly, going to bed alone. She pulled the blind now. The clock began striking. The young man had killed himself; but she did not pity him; with the clock striking the hour, one, two, three, she did not pity him, with all this going on. There! the old lady had put out her light! the whole house was dark now with this going on... She must go back to them. But what an extraordinary night! She felt somehow very like him -- the young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away while they went on living. The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air. But she must go back. She must assemble. She must find Sally and Peter. And she came in from the little room." (134-5, fairly close to the end)

The Pocketknife and Other References to Knives

Not only is Peter's pocketknife mentioned in the text on multiple occasions, but I also noticed that there are few references to other types of knives as well, including many in reference to Clarissa.


pg.8 ("She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on...)
pg. 40 (Peter opens the pocket knife halfway)
pg. 41 (Clarissa takes notice of his fidgeting with the knife)
pg. 44 (The knife makes Clarissa feel self-conscious)
pg. 46 (Clarissa gets annoyed with Peter for continuing to toy with the knife)
pg. 71 ("Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife..."
pg. 80 (Peter pulls out his pocketknife again as he thinks about Daisy meeting with Major Orde, and his jealousy is apparent)
pg. 92 ("Food was pleasant; the sun hot; and his killing oneself, how does one set about it, with a table knife...")
pg. 104 ("She had never seen the sense of cutting people up, as Clarissa Dalloway did, cutting them up and sticking them together again..."
pg. 119 (Clarissa recalls an image of Peter playing with the knife "just like he always does")
pg. 147 (Rezia thinks of knives and forks when she is bringing Septimus his letters)
pg. 149 ("Getting up rather unsteadily, hopping indeed from foot to foot, he considered Mrs. Filmer's nice clean bread knife with 'Bread' carved on the handle")
pg. 157 (Peter empties his pockets at the hotel and his pocketknife is removed)
pg. 159 (Peter is sure to grab his pocketknife before he departs for the party)
pg. 165 (Peter opens the blade before entering Clarissa's house)
pg. 187 (Sally takes notice of Peter's "old trick" of fidgeting with the pocketknife when he gets excited and anxious)
pg. 192 (Peter continues to fidget with the device as he thinks about Clarissa)

I am still under the opinion that the pocketknife is symbolic of Peter's pain regarding Clarissa's rejection. Clarissa is described as being able to "slice like a knife through every thing," and this implies that she does not necessarily take people's feelings into account. She moves and makes decisions without caution at times. Lady Bruton also describes Clarissa as someone who cuts people up and tries to put them back together. The knife cannot simply be a device that Peter uses when he needs to fidget. It could have been any object. A marble? A pocket watch?

-Megan R.

Periodic sentence in Mrs. Dalloway?

"For Hugh always made her feel, as he bustled on, raising his hat rather extravagantly and assuring her that she might be a girl of eighteen, and of course he was coming to her part tonight, Evelyn absolutely insisted, only a little late he might be after the party at the Palace to which he had to take one of Jim's boys, -she always felt a little skimpy beside Hugh; schoolgirlish; but attached to him, partly from having known him always, but she did think him a good sort in his own way, though Richard was nearly driven mad by him, and as for Peter Walsh, he had never to this day forgiven her for liking him."

page 6

...waves....

...see pages:

3, 7, 8, 13, 30

39, 57, 122, 128

139, 161, 174

Septimus & Clarissa - Birds in a cage?

We were told in class on Monday to closely watch the manner in which Septimus Warren Smith and Clarissa Dalloway's lives parallel each other.

I had decided to follow the theme of birds in the text, and found that the first hints at the relation between Clarissa and Septimus is subtly pointed out in their physical descriptions; both characters are described as bird-like.
When Clarissa is heading out to buy flowers, Scrope Purvis notes that she is "perched" on the side of the road, and has "a touch of the bird about her, of the jay, blue-green, light, vivacious," (4).

Septimus is not described as a bird in such detail as Clarissa, but his brief physical description on page 14 notes that he is "beak-nosed."

The reader slowly begins to discover that these characters feel unhappy with and trapped in their everyday lives (Septimus more obviously so). Perhaps their bird-like descriptions metaphorically represent their desire to fly away? Or maybe these descriptions are meant to hint that Septimus and Clarissa are trapped, like pet birds, in the cage of society?

I have no doubts that Woolf described these characters as bird-like on purpose, and am interested to see how if the theme continues through the rest of the novel.

In The Ashes of a Cigarette

Throughout reading Mrs. Dalloway I found the mention of a cigarette quite often. It appears when Clarissa is thinking about life and the decisions she has made. When analyzing this I could not help but think of the metaphor that can be so strongly linked to it. It is my belief that most of our lives are like a cigarette, you find whatever it is that sparks the flame, and then we must cherish it until the embers run out. We watch pieces of our lives fall away in the ashes, which Clarissa has seen with Sally and Peter. Also it is towards the end of the novel where we are going to see the cigarette of Septimus’s life burn out completely.

Looking Through the Glass

The one word I chose to follow during Mrs. Dalloway was the word "window." I chose this word because windows are a way of viewing the world without actually being a part of it; someone who watches life through a window is very detached. I noticed throughout the first 80 or so pages that the windows mentioned were either decorated in some way, or being looked out rather than in. In London, the shopkeepers windows are filled with goods, but it is never actually said that Mrs. Dalloway or any of the characters looked into these stores. Rather, while inside, they go to the windows to look out. Primarily it is the women of the book who seem to go to windows, but Peter Walsh is also seen looking out at some point. To me, it seems that all of these characters are detached from life in some way. Many of them dwell on the past and reconsider their decisions, but there is also the case of Miss Pym who watches the car accident from the window of her shop without getting involved.

I'm Not Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but I Might Be Afraid of Peter's Pocketknife

Peter Walsh's pocketknife is a repeated image that occurs frequently throughout the text of Mrs. Dalloway. The most poignant scene in which the pocketknife is present occurs when Peter Walsh approaches Clarissa in her home before her party. He takes the knife out and begins to play with it in his hands as if it's a mere toy. Clarissa strongly dislikes the habit but has probably never got around to telling Peter. Peter's manipulation of the knife makes her feel "frivolous and empty-minded" and makes him appear so important and stately (44). Clarissa later likens this habit to his inability to read people's feelings. "...It was his silly unconventionality, his weakness; his lack of the ghost of a notion what any one else was feeling that annoyed her" (46). The irony here is that Peter is actually being completely empathetic. He knows what Clarissa is feeling, and he continues to run his finger along the blade of the knife. This is not the only occasion in which Peter toys with his knife.


So what is this reoccurring image all about?

I think that the knife has a few different purposes in the text. First and foremost, it represents Clarissa stabbing Peter in the back, so to speak. She chose to marry Mr. Dalloway, who seems to be an awful match for her instead of Peter. When Clarissa sees the knife, she is reminded of her mistake. That is why the combination of the knife and Peter's tears create a surge of emotion in Clarissa who ends up kissing him. The knife is also Peter's reminder that he is up against some tough weapons in cracking Clarissa, including Clarissa herself. He is still in love with her and must work toward her love as well. The knife, of course, is a symbol of masculinity as well. Peter's toying with the knife gives Clarissa a trivial reason to dislike Peter, and that's what Clarissa needs is a multitude of reasons to convince herself that she made the right choice with Mr. Dalloway.

-Megan R.

is this metaphor too much?

if ever viginia woolfs writing were manifested in building form, i think this might be similiar to its physical appearance. why do i make such a strange claim?

its entirely possible that one could erect some sort of 'scaffolding' on the side of this modernist interpretation of 'building', but there's no way it would work in the conventional scaffolding way. someone would undoubtedly have to design a custom-scaffolding for it.

get it?

maybe, its too early.

or late.

......

some backdated stuff . . . sorry i'm playing a bit of catch up

Paulo Freire, author of The “Banking” Concept of Education, claimed “Education is suffering from narration sickness” (Freire 68). He accuses teachers of turning their students into “receptacles” and “depositories” (Freire 69), explaining that students fail to “develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world” (Freire 70). Freire offers a counter-style of teaching; problem-posing education, where “they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation” (Freire 76).

Like-minded teacher, Gloria Watkins expresses similar views with a feminist twist in her essay, Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy. She suggests, in order to create more transformative education experiences, our professors “should engage students in a learning process that makes the world ‘more rather than less real’” (Watkins 81). In order to achieve this subjective knowledge through teaching, “We must be willing to deconstruct this power dimension, to challenge, change, and create new approaches” (Watkins 84).


150 word comparison of freire and hooks
and it totally is . . . without the in-text citations. because then its 162 words.
if we're counting. and we most certainly are.

Mrs. Dalloway!!

"If ever there was a work conceived in response to the state of the novel, a consciously "modern" novel, it is Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf was beset by the inadequacies of the old designs but well aware that a display of method could appear shallow and heartless and that mere technical innovation made nothing new." - viii, Maureen Howard's introduction

"Make it new!" - the mantra of Ezra Pound, and a slogan that serves as a decent representation of Modernist ideals.

Viswanathan's Idea of Mind Control Through Literature

"The history of education in British India shows that certain humanistic functions traditionally associated with literature, for example, the shaping of character or development of the aesthetic sense or the disciplines of ethical thinking, were considered essential to the processes of sociopolitical control by the guardians of the same tradition" (62).

"The English literary text, functioning as a surrogate Englishman in his highest and most perfect state, becomes a mask of economic exploitation, so successfully camouflaging the material activities of the colonizer..." (67).

I found Gauri Viswanathan's theory on the development of English studies as a discipline extremely thought-provoking, especially because America was obviously once a colony of Britain, the same country that exploited India by use of literature for ages. I have always viewed reading as an action that symbolizes freedom. I have a choice regarding what I read, who I read, and how I read a given text. Viswanathan, who was born in Calcutta, India, believes that studying English literature is a symbol of control, the exact opposite of my own thinking. I completely understand where she is coming from on the topic seeing as she is Indian-born, and has witnessed her own reasoning in her day-to-day life.

The Indian people read English literature to make themselves feel as if they were assimilating into a culture that was superior to their own. They read to gain dignity in the eyes of their colonizers who viewed them as incomplete, inferior, and imperfect human beings. In reading what the English threw in front of them, the Indian people were allowing colonization of the mind to occur.

Viswanathan points out that English programs in American schools sprouted up after colonization had been ended in the states, following the Revolutionary War. Why do you think American schools would establish these programs after the English had already liberated the colonies? The programs were clearly not a means of control and colonization, so why did English become such a vital course of study in American classrooms?

-Megan R.

A paper-writing tool...

I suspect that most of you have seen and/or used this website before... but I thought I'd throw it up here for you just in case.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

This is a guide for paper formatting (including citations and reference lists) for MLA and APA styles. The site for MLA is here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/.

It's a fantastic site that has just about everything you could possibly need to properly cite sources and properly format your papers. I use it every time I write a paper, literally. It's wonderful.

From Jackie!!

So, this is the author about whom Jackie said "he was NOT kidding." You may have heard that story...



ANYWAY, she just asked me to post this for you all to look at:

http://www.theroot.com/views/was-lincoln-racist?GT1=38002



It's by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a theorist you'll be reading this semester, and it's about Lincoln and his views on race.

Thanks, Jackie!

150 Word Comparison of Freire and Hooks

Paulo Freire discusses the idea of educating through a cyclical approach in his essay, The Banking Concept of Education. He explains that teachers should not just speak to their students, but engage them in the material being taught. If the teacher can recognize that they are learning as well, the class will flow more effectively. He states this saying, “ The teacher is no longer merely the one who teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach.” Bell Hooks in her essay, Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy, speaks to the same notions as Freire, both agreeing that teacher dominated classrooms are invaluable to students. Hooks states that, “Education is the practice of freedom- as opposed to education as the practice of domination…” Both Freire and Hooks understand the value of teaching and more importantly the value of learning.

Comparison & some thoughts

In Paulo Freire’s essay “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” he discusses observations on the educational system. He writes about the “banking” concept where educators deposit their thoughts and knowledge into students, who are assumed to be empty receptacles just waiting to be filled. Freire believes this system is built on the assumption that teachers know all, while students possess no knowledge, nor do they process the information they receive; it’s simply a concept of storage and memorization. Comparatively, bell hooks builds off of this concept in her essay “Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy.” She uses examples from her own past to cite why it is important for educators to “teach us an oppositional world view…that would enable us to focus clearly and succinctly, to look at ourselves, at the world around us, critically” (79). hooks also comments on the importance of having a feminist pedagogy in place that challenges the 'politics of domination'.




I personally feel that Freire has a very cynical or pessimistic view of education. While I think many times, at least in middle school, there are times when students are required to learn basic rules and concepts that are instilled in all students within one culture, there are many instances when teachers have a profound impact upon students and challenge them to think for themselves. I have always found this to be true in most of the English classes I've had throughout my life, which really encouraged my choice of majoring in English. I also think this goes back to the question of 'why study English?' and the value of English in today's society. I have found it to be the most worthwhile subject in school because I feel that it challenges me to think and form opinions on my own, but also to understand the basic concepts of what it means to be a human and to live, as opposed to finding an area I can succeed in to make a lot of money. In regards to the essays, I was able to relate to hooks in terms of remembering past teachers I've had that really left their mark and encouraged me to be my own person and challenge the norm and question everything I'm presented with. I think this is why education is so valuable, and it would indeed be a shame if, as Freire suggests, it was based entirely on a banking concept of simply receiving and storing information rather than listening and reading and then becoming inspired to do something in the world, as Thoreau often suggests.

Comparison of Freire and hooks

Paulo Freire’s “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” brings to light an important distinction in the methods of teaching. Rather than a teacher talking to a roomful of listening students and divorcing them from reality, students should be taught in a manner that enforces the fact that they are the reality. Freire relates this to liberation; a revolutionary society may not “inherit these [static teaching] methods from an oppressor society” (73). bell hooks’ in “Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy” speaks about the female teachers she had in her early years who taught her how to accept herself and question the way that the world works. In her graduate school years, she was taught to observe and record reality rather than being a part of it. The white supremacist attitude had never been broken in institutions of higher learning and hooks states that “we must relinquish our ties to traditional ways of teaching that reinforce domination” (81).

Freire and Hooks in 125 words

Paulo Freire and Bell Hooks state the importance of being taught to rather than projected at when it comes to learning. Freire discusses the situation as a whole using terms such as the “banking” concept where a teacher simply deposits knowledge into the students. Hooks, by contrast, uses her own personal experience as a way to show how it was easier to learn when there was a broader spectrum being exposed. Hooks refers to Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a source to back up her ideas for teaching to be a method for liberation to expand learning. Both of them in the course of their essays discuss how education is more than just about general knowledge, but by being a “practice of freedom.” (75)

Hooks and Freire

Both Freire and Hooks have the same notion that education is a gift. Freire talks how knowledge is a gift and that the solution is to reconcile the poles of contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students, in his list of what the solution is not, the main thing that grabbed me was "the teacher knows everything and the student knows nothing." This is where Freire and Hooks have very similar views Hooks speaks of her teacher Miss Moore whom she was very fond of. Moore taught with more then just books, but how to look at themselves and the world around them. Her teaching style was not just valuable to the children she taught, but also to her. Both Freire and Hooks agree that proper teaching must be taught through the teacher, but also from student to teacher, making a rewarding experience. 

Friere/Hooks 150 Word Comparison

Paulo Friere and Bell Hooks, in their respective essays “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” and, “Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy,” make their cases against the teacher-dominated classroom. Both agree that the older teaching style, in which the student is a “receptacle to be filled” with the professors knowledge, is ineffective and doesn’t engage the student (no true learning!).
Friere believes the preferable alternative to this “banking education” teaching style is “problem-posing education,” in which the student is encouraged to think critically and observe the way they exist in and with the world.
Hooks’ solution to the banking education is creating a classroom where the student is essentially forced to find their voice. While her methods for engaging students are a bit intense, Hooks feels that encouraging students to openly talk about feminist views help them to find their voice and learn something about themselves.(144 words)

100-150 Word Comparison (Friere and hooks)

Paulo Friere's The "Banking" Concept of Education and bell hooks' Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy have one major commonality, and that is that both essays contain strong arguments against oppressive, authoritarian forms of teaching. Friere argues that a classroom should be based on transformation and dialogical communication, not just a teacher forcing a student to memorize his or her point of view. He also argues that "problem-posing education" allows students to think critically, enhancing creativity and reflection (76). Friere points out that this type of education system actually promotes the humanization of a person. Hooks builds on Friere's stance by arguing that students should be taught oppositional world views, especially the view of the oppressed woman. She goes on to discuss the benefits of introducing conflicting ideas in the classroom with the belief that "every student has something valuable to say" (83). Student-centered teaching strategies are emphasized in both essays.

Comparison is exacty 150 words!

Comparison: Friere and hooks

In his essay “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” Freire discusses traditional methods of teaching that involve a dominant teacher “filling” passive students with information. Freire believes that teachers and students should instead create a dialogue from which they each learn; it is only through this freeing mode of education that people can become aware of themselves, of the world around them, and of their own awareness. In “Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy,” hooks applies this argument to the discussion of feminist pedagogy and minority pedagogy; hooks believes that we must teach and learn in this way in order to recognize individuality.

In class tomorrow, Ann Page will give you each a copy of my first essay from last year (yikes!) for you to peruse as you begin your own first essays. This is just to get your thoughts moving and perhaps provide you with some idea of the direction you'd like this paper to take. Your paper does not, however, have to resemble mine even a little; it is simply for you to look at if you wish (and to help demonstrate why you've been forced to write these darned 100 word summaries and comparisons). I make no claim that this is a paper worthy of your admiration; it is simply the one I wrote and am now sharing with you. (Extra points to the first person to identify the error on page 6.)

I'm happy to be a second set of eyes for you as you write your papers, but I should warn you that I will not be within reach via the internet from Thursday afternoon on... so if you want my input before Friday you'll need to contact me by Wednesday night. Good luck with these papers, and have fun! :)

Tuesday, Tuesday ("Ruby Tuesday"?)

Let's write a 100 - 150 word comparison of the two essays for tomorrow - Freire and hooks.

Revised Summary - Himmelfarb

The essay "The New Advocacy and the Old" by Gertrude Himmelfarb focuses on the autobiographical content of curriculum. She first acknowledges this in history, explaining the role of postmodernism and the slogan "everything is political" turning into "everything is personal." She argues that the “I” approach taken by educators is narcissistic, using the classroom as a form of confessional, as opposed to taking an objective stance. She states that "the replacement of the "I" ...for the traditionally impersonal voice of the scholar...is congenial to the postmodernist sensibility" (87). Himmelfarb says it's another way of holding a student hostage to the educator’s agenda.

A Thought on Menand and During (this is more than 100 words and is meant to ask a question, not compare!)

I wanted to organize my thoughts on Menand and During's essays before we are asked to compare their points of view and arguments. This is what I came up with...

Simon During and Louis Menand seem to agree on one particular idea: The literary studies discipline is a dying breed. During argues that the discipline of English is becoming part of the all-encompassing discipline known as "cultural studies,"and Menand argues that literary studies is becoming less and less of it's own discipline for two reasons. One of these reasons is, in fact, that the humanities disciplines are beginning to merge, but he also points out that specialization and the rise of professionalism has sparked English's demise. Too many professors come from one specific background of literary theory. Everything is subsidized. During would even go on to say that their is no longer enough intellectual conflict to keep literary studies alive and breathing.

Do you think literary studies is become a completely different discipline? Is English dying? Are the humanities dying altogether (not just at Colby-Sawyer!)? What is causing less and less college-bound students to choose English as a course of study?

-Megan R.

Revision of My 100-Word Summary

In The New Advocacy and the Old, Gertrude Himmelfarb discusses the shift in academia from writing based on objectivity to writing based on subjectivity, or an autobiographical perspective. Himmelfarb’s point of view is that students are taking advantage of this shift, because they believe that this is the way writing has always been. Himmelfarb points out that the absence of any idea of truth and objective knowledge does not allow for educators to judge “scholarly merit” (88). Himmelfarb would argue that personal experience and the first-person pronoun, “I,” should be eliminated from all academic writing.

Revised Eagleton Summary and Comparison of During and Menand

Eagleton’s “The Rise of English” makes a point about literature replacing religion during the Victorian era and becoming something to bind society together. It provided English literature with a new lease on life, by becoming the most worthwhile subject to study. Scrutiny, a critical journal, was founded by the Leavises to analyze all works, previous and current and went so far as to take a political stance that addressed issues of the day. However, the primary concern of the academia was what role English literature would take in both society and civilization and what niche it would fill.

During’s essay “Teaching Culture” and Menand’s on “The Demise of Disciplinary Authority”, both discuss the role of English academics in a society that flits back and forth between deciding on its worth. While the institution of English remains strong with a solid base stretching back centuries, there is a debate between During’s “knowledge for its own sake” (96) and the academic who becomes a professional based upon need. The authors agree that both courses of action have merit but whether or not society will accept these positions for their intrinsic value has yet to be decided.

A new summary of Himmelfarb and a revised summary of Eagleton...

In “The New Advocacy and the Old,” Gertrude Himmelfarb asserts that personal experience and interpretation should be eliminated from classrooms. Interpretations of texts are inaccurate if the interpreter is central to them, and readings of texts which consider the backgrounds and current situations of the readers are too autobiographical and not objective enough. Himmelfarb believes that texts should be taught based on what is found within them rather than on the context of the reader. She argues that the “ideology of Moi” (pg. 87) should be replaced with the traditional method of assessment which places little value on the reader.

Terry Eagleton explains how English became an academic course of study in his essay “The Rise of English.” The basis of his argument is that literature replaced religion, to a degree. In Victorian England, there was a spiritual and moral crisis, which led to a heightened sense of the value of literature as experiential and emotional. Studying literature became a way of studying all subjects, most importantly society, history, and spirituality. The original idea that literature made scholars good people was overly idealistic, but the value of literature as an exploration of humanity was recognized then and remains important now.

Revision of 100 Word Summary

Himmelfarb’s essay discusses the idea of using an autobiographical approach to teach literature and history content. She believes that professors are considered advocates and should teach straight from the text, not from personal beliefs or ideas. She states this by saying, “Every professor is assumed to be an advocate, and every class, lecture, essay, book , or research project an exercise in advocacy” (86). She then explains that teaching has now turned away from just providing pure facts, but been done, “not in the name of truth, but in a show of disdain for the very idea of truth” (86).

exactly 100 - ADVOCACY!

Through the eyes of Gertrude Himmelfarb, teaching students their course material through an autobiographical lens is an “intrusion of personal reminiscences or reflections”(85). Her criticism came off rather harsh as she expressed a belief that professors are “taking advantage of the university that permits them to indulge their predilections even while enjoying the perquisites of rank, tenure, and financial security”(87). Himmelfarb went on to suggest that “relativism and subjectivism are more pervasive than ever before”(88); as if expressing one’s perspective and personal connections to our surrounding world were so terrible. How unsatisfying, only to learn the dry print of text.

Whoops

Terry Eagleton's culprit for literature falling out of favor is not lack of interest in reading, but the failure of religion. Also the middle classes failure to assimilate those below them, and that if those below fail to win sympathy society falls into anarchy. Literature is an ideology, which asks questions of social power. Readers unconvinced can find narratives to be persuaded. The rise of English took considerably longer to win the hearts of those in oxford and Cambridge, deemed for women and workers wishing to impress natives. Literature was its own society, important as a whole social ideology. 

Eagleton 100 word summer

Response to 100 Word Summaries (thus far)

I'm impressed with your summaries (or at least the ones I've read so far)! I remember this being a fairly painful exercise last year, at least in part because a number of people really struggled with finding concise ways to get their points (or the authors' points) across. This exercise really forces you to pare down your writing and only give the important facts (no flowery language or overwrought sentences...), which is a great skill that many of you already apparently posses. Nice work!

See you in class.

Casey's 100 Word Summary

Summary of Eagleton

Literature replaced religion during the Victorian era and became something to bind society together. It provided English literature with a new lease on life, becoming the thing to study, although it was embraced by the working class before the upper. Scrutiny, a critical journal, was created by the Leavises to analyze all works, previous and current and went so far as to take a political stance that addressed issues of the day. However, the primary concern was what role English literature would take in both society and civilization and what niche it would fill.

100 Word Summary

The essay "The New Advocacy and the Old" by Gertrude Himmelfarb centered around the autobiographical content of a professor's agenda. She first acknowledges this in history, explaining the role of postmodernism and the slogan "everything is political" turning into "everything is personal." Himmelfarb argues that the autobiographical approach taken by educators is narcissistic and another form of a confessional, as opposed to an objective stance. She states that "the replacement of the "I" ...for the traditionally impersonal voice of the scholar...is congenial to the postmodernist sensibility" (87) and is just another way of holding a student hostage by one's preoccupations.

100 Word Summary of " The New Advocacy and the Old"

Gertrude Himmelfarb…. “I” do not agree. In this essay she is trying to explain how professors and educators are trying to convey history through an autobiographical medium. She does not agree with the idea of educators using their experiences and opinions to teach academic material. To me that is one of the most critical ways of teaching. By developing your own thoughts and ideas as a professor, you in turn open a door that allows your students to create concrete ideas and opinions of their own. This allows discussion, debate, in depth thought, and the ability to truly learn.

100 Word Summary

"The Rise of English" by Terry Eagleton

Terry Eagleton’s essay can be summarized by one of his first sentences that states that “Literature, in the meaning of the word we have inherited, is an ideology” (49). He goes on to say that through the downfall of religion, especially in the Victorian era, literature has excelled, and that the point of literature itself is to “convey timeless truths, thus distracting the masses from their immediate commitments” (51). In this essay, Eagleton also argues for the case of studying “English” as we know it, and why one must read to be a better person, no matter what race, gender, or class.