.... and I believe this to be a fair representation of the belief of the American mainstream.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Monday, 14 December 2009
Rich's Presentation
For my FYP presentation i will be looking at the journal article by Teresa A. Goddu called Vampire Gothic taken from The American Literary History 1999. ( I emailed the article to everyone, also anyone that took the gothic module last year might be familiar with it.)
The general theme of the journal extract is relevant to my fyp in many ways and is one of the main critical sources i am looking at. Goddu looks at 3 main critical texts in the article and examines each of their views on vampire and mainly gothic fiction as a whole.
Within the critical sources the article looks at how the authors percieve representations of various American anxieties in gothic fiction ranging from 19th century England to contemporary America (keeping in mind it was published in 1999 so just before 21st century) And creates an argument for representations of tourism, gender, sexuality, race, disease, religion and tries to form some sort of idea of what is really meant for the term "otherness" within the gothic fiction. These are pretty much all of the themes i am looking into in my own fyp so this article does provide a good basis on the sort of things i should be examining and how to treat them. It is also interesting to see how other critics view the adaption of the Gothic as time progresses which is another key point i am focusing on in my fyp.
Goddu is good at examining the other critics and showing whether she agrees or disagrees with what they are saying. But she also gives her own critical view of the gothic which is how the article finishes.
When looking at the article some questions to think about could be:
From what you know about contemporary gothic, do you think that the focus is on gender and sexuality and therefore misses out on the subtext of race and class?
Do you think the gothic demonizes or stereotypes racial identities, specifically African American?
Would you agree that the gothic is a travelling form and therefore monsters become culturally or regionally specific?
The general theme of the journal extract is relevant to my fyp in many ways and is one of the main critical sources i am looking at. Goddu looks at 3 main critical texts in the article and examines each of their views on vampire and mainly gothic fiction as a whole.
Within the critical sources the article looks at how the authors percieve representations of various American anxieties in gothic fiction ranging from 19th century England to contemporary America (keeping in mind it was published in 1999 so just before 21st century) And creates an argument for representations of tourism, gender, sexuality, race, disease, religion and tries to form some sort of idea of what is really meant for the term "otherness" within the gothic fiction. These are pretty much all of the themes i am looking into in my own fyp so this article does provide a good basis on the sort of things i should be examining and how to treat them. It is also interesting to see how other critics view the adaption of the Gothic as time progresses which is another key point i am focusing on in my fyp.
Goddu is good at examining the other critics and showing whether she agrees or disagrees with what they are saying. But she also gives her own critical view of the gothic which is how the article finishes.
When looking at the article some questions to think about could be:
From what you know about contemporary gothic, do you think that the focus is on gender and sexuality and therefore misses out on the subtext of race and class?
Do you think the gothic demonizes or stereotypes racial identities, specifically African American?
Would you agree that the gothic is a travelling form and therefore monsters become culturally or regionally specific?
FYP Presentation - 'Nihilism in Black America'
My FYP is based on the concept of while the radical may fire the cause, have Civil Rights ever achieved anything substantial without pandering to white mainstream America, and have racial politics been replaced by culture and class which still does this. My presentation article - hardcopy of which may be found in pigeonholes tomorrow morning - is centered on the first chapter of Cornel West's bestselling book Race Matters - the chapter 'Nihilism in Black America.' To provide a little background of the author for those who are not familiar with him, Cornel West is a black American academic, writer and theologian, who over the years has worked at Ivy League colleges like Harvard and he was Director of Afro-American Studies and Professor of Religion at Princeton.
West's book, as a whole, has been very useful to my FYP in assessing where black Americans are situated in the post Civil Rights era and the possible lack of iconic black leaders. This chapter addresses what he saw as a nihilistic threat to black America caused, as he saw it, by a lack of effective black leadership and the endemic market forces/moralities of American capitalism and solutions to this perceived threat.
While acknowledging that this was written 15 years ago and being able to look back on these views, please think on the following questions :
West's book, as a whole, has been very useful to my FYP in assessing where black Americans are situated in the post Civil Rights era and the possible lack of iconic black leaders. This chapter addresses what he saw as a nihilistic threat to black America caused, as he saw it, by a lack of effective black leadership and the endemic market forces/moralities of American capitalism and solutions to this perceived threat.
While acknowledging that this was written 15 years ago and being able to look back on these views, please think on the following questions :
- Do you feel the nihilism West wrote about is/was as threatening as he claimed to black
American society?
- West: 'Only recently has this nihilistic threat - and its ugly inhumane outlook and actions - surfaced in the larger American society. And its appearance surely reveals one of the many instances of cultural decay in a declining empire.' (My italics) Do you agree with the italicised words?
- Do you feel that this nihilism, as West describes, is specifically related to black Americans, or could it be related to all poverty-stricken Americans, whatever their ethnicity?
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Cherie's Presentation - Thursday 17th December 2009
My FYP examines the extent to which the ideology of American ‘exceptionalism’ is contested by American writers. I have chosen to do so via a textural analysis of samples of Theodore Dreiser’s work - focusing on the decades between the two World Wars (approximately 1918-1938) and, especially, via key texts such as Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy (1925).
The origin, and definitions, of American ‘exceptionalist’ ideology are much debated – as is the extent to which this multi-dimensional term is considered more a myth than a reality. The complexity of the debate is such that I have chosen to focus on one aspect of ‘exceptionalism’ for my presentation: social mobility.
In 2004, economics academic Joseph P. Ferrie published the following research paper:
‘The End of American Exceptionalism: Occupational and Geographic Mobility in the U.S., 1850-2000’, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper Series, October 2004,
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~fe2r/papers/Exceptionalism.pdf
Professor Ferrie’s research is of specific interest as it focuses on comparisons of social mobility which span a significant epoch of American history (1850-2000). This epoch includes the period of Dreiser’s life (1871-1945) and, specifically, the era in which he was most active as a writer (1900-1940). Dreiser’s left-wing sympathies, and realistic portrayals of American society, categorise him as both radical and as a pioneer of the ‘naturalist’ literary genre. His advocacy of biological and social determinism, fatalism and ‘happenstance’, are strong themes in his texts. His observations of America as a society strictly divided by boundaries determined by a financially stratified, class hierarchy – the outcome of the politics and economics of capitalism - is a direct contestation of the egalitarian, class-free, socially mobile society which forms part of the American ‘exceptionalist’ debate. Ironically, when viewed against Ferrie’s conclusions, Dreiser’s contestation reveals more about America’s then future than her past.
Three questions to consider:
1) Are the data samples (of both US internal comparisons and US versus UK international comparisons), on which Ferrie’s conclusions are based, problematic? If so, how and why?
2) Is pro/anti-exceptionalist bias evident in the paper?
3) Ferrie comments that his findings suggest that ‘something fundamental changed in the U.S. economy after 1900-1920..... and no later than 1950/56....’ but he omits speculation or analysis thereof. What factors would you consider most likely to be responsible for this ‘fundamental’ change?
The origin, and definitions, of American ‘exceptionalist’ ideology are much debated – as is the extent to which this multi-dimensional term is considered more a myth than a reality. The complexity of the debate is such that I have chosen to focus on one aspect of ‘exceptionalism’ for my presentation: social mobility.
In 2004, economics academic Joseph P. Ferrie published the following research paper:
‘The End of American Exceptionalism: Occupational and Geographic Mobility in the U.S., 1850-2000’, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper Series, October 2004,
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~fe2r/papers/Exceptionalism.pdf
Professor Ferrie’s research is of specific interest as it focuses on comparisons of social mobility which span a significant epoch of American history (1850-2000). This epoch includes the period of Dreiser’s life (1871-1945) and, specifically, the era in which he was most active as a writer (1900-1940). Dreiser’s left-wing sympathies, and realistic portrayals of American society, categorise him as both radical and as a pioneer of the ‘naturalist’ literary genre. His advocacy of biological and social determinism, fatalism and ‘happenstance’, are strong themes in his texts. His observations of America as a society strictly divided by boundaries determined by a financially stratified, class hierarchy – the outcome of the politics and economics of capitalism - is a direct contestation of the egalitarian, class-free, socially mobile society which forms part of the American ‘exceptionalist’ debate. Ironically, when viewed against Ferrie’s conclusions, Dreiser’s contestation reveals more about America’s then future than her past.
Three questions to consider:
1) Are the data samples (of both US internal comparisons and US versus UK international comparisons), on which Ferrie’s conclusions are based, problematic? If so, how and why?
2) Is pro/anti-exceptionalist bias evident in the paper?
3) Ferrie comments that his findings suggest that ‘something fundamental changed in the U.S. economy after 1900-1920..... and no later than 1950/56....’ but he omits speculation or analysis thereof. What factors would you consider most likely to be responsible for this ‘fundamental’ change?
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Presentation Questions
Hi
Sorry, I forgot to put the questions I would like you to ponder:-
1. How far has suburbanisation helped to create fear in society?
2. Do the remarks concerning the fear of the labourers expressed in the interview with Felicia (p54) show an inherrent snobbery and elitism in American society?
3. Overall, Are gated communities beneficial to society as a whole?
Thanks!
Sorry, I forgot to put the questions I would like you to ponder:-
1. How far has suburbanisation helped to create fear in society?
2. Do the remarks concerning the fear of the labourers expressed in the interview with Felicia (p54) show an inherrent snobbery and elitism in American society?
3. Overall, Are gated communities beneficial to society as a whole?
Thanks!
Wk 10 Presentation
The source I have chosen to use is Peter and Will Brooker's article Pulpmodernism: Tarantino's Affirmative Action, taken from Pulping Fictions: Consuming Culture across the Literature/Media Divide.
The keyword I have selected is Kaplan's Identity Pp.123-127.
Brooker and Brooker's article covers both the positive and explores negative views of Tarantino's work. It is a solid base for examining his work and trying to grasp an understanding of postmodernity when exploring notions of identity with relation to the characters.
Kaplan mentions W.E.B. Du Bois's 'double conciousness' which is important when looking at the dualities of Tarantinos characters and their changing attitudes throughout the narratives, though the non-linear aspect of Tarantino's allows for multiple angles for interchangable stories. Kaplans notion of 'Identity Politics' is interesting considering the postmodern aspect of my focus with characters playing roles they see as required.
Questions to consider regarding this presentation could be; how are the identities of Tarantino's characters potentially postmodern? What is the difference between a gangster and someone playing a gangster? And how/why do dualities and double conciousness define or alter characters identities?
The keyword I have selected is Kaplan's Identity Pp.123-127.
Brooker and Brooker's article covers both the positive and explores negative views of Tarantino's work. It is a solid base for examining his work and trying to grasp an understanding of postmodernity when exploring notions of identity with relation to the characters.
Kaplan mentions W.E.B. Du Bois's 'double conciousness' which is important when looking at the dualities of Tarantinos characters and their changing attitudes throughout the narratives, though the non-linear aspect of Tarantino's allows for multiple angles for interchangable stories. Kaplans notion of 'Identity Politics' is interesting considering the postmodern aspect of my focus with characters playing roles they see as required.
Questions to consider regarding this presentation could be; how are the identities of Tarantino's characters potentially postmodern? What is the difference between a gangster and someone playing a gangster? And how/why do dualities and double conciousness define or alter characters identities?
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