ardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print.
Pope, Rob. Studying English Literature and Language: An Introduction and Companion. N.P.: Routledge, n.d. Print.
Lettow, Susanne. “Turning the turn.” Thesis Eleven, vol. 140, no. 1, 2016, pp. 106–121.
Unsworth, Charlotte. "A Fractured Understanding: Piecing Together Christina Rossetti." Use of English, 2016, Volume 68, Issue 1.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “New Criticism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 4 Jan. 2017, www.britannica.com/art/New-Criticism.
“Welcome to the Purdue OWL.” Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/07/.
“Welcome to the Purdue OWL.” Purdue OWL: Poetry: Close Reading, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/751/01/.
Rossetti, Christina, and R. W. Crump. Christina Rossetti: the complete poems. Penguin Books, 2007.
“Literary Terms.” Literary Devices, literary-devices.com/.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Ashley Zizich
November 6, 2017
Bibliography and Update
I had a meeting with Dr. White to go
over the content of my project. I presented her with my essay on the poem, After Death by Christina Rosetti, and
the essay I did on the analysis of how to use New Critical Theory to do a close
reading of the poem. We went over the structure of the essay and figured out
how to rework the essay in terms of rearranging the content to make more sense
of structure. With the organization of the essay, we talked about how to take
poetic elements and arrange them from least important to most important. I
orgionaly broke the essay down in terms of flowing the poem in order, so my
poetic elements were kind of all over the place. So, I will be breaking the essay down by
rhythm of the poem, and imagery of the poem, and using the elements instead of
the flow of the poem.
We decided that an explanation of New Critical
Theory and a history of the theory would be vital to show the how and why
behind why New Critical Theory is so important to do a close reading of a
piece. Also, the fact that the poem is a Petrarchan Sonnet, I will need some
information about that type of sonnet and its form, and how it works.
I showed her the pieces I had
breaking down the poetic elements and explained how I want to utilize these to
show how to do a close reading of the text. We talked about incorporating a
slide or picture of how to show breaking the poem down in finding the meter,
the rhyme, the end rhymes, the ceasuras, and so on. We also used the guidelines
for “Understanding the Text”, a handout she had given me in her Intro to
English Studies course. Using this form will help in breaking down the text to
show how to do a close reading of the poem.
Bibliography
Gardner, Janet E. Writing
about Literature: A Portable Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins,
2009. Print
Pope, Rob. Studying
English Literature and Language: An Introduction and Companion. New
York:
Routledge, 2012. Print.
Purdue
OWL: Literal Theory
Technology is everywhere. I do not think there is not an
aspect of my everyday life that does not involve technology of some sort. Even
in my education; research and writing involves the help of technology. While
reading a text that I do not necessarily understand, I look to the internet for
articles to allow for deeper meaning. The computer and use of the internet,
though is merely a tool I use to allow for the deeper understanding. In the
article Accessing Humanities Research in
a Digital Environment, the focus stems from authors publishing their scholarly
research to make impact and give knowledge to others. I believe that attention
needs to be brought forward that allows people to understand what Digital
Humanities is, but there also needs to be equal discussion for people to
understand that digital means are merely a tool. It takes human interpretation to
arrive at a sound decision. I am not saying Digital Humanities is not
important, because I know technology will be ever-growing and relevant. While there
is a decline of the importance of literature, I feel it is of importance to
rely on written text first and foremost. Digital means should merely be tools
by which students and scholars use to find the deeper meaning of the written
text. The lack of funding in the article about UCLA struck me as to why a
prestigious university would not understand the importance of humanities. I understand
funding to be an issue, and a major issue at that, but by taking away core
courses and forcing students to spend more money to take them over the summer
is ridiculous. What college student will be willing to spend more money to take
required courses outside of their normal semesters? That alone would be a cause
of students not being totally invested in these “extra” courses. While I
understand budget issues come into play, I do not understand why more
extensions of lecture courses are not available. I just wonder where cost comes
in above proper education in taking away courses in humanities and making them
not easily accessible.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Drucker Response
September 16, 2017
While reading Johanna Drucker’s
article, Graphic Devices: Narration and
Navigation, I was struck by how she relates electronic devices in helping
structure and contribute to the narrative in literature. While I would agree
that graphic devices are a dimension of narrative texts, I do not believe they
help or hinder their analysis and interpretation. Drucker uses examples of how
writers in the 19th century had experimented with using images in
their fiction and how it helped to ground readers to the story. This example
reminded me of graphic novels. While there is a certain form and specificity in
the crafting of graphic novels, I understand it is a very deliberate process. I
looked up several Krazy Kat comics that Drucker references so I could relate to
her point. The comics that George Herriman created are very deliberate and not
like any other comic. Several scenes are depicted into one, but in different
panels. The way the comic was presented really helped the reader grasp the story.
Having written this article in 2008,
I can assume Drucker was speaking of graphic devices such as illustrations, and
form of narrative. At first, I thought she might have been speaking of graphic
devises as computers, or e-readers. I sort of thought while reading this
article that the graphics in some novels, stories, comics, magazines, etc., are
often misrepresented in electronic form, taking away from the overall
connection and structure of the piece. For example, I am an avid reader on my
kindle. I seem to read more on my kindle at times than I do in print form. I
remember downloading a book by Ransom Riggs called Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar
Children. I had read earlier that unlikely, creepy, vintage pictures
inspired this novel the author had found and collected over the years. These
pictures had little or no explanation behind them. For example, one picture was
of a young girl with a huge gaping hole right in the middle of her stomach that
you could see straight through. Riggs had incorporated these photos into his
novel to tell the story. The photos were placed at strategic places throughout
the novel and they helped the reader gain a picture for what the author was
trying to describe. On my kindle, though, the photos would not download, and
often if they did, they were cut off and depicted half on one page and the
other half on the next page. This negated the entire purpose of reading the
novel for me. I went out and bought the book in print form, and I was glad I
did so. While this example may be off subject, it just reminded me that
graphics is certainly important if they are done with purpose.
William Gibson’s, Agrippa: A Book of the Dead was a
literary form and experiment I was not even aware existed. It was certainly
interesting to read about how he made formed this poem on a floppy disk and
then treated the pages with photo sensitive chemicals so the words would
disappear once they were read. The fact that this electronic poem was conceived
and published in 1992 is phenomenal. The entire form of this poem was so
advanced, and continues to be so advanced that I can see where some authors and
artists can draw inspiration from Gibson. This work reminded me that literary
works are often conceived of in written, paper form, and not any electronic
form.
Joseph Tabbi’s article speaks of the
thought that scholars should devote close attention to what is continuous in
computing that we give to the formation of cannons in the literary and cultural
fields. I agree there is an always changing, rapid growing push in technology,
and it often means that works become canonized before their time. It seems we
are so quick to take a rapid approach to the changing technology, that the
older works do not get the attention they deserve. Works do seem always doomed
to catch up with technology. The medias in which the works are produced deserve
to be celebrated as the works are. The connection that Tabbi makes about the
author not being the only creative process is something I have never thought
of. There is an editor, typesetter, designer, sales people, distribution people
all involved in making a literary piece accessible. Another thing I never
thought of was the fact that technological courses typecast these skills into
tech support and nothing more. Most of these students will not partake in any
advanced courses in literature, thus never moving into humanities jobs. Isn’t
the technology in the field of humanities becoming increasingly important in
our field? Why aren’t more humanities majors made to take more technology
courses? It seems the courses in that aspect are far and few between. I always
say that I feel I am at disadvantage when it comes to the fact of the
advancements. There are often programs I do not know how to use and technology
I feel is foreign to me.
I could go on and on about Tabbi’s
article. One more thing I wanted to touch upon was when he raises the question
of contemporary criticism. Does it trace to literary cultural development
written into the changing technological environment, or has literary history
been superseded by technological progress? Does the literary meaning lose
something along the way as it is passed through technology? I do believe this
is the case in most aspects. As I see my children go forward in school, and
technology become more advanced, I find myself sad that eventually they will be
reading books on the computer rather than in print. While I feel there are positive
and negative aspects to this, I know I will always instill a firm knowledge of
literary works in print for my family.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Rommell’s Literary Studies gives an outline of the beginnings
of literary text production. The potential for electronic media was first used
in the 60s and 70s to compile an assisted study of literature. I believe this
author is saying that while speaking of literary theory, the computer does not
hold any analytical power of its own, but it merely enhances the critic’s
powers of memory by electronic means. The computer gives a complete database of
findings that meet all the patterns set by the search criteria, but it takes
human insight to really put the findings to use. I like this because while I
know computers and their use are important, I believe at times we become too
reliant upon their information. We often see something, for example, on social
media and take it for face value. There are sources that may be reputable and
some that may not be. It is hard to rely on the computer and one search engines
findings when there is so much information to reach and some of it may be
false.
Smith’s “What’s American Literary Studies Got to do with IT”
was interesting because she gives a (long) example of how she was working on
archiving manuscripts of Emily Dickinson and developing a scholarly website and
a CD ROM to go along with her findings. I find it astounding that one of her colleagues
reprimanded her for taking time to do this and was told that she was in the
English department, not a computer science department. While this was in 1994,
and people were ignorant to how important something like this could be for
future use, I feel that that is easily seen in society today. By making images
and works available for all to see that have been kept away in museum archives
only for exclusive view, I believe should absolutely be done. It is like the
old values that helped set up our nation, that everyone should at least get the
opportunity to do well for themselves. It is just up to them how they choose to
use them. Technology does have the opportunity to intervene positively while offering
access to material that others would not be able to access. While this research
and this data takes on a whole new set of encoding standards, and will need
editors to be more responsible and accountable, this is still the direction I
feel our literature needs to move in. She goes onto explain a work that uses
Flash to tell a story with image and sound. To me, this sounds like any
website. If you are doing research and go onto a site, there are always images
for you to see as a connection to the research you are trying to gather.
Kirschenbaum’s article again, hammered it in that English
studies are all about computers. Digital humanities are not going away. They
are discussed in journals, books, conferences, institutes, centers. I like how
social media sites were tied into her article and argument. Facebook, twitter,
and blogs are all a social undertaking. It is networks of people working
together and sharing research, compiling, and collaborating just as the works
for digital humanities is. Blogs and twitter are linked to new technologies,
but it is important.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Drucker Response
September 16, 2017
While reading Johanna Drucker’s
article, Graphic Devices: Narration and
Navigation, I was struck by how she relates electronic devices in helping
structure and contribute to the narrative in literature. While I would agree
that graphic devices are a dimension of narrative texts, I do not believe they
help or hinder their analysis and interpretation. Drucker uses examples of how
writers in the 19th century had experimented with using images in
their fiction and how it helped to ground readers to the story. This example
reminded me of graphic novels. While there is a certain form and specificity in
the crafting of graphic novels, I understand it is a very deliberate process. I
looked up several Krazy Kat comics that Drucker references so I could relate to
her point. The comics that George Herriman created are very deliberate and not
like any other comic. Several scenes are depicted into one, but in different
panels. The way the comic was presented really helped the reader grasp the story.
Having written this article in 2008,
I can assume Drucker was speaking of graphic devices such as illustrations, and
form of narrative. At first, I thought she might have been speaking of graphic
devises as computers, or e-readers. I sort of thought while reading this
article that the graphics in some novels, stories, comics, magazines, etc., are
often misrepresented in electronic form, taking away from the overall
connection and structure of the piece. For example, I am an avid reader on my
kindle. I seem to read more on my kindle at times than I do in print form. I
remember downloading a book by Ransom Riggs called Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar
Children. I had read earlier that unlikely, creepy, vintage pictures
inspired this novel the author had found and collected over the years. These
pictures had little or no explanation behind them. For example, one picture was
of a young girl with a huge gaping hole right in the middle of her stomach that
you could see straight through. Riggs had incorporated these photos into his
novel to tell the story. The photos were placed at strategic places throughout
the novel and they helped the reader gain a picture for what the author was
trying to describe. On my kindle, though, the photos would not download, and
often if they did, they were cut off and depicted half on one page and the
other half on the next page. This negated the entire purpose of reading the
novel for me. I went out and bought the book in print form, and I was glad I
did so. While this example may be off subject, it just reminded me that
graphics is certainly important if they are done with purpose.
William Gibson’s, Agrippa: A Book of the Dead was a
literary form and experiment I was not even aware existed. It was certainly
interesting to read about how he made formed this poem on a floppy disk and
then treated the pages with photo sensitive chemicals so the words would
disappear once they were read. The fact that this electronic poem was conceived
and published in 1992 is phenomenal. The entire form of this poem was so
advanced, and continues to be so advanced that I can see where some authors and
artists can draw inspiration from Gibson. This work reminded me that literary
works are often conceived of in written, paper form, and not any electronic
form.
Joseph Tabbi’s article speaks of the
thought that scholars should devote close attention to what is continuous in
computing that we give to the formation of cannons in the literary and cultural
fields. I agree there is an always changing, rapid growing push in technology,
and it often means that works become canonized before their time. It seems we
are so quick to take a rapid approach to the changing technology, that the
older works do not get the attention they deserve. Works do seem always doomed
to catch up with technology. The medias in which the works are produced deserve
to be celebrated as the works are. The connection that Tabbi makes about the
author not being the only creative process is something I have never thought
of. There is an editor, typesetter, designer, sales people, distribution people
all involved in making a literary piece accessible. Another thing I never
thought of was the fact that technological courses typecast these skills into
tech support and nothing more. Most of these students will not partake in any
advanced courses in literature, thus never moving into humanities jobs. Isn’t
the technology in the field of humanities becoming increasingly important in
our field? Why aren’t more humanities majors made to take more technology
courses? It seems the courses in that aspect are far and few between. I always
say that I feel I am at disadvantage when it comes to the fact of the
advancements. There are often programs I do not know how to use and technology
I feel is foreign to me.
I could go on and on about Tabbi’s
article. One more thing I wanted to touch upon was when he raises the question
of contemporary criticism. Does it trace to literary cultural development
written into the changing technological environment, or has literary history
been superseded by technological progress? Does the literary meaning lose
something along the way as it is passed through technology? I do believe this
is the case in most aspects. As I see my children go forward in school, and
technology become more advanced, I find myself sad that eventually they will be
reading books on the computer rather than in print. While I feel there are positive
and negative aspects to this, I know I will always instill a firm knowledge of
literary works in print for my family.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Thurlow and Bell Article
September 18, 2017
I found the article by Thurlow and
Bell interesting in the aspect that I agreed and equally disagreed an equal
amount with that was written. While the article starts out by targeting “young
users” of social media and what they face not only in the educational system
but also while preparing for the work force. At times, I found myself thinking
that old users could relate the same as well. Not only are the youth plagued
with advertisers and marketers telling you want you want and what to do in
media, and telephone, but the older users are as well. My point is, there are a
good majority of old and young users of social media that get the same results.
The article then spoke of how young people are “endangering the very fabric of
civilization” with their use and reliance upon social media. I felt this to be
rather the opposite. Isn’t the youth of today taking to social media in order
to enable themselves and their peers, and to engineer change? At least this is
what I see. I do understand that youth can be wasted on social media in the
respect that all they may do is look at memes all day, or take to social media
platforms to complain and not do anything to change things. There is a mix of
both negative and positive. Different discourse can be negative, but that is a
sweeping generalization that it is all negative.
The examples of the essays written
in text shorthand were used as a way to point out not only that there is a
somewhat creative aspect to that type of lingo, but also that youth need to be
taught the difference between being professional and social. It made me wonder
if all school systems are teaching this. Are kids really being taught in a way
that makes them think that writing an essay in text lingo is an acceptable form
of writing in an educational atmosphere. If these essays were in fact done
without the creative prompting to do so, then I call fault on the school system
rather than the overwhelming media youth is subject to. It is also a negative
to social media and media in general. It has trained not only youth but older
people as well to take things at face value. While it was explained in the
article that we know no information as to whether these students were prompted
to write in this way, the social media took to these articles with outrage claiming
that students were being ruined by technology.
As human communication becomes more
“technologized” does this in fact make people more employable? I often think
about this. Can I really get looked past for a job because I have not blogged?
Is this generalization just a tool for employers to use to be selective in who
they hire? I am not trying to take away from the fact that yes, technology
helps, and blogging is a means to showcase your ability to communicate. I do
know people have been hired purely on the basis they can blog. Does this skill
really make them more marketable? What if they can blog but they do not possess
other marketable skills? I see both angles on this subject, but it is hard for
me to be swayed one way or the other. I feel that I may be at a disadvantage on
this because I am an older student, in my mid-30s, and I have not been as
exposed to technologies as my classmates have, thus making it more difficult
for me to grasp certain technology. I often think that maybe there does need to
be a shift from the emphasis of technology. I don’t believe there will be
though.
The point in the article that talks
about youth being able to communicate “properly” because they are so embedded
in technology, in my opinion is irrelevant, and brings me back to my argument
that if this were true, then the school system is partly to blame. Again, I am
aware that technology has and will continue to play an important role, but if a
student cannot learn how to write a proper paper or answer questions on a test
in full sentences but rather text lingo, then there is something more going on
in the system, and at home, that needs looking at.
I understand youth will always look
to social networks whether it be for support, help, or homework. I’m not sure
that because of this, we need to shape educational policies around the need for
digital access and social inclusion. I feel pretty “old school” for stating
that, and perhaps I am. Perhaps I don’t want to think that my children must be
reliant on social networks to feel included or supported. I’m having a hard
time coming to grips with this one.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Response 5
September 12, 2017
The Chapter in The Uses of Digital Literacy
about the Uses of YouTube was interesting and pointed out a lot of things I had
not thought about. Tracing the process by which an individual creative talent
leads to economic enterprise and employment to understand creativity blew my
mind. I had never thought of something as YouTube as a vessel for measuring the
process of how children and adults learn. I use my children as an example
sometimes, but it is easier for me to see the advanced uses of technology
through them. I feel sometimes I am at a disadvantage because the courses I
took in high school that centered around technology was merely how to type on a
computer. When I first started Junior College, we were expected to turn papers
in that had been typed on a Microsoft program, using a format, but that was the
extent of my computer use. My children have such an advantage. While I still
don’t know the uses of many programs, and how to navigate a lot of programs,
they will not have to worry about this. When I think about projects I did in
school, I remember, as we talked in class, going to the library and looking
through a card catalogue to find books I needed to find my research. I rarely
had the internet at my fingertips, and when I did, it was not easy for me to
navigate because it wasn’t such a known entity. Today, when my kids want to
know about something, I find myself saying “I don’t know the answer, I’ll
google it.” There is a type of beauty in the aspect that if I don’t know the
answer to something, I can find it so quickly.
Another aspect of my children
learning in a different way than I did, is the learning programs that are
available through school. We all see commercials about ABC Mouse, and being a
parent, I told myself I will be the person to teach my children how to read,
not some computer program. When they got into school, they were both sent home
with usernames and passwords to several learning websites that they go on in
the classroom to help them enhance their learning. Learning now is like an
instant gratification. In helping my children navigate some of these programs
at home, I have learned that if they click on the wrong answer, they are
corrected right away and posed the same question in a different manner so they
can learn how to get it right. While I was in school, if I got an answer wrong,
I would have to wait for the teacher to grade my paper and correct it, and then
for me to look over my mistakes. YouTube being a learning platform doesn’t seem
so foreign to me now.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Response
September 10, 2017
Reading over the Information
Literacy Competency Standards was interesting because I find myself at times
lacking in a few areas of skill. I find it interesting that my children are
expected to know how to use a computer and a mouse by the time they get into
kindergarten. In their individual class rooms they have Chromebooks for their
individual use that they are on a few times per week. While they already knew
how to use a mouse and navigate a computer, it didn’t really occur to me just
how much time they would be spending in their academic careers gaining
resources from computers. While I was younger, my academic work was rarely on a
computer and rarely consisted of using any database or technology. If I was
doing a research paper, I would go to the library and check out books, using
the card catalogue! In my college career, I find myself lacking because I was
not already versed in programs and different technologies on a computer. For
example, I am editing the current edition of Sigma Tau Delta’s Voices magazine. I was also in charge of
laying out the magazine before it went to the printer. Having never done a
layout before, I had to ask someone else to help me. Watching someone go
through an InDesign program in order to lay out the magazine was really
confusing to me. I often think about how my lack of certain programs and
technology will be a downfall for me and my future. While I have learned to use
basic programs and do basic Microsoft programs on a computer, there is still
much more I have yet to learn. While this is worrying in my prospective jobs, I
feel that my children will already have a better understanding of different
technologies that I may never have.
In the Uses of Digital Literacy,
Chapter 1 speaks of how digital literacy may be abused. I found this
interesting because there are so many times I will see an article on Facebook
and accept it for what it is. While I understand, there are many resources that
aren’t exactly reputable, I often forget that and take what I read as truth.
There are so many choices in what you read, and where you can read them from.
Chapter 1 talks about how these choices are not particularly structured. While
there is an education in digital literacy, we must be careful of the
entertainment value behind it as well. While literacy in the evolution of media
is, ever-growing and will continue to grow, it is amazing to read of the
history behind its evolution. We live in
such a media-driven society that has so many advancements, and education is
becoming a clear majority of this phenomena. I can relate to how this book is
trying to show that an ever-changing, technological advanced society, people
need to get on board with the fact that digital literacy will be the most
widely used form. As I have stated before, my children are already learning
that most things they do in the ways of research and learning are based on
technology. While I think keeping to traditional forms is also important to
appreciate the history behind literature, it is merely a fact that the world is
digital.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Response 3
September 6, 2017
“It is in written words that this
people, from the very beginning, have made the most confidential and explicit
record of their minds.” Moses Coit Tyler said this about the history of
American literature. This quote resonated with me because with new emergences
in media I think it is easy to forget where it all came from. In Gitelman’s
book she starts chapter one with the invention of the first phonograph as a way
of a new medium. Honestly, I had never thought of something as a phonograph as
a means of medium. When I think of medium, I think of news, radio, internet,
social media outlets, phone and television. It is not often thought of as early
inventions as a medium. Early in chapter 1 of Gitelman’s book she talks about
how society was used to the media as print. When the phonograph was introduced
it seemed society was not ready to accept the different emerging modes of
media. I think it is true of today that we often see different modes of media
and mediums and take them for granted.
Most people do not even remember a society without Facebook, or text
messaging. If people don’t even remember a time before these means of media,
then how will they appreciate the importance of the history of media, and what
helped those media outlets become what they are today.
Honestly, the story of Edison’s
phonograph and all that was involved with bringing it to exhibits and the
different prototypes behind it I found rather dry and possibly a little too
informative. I understand that Gitelman was trying to allow the reader to see
the entire picture that there was more involved other than Edison inventing
something and showing it off. Other inventors starting making their prototypes,
and Edison continued to improve upon his phonograph, all the while giving
society something to not only talk about, but something to experience as well.
Many people who saw the phonograph at exhibits talk about how they kept the
foil paper that the phonograph printed on afterward. I don’t believe many people saw the
implications of just how big this invention was while I think they enjoyed
being a part of something new and exciting. The phonograph had its positive responses
but also had negative ones as well. I think this still rings true today because
when some sort of technology comes into play that is new, while it is exciting,
there always be the need and want for more. With the phonograph as Gitleman
says, being the “butt of jokes”, it seemed as if the people just wanted more.
While people joked about the “smellograph” or the “nip-ograph”, I think the
underlying issue was that there is always the want for more advancement, which
is true today as well.
While reading, The Medium is the Massage, I kept having to remind myself that it
was written in 1967. The book itself was experimental with the text and the
photos. I hate to admit, but it took me a few reads to get the point of what
McLuhan was trying for. His message or “massage” was getting at the point of
technology and media being an extension of our senses. “The wheel is the
extension of the foot, the book is the extension of the eye” brings in the
point in which McLuhan was trying to convey, in an experimental way. At the
time, he was aware that society and media were changing and ever evolving and
once I read the book again, I thought it was progressive of him to notice these
things in the 60s. He knew everything is in a constant change, and this is
still true I believe in our society today.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Dr. Weilgos
Response 2
September 2, 2017
While reading the assigned articles,
I especially enjoyed those of Stanley Fish. Fish maintains that, yes, the
humanities are important, but that people will still remain to see its importance.
He leads his article, The Uses of the
Humanities, Part Two with an analyzation of a few poem lines. With
analyzing these lines, Fish’s point is not that it’s important to do so, but
rather the fact that he can do it and gains satisfaction in doing so. He does go on to say that it while in
teaching his students, he often marvels in how amazing it is to be able to
unpack literary texts because it leads to a “cognitive awareness”. The question he poses in this article is
whether the “academic analysis of works of literature, philosophy and history
have instrumental value.” Fish is not
afraid to point out that when it comes to funding in the humanities
departments, it is hard to justify “poems and philosophical arguments have
changed lives and started movements.” I enjoy his real look at the situation. I
feel, that we as English students, do see the overall picture of the importance
of the matter. We learn it, we live it, we study it. We chose this because of a
specific reason, or many reasons. We, as members of the arts of humanities, understand
the broader picture of what being able to analyze a text means for us or our
future work. Fish goes on to say that the value of humanities cannot be
measured in the means of economic productivity etc., like other areas of study
can be.
Often, I have felt as Fish so
expertly puts into words. I am questioned in my motives for choosing the
English studies as a major. The perception of what the English major entails is
skewed, and in my opinion, always has been and probably, unfortunately, always
will be. I laughed when Fish related a story of a fellow committee member and
his support of the English department because his wife enjoys plays. When Fish
tried to further the conversation, and explain what else the department does,
the committee member grew confused. That is my life. Every family member, every
friend, even my husband question, at times, what use this will all be to me,
and to what extent can I use it in a job. I laughed again reading Will the Humanities Save Us?, when Fish put into print the
responses for the reason behind the arts and humanities being the last to
receive funding. While some comments are extremely harsh, others were purely
ignorant. I laughed not because of the harshness, but because of the ignorance.
I also laughed because I can see the double standard in the situation. Even
though I know the importance of the humanities and why they must remain, I can
also see why people feel they are a waste. While I agree with Kronman that
there are things that those versed in humanities can express that others
cannot, I can also see why people do not see the importance in doing so. In
society today, there is such focus on careers and technology, and little focus
on the individual thought and expression that goes behind these institutions.
While Fish knows there is no clear
answer to his questions, he realizes that the questions must continue to be
posed. There is such a stigma against the humanities, and while Fish’s articles
do not propose an answer, they still relate the fact that the stigma needs to
be changed.
Ashley Zizich
Senior Seminar
Dr. Wielgos
Response 1
August 29, 2017
While reading the assigned articles,
I took notice of several I could agree with. While I could connect with some of
the articles, the others left me wondering if there was a broader point I was
missing. It was clear that the articles dealt with how English Literature
courses either should be taught in a different manner, or to what basis is
English Literature taught and if it works for the departments aim. It was
difficult at times for me to understand different aspects of how to teach the
subject were outlined possibly because I am not on an education track with my
degree, although many of the points made sense at some aspect.
Hart’s article The College Course in English Literature, I found a majority of his
thoughts resonated with me, and an equal amount I did not agree with. Having
taken a rhetoric course last semester, I found that the material was so formal,
and I had little connection with rhetoric in my writing. While I do find
rhetoric important, I agree with Hart that there is more connection with
literature (85). When I read an author, I am always interested in his/her
influences and what their aim in writing is. Hart states the same, that
rhetoric does not help you better understand the influences behind the piece. I
found it difficult that when he spoke of how he believes learning works such as
Beowulf may not necessarily be
important because the prose is “archaic” and “difficult”. If I was not taught
this poem in a way that held my interest, and at first learned that the poem
was one of the first written pieces after oral tradition, I may not have been
as interested. My point is, that it depends on the professor who is teaching
the piece. I found Beowulf was taught
in an engaging way after learning the history behind the poem. I believe if a
literary work that has been so celebrated no matter the difficulty or genre, it
is worth teaching. This is especially
true of Shakespeare. It seemed Hart did not necessarily think Shakespeare
should be introduced at earlier levels, but did not disclose at what point
Shakespeare should be taught. The subject of introducing works before students
may be able to comprehend them is touched upon in Brandt’s article. He says it
is an “injustice” to introduce certain things before students can fully
comprehend. I agree to an extent. Obviously, a high school student may not
comprehend Beowulf to the extent that a college student may. Although I don’t
think either author takes into consideration how the pieces may be taught. For
example, I was introduced to Shakespeare early in high school with Romeo and Juliet. Having taken several
Shakespeare courses in college, I can look back and say that Romeo and Juliet is a play that is
easier to understand than say, King Lear,
given certain context. Again, I believe the material is all in the way it is
taught. There could be different approaches to the text that may make it easier
to understand.
Ohmann looks at how different people
may respond to different works. He uses the example of the different students
and their understanding and grasp of Macbeth.
While it is true that different students learn in different ways, he makes a
good point when later he poses the question of “why the work of lawyers does
not always make for justice?” (5). I saw this as the answer simply being that
people may criticize works in different manners. This leads to Hunt’s article The Place of English in the College
Curriculum, and his argument that English studies is often marked as
inferior. I liked his appeal to get English requirements started at an earlier
point in a person’s academic career. Obviously, an elementary student is not
going to fully understand and comprehend Shakespeare’s works, but at least an
introduction to Shakespeare himself and why his works are important can help
gain a better understanding for later learning.
Although I am not on the education
track, I do have children in elementary school, and I often wonder what
direction learning English and Literature will afford them in their academic
careers. Of course I have fostered their love of books and writing at an early
age, but when it comes to comprehension is where it gets difficult.
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