No Selfishness Allowed

Article: “Re-Centering Authority: Social Reflexivity and Re-Positioning in Composition Research” by Ellen Cushman and Terese Guinsatao Monberg

Attempted topoi: Witnesses

In their article, Cushman and Monberg discuss self reflexivity and its relationship in the world of composition. The purpose of their article is to “argue that we must adopt a responsible, socially reflexive approach to negotiating out authority in composition research, one that truly facilitates the kind of boundary/border crossings that begin to reduce social distance” (167). Cushman and Monberg argue that when ethnographers or anyone who is considered to be a specialist in their field, write about their findings they should distance themselves from the conversation regarding the group or culture that is being studied. They believe that when one is distanced from the argument and provides an objective opinion, one is able to “break down some of the prejudices and misconceptions we hold about others and begin to identify with people outside of our ‘comfort zones’” (167).

To just witness an event and retell what happened is vastly different from providing commentary about the events and dissecting what has transpired. Cushman and Monberg believe that something can be gained when someone allows the conversation to include others outside of the self. Being a witness and observing other cultures allows the observer to gain an insiders’ perspective of the different cultures and ethnicities that make up the world. However, Cushman and Monberg warn that when gaining insight into another culture one has to be careful to not (re) produce the preexisting social hierarchies.

Witnessing another culture and being able to provide an ethnographic look into that culture has numerous advantageous to both the academic and scholarly world. However, through the need/want for information, it cannot be forgotten that objectivity is key and that there are other factors outside of ourselves that can provide testimony to the ethnographic study of a population, group, tribe, or ethnic enclave.

Feminisms, Genders, Sexualities

Anne Donadey with Francoise Lionnet “Feminisms, Genders, Sexualities”

Attempted topoi: Antecedent and Consequence

In their essay, “Feminisms, Genders, Sexualities,” Anne Donadey and Francoise Lionnet create a timeline that follows the birth and continual growth of feminism, gender, and sexual studies. The purpose of their essay is to not add a new element into the discussion of these theories, but to “reconceptualize and contribute to more sophisticated theories for [the] understanding of our world” (225). Throughout their essay, Donadey and Lionnet discuss how these three theories have changed and have added new terms and ideas because of their continual growth and increasing prevalence within the world of literary criticism.

When Donadey and Lionnet begin their discussion regarding the history of queer theory, they talk about how queer theory originally encompassed Foucault’s ideas of male homosexuality and then broaden to include lesbianism. However, through the years, queer theory has had to reexamine itself and include the perspectives of bisexuals, trangenders, and transsexuals. Because homosexuality has been included within the feminist critique, queer theory has been forced to redefine its original definition of “just” gay and lesbianism. There has been hesitation and silence for queer theory redefinition and the reason for such is the fact that “bisexuality has to do with gay and lesbian scholars’ avoidance of the fact that sexuality rarely fits in established categories” (232). Even within the umbrella terms of feminism, sexuality, and genders there is dissension because as a society we feel the need to categorize and identify all that does not fit within the projected binaries.

With new and developing perspectives being introduced in a post colonial world, there is going to be dissension within the developing genres and the consequences of these dissensions allow for other marginalized voices to be heard and represented. That is why the voices of women, color, and sexuality have been heard and studied as the years and decades have progressed.

Race as Literary Theory

Kenneth W. Warren “Race and Ethnicity”

Attempted topoi: Rumors

It is no secret that race is a social construction formulated by society to categorize and differentiate among the “us” and “them” philosophy. Kenneth Warren argues in his essay that race should not be used as a way to analyze or converse about a text; race should not be a measurement in which to determine whether or not the author is a good writer. Warren discusses the different perspectives and ideologies from critics, writers, and Du Boisian theory to help him “critique the appeal of race to literary critics over the past two decades and to suggest reasons we ought to modify or resist aspects of the appeal” (245). Race in and of itself is a rumor; it strives to justify the differences of appearance, thought, personality, etc. among the skin colors and ethnic groups in the world. If race should be taken out of analysis of a text what would be its equivalent? Warren wrestles with this question and comes to the conclusion that race is an essential/anti-essential element to the critique of literature. If race is taken out then the platform that minority writers have used as a way to include their writing into the hegemonic society is gone, which benefits neither society nor the marginalized voices of the minority diasporas. However, if race is included, then it can be used as a way to segregate and use “white supremacy” as the measuring tool to all literature that is not written by someone of the Caucasian persuasion. Race is a social construction. A rumor that has been around for hundreds of years and its impact has been cataclysmic in science, research, social settings, familial dynamics, and now literature. Whether or not using race as a way to analyze text is seen as a “step backwards,” it has proven to be a positive critique in the respect that voices are being heard that have been otherwise silent.

Adaptations

For class on Tuesday, we had a guest speaker, Professor Pilinovksy, who came and spoke to use regarding her research experiences, translations, a plethora of other information and side conversations. During the discussion, Prof. Pilinovksy began talking about adaptations and how adaptations (movies, books, plays, etc.) are actually a form of translation. A well known saying states that “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” When a book, play, text, and even movie is adapted from a primary source, the creators of these genres are, in essence, trying to imitate the original creator through the only venue in which they know (whatever venue that may be is circumstantial). Depending on how great the adaptation is, the adaptation can be used as reference or as a document for research regarding the translation or interpretation of the primary text. Prof. Pilinovsky referenced the work Possession and its “horrible” adaptation into a movie. Even though the adaptation did not represent the book well, it is a translation of the book that someone who is researching Possession can use in a discretionary manner. That is why Prof. Pilinovksy stated to us that we should use translations (or adaptations) by a respected translator with whom we can trust. Performing research, as I have learned, can be a long laborious process and not every piece of material or information that I come across is going to be useable. That is why we as beginning researchers need to use a “fine tooth comb” when reading translations and adaptations of a primary document.

Culture: The sum of the whole?

“Translation Studies” by Lawrence Venuti

Attempted topoi: Whole/Parts

In his essay, “Translation Studies,” Lawrence Venuti argues that translation studies is cultural, and yet it embodies so many other parts. Venuti divides his argument of translation into three compartments–equivalence and shifts, cultural systems and norms, and ethics and politics–in order to give his reader a broad definition of translation studies. Throughout his argument, Venuti gives a variety of definitions regarding translation: a radical decontextualization, a polysystem, a communicative form, etc. Since translation embodies all of these theories and practices, what part of the whole is the heart of translation? I believe that ultimately, Venuti is stating that culture is at the true heart of translation and everything else is just compartments and departments that make up the greater translational definition. Venuti keeps on referring back to culture and how when translating a text the cultural and political ideologies cannot be excluded when translating because “studying translation norms requires both a close analysis of the translated text and a detailed reconstruction of the cultural situation in which it was produced” (300). The cultural analysis and interpretation of a foreign text is highly important, and even though cultural analysis is at the heart of a translated text, there are other factors (ethics, ideology, religion, language) that need to be addressed so that nothing gets “lost in translation.”

Losing self in a bilingual society

“Language, Culture, and Society” by Doris Sommer

Attempted topoi: Degree

Throughout her article, Doris Sommer brings up the notion that people who speak more than one language–bilingualism–are apt to being divided within themselves and who they really are. Sommer states, “Two languages (often more than two) and loyalties that bind them to a home country and to their hosts can seem intolerable to patriots on either side of the border–and on both sides of their own divided selves” (15). When a person comes from a bicultural/bilingual home they have this war within themselves where they feel that one language (or one culture) is taking precedence or is more advantageous than the other. Does it mean that one language has more extrinsic value over the other? Living in a society that holds onto the Eurocentric and Judeo-Christian ideals it is hard for a bicultural/bilingual person to choose the “minority” language over the hegemonic one. Assimilating and fitting in is important to all of us (even though we may not want to admit it). To a certain degree bilinguals are losing something intrinsically rewarding when they “give up their native language.” Sommer talks about how the world is possibly coming to an understanding of bilinguals and their divisional struggle with self. However, even with society’s acknowledgement, there is a certain degree of hegemony when a bilingual student goes into an ethnic restaurant and orders their food in English. More or less one language has taken precedence over the other.

Editoral Comments: Advantageous or Disadvantageous

“Textual Scholarship” by Leah S. Marcus

Attempted topoi: The Advantageous/Disadvantageous

Is it advantageous to the audience when an editor manipulates the original intention of the author, creating a disadvantage for the audience in the respect that they are losing the originality of the author’s previous work? In some regards yes, the audience is at a great disadvantage because they lose the words  that the author had intended. Changing a word or incorporating a different interpretation of a work changes its meaning dramatically. Even though the change may have been for the better, the original work is still original and there is something to be admired through incomplete work and thoughts. Editors take it upon themselves to “override multiple texts in favor of a single definitive version of the literary work” (Nicholls 149). It does not go unnoticed that the editor does provide powerful interpretations that can enhance the text and the readers’ experience with the text, however, something does get lost in translation and whether that translation is advantageous to the understanding of the text is completely subjective.

Whether or not the author does approve of the editors interpretation and whether or no the audience is begging for an altercation of an ending or scene in an authors’ work, there is an element of loss and completion when changing a piece of literary work. In some respects the change can be advantageous because the change enhances the text and provides a deeper understanding. However, the modification can be disadvantageous because the audience loses the voice of the author and their original intent. 

Compositions’ Stepchild: Student Writing

David Bartholowmae “Composition”

Attempted topoi: Virtue (the noble)

Throughout his essay, David Bartholowmae constantly refers to the virtue of students’ writings and how looking at student writing will equip theorists with a better understanding of composition. Bartholowmae believes that English studies is limiting itself by focusing only on the evolution of rhetoric and composition, instead of the how and the why of composition through students’ writings. The field of composition has become too focused on itself and the history that surrounds its birth and continual growth in the field of English studies. While there is merit and importance in looking at the historical, there is an underlying virtue that can be gained and understood by looking at the writings of students and developing their composition skills as college freshman.

When looking at students’ writings, a professor will be able to obtain an understanding of their students and perhaps their thought process as they continue to write and revise their papers. This tidbit of information is important because teachers will be able to help and encourage their students in the weak and strong areas of their writings. In his conclusion Bartholowmae states that there is value and promise in researching students’ writings: “What is a good paper? What makes it good? What is it good for? What genres of writing are appropriate for the college classroom?”(120). By researching and answering these questions, the virtue of students’ writings will be seen and used as a powerful asset to the field of composition.

Internet: Friend or Foe?

In the introduction and Chapter 1 of Thomas Mann’s book, “The Oxford Guide to Library Research” he discuss how the internet should not be used as the “end all or be all” of researching sources. Even though the internet provides a convenient and quick way of accessing information, there are other means (library) and structures (library) that can be of better use than Wikipedia. According to Mann, there is an ongoing debate about the libraries and whether or not it is becoming restrictive in its access to information in comparison to the virtual world. Mann does not agree with this statement: “While the former [internet] apparently overcome the where restrictions of bricks-and-mortar facilities, they do so only at the unavoidable cost of imposing other significant and inescapable restrictions of what and who” (xiii). The what and who that Mann refers to that the Internet restricts what is being made available and who has access to those resources. The Internet might have fees and certain costs applied to the resources that researchers are trying to access and that in and of itself is a restriction. I agree with Mann, in the respect that sometimes I find a really great website that has a plethora of information regarding a particular topic and all I can do is look at the resources that they have because there is a fee for accessing those “great resources that I want.” I almost feel tantalized, taunted by the Internet because I can look but I can’t access. Some researchers (students especially) might not be able to afford the fees and costs that it might take to access certain information on a particular website. Further along in the introduction, Mann discuss the steps of researching and the being processes that it takes to hypothesize, generalize and articulate one’s idea. Mann suggests that when researchers are searching by subject that they use controlled vocabulary, know the type of literature, and the use of the subject expertise of people sources.

In fact, in Chapter One, Mann talks about the use of the Encyclopedia and how it is very beneficial in the first stages of researching. These steps are helpful and I found myself really thinking about my research methods. I tend to go into research gun-ho with only an idea and a subject at hand. I go straight to the databases and enter my idea or topic; I do not reach for the Encyclopedia nor do I form questions about my topic. Chapter one and the preface have really forced me to think about my research methods and how I can improve or weave in other ways of the beginning research process.

About Me

Hello All! My name is Jacquay Durant and I am a 22 year old Graduate/Credential student. I am currently enrolled in both the single subject credential program and the MA program here at Cal State. I will be a certified teacher by Winter of next year in which I hope to teach high school. This is going to be my first semester in the MA English Composition program (my emphasis is on Literature). I love the color purple and Prince (hence the title) and I also love to read and learn, which is why I want to become a teacher. It may sound “weird” but if everyone was “sane” the world would be less interesting and diverse. I have seven kids none of which I have given birth to; they are all my nieces and nephews. I love them all dearly and I try to spend as much time with them as possible and promptly give them back to their parents once I have satisfied my mothering gene. Ah, the joys of being an Aunt. In fact, my eldest niece is actually the foundation with which I hope to build my research on.My niece listens to a lot, and I mean a lot, of Rap and Hip-Hop music. Even though a majority of her songs are edited, she is slowly becoming influenced by its messages and perceptions of women in both its lyrics and videos. With this assignment I would like to research the rap community and how it impacts adolescence, especially young female teens, with its innuendos, messages, lyrics, and overall images. I look at my niece and I hear some of the words and phrases that she speaks and I am sometimes floored at what she thinks of herself and of others. I also look at her dress and I tell her that she is more than just her body; she is intelligent and has much more to offer than her physical appearance. My niece is not “buck-wild” but some of her friends are and through the influences of her friends and their music she is being bombarded with these images, concepts, and terminology of what a “woman” is or is not. Rap and Hip-Hop did not originally start out being misogynistic and degrading; it had a message, a purpose. I would like to explore this musical genre from its infancy to its still embryonic state as it continues and struggles to change and morph itself back (hopefully) to its original intent and message. I hope I did not digress too much and completely bore people with my little spiel on music. Thank you to all who read my jargon–which you had to for class anyway. I look forward to getting to know everyone better. See you all in class!