ETS142 Unit 2: Subjectivity

Subjectivity & “Self”

( 6 weeks)

Week 4

M 2/29

self= unconscious

subject=conscious

“split subject” on pgs 157-159 “Unconscious” by Meltzer in  Critical Terms Literary Study 2^nd Edition

*Hegel, the master/slave relationship (pg 157 “Unconscious” by Meltzer in  Critical Terms Literary Study 2^nd Edition

Excerpts from “Unconscious” by Meltzer in  Critical Terms Literary Study 2^nd Edition

Selves are subject to cultural & social formation

Tension within

Subjectivity

Essential Self vs Deviant Self

Self is causing this to happen.

Subject is responding to things that happen.

Agenda

1. Review concepts
2. Continue discussing the article unconsciousness and share double entry journal
3. Groups share and present the reading of the “The Fly”/”Say Yes” in the light of tension and entanglement within subjectivity.
4. Respond: Why is there always an internal conflict?

Self vs the others (authority such as government, parents, school, ideology etc.)

Through the innate tension within subjectivity, analyze a prevalent social or cultural narrative, which is to “rebel against authority” as a way of gaining one’s independence, a sense of self.

Suggested poems:I Go Back to May 1937” and “On the Subway” by Sharon Olds; “Ain’t I Woman?”;short stories: “Two Kinds” by Amy Tang; “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Subject-responding to things that are already there

Self –before the law, intrinsic needs

Small Groups share drafts. Peer review.

According to Lacan, “Metaphor and Metonymy are share structure of the unconscious. The “self” within the subject lurks from such “chains of signifier”. Use the poem “I Go Back to May 1937” by Sharon Olds and another poem of your selection to examine how the “self” struggles to free itself from the entanglement within subjectivity.

Subject is the fabricated product of social contexts.

Culture as a system of constraints. Pg 227

-mobility

-material culture

-culture of civilization

Pg 225 in “Culture” by Greenblatt

2. We ask ourselves a set of cultural questions about the text before us-

-What kind of behavior, what models of practice, does this work seems to enforce?

-Are there any differences bet my values and those implied in the work I’m reading?

-Upon what social understanding does the work depend?

-Whose freedom of thought or movement might be constrained implicitly or explicitly by this work?(pg226 in “Culture” by Greenblatt

2. Revise one of the responses as your #4 Thinking Paper

3.Read and annotate * # 13“Deconstructing the Texts” by Belsey

-literary works as the symbolic dimension of social practice

2. Discuss “Pride and Prejudice”

3. -Unpack “ Deconstructing the Texts” by Belsey

Respond to the questions-

-.Upon what social understanding does the film depend?

-Are there any differences bet my values and those implied in the work I’m reading?

– What kind of behavior, what models of practice, does this work seems to enforce?

-How does Elizabeth Bennet unravel the entanglement within her subjectivity to be happy?

Discuss “Pride and Prejudice”

Watch “The Mill on the Floss” based on George Eliot’s novel. Consider-

-What does Maggie really want ( deviant self)?

-What are the code of conduct expected of a decent woman in the Victorian England?

-Based on the notion of slip subjectivity, is Maggie’s death accidental or suicidal? Why?

Write a response to compare the two characters in the light of subjectivity. Be sure to provide a theoretical lens by quoting from The Subjectivity chapter or “Unconscious’ by Meltzer

Continue reading “ Deconstructing the Texts” by Belsey. Pick out one quotation that speaks to “in-depth” reading.

Watch the video “The Lunch Date” in YouTube and discuss.

Note: Using Foucault’s theory for the Subjectivity paper is optional but if you use it effectively, you will gain an extra grade (point) for your paper.

Find one quotation from the core reading- “Unconscious’, “Culture”, “Theory Toolbox” that speaks to the poem concerning the dancer’s subjectivity.

M 3/14

Belsey continued; making sense of a difficult piece.

Find an image that relates to Belsey’s essay.  Be prepared to discuss your findings.

2. Read “Panopticism” by Michel Foucault and be ready to discuss in small groups.

Unpack Panopticism” by Michel Foucault

Find another quotation that suggests the culture as a confining “jail” in a metaphorical sense. In what ways is our social institution resembles a jail that imprisons individuals/individuality?

Share quotations from Panopticism”.

M 3/21

Subjectivity Essay

Introduction to Subjectivity Essay

You can use one of the Thinking papers as foundation to develop your Subjectivity essay. There are several theoretical focuses you can choose from-

1.      The self against culture( subject) as the model for “rebel-against-authority narrative”.

2.      The irreconcilability between self and subject can result in death as escape.

Or any other from the chapter of “Subjectivity” in The Theory Toolbox

Choose one of the following texts, “The Story of an Hour”, “ The Revolt of Mother”, “The YELLOW Wallpaper” or A Rose for Emily” and write a 6-8-page paper in which you examine and analyze how  the author uses language to represent issues of culture, authority, subjectivity and gender.  Use what you have learned about subjectivity and culture in “Unconscious” by Meltzer, “Culture” by Greenblatt and “Subjectivity” chapter in The Theory Toolbox as the theoretical focuses for your analysis.

Understand the facets within Subjectivity and how each facet helps complement each other.

Claim making

Small groups workshop on claims.

Class and groups share proposal.

Discuss “Birthday Party” by Catherine Brush and generate a claim.

Find one quotation from one of the cortices and examine how the narrative speaks or contradicts the theory.

DO research and provide a frame of the story’s historical, social and cultural background, which will shed light on a character’s thoughts, speech and behavior.

Find two more quotations and let the three quotations converse. In what relations can they be situated so they can coexist or otherwise contradict or undermine each other?

Small group Workshop for the essay.
Discuss “Differences” in Theory Toolbox.

Discuss Gender, Race and Class.

M 3/28

10-on-1 strategy of using evidence in an effective essay.

What beliefs are being challenged or questioned in the narrative? How does the author convey the discord between the self and subject?

What’s the best theoretical lens can we describe the cause of Mrs. Mallard’s death?

Look for signifier ( language) to demonstrate the “confined & struggling and rebellious”( id, ego) self and the culturally fabricated subject.( alter ego)

F 4/1

Create a mapping to show the structure and claim development of your essay.

Bring the mapping for conference.

M 4/11

Review strategies to write an effective intro and conclusion.

Conference.

Work on diction and syntax

The final Subjectivity essay due on Monday 4/20.