Author: Emily LaRocca

If someone had asked me what Interdisciplinarity meant before this class, I would have given them the “deer in the headlights” look. I know “inter” means connected or similar to each other; “Discipline” means to teach or learn…but together they were a mystery. Through this class, I have learned how interdisciplinarity cannot be completely defined because of its nature of being “ambiguous” (Interdisciplinarity, 15). You can mold this term to fit your own views and field because interdisciplinarity is not confined to just one field. It can be found in science, history, english, and so many more. How can you define something so broad? This blew my mind when I had this revelation. It made me wonder what else surrounds this world that we do not even know about. It is scary in the sense that it is a mystery that may never be solved. However, interdisciplinarity is does not have to be “solved”, but interpreted. That is why I love this word so much. It is almost like it is my own word. A word I can count on to explain my ideas and connections.

One novel cannot be written without some form of influence of an outside source or thought. As time goes on, each new work is just a new edition of the past. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms is on its third edition, but each word within this glossary has been collected from more than 300 years as it goes back to the renaissance and even before this time. New Historicism is meant to challenge the idea that history is just “useful ‘background’ to the main business of elucidating the text”( 124 ). The purpose of the history intertwined with the text is to provide a broader spectrum of knowledge. Each definition in The Bedford Glossary has an example from pop culture or past history which can intrigue the reader to want to understand where this example originated. Each person is receiving more knowledge than they know.

New Historicism is also evident in the chapter headings of Zulus. Each chapter heading starts with a new letter, like a glossary, and provides a snapshot of history. To understand what the heading is referring to, the reader must use outside resources to learn from. History and Literature, “neither term is privileged over the other” (123) which is the case for Zulus because without history, this story would not provide a message to the reader, but without the literature, it would be more difficult to connect the reader to the history. By placing history within a society that could be a possible future, it forces the reader to interpret both aspects, history and literature.

To understand the culture of a new area, one must first understand the land that surrounds them and the symbolism that comes with it. This is where mapping comes in. In Toomer’s novel, Cane, African Americans travel from the south to the north where everything is a stark contrast. It is uncharted territory (Pg 152). This is how Toomer establishes the Great Migration in his novel as they go to an unknown territory in Part II of Cane. Part I is in the south where the landscape is described in a beautiful, serene setting. However, as they move to the North, away from what they know and to a place that they view as opportunity, they realize this uncharted territory for African Americans was not as hospitable as they thought. The North was originally symbolized a new beginning, but now it is a place of discrimination, hardship, and isolation. Industry surrounds them with no open space for them to roam in and it seems as if they are always on display for the white population to judge.  In the North, they have to do whatever they can to survive; even if it means stooping to the lowest level and giving up certain values.                                                                                    The South represents community and the beauty of life. When Toomer describes the South, it is in a beautiful, deep, colorful place; a stark contrast to the gloomy, gray North. It is where there is light at the end of the tunnel, what they know, and people always surround them. In the North, it seems as though the people look right past them or are putting them on display, but in the south there is always someone near that is going through the same hardships, but they know they are never alone. Mapping the way from the south to the north proves how not everything is as it seems. The North was supposed to be a place of opportunity, but turned into a desolate, isolated place and their want to return to the south where their culture started grows stronger.

In high school, we used to get asked what our favorite part of each class was. I would answer, “the essays”. The meanest glares anyone could possibly imagine would be shot my way as it was the furthest thing from anyones mind when someone thinks “fun”. In my opinion, writing is fun. It is a way to fully express yourself while at the same time possibly learning a new subject, idea, or creating an argument. It has made me challenge myself in ways I did not believe were possible. I view topics differently and test myself to see what I my opinion is or how I could add to the topic. Writing about what I have read in The Bacchae has become a task as there is a tremendous amount of depth to this play. For example, I had never thought of the people as “intoxicated” as we discussed in class. My whole perspective of the play changed after that day, so I took a second look. What I had perceived as madness, ruthless, joyous people turned into drunken misfortunes. Intoxication on power, on loyalty, on obedience, and obsession; this is part of the depth I never saw and want to challenge myself to see. The women are so intoxicated on loyalty and love for Dionysus, they would kill for him, no matter the outcome. It is the high, like Pentheous’s mother feels when she kills her son, that does not last forever and then you have to deal with the consequences. It  all connects back to real life as this is true for many people; they get drunk and do stupid things and will regret it for a short or long time after it occurs. This is another aspect of English and writing that I love; connecting it to the real world. Dionysus is after revenge as his family has been destroyed and all he wants is to be worshipped. Wouldn’t anyone feel that way? People want others to look up to them and if something horrid happens in their life they want someone to pity them. I love this; writing. Writing about The Bacchae can be difficult, but in the end, the outcome is incredible.

The Bacchae is meant to make you think; the way this is achieved is through language throughout the play. As we discussed in class,  from reading only a few pages we received a remarkable amount of information, but also many questions. What came to my attention, and many others, was how the language can change abruptly. For example, madness is one of the key components within this play as Dionysus has turned women mad to get revenge for his mother as she was slain for him being born. On the other hand, the chorus emits a feeling of joy when they are in his presence because they are his worshippers that he feeds off for power. It is difficult to determine the language as it seems to change from one paragraph to another; two extremely different tones. It also has the audience question if what Dionysus is plotting is truly evil or justice. With his many followers claiming he makes them feel joy, while he is turning women into sociopathic animals, creates a good argument about his own being, his own intentions, and his own worth. Looking through language, there are so many perspectives that can come from within it and contradictions.

Following the theme of language, in the book, Interdisciplinarity, there is an argument of why English can not be one of the disciplines like sociology or philosophy. The Bacchae proves why it can be as the play creates a greater depth to the characters and makes the audience really think what this type of language is trying to “tell” the audience. On page 22 of Interdisciplinarity, literary criticism says “textual interpretations” from books are supposed to be “every bit as precise and painstaking as a laboratory experiment, and to use this newly acquired methodology to challenge the dominance of scientific rationality in society.” The Bacchae is an example of this idea as it challenges the audience to think about right versus wrong and to dig in-depth the language that is used to interpret what they believe is the answer to all their questions. It is based on their feelings and ideas, not others and that is what makes English useful and helpful in that it pushes people to make their own opinions. Without difficult language or weaving together two separate ideas together through language, this would hardly be possible as the audience would not be challenged as they should be and why English should always be considered part of the disciplines.