After going through my english notebook and filing through old papers and handouts, I came across the poem “Reapers” that we read on the first day of this class. We talked about how important a symbol this poem was for the process and art of repetition. As an English major, sometimes the act of repetition can be daunting, and I often find myself putting it off or neglecting the task all together. Continue reading “Reexamining The Power of Repetition”
Mind Blowing Conclusion: Interdisciplinarity Today
As I was reading the conclusion of Moran’s Interdisciplinarity, I was again astounded by the complexity and layers of this subject. Moran discusses and acknowledges a ‘critique’ to interdisciplinarity: that it can be directly linked to political and economic agendas, particularly within colleges and universities. Moran sums up an argument made by Bill Readings, “In other words, Readings suggests that interdisciplinarity has as much to do with universities managing budgets and being flexible to the demands of the marketplace as it does with the admirable aims of intellectual dialogue and co-operation, since merging departments into interdisciplinarity programmes can be a form of downsizing and cost-cutting.” (Moran, Interdisciplinarity). Continue reading “Mind Blowing Conclusion: Interdisciplinarity Today”
The Relationship Between History and Literature as Disciplines
Interdisciplinarity Chapter 4 talks about the relationship between the disciplines of literature and history. This is an interesting topic to me because I am double majoring in History and English. I’ve always noticed the similarities and connections between the two subjects. A large part of being a history major is writing out a critique or argument based on sources read about a particular historical topic. Because of this, essay and also book writing is a critical part of the field of history. Writing essays or books that comment on previous scholars or primary sources is the medium in which historians communicate with each other and the rest of the world. The written word is also the ultimate and most valued historical source that can be used as evidence. Continue reading “The Relationship Between History and Literature as Disciplines”
A Further Look at Phillis Wheatley
While reading Alice Walker’s “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, there were a list of names of back female authors and creators. It struck me that I did not recognize most of the names on the list, and it inspired me to do some further research. For example, Phillis Wheatley’s life story and accomplishments are fascinating to say the least. Continue reading “A Further Look at Phillis Wheatley”
Literary Biases in the Sciences and Metacommentary in relation to Toomer’s Cane
Chapter 5 of Moran’s Interdisciplinarity, ‘Science, Space, and Nature’ further explores the distance and lack of communication in the academic disciplines, namely the humanities and the sciences. Despite this lack of communication, there are many interesting instances where science and English blend together. Moran explains that words used in scientific statements or theories can mean different things to different people, because words in a language hold different connotations and biases within them. Whatever science does to stay neutral and objective, in many cases it can’t separate itself from the culture of the day. Continue reading “Literary Biases in the Sciences and Metacommentary in relation to Toomer’s Cane”
Ambiguity in relation to Dionysus’ power and the English discipline
As is stated in Interdisciplinarity, English as a subject is hard to pin down or define and in some people’s opinion it is not qualified to stand on its own as a discipline. I can understand this confusion, since by nature English as a topic deals with a wide variety of “subjects” (such as death, love, sex, friendship, religion, etc.) and those subjects can be conveyed, explained, or explored in many different mediums, whether by poetry, fictional novels, non- fiction prose, and a combination of others. This uncertainty connects in my mind to the The Bacchae in the sense that Dionysus himself is hard to quickly sum up or fully explain with evidence of facts. His own origin and claim of being a god is questioned, by his mother Semele’s own family. Many people, such as Pentheus consider worship of Dionysus to be degrading. This ambiguity can also be applied to his worshippers, or maenads. How exactly are these women affected by Dionysus is hard to say. To what extend are they under his influence? Continue reading “Ambiguity in relation to Dionysus’ power and the English discipline”