Category: McCoy Fall 2014

In chapter three, Moran discusses the notion of ‘theory’ as it relates to interdisciplinarity. He describes ‘theory’ as being “concerned with big questions about the nature of reality, language, power, gender, sexuality, the body and the self” (75). He goes on to explain how theory provides a framework for people to engage within. After reading this I started to think about music theory prior to the 20th century. 18th-century voice leading is a set of rules in which harmonic progressions must take place. Pitches must move up or down by a specific interval depending on the context of the harmony. For example, one rule prohibits the use of parallel fifths. This occurs when two pitches that are seven semitones away from each other move together by the same interval. This is discouraged because of the hollow sound the fifths create. It is more desirable to move to a non-perfect interval such as a third or a sixth. While this definitely provides a framework for musicians to work within, it seems arbitrary. These strict rules are subjective opinions that have been formed over a long period of time. I will make the jump to say that every time a new rule was added to the practice of voice leading someone had to have made a decision based on their individual opinion of what sounds good. These rules aren’t concerned with the big questions that Moran describes. It’s mysterious to me why musicians followed these rules in the first place since they don’t come from anything other than subjective opinions about what “sounds right.”

Some contemporary art music is composed algorithmically, meaning a composer will follow rules that they have devised themselves in order to make artistic decisions. For example, some composers use the overtone series of a given pitch to make decisions about harmony and melody. I’m not really sure how, but some composers even use computer programing languages to provide them with rhythm and pitch material. Since these styles of music composition are more concerned with the nature of sound itself I think that they better fit Moran’s definition of theory. This may be controversial, but I think that newer methods of creating music better fit Moran’s definition of theory.

Moran briefly touches upon the concept of “scientific socialism” in the fifth chapter of his book (Moran, 138). The Marx and Engels  brand of socialism is sometimes referred to as a science because they both took pride in the fact that they developed their thesis by looking at the rise and fall of different socioeconomic trends throughout history, and developed what is commonly called as the “dialectic” of socialism. Not necessarily “empirical” evidence because there was no experiment that had been done, but still not “utopian” because it was based on actual analysis of human history.  Continue reading “Socialist View of the Worker as Presented in Harvest Song”

In this day and age, there are many social issues such as feminism, like abortion and same-sex marriage, that we as a society are becoming accustomed to hearing in the news. Feminism, however, has been one plaguing the human race throughout history. It dates back to gender roles and responsibilities in ancient times. Unfortunately, women are still fighting for complete and equal rights to those of the male sex.

In Joe Moran’s Interdisciplinarity, it is said that “the experience of women is devalued or excluded” (92). That is why the Brontë sisters published their works under the names of Ellis, Currer, and Acton Bell, so as not to slight the possibility of success.

The question now, though, is whether or not this statement still relates. While it is known that female athletes are still fighting to make the same salary as male players (for example, in tennis female players make significantly less than male players although the earnings from winning a major is now equal), female workers in arts and entertainment are achieving as much acclaim as men. Take, for example, J.K. Rowling who is now one of the most famed authors of our time; however, she chose to write under a pen name for the same reasons as Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë. Her identity was revealed, though, and she experiences continued success with her novels and the Harry Potter franchise. Society is changing.

As a woman in the modern world, I am more confident than my predecessors may have been. Philosopher Julia Kristeva stated that “women are defined by their bodies…in ways that men are not” (96). In some ways this is still relevant, as there are still those that argue against the feminist theory –that a woman’s role is not interdisciplinary, that she should remain in the home with the family. However, as a species we now have means of controlling the functions of our bodies. Women have as much power over themselves and their bodies as men do. As a result, women can attend and pursue schooling without struggle, excel in their careers and climb to the top of the social ladder, and earn respect and acclaim as much as those of the male sex. I am not concerned about my future success as a writer and woman in society because of the advances in the direction toward equality. As a society, we are headed in the right direction. Continue reading “Feminism in “Interdisciplinarity””

Upon entering Cane, we are struck by the blunt sexuality of the opening vignette/story/passage, “Karintha.” We meet the exuberant titular character, and although only twelve, we are informed that she is a “wild flash” and that “men had always wanted her.” Karintha discovers the world of sex: “perhaps she had felt her parents loving,” and with this knowledge she plays ‘home’ with a boy. After this discovery, old men no longer ride “her hobby-horse upon their knees.”

“Karintha” almost immediately evokes the image of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, which came decades later and mirrors its intimate sexuality. In Lolita, we meet another titular character, a 12 year-old girl that emanates enthusiasm and desirability. Lolita becomes the center of the affections of Humbert Humbert, a writer that lives in her home (and later marries her mother, Charlotte, to stay close to her). Humbert dreams of touching Lolita, dreads time spent alone with her mother and survives coitus with Charlotte by dreaming Lolita shares the bed with him. However, throughout the novel, Humbert Humbert stresses that he could not imagine tarnishing the purity of his lovely “nymphet,” and while he hungers for Lolita, he does not allow himself to touch her. Continue reading “Toomer’s Cane and Nabokov’s Lolita”

Personally, I have always been “scientifically challenged.” Meaning, I have always struggled academically and conceptually with subjects of scientific nature. Chemistry, physics, earth science… they have all tripped me up in some way or another. Often times, when staring in a blank daze at a, or any, science textbook, I have attempted to comfort myself by silently declaring, “I’m an English person. Naturally, science just isn’t my thing.”

I had made it so that I was always able to put up a sturdy wall between my beautiful, subjective, lyrical English world and the cold, hard, seemingly intimidating world of science. While time is beginning to teach me that my struggles with the sciences do not necessarily lie in the idea that I have married myself to English Lit, it was my reading of Joe Moran’s Interdisciplinarity which helped me, in many ways, gradually disassemble my dividing wall. Continue reading “Darwin the Wordsmith”

I feel as if the subject of Charles Darwin and his work has been the most controversial issue, especially in the classrooms, because people do not believe his theories to be probable. Also the subject of religion comes into the subject as well. Darwin had an idea that everything had to evolve over time and therefore everything is connected in a way. Darwin is considered a scientist and all scientists theories started out as a metaphor (pg 146).

Darwin was able to prove his theory of natural selection to be true and then came up the issue of Darwin avoiding talking about the humans and how they are related to other species and therefore came to the theory of ‘Social Darwinism.’ This also brought him to discover the theory of the ‘missing link’ or as we know ‘Big Foot.’ That is most likely unreal so maybe that’s why people are so controversial over his theories.

Darwin was a brilliant man and had a lot of logical theories in science but became a part of literary and cultural texts by influencing them by using his theories (pg 147).  So why is his theories so criticized and controversial today if he made such a difference in not only science but literary subjects as well?

I want to focus on a particular area of interest within Chapter Five of Interdisciplinarity, “Science, Space and Nature” that brings up the quality of intuition within science. Now generally, the use of intuition is not necessarily encouraged by the ‘hard’ sciences, but I found an important section by scholar Henri Lefebvre that opens up a space for this connection. His interpretation of space is defined as an “Empty area…absolute, infinite res extensa {extended thing}, a divine property which may be grasped in a single act of intuition” (Moran 150). Lefebvre proposes that space is a concept to be ‘grasped in a single act of intuition,’ rather than defining space as a subjective thing. Basically he means that you just have to “get” the phenomena of space, understanding that it’s not just thoughts or words or subjects, but that space also connotes a feeling of some kind, a sense of something. Leaving room for interpretation of feelings and inner senses versus physical observation and recordings is not typical of the scientific world, which is why I wanted to point it out.

First of all, let me define intuition, so that we may continue on about how this observation relates to interdisciplinarity. According to Webster’s dictionary, intuition is “A natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something without any proof or evidence,” and “A feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intuition). It is an understanding that does not need to be understood, rather it is just “known.” Intuition is similar to space in this aspect, because intuition too has to be grasped, though ironically we must use intuition as a tool in order to grasp the meaning of itself. I would like to propose that using one’s intuition is an act of interdisciplinarity, drawing upon all inner energies to come to a particular conclusion about the external world.

Interdisciplinarity is an attempt to break down the walls of the separate disciplines within education, and instead, create a free-flow, on-going conversation between them. Joe Moran, author of Interdisciplinarity, tells us, “Within the broadest possible sense of the term, I take interdisciplinarity to mean any form of dialogue or interaction between two or more disciplines,” although “Level, type, purpose and effect of this interaction remain to be examined” (14). I’d like to point out here that he uses the term ‘sense’ in his broad definition, implying some form of faculty, and therefore a connection with intuition. It is my opinion that intuition is also a discussion between disciplines or even all subjects, though it is an immediate, inner dialogue between all previous knowledge, experiences and sensory data that transcends into one “knowing.”

To conclude, the act of using one’s intuition can be understood as an act of interdisciplinarity, combining all inner knowledge of separate subjects and experiences into a more whole response. In this way, it may be possible to discover the underlying language between disciplines, as well as strengthen any disparate bonds between them. Intuition may be accessed by anyone at any time, and no one needs to go out looking for it. It is an inherent tool to help make sense of the contrasting experiences we cling to, as well as a source of wisdom to draw upon in times of confusion. My hope is that intuition will not be buried deeper into the self in the desire to seek out connecting information.