Before getting to the questions about this chapter I just wanted to ask if anyone else found it strange/interesting to include Hamlet in this section on language and power. It seems to me that a common way to read Hamlet is to read it as an example of the impotency of language. Hamlet's soliloquies (his attempt to use language to find clarity and resolve) don't do much. In the end, it is action (i.e. the duel with Laertes, the poisoning of Gertrude, Fortinbras) that has power while language (i.e. Hamlet's soliloquies, even Claudius's ghost who is capable of language but not action) is ineffectual. With the inclusion of Hamlet in this section, I think Michelle's question of "What are the limits of language's power?" becomes a really interesting question that has a lot of potential depth.
Focus Question
- How are language and power (or language-power) socially negotiated?
Additional Texts
- A whirlwind tour of dictionaries: OED, Websters, the Open Dictionary; The Devil's Dictionary, others? I think asking why some dictionaries are 'credible' and others are not would be an interesting discussion.
- Myths about the origins of language might also be an interesting place to start a discussion.
Chapter 17 - Representations of the American West
Focus Question
- What is a frontier? How does having a frontier shape a society's self-image?
Additional Texts
- I think it is really interesting how other 'frontiers' use so much of the same language and imagery as the American West. Specifically, I'm thinking of some science fiction. Think Captain Kirk as cowboy; Space Cowboys (a supremely stupid movie but it does make the point); The Astronaut Farmer. My favorite example, though, and the one I would use for a class has to be Joss Whedon's short-lived but well-loved Firefly. If you are not familiar with the show, it's basically about a bunch of smugglers who fly around in a spaceship, visit saloons, rob trains, and use six-shooters.
1 comment:
shiny!
Post a Comment