Reminders for Thursday

• Fabulous performances!
• Be sure to bring all your existentialist readings and notes to class on Thursday!

Questions to take notes on for the "Existentialism" reading due on Tuesday

Advanced Placement                                                                          Name

Existentialism

Notes

Directions: Answer each of the following questions in complete sentences. Be as complete, specific and detailed as possible in your answers.

 

1. What does Sartre mean when he says that “existence precedes essence?”

 

 

2. How does the existential view of the world differ from the god-centered (i.e. medieval) view of the world?

 

 

 

3. What are existential ethics? Explain what it means to behave ethically in an existential world.

 

4. What is forlornness? Anguish? (They are not the same)

 

 

 

5. What is an existentialist’ view of human nature?

 

 

5. What does Sartre mean when he says that “man is condemned to be free?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. What are the implications of an existential world view?

 

 

 

7. How does/could the philosophy affect the acts of  reading and writing? (Remember to consider reading and writing as more than literal...more like interpreting and constructing meaning in all circumstances).

 

 

 

 

 

Post Feminism notes here

Homework for Friday

• Post your resources in the appropriate place on the blog and STUDY for the quiz.
• Be sure to practice your scene from "No Exit"
• We will we preforming the scenes in the Little Theater. You need to know your scene and how to preform it inside and out.

Post your presentation please!

• Apparently, I'm not able to post the power point presentations that were sent to me. If you could post your own presentations to the appropriate blog entry that would certainly help your classmates study.

Psychoanalytic notes

Psychoanalytic Criticism

By Sara Bobok, Aaron Chan, Emily Downing, Danielle Rice, and Stephanie Tate

Historical Background and Context

Freud was influenced by

● Philosophy Tutor: Brentano possibility

of

the unconscious mind

● Eduard Von Hartmann

Philosophy

of the

Unconscious

● Charles Darwin major

evolutionary theory

writings

Quick Biography of Sigmund Freud

● Born in 1856 in Austria

● Founding father of Psychoanalysis

● Medical Degree from University of Vienna

(~1881)

● Sets up private medical practice in Vienna

(~1886)

● Died in 1939 from jaw cancer

Freudian Interpretations of Sleeping Beauty - Application

●

Id, Ego, and Superego: Maleficent, Aurora and Philip could be seen as Id, Ego, and Superego

because of their roles (unconscious immoral urges, conscious decisions, and moral values).

● Displacement:

The story could represent a parent’s fear of their child losing their moral direction.

Maleficent represents corruption, and Philip represents the sexual curiosity which a child should be

shielded from until they are older. They isolated her from the rest of the world to keep her innocence

and morality.

● Oedipus complex:

Both Philip and Aurora feel the desire to “replace” their father and mother by taking

their place as king and queen, thus seeking a princess and prince, respectively.

●

Transference: At some point in the past, Maleficent was denounced in some harsh way (i.e. affairs in

the kingdom). She redirects her anger towards the king by putting a curse on his daughter.

Fundamentals

Id, Ego and Superego:

Three distinct parts of the

mind: unconscious, conscious and conscience,

respectively.

Fundamental Tenet:

All present experiences and

beliefs are a product of past experiences and

events.

Implications

● The “urge” to write could be related to

various unconscious conflicts that feel the

need to surface.

● Context of the book plays an important role

in the interpretation of the text.

● Readers should try to extract the author’s

conscious

and subconscious message.

● Freudian interpretation is not always

applicable.

Terms

Repression:

‘Forgetting’ or ignoring unresolved

conscious conflicts by putting them into the

subconscious instead.

Transference:

Past emotions surface and are

directed at the analyst or others.

Oedipus Complex:

Male infant is determined to

eliminate the father and become a sexual partner

of the mother struggle

in patriarchal society.

Libido:

Energy drive associated with sexual

desire.

Dream Work:

A process where real events and

desires are manifested through dreams.

Displacement:

One person or event is

turned into a different but associated

person or event.

Condensation:

People and events are

combined into one dream symbol

New Historicism

New Historicism

Alex Carpenter, Anne Stoessel, Kevin Koste, Nick Lau and Aidan Strayer

The Four Tenets:

When applying new historicism to a text,

1. Juxtapose the literary and nonliterary texts; giving equal weight to each.

2. View the literary text independent from it’s previous academic interpretations

3. Focus interpretation on:

3.1. The power of government and how it is maintained

3.2. Patriarchal structure and its perpetuation

3.3. Colonization and its accompanying ideas

4. Give attention to post-structuralist views of literary theory

History

- Stephen Greenblatt’s Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare (1980) is regarded as the beginning of New Historicism

- However, new historicist methods began to appear in the 1970s, such as J.W. Lever’s The Tragedy of State: A Study of Jacobean Drama (1971).

- These pieces and others like them are characterized as New Historicist due to how they interpret literary texts alongside non-literary texts ― not merely treating the non-literary as background information.

Guided Practice with Sleeping Beauty

“In a mossy glen, Briar Rose danced and sang with her friends, the birds and the animals. She told them of her beautiful dream about meeting a tall handsome stranger and falling in love” (Teitelbaum 12).

Advertisement of the 1950’s

Marxism Resources for quiz

Marxism Notes Sheet

Teddy, Rajiv, Rea, Jair, Sean

Theory (Beliefs and Purpose)

-context of literature must relate to the author’s class/social status, specifically Marxist struggles

-economic

-political

-class struggle

-People need to read literature in terms of the social period in which it was written in

-Authors are formed by social contexts, and are not inspired individuals

-influenced by social class conflicts

-Society creates the author, who pens the text

• the authors intent is considered irrelevant

-Literature should contain overt/covert marxist themes and ideals

-covert ideals always involve Marxist themes and are analyzed in regards to the social contexts of the creation of the texts

-Genre related to the time period that produced it

History of Theory

Founders of Marxism- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

-Wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848

Marxism to achieve a classless society such as with state ownership of property.

Marxism was a materialist philosophy- Requires concrete, logical explanations of the world

Because of its format, the ideas of the theory was easily used to critique literature

Marxism created by end of Industrial Revolution in Europe, where capitalism philosophies are taking control. Marxism see’s this centralization of power as enslaving the individual. He and Engels write about how history has emerged to show that power will soon be centralized in a very few. He says that needs to stop by a proletariat revolution where we get a classless society. He couldn’t organize that though since he’s not a political leader but his theories were picked up in the 1920’s alongside separately developed communism, well after his death. Literature wasn’t taught until the 1900’s, concurrently with proliferated understanding of Marxism, creating Marxist criticism for literature.

Implications of Theory for us:

While we don’t completely disregard the authors intent in writing as Marxist criticism encourages, we do endeavor to apply the social, political, and economic situations the text was written in to the interpretation of the text.

These aspects may influence the author and therefore their work, but does not define their literature. Authors have independent ideas from the average person within their socio-economic class.

We see Marxist influences in our classrooms as well. When reading literature, the teacher would require us to have some knowledge about the time period. Last year, when reading The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald, we had a class project aimed to acclimate us with the culture of the 1920’s. We always reviewed the historical background and author biases, such as in Nightby Elie Wiesel, before starting a text. That’s a very Marxist approach to reading, where we focus on the historical conditions the text was written in rather than the writing itself.

Sleeping Beauty (Interpretation with Marxist Tenets)

Main interpretation: Sleeping Beauty (text) is propaganda created by the upper classes to demean the gravity of the struggles faced by the lower classes.

• Sleeping Beauty is brought down with a spindle. A spindle is used for a means of production by the lower classes. As a high class member in society, a princess, a Marxist would be interested in her interaction with a “lower class” object.. The interaction of high and low classes is what brought down Aurora. That’s similar to the Marxist beliefs that encourage a classless society, which would have avoided this issue altogether.The lower classes also heeded the kings command to destroy all their spindles without opposition, showing the lower classes as mindlessly obedient and the king as powerful.
• Sleeping Beauty was born to the regal name Aurora, bestowed by her royal parents. She changed her name to Briar Rose to go in hiding. When threatened to die by her 16th birthday, the king and queen decided to hide Aurora in a remote part of the woods like a peasant. She lives in a modest cottage with three fairies disguised as old women. Aurora has a completely different lifestyle than she would have in the castle, as is content with the situation until she learns of her true status. From there on, many issues arise from her trying to return to her “upper” status.
• The genre of this text- created 1700s, developed late 1800’s, early 1900. Late 1800’s is where the middle class emerges. Upper class does not want social mobility where in the story, Sleeping Beauty seemingly turns from a peasant to princess overnight. As a peasant, Aurora is having a good time (picks berries, cute birds and animals, etc) which is unlike peasantry would actually be like in that time period. This therefore disregards all class differences because peasantry is actually much worse and social mobility brings much more problems. The novel is therefore a creation of its times: a propaganda. The message carried is demeans the actual class struggle to further empower the higher classes.

Now mass produced (language dumbed down, sold in cheap stores) which would interest Marxists. Most available to the middle classes and ready the younger generations with this ideology. Since this book was created with a bias towards the upper class (no class struggle, peasantry great, kingdom willings burns spindles, etc), the middle class that reads it will be influenced by its propaganda. Marxists would not sympathize with the oppressive class (upper classes).

Introduction to Sartre and Existentialism Resources

• BBC documentary on Sartre, his times and his ideas (the other episodes on other important philosophers are also very good): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G4R_iAZWbQ

• The electronic version of No Exit: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/olli/class-materials/Jean-Paul_Sartre.pdf

• The points to take notes on when you watch the videotape are as follows:

                                                                                           

Human all too Human: Sartre

 

1. Explain the connection between the historical moment and the philosophy of existentialism.

2. What are Sartre’s beliefs about freedom and responsibility?

3. Why was Sartre controversial in his time?

4. Why does Sartre believe that “hell is other people?”

5. What were Sartre’s political beliefs?

Presentation due next Thursday in class

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition                                        Name

Introduction to Literacy Theory Assignment

30 point presentation/notes assignment

 

 

An Introduction to Theories of Reading

 

      The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to a variety of the theories of reading that have influenced people’s reading and understanding. You have most likely been influenced by many of the ideas connected to these theories, but you probably don’t know the names and the implications of some of these ideas.

    You will need to cover the following:

 

• The history of the theory
• What these theorists believe, and how they understand the purpose of reading and writing
• How the tenets of the theory are applied to a text (We are using Sleeping Beauty as our common text)
• The implications of this theory for us (our class).

 

Step 1.  You and your group need to discuss the theory and compile notes pertaining to the questions listed above.

 

Step 2.  You will reread Sleeping Beauty and practice your theoretical approach on the text.

 

Step 3. You will organize and create your presentation for the class.  

 

     Your presentation will be graded on the following:

 

·       The depth of understanding of the theory

·       The quality and completeness of the interpretation of the text

·       The clarity and educational value of the presentation

·       How well the group works together and shares the presentation

 

 

     You may use the overhead, the Elmo, Googledocs, or a flash drive to present. Be sure to check and double-check the technology to ensure it works before class begins. I can not postpone or cancel presentations as a result of technological failures—so you might want to have a back up plan.

 

    
Students who are absent on the day they are to present must complete an alternative assignment within one week of the presentation date, or they will receive a zero for the assignment. See me for details.

 

Literary Theory Resources

This is an excellent source of information about the literary theories: http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/

Keep working on your notes and I'll see you on Tuesday :)

Parent's Night materials

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/pdfdocs/p12_common_core_learning_standards_ela.pdf

Homework for Thursday

• Be sure to read the remaining chapters of Beginning Theory.
• Bring 3 copies of a college essay you would like to peer review during the second half of the block.
• I will assign the presentation and expert groups in class on Thursday.
• If you missed part of class because of a college visit, please complete the Liberal Humanism discussion.
• OWL has  excellent thumbnail sketches of a variety of literary theories. These overviews are an excellent way to prepare yourself for reading Barry.  Use the menu on the left to identify a theory. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/01/

Post your Descartes jokes here for us to share!

Homework for Tuesday

• We'll delve in Liberal Humanism through discussion
• Be sure you've read "Marxism" and "Feminism" in the Barry packet.

Homework for Friday

• On Friday we will have a graded discussion on "Liberal Humanism"
• The remainder of the packet "Beginning Theory" is due on October 7,
• Please be sure to bring your packet to class with you on Friday.
• On October 10, you will have about a mod to work with your peer review group on your college essay. BE SURE TO BRING 3 COPIES WITH YOU TO CLASS.