Discussion Prompt #5
List in order of importance which five critical theories you would like most to learn more about. Of these, what made your first choice so intriguing? Give a brief explanation, using an example from the text, on what led to your decision.
1. New historical and cultural
ReplyDelete2. Psychoanalytic
3. Reader-response
4. Lesbian, gay, queer
5. Postcolonial
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I wasn’t initially drawn to new historical and cultural criticism because it sounded a little boring, and honestly, the history part probably wouldn’t be the part of this that I’m drawn to as it might be interesting but might not. The part that intrigued me most was the discussion of cultural criticism in chapter 13. Tyson writes that this branch of criticism deals with “working-class cultural productions (such as popular fiction and movies) and… comparisons of working-class productions with the productions of ‘high’ culture” (452). This was what interested me most about this branch of criticism since I’m very much into that popular side of culture and enjoy discussing the “hierarchy” of culture and what makes a work “canon.” When I was trying to pick five branches of criticism, I looked at the questions that these critics usually ask for each chapter, and I was again intrigued by new historical and cultural criticism. We’ve been talking about intertextuality in my Film Adaptation class, and the first question pertained directly to this topic: “How does the literary text function as part of a continuum with other historical and cultural texts from the same period…?” (Tyson 299). Basically, new historical and cultural criticism seems like a type of criticism that looks at a work and its goals in the context of other works of its time period, and I have always found that information like that is important to understanding what a work is trying to say.
1-Feminist
ReplyDelete2-Reader Response
3-Cultural
4-New
5-Marxist
I was immediately drawn to Feminist criticism as I myself am a Gender and Women's Studies minor. I think it would be very interesting to look at texts with a Feminist perspective, like Tyson suggests in the questions of Chapter 13 that are intended to help organize our thoughts as we reflect on what we have learned - "How is the text shaped by its (intentional and unintentional) representation of patriarchal norms and values? Does this representation support or undermine these oppressive norms and values?" (451). I also think it would apply to a number of different texts we may not view particularly as feminist or anti-feminist but learning to look through this particular "lens" could possibly reveal much more than we initially thought or would have thought.
-- Leslie Fox
1. New historical and cultural criticism
ReplyDelete2. Psychoanalytic
3. Reader response
4. Feminist criticism
5. Structuralist
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I was drawn to new historical and cultural criticism because the word 'cultural' caught my eye. According to the text, "Cultural criticism, in the narrower sense of the term, is especially interested in popular culture" (297). Being someone that is especially interested in pop culture and literature, I decided that this critical theory is the one I would like to learn more about. An example of using this theory would be to review the film versions of the novel and then compare/contrast the novel and the film. For instance, I could read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and then watch the film version and discuss the similarities and differences. An aspect of historical criticism that I found interesting was that "new historicists consider both primary and secondary sources of historical information forms of narrative. Both tell some kind of story, and therefore those stories can be analyzed using the tools of literary criticism" (287). It is interesting that this criticism theory analyzes historical texts as if it was a narrative and search for deeper meaning and subtext.
--Kayleigh Brasher
1) Psychoanalytic
ReplyDelete2) Cultural
3) New Historicism
4) Reader-Response
5) New Criticism
I found psychoanalytic criticism to be very interesting due to the fact it focuses on the inner workings of the characters in a literary work. Tyson describes this criticism to dwell on the text’s “psychological desires, needs, and conflicts of its characters.” When reading, I always seem to turn my attention to the characters and what drives their decisions. Since characters are the aspects of a book that usually leave the biggest mark on a reader, psychoanalytic criticism could potentially resonate with all readers no matter their comprehension level.
1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Cultural Criticism
3. New Historicism
4. Postcolonial Criticism
5. Feminist Criticism
My favorite is Psychoanalytic Criticism because it has such a broad scope and aids in most all of the other theories, as well. I was drawn to it because I am interested in the thought processes of artists in general (writers, painters, actors, and musicians, to name only a few). One phrase that caught my attention was: “Any human production that involves images, that seems to have narrative content (the way many paintings seem to tell a story), or that relates to the psychology of those who produce or use it (which means just about everything!) can be interpreted using psychoanalytic tools.” Not only do we psychoanalyze the characters in a book, we do the same for the author. Or any artist and their work of art, for that matter.
-Ann Reagan
1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Cultural Criticism
3. Postcolonial Criticism
4. Marxist Criticism
5. Feminist Criticism
While reading through the other posts, I realize that many of us think exactly the same way: of the five current posts, two of them agree with me that Psychoanalytic Criticism seems the most interesting and important. But why? I think, subconsciously, that I chose this criticism because it’s what I’ve had to do my entire middle school, high school, and college career. As students and especially English majors, we’re expected to dig deeper and find hidden meanings that may or may not be true. The book states what many teachers ask to a classroom after reading a novel: “How is the text shaped by its…representation of the psychological desires, needs and conflicts of its characters?” (451). I find this criticism to be the most exciting; I would much rather delve deep into the mind of a character than analyze the economic and political structures of society during a certain time period, although I realize that those criticisms are just as important in literature. The Psychoanalytic Criticism deals with the emotions and the mind, ideas that are abstract and interesting to analyze.
1. Marxist Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Cultural Criticism
3. Psychoanalytic Criticism
4. Feminist Criticism
5. New Criticism
Marxist criticism really interests me. Politics is one of my passions, and taking a Marxist view of things is always an interesting perspective to take. It focuses on the "economic realities of human culture." (53) Studying the influence and criticism of economic power on communities is very important. I understand that many of the other criticisms are very important, but this particular criticism interests me the most. The idea that an ideology is a belief system is so contrasting to other points of view, so I think studying Marxist view would be beneficial.
1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Marxist Criticism
3. Feminist Criticism
4. Reader-Response Criticism
5. Structuralism Criticism
Psychoanalytic concepts have become a part of our everyday lives. Think if you have told an angry friend or family member “Don’t take it out on me!” you were accusing that friend of displacement, which is the psychoanalytic name for transferring our anger with one person onto another person (11). As an English major, I am required to dig into the text and find important details and themes. I have always loved to dig into a character’s mind and find out what their motives are. My favorite character analysis I have done was Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Emily Embry
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1.Psychoanalytic Criticism
ReplyDelete2.Feminist Criticism
3.Postcolonial Criticism
4.Marxist Criticism
5.Lesbian, gay, and queer Criticism
What made Psychoanalytic Criticism interesting to me is that I always wanted to know about the deeper meaning behind things. For example in the Critical Theory Today it's going to talk about a lot of stuff that can apply to everyday life. On page 11 it mentions when you have told your angry friend do not lash out on me its called displacement. Displacement means "transferring our anger with one person onto another person( usually one who won't figh back or can't hurt us as badly as the person with whom we are really angry. Also I always wanted to know the deeper meaning behind the content of my dreams. I have a lot of werid dreams. -Christopher Catlett
1: Archetypal criticism
ReplyDelete2: impressionistic criticism
3: gay and lesbian criticism
4: historicism
5: Russian formalism
Archetypal criticism interests me the most because I want to find out what stories share with each other. It also ties back to a desire to read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." This type of criticism can also be applied to other forms within
mass media, such as films and video games to explore how newer media tell stories.
--Jacky Killian
1. Psychoanalytic
ReplyDelete2. New Historical and Cultural
3. Deconstructive
4. Structuralist
5. African American
The psychological aspects, whether conscious or unconscious, of humans fascinates me. This immediately made the psychoanalytical criticism my first choice to study further. Dreams and dream symbols really stood out to me because of the underlying meanings of dreams and the symbolism involved. The defense, anxiety, and core issues also attracted me to this critical theory because people's reactions in various environments, whether conscious or unconscious reactions, are extremely interesting and enjoyable to sit back and observe from a distance.
Psychoanalytic
ReplyDeleteNew
Reader-Response
Cultural
Marxist
Psychologically analyzing characters in a work immediately seemed fascinating to me, so naturally psychoanalytical criticism was my first choice. I have always found myself interested in character motivations and the deeper psychological implications of character’s actions. The way in which the human mind works is a compelling field of study, and when it is applied to literature and well-known characters I think it becomes even more interesting.
-Zachary Ecton
Reader-Response
ReplyDeletePsychoanalytic
Marxist
Postcolonial
Structuralist
The Reader-Response criticism jumped out at me because I am drawn to the intentional reaction I have with a piece and how that reaction and the text construct my interpretation of that text's meaning.
~Leta Summers
1. Psychoanalytic Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Reader-Response Criticism
3. Feminist Criticism
4. Cultural Criticism
5. New Historicism
I found that the Psychoanalytic Criticism was the most intriguing. I became quickly interested in reading about how this criticism is centered around the character's needs. Human behaviors can be presented in a simple way without being simplistic. The chapter stated that psychoanalytical concepts can even classify sibling rivalry and defense mechanisms that we use daily without much thought. I am interested in learning more about this and rather than seeing it as a superficial or meaningless term, being able to classify it by seeing it revealed. When reading, I become very attached to the characters and concerned with their behavior and enjoy getting to know them through their actions. No two characters are ever exactly alike and I like the aspect of getting to know the core of a character but being able to experience it as a bystander of their lives. I would enjoy learning more about this concept to process through while reading other texts and being introduced to more characters.
1- Marxist Criticism
ReplyDelete2- New Criticism
3- Cultural Criticism
4- Deconstructive Criticism
5- Lesbian/ Gay Queer Criticism
My first choice of Marxist Criticism was due largely in part to my fascination with classism and how it affects society as a whole. My favorite selections of text are often because the author does such a fantastic job of dividing the classes and highlighting on their differences. I’d like to learn more about the criticism mostly because I think it will provide me with more examples of texts that highlight on these caste systems. What intrigued me so much in the reading was when they questioned in the definition of Marxist Criticism: “Does this representation support or undermine these oppressive socioeconomic ideologies” (451)? They were referring to how classism shapes the text. I’d like to read more specific examples of analysis that break down how classism can be used throughout text.
1. New Historicism
ReplyDelete2. Postcolonial Criticism
3. Marxist Criticism
4. New Criticism
5. Deconstructive Criticism
I may be biased since I am also studying History along with English, but I think one of the most important things to keep in mind when analyzing a document is its historical context and how it shows what the people who made it were like. To not try and compare and contrast it with literature/ideas of its day would be a passing up on an important aspect of the literary work. What we might think of as a common way of conveying an idea in a document in today’s context may have been a radical new form of writing around the time that the work in question was produced. One of the biggest things that has shaped the world is literature. One of the best points that Tyson made is “there is no such thing as a presentation of fact; there is only interpretation” (Tyson p.283). Any historian who is honest with themselves will concede that what we consider even the most solid historical facts are truly just opinions. We can never absolutely know facts since we have never been there. Nonetheless, countless ideas have been passed from one person to another through literature. Without them, the world would definitely not be what it is today. It is also thanks to studying older literature that we know a lot of what the people who wrote these works were like at a certain time. Historians many times look beyond the literal messages of these ancient works and see how the authors wrote them and what influence their ideas had in that time period; if you do this, you can many times learn much more than what you can from appreciating a work at face value.
-Daniel Dutton
1. Feminist
ReplyDelete2. Psychoanalytic
3. Cultural
4. New Historicism
5. Reader- Response
I chose Feminist theory as my first one because of my background in Women's Studies. I feel feminist discussions do not occur often enough, if at all, in the context of a work of literature unless it is specifically female centered. I would like to see this topic in broader works of literature which could possibly have an underlying feminist theme, among others. The text puts this in a solid question: "How is the text shaped by its (intentional or unintentional) representation of patriarchal norms and values?"(451)
1. Reader-response criticism
ReplyDelete2. Feminist criticism
3. Deconstructive criticism
4. Lesbian, gay, and queer criticism
5. New historical and cultural criticism
I am highly interested in the relationship between the reader and his text. Ever since the first time I wrote a close reading, I have for some reason enjoyed interacting with books and essays and anything else that I read. It isn't difficult to connect a text with another or with another art form entirely, even real-life situations and issues. There is just such a broad range of ways to approach and interpret a text, especially among several different readers. Even the same reader can have an array of perspectives in which to interpret the text: "In fact, reader-response theorists believe that even the same reader reading the same text on two different occasions will probably produce different meanings because so many variables contribute to our experience of the text (170)" Plenty of other theories interest me, but reader-response theory appeals to me the most because of its diversity and endless options.
1. Psychoanalytic criticism
ReplyDelete2. New criticism
3. Structuralism
4. Archetypal criticism
5. Reader-response
I see that a lot of people chose psychoanalytic as did I. I chose it as my number one choice for various reasons. My main reason is that it is the one that I naturally find myself using the most. I think it is the one I use the most because that is what I am most interested in while reading. I want to know the psychological underpinnings of the author and the stability of the characters. When I read the chapter on psychoanalytical criticism, I immediately thought of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, which is supposed to be a literary interpretation of Freudian psychology using the relationships of the characters to represent different Freudian theories like the "Oedipus conflict," which is mentioned on page 14 of our textbook. It is essentially a competition by the child with the parent of the same gender for the parent of the opposite gender's affection. I find this to be a fascinating take on two character's relationship and is something (along with other psychoanalytical theories) that I look for in any literature that I am reading.
1. Postcolonial Criticism
ReplyDelete2. Lesbian/Gay/Queer Criticism
3. Deconstructive Criticism
4. African American Criticism
5. Psychoanalytic Criticism
I chose postcolonial criticism because I felt almost as though it combined some of the other criticisms that I was interested in. Postcolonial criticism hones in on almost every quality that makes a society, a society. One of the most interesting things for me has always been, assessing why we as human do the things we do, feel the things we feel, and think the things we think. Post colonial criticism appears to focus on all of these aspects and I would love to learn more about the way in which colonialists relate these aspects to text.