From Last Class That Díaz quote that drew a parallel between dictators and authors In novels, there is (typically) only one authorial voice, regardless of how many character voices might be present According to Díaz, “we” all want an authoritative voice to tell us what to think Barthes vs. Díaz – are their ideas at […]

During this week’s class we had a discussion on essentialism and the feminine cosmos. We began by looking at Gwendolyn Brooks “Anniad”, which, by parodying the epic portrays the untold story of Dido, or Penelope as oppose to their male heroic counterparts (Odysseus and Aeneas). Through allusions, and parallelism Brooks transforms the hero’s journey into […]

We began our class discussion Tuesday examining the “I” in Whitman’s Song of Myself, and the pull between its arrogance and humility. As the first line indicates, he celebrates himself, and the focus of the poem is on him and his thoughts. But in doing so Whitman lays no claim to knowledge or insight to […]

In this week’s seminar meeting, we discussed how when we accept identification with our ideal “I.” We accept the violence and oppression that comes with it. The theme of “I” and how the perceived “I” and the “I” that we think that represents us are different. We also discussed how different people will interpret who […]