Howell (2012) uses Burke's concept of "scapegoating" to examine the recent "birther" movement. Paranoid style is usually limited in longevity. Howell (2012) argues that the Birther's paranoid style persisted because it employed steps of the scapegoating process.
Scapegoating is about purging impurity from the self. It is framed in terms of both a sacrifice and a killing, though one of these frames will be more prominent. The scapegoating process has four steps.
1. Hierarchy
Humans crave order. The process of ordering creates hierarchies. Those at the bottom of the hierarchies are labelled as inferior or Other.
2. Alienation
The second stage of scapegoating is profound disorder. People feel confused about the hierarchy, and therefore turn away from it altogether. This creates instability, which distances people from the order that had formerly organized their worldview.
3. Guilt
Alienated people turn inward. They feel guilt that the world around them is disordered.
4. Victimage
People transfer guilt onto a scapegoat. They must identify with this scapegoat and invest the scapegoat
Monday, August 12, 2013
Desilet and Appel (2011), "Choosing a Rhetoric of the Enemy"
1. The comic frame requires the double vision of dramatic irony.
Desilet and Appel (2011) point out that Burke's comic frame asks individuals to view an issue from both sides. He illustrates this point by comparing it to a Shakespearean comedy in which the audience perspective of the character's mistakes joins with the audience perspective of identifying with the characters. This "double vision" is the effect of looking from both inside and outside the situation.
2. This double vision is an effect of criticism.
To achieve Burke's "double vision" in the face of a perceived wrongdoing, Desilet and Appel (2011) argue that individuals must conduct a thorough critique of self and a thorough critique of the other. This should be combined with taking an attitude of the comic frame.
3. Through criticism, one can reach warrantable outrage while maintaining the preferable comic frame.
Desilet and Appel (2011) point out that Burke's comic frame asks individuals to view an issue from both sides. He illustrates this point by comparing it to a Shakespearean comedy in which the audience perspective of the character's mistakes joins with the audience perspective of identifying with the characters. This "double vision" is the effect of looking from both inside and outside the situation.
2. This double vision is an effect of criticism.
To achieve Burke's "double vision" in the face of a perceived wrongdoing, Desilet and Appel (2011) argue that individuals must conduct a thorough critique of self and a thorough critique of the other. This should be combined with taking an attitude of the comic frame.
3. Through criticism, one can reach warrantable outrage while maintaining the preferable comic frame.
Weiser (2009), "'As Usual I Fell On the Bias'"
Weiser (2009) examines the role of "falling on the bias" in a context of dramatistic analysis.
1. By "falling on the bias," Burke referred not to compromise, but to a way of finding the best elements in each side of an argument. Weiser (2009) points out that this new bias position may not be agreed upon by either side. The important aspect of the bias position is not to join together two sides but to work against attitudes of absolutism.
2. Dramatism allows critics to find the bias position by looking at relationships between elements. As Weiser (2009) points out, dramatism is not about naming an absolute meaning, but about understanding the way that elements of a situation work together. Weiser (2009) argues that this process can bring out a position that lies across seemingly conflicting positions.
3. In order to achieve the "bias-falling parliamentary dialectic," one must
a. recognize that two perspectives are at odds with one another and
b. talk about the competing perspectives in a way that universalizes them.
1. By "falling on the bias," Burke referred not to compromise, but to a way of finding the best elements in each side of an argument. Weiser (2009) points out that this new bias position may not be agreed upon by either side. The important aspect of the bias position is not to join together two sides but to work against attitudes of absolutism.
2. Dramatism allows critics to find the bias position by looking at relationships between elements. As Weiser (2009) points out, dramatism is not about naming an absolute meaning, but about understanding the way that elements of a situation work together. Weiser (2009) argues that this process can bring out a position that lies across seemingly conflicting positions.
3. In order to achieve the "bias-falling parliamentary dialectic," one must
a. recognize that two perspectives are at odds with one another and
b. talk about the competing perspectives in a way that universalizes them.
Ott and Aoki (2002), "The Politics of Negotiating Public Tragedy"
Ott and Aoki (2002) analyze several media outlets' coverage of the Matthew Shepard murder. They apply Burke's Grammar of Motives to framing analysis in order to examine the larger issue of how media framing influences public attitudes.
1. A scapegoat must be consubstantiated with the community
As Ott and Aoki (2002) point out, scapegoating alienates and sacrifices one member of a community in order to purify a shared problem. This process of scapegoating requires a sacrifice of someone who shares similar characteristics with others in society. It requires consubstantiation between the scapegoat and the community prior to the sacrifice.
2. Scapegoats are a feature of the tragic frame.
Media's use of the tragic frame drives the scapegoating process by contributing to the alienation, sacrifice, and reunification steps.
3. The tragic frame does not allow communities to learn from a shared mistake.
Ott and Aoki (2002) argue that media use of the tragic frame limits society's ability to learn and grow as a result of tragedy. They advocate media use of comic frames, which allow correction of a behavior without alienating and sacrificing an individual's action from the group's action.
1. A scapegoat must be consubstantiated with the community
As Ott and Aoki (2002) point out, scapegoating alienates and sacrifices one member of a community in order to purify a shared problem. This process of scapegoating requires a sacrifice of someone who shares similar characteristics with others in society. It requires consubstantiation between the scapegoat and the community prior to the sacrifice.
2. Scapegoats are a feature of the tragic frame.
Media's use of the tragic frame drives the scapegoating process by contributing to the alienation, sacrifice, and reunification steps.
3. The tragic frame does not allow communities to learn from a shared mistake.
Ott and Aoki (2002) argue that media use of the tragic frame limits society's ability to learn and grow as a result of tragedy. They advocate media use of comic frames, which allow correction of a behavior without alienating and sacrificing an individual's action from the group's action.
Boor Tonn, Endress, and Diamond (1993), "Hunting and Heritage on Trial"
1. Act-Scene ratio is often used to absolve guilt. Scene can also be used to identify in-group/out-group.
Boor Tonn, Endress, and Diamond (1993) note that scene-agent ratio is often used when rhetors hope to absolve themselves of guilt. By shifting the focus of the drama to scene, the agent implies that they were moved by the container rather than by agency that is uniquely their own. An emphasis on scene can also engulf an individual into a community or exclude that individual from their role in a group.
2. Humans are inherently tribal. Hierarchies in the tribe contribute to reframing scene.
The authors argue that establishing solid hierarchies redefines a scene. The dominating persona in the drama dictates the scene, by seizing control of the territory. The dominated person is considered an interloper. The scene is defined by the dominater's right to be there, which recasts the act as justified.
Boor Tonn, Endress, and Diamond (1993) note that scene-agent ratio is often used when rhetors hope to absolve themselves of guilt. By shifting the focus of the drama to scene, the agent implies that they were moved by the container rather than by agency that is uniquely their own. An emphasis on scene can also engulf an individual into a community or exclude that individual from their role in a group.
2. Humans are inherently tribal. Hierarchies in the tribe contribute to reframing scene.
The authors argue that establishing solid hierarchies redefines a scene. The dominating persona in the drama dictates the scene, by seizing control of the territory. The dominated person is considered an interloper. The scene is defined by the dominater's right to be there, which recasts the act as justified.
Burke (1966), "Terministic Screens"
1. Two approaches to studying language -- scientistic and dramatistic. These are not mutually exclusive.
A. Scientistic focuses on language's power to name and define. Something "is" or "is not," and what follows that proposition defines the thing. Scientistic approaches to language are concerned with symbolic logic.
For Burke, naming is "magic." He also calls naming "dancing attitudes."
B. Dramatistic focuses on language's urgings. Something "shall" or "shall not," and what follows is a direction to the thing. Dramatistic approaches to language target suasive potentials, and are usually associated with stories, advertisements, myths, and philosophies.
2. Language reflects, selects, and deflects reality.
The dramatistic approach is concerned with how language influences us. Burke (1966) argues that the suasive power of language is through terminology. Terministic screens are the sets of terminologies that frame an object's reality. Our choice of terms filters some meanings out and emphasizes others.
3. Terministic screens determine what we can understand, question, and think about reality.
Burke (1966) argues that our observations about our world come from the choice of terms we use. These terms define reality, which allows them to shape the production of future terminology choices.
A. Scientistic focuses on language's power to name and define. Something "is" or "is not," and what follows that proposition defines the thing. Scientistic approaches to language are concerned with symbolic logic.
For Burke, naming is "magic." He also calls naming "dancing attitudes."
B. Dramatistic focuses on language's urgings. Something "shall" or "shall not," and what follows is a direction to the thing. Dramatistic approaches to language target suasive potentials, and are usually associated with stories, advertisements, myths, and philosophies.
2. Language reflects, selects, and deflects reality.
The dramatistic approach is concerned with how language influences us. Burke (1966) argues that the suasive power of language is through terminology. Terministic screens are the sets of terminologies that frame an object's reality. Our choice of terms filters some meanings out and emphasizes others.
3. Terministic screens determine what we can understand, question, and think about reality.
Burke (1966) argues that our observations about our world come from the choice of terms we use. These terms define reality, which allows them to shape the production of future terminology choices.
Burke (1945), A Grammar of Motives
Burke (1945) argues that rhetoric poetry. Therefore, we need to look at social life as a play. The biological exists as a backdrop for the action, but it is unable to account for human interaction. Burke (1945) therefore suggests a method (not a "methodology," since Burke see this term as scientific rather than rhetorical) for understanding language as action.
The Pentad includes five elements that make up Burke's (1945) dramatistic perspective. Each of these elements interacts with each other to frame a narrative in a certain way. The ratio used in the narrative determines its frame.
A. Act
B. Scene (The scene is the container for the action. It is the least flexible element, so it often determines the shape of the other elements within it.)
C. Agent
D. Agency (What facilitates the actor's ability to act.)
E. Purpose -- This can be a "human motive" rather than an individual motive. Therefore, purpose may be derived from a more general understanding of human motivations rather than the individual actor's intentions.
The Pentad includes five elements that make up Burke's (1945) dramatistic perspective. Each of these elements interacts with each other to frame a narrative in a certain way. The ratio used in the narrative determines its frame.
A. Act
B. Scene (The scene is the container for the action. It is the least flexible element, so it often determines the shape of the other elements within it.)
C. Agent
D. Agency (What facilitates the actor's ability to act.)
E. Purpose -- This can be a "human motive" rather than an individual motive. Therefore, purpose may be derived from a more general understanding of human motivations rather than the individual actor's intentions.
Burke (1937), Attitudes Toward History
1. Burke's (1937) definition of man [sic] is "the symbol-using, symbol-misusing, symbol-making, and symbol-made animal.
2. Burke notes that situations can be framed either as comedy or tragedy.
A. The comic frame is a way of framing a situation in terms of mistakes rather than crimes. This frame does not look for a scapegoat, but rather tries to correct and aid a fool.
B. The tragic frame frames a situation in terms of victims and oppressors. This frame points fingers and does not allow for a peaceful resolution. It defines a situation into war.
2. Burke notes that situations can be framed either as comedy or tragedy.
A. The comic frame is a way of framing a situation in terms of mistakes rather than crimes. This frame does not look for a scapegoat, but rather tries to correct and aid a fool.
B. The tragic frame frames a situation in terms of victims and oppressors. This frame points fingers and does not allow for a peaceful resolution. It defines a situation into war.
McKerrow (2011), "Foucault’s Relationship to Rhetoric"
1. Truth -- "Truth" is a map of rules.
The perception of truth is a result of statements organized in a particular way. Power relationships guide the rules for the "truthful" organization of statements. The organization of "truth" discourses preexist people, and their structure determines social positions.
2. Genealogy -- The map of rules is hidden in plain sight.
McKerrow (2011) argues that critical rhetoric offers a way of problematizing these rules. All forms of discourse exist within these rules, so no discourse is above criticism. For McKerrow (2011), Foucault's primary contribution to rhetoric is the idea of looking at the surface for ruptures in "common sense."
3. Historical subjects -- The rules do not bar human agency.
Foucault argues that subjects communicate within predetermined systems of rules. McKerrow (2011) suggests that this does not strip humans of their agency. Instead, the rules are malleable, and humans contribute to their construction and reconstruction.
The perception of truth is a result of statements organized in a particular way. Power relationships guide the rules for the "truthful" organization of statements. The organization of "truth" discourses preexist people, and their structure determines social positions.
2. Genealogy -- The map of rules is hidden in plain sight.
McKerrow (2011) argues that critical rhetoric offers a way of problematizing these rules. All forms of discourse exist within these rules, so no discourse is above criticism. For McKerrow (2011), Foucault's primary contribution to rhetoric is the idea of looking at the surface for ruptures in "common sense."
3. Historical subjects -- The rules do not bar human agency.
Foucault argues that subjects communicate within predetermined systems of rules. McKerrow (2011) suggests that this does not strip humans of their agency. Instead, the rules are malleable, and humans contribute to their construction and reconstruction.
Gunn (2006), "ShitText: Toward a New Coprophilic Style"
1. Hygiene is self-surveillance of the body.
Gunn (2006) uses Foucault's concept of biopower (scato-power) to argue that transnational consumerism controls every aspect of bodily function. He suggests that openly messy public speaking and shitting offer a too for hyperproduction that resists consumerist controls.
2. Production should be gifted rather than hoarded.
The consumerist frame that disciplines public speech/shit is about hoarding. Gunn (2006) argues that academic publishing pretends to give away our shit when we are really turning the receiver into our shit. He advocates a style of discourse that freely shits without attempting to hold in the socially undesirable.
Gunn (2006) uses Foucault's concept of biopower (scato-power) to argue that transnational consumerism controls every aspect of bodily function. He suggests that openly messy public speaking and shitting offer a too for hyperproduction that resists consumerist controls.
2. Production should be gifted rather than hoarded.
The consumerist frame that disciplines public speech/shit is about hoarding. Gunn (2006) argues that academic publishing pretends to give away our shit when we are really turning the receiver into our shit. He advocates a style of discourse that freely shits without attempting to hold in the socially undesirable.
Gronbeck (2006), "Rushing, Frentz, and the Matter of Psychological Rhetorical Criticism"
Writing in the 1980s and 1990s, Rushing and Frenz brought psychoanalysis to the range of rhetorical perspectives. They celebrated the idea of working across layers of human discourse. Gronbeck (2006) argues that psychological criticism contributes three areas to rhetorical studies:
1. Study of the submerged
We think of symbolic codes as a manifest representation of psychology below the surface. These codes can become embedded in the submerged. Codes are then used in public discourse as references to hidden psychological realms like anxiety, paranoia, joy, and other frames of consciousness.
2. Study of the overarching
Submerged states are individual and ritualized by the community. Psychoanalysis can therefore identify common psychological states by examining their emergence in public discourse.
3. Study of epistemological alternatives (transmodernism)
Rushing and Frentz (1995) propose a concept called "transmodernism." Modernism privileges duality which leads to hierarchies and oppression. Postmodernism completely fragments the self. Transmodernism uses the unconscious to unify human subjectivity, fragmenting the scientific problems of modernism and stabilizing postmodernism's slippery ego.
1. Study of the submerged
We think of symbolic codes as a manifest representation of psychology below the surface. These codes can become embedded in the submerged. Codes are then used in public discourse as references to hidden psychological realms like anxiety, paranoia, joy, and other frames of consciousness.
2. Study of the overarching
Submerged states are individual and ritualized by the community. Psychoanalysis can therefore identify common psychological states by examining their emergence in public discourse.
3. Study of epistemological alternatives (transmodernism)
Rushing and Frentz (1995) propose a concept called "transmodernism." Modernism privileges duality which leads to hierarchies and oppression. Postmodernism completely fragments the self. Transmodernism uses the unconscious to unify human subjectivity, fragmenting the scientific problems of modernism and stabilizing postmodernism's slippery ego.
Zarefsky (2004), "Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition"
1. Rhetoric argues that language produces change, but this is not the same as causality or effects.
Texts in a vacuum will appear to produce no effect. Therefore, Zarefsky (2004) argues he that scholars must account for context. Furthermore, he urges not to make causal claims. Instead, Zarefsky (2004) cautions critics to be more precise in using language that indicates languages contribution to shaping culture and inviting certain readings.
2. Critics should acknowledge each of the dimensions of rhetorical transition in each analysis.
A. Interaction between message and audience -- largely empirical
B. Interaction between rhetor and text --issues like intention and motive
C. Interaction between the text and the critic -- this involves issues of context
3. Zarefsky (2004) emphasizes the role of definition in shaping culture. He argues that the process of defining involves things like selecting which data should be important, framing which aspects are worth attention, and bringing the situation to the public mind.
Texts in a vacuum will appear to produce no effect. Therefore, Zarefsky (2004) argues he that scholars must account for context. Furthermore, he urges not to make causal claims. Instead, Zarefsky (2004) cautions critics to be more precise in using language that indicates languages contribution to shaping culture and inviting certain readings.
2. Critics should acknowledge each of the dimensions of rhetorical transition in each analysis.
A. Interaction between message and audience -- largely empirical
B. Interaction between rhetor and text --issues like intention and motive
C. Interaction between the text and the critic -- this involves issues of context
3. Zarefsky (2004) emphasizes the role of definition in shaping culture. He argues that the process of defining involves things like selecting which data should be important, framing which aspects are worth attention, and bringing the situation to the public mind.
Palczewski (2003), "What is 'Good Criticism?'"
Palczewski (2003) argues that rhetorical criticism should focus on humans as "linguistic animals." Moreover, she believes that the study of rhetorical criticism should be joyful. She also argues that rhetorical criticism must take a stand on a text and make an argument about that text.
In decisions regarding methodological rigor, Palczewski (2003) argues for a focus on heuristics. She gives three criteria for this orientation.
1. Vocabulary should be presented in a way that clarifies. It should take care to "name things" with a responsibility to the never-ending conversation.
2. Vocabulary should look for nuanced differences and similarities between texts. Palczewski (2003) cautions critics not to make over-generalizations in order to paint broad theoretical pictures.
3. The analysis should be engaging and interesting. Palczewski (2003) argues that work should spark interest in the reader.
4. The analysis should be driven by text.
5. The essay should be written to the same standards to which we hold texts.
6. The selection of the text for study is political, and the critic should be sensitive to this. What are the conditions in which the text was chosen for analysis and what are the implications for choosing this text for study?
In decisions regarding methodological rigor, Palczewski (2003) argues for a focus on heuristics. She gives three criteria for this orientation.
1. Vocabulary should be presented in a way that clarifies. It should take care to "name things" with a responsibility to the never-ending conversation.
2. Vocabulary should look for nuanced differences and similarities between texts. Palczewski (2003) cautions critics not to make over-generalizations in order to paint broad theoretical pictures.
3. The analysis should be engaging and interesting. Palczewski (2003) argues that work should spark interest in the reader.
4. The analysis should be driven by text.
5. The essay should be written to the same standards to which we hold texts.
6. The selection of the text for study is political, and the critic should be sensitive to this. What are the conditions in which the text was chosen for analysis and what are the implications for choosing this text for study?
Campbell (2001), "Rhetorical Feminism"
Campbell (2001) traces the development of feminist rhetorical scholarship and offers a feminist perspective on the field's future direction.
1. Initial feminist rhetoric work focused on recovering historical women's texts.
2. Feminist rhetorical criticism shifted in the 1990s to include critical theory. This work still included studies of historical texts, but feminist rhetorical work also shifted include mass media and television studies.
3. Women's Studies in Communication played an important role in expanding feminist rhetoric. Though many of the major national journals were still resistant to this work, feminist rhetorical scholars were publishing more and more frequently in regional journals during the 1990s.
4. At the time of writing, Campbell (2001) describes a period of work in alternative theories. Here, she describes work that attempts to define a feminine rhetorical style that works in opposition to the combative style associated with traditional rhetoric. Campbell (2001) also believes that women's practices are an important area for future research.
1. Initial feminist rhetoric work focused on recovering historical women's texts.
2. Feminist rhetorical criticism shifted in the 1990s to include critical theory. This work still included studies of historical texts, but feminist rhetorical work also shifted include mass media and television studies.
3. Women's Studies in Communication played an important role in expanding feminist rhetoric. Though many of the major national journals were still resistant to this work, feminist rhetorical scholars were publishing more and more frequently in regional journals during the 1990s.
4. At the time of writing, Campbell (2001) describes a period of work in alternative theories. Here, she describes work that attempts to define a feminine rhetorical style that works in opposition to the combative style associated with traditional rhetoric. Campbell (2001) also believes that women's practices are an important area for future research.
Medhurst (2001), "The Contemporary Study of Public Address"
Medhurst (2001) outlines three moments in the state of public address and rhetorical criticism. He begins with Black's Rhetorical Criticism then moves chronologically through the present, ending with recommendations for future study.
1. Renewal
Medhurst (2001) calls the period following Black's book in 1965 through 1980 "renewal." (A) This time period is marked by disciplinary self-reflexivity, as critics work to identify systems of public discourse. (B) This time period is also marked by an increasingly open definition of public discourse including media forms. (C) Social movements of the period also led critics to study issues of oppression.
2. Recovery
The period of recovery, which Medhurst (2001) defines as 1980 through 2000, is marked by its dedication to "public affairs." Medhurst (2001) argues that this period recovers its focus on the broad field of politics. This time period also saw a shift from scholarly articles to book length research projects.
3. Reconfiguration
Medhurst's (2001) vision for the future of rhetoric is largely focused on training new scholars. He argues that scholarly training should prepare graduate students to take up a particular area of expertise. Medhurst (2001) largely emphasizes historical forms, and argues that large studies should be taken up involving teams of researchers. Scholars should remember that we are producers, not just critics, of social texts.
1. Renewal
Medhurst (2001) calls the period following Black's book in 1965 through 1980 "renewal." (A) This time period is marked by disciplinary self-reflexivity, as critics work to identify systems of public discourse. (B) This time period is also marked by an increasingly open definition of public discourse including media forms. (C) Social movements of the period also led critics to study issues of oppression.
2. Recovery
The period of recovery, which Medhurst (2001) defines as 1980 through 2000, is marked by its dedication to "public affairs." Medhurst (2001) argues that this period recovers its focus on the broad field of politics. This time period also saw a shift from scholarly articles to book length research projects.
3. Reconfiguration
Medhurst's (2001) vision for the future of rhetoric is largely focused on training new scholars. He argues that scholarly training should prepare graduate students to take up a particular area of expertise. Medhurst (2001) largely emphasizes historical forms, and argues that large studies should be taken up involving teams of researchers. Scholars should remember that we are producers, not just critics, of social texts.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Dow (1995), "Feminism, Difference(s), and Rhetorical Studies"
Feminist rhetoric uses feminist theory to celebrate women's contributions to public discourses and to critique the ways these contributions are marginalized. Dow (1995) is concerned with the way theories of difference(s) have been used in discussions of feminist rhetoric.
1. Difference has been used to essentialize women's rhetoric.
Dow (1995) argues that women face a similar set of circumstances that result in a similar rhetorical style. This is importantly different from the idea that women's rhetorical style comes from biological, essential differences between men and women. The latter characterization has appeared in discussions of feminist rhetoric.
2. We have neglected to discuss differences between women.
Dow (1995) criticizes theories of difference(s) for failing to acknowledge differences between women. She notes that feminist rhetorical theory has largely conceptualized "woman" as white, middle-class, and heterosexual. She argues that feminist rhetorical theory should work to fix this problem.
2. We have neglected to discuss differences between women.
Dow (1995) criticizes theories of difference(s) for failing to acknowledge differences between women. She notes that feminist rhetorical theory has largely conceptualized "woman" as white, middle-class, and heterosexual. She argues that feminist rhetorical theory should work to fix this problem.
McKerrow (1989), "Critical Rhetoric: Theory and Praxis"
McKerrow's (1989) concept of critical rhetoric is an intervention into Platonic rhetoric's universal notions of logic. McKerrow (1989) proposes a critical rhetoric that accounts for context and contingency and that "seeks to unmask or demystify the discourse of power" (p. 91). Critical rhetoric works against something, and the process of the critique is therefore a practice rather than a method. Critical rhetoric includes the "critique of domination" and the "critique of freedom."
A. A critique of domination aims to demystify the conditions of domination. It looks for the ways ideology works to reproduce domination.
B. A critique of freedom looks at the ways power is reasserted in culture. It looks for new ways power might express itself.
The practice of critical rhetoric is comprised of eight rules:
1. It is a practice, not a method.
2. The discourse of power is material.
3. Rhetoric is doxastic rather than epistemological.
4. Naming is the central act in nominalist rhetoric.
5. Influence is not causality.
6. Absence is as important as presence.
7. Fragments are potentially polysemic.
8. Criticism is a performance.
Blair & Cooper (1987), "The Humanist Turn in Foucault’s Rhetoric of Inquiry"
Blair and Cooper (1987) address Fisher's critique of Foucault. Fisher reads Foucault's positions on the structures of discourse as anti-humanist, and therefore argues that Foucault's theories are inherently flawed. Blair and Cooper (1987) defend Foucault, noting that Foucault's critiques of humanism were aimed at producing a more humanist result. They note that Foucault's work imagines human agency in discourse and attempts to create an environment with even more human rhetorical freedom.
1. Foucault is an important contributor to contemporary rhetoric.
Blair and Cooper (1987) point out that contemporary rhetoric sees humans as entrenched in discourses as opposed to old perspectives which saw rhetoric simply as a tool of persuasion. Foucault imagined human subjects to be active within their discursive environment. Foucault is therefore an important contributor to contemporary rhetoric.
2. Foucault's work reframes rhetoric in a manner consistent with humanist goals.
Blair and Cooper (1987) argue that rhetorical criticism must critique social alternatives that are offered in rhetoric. They see Foucault's methodological arguments as driving rhetorical theory toward a more proactive position.
1. Foucault is an important contributor to contemporary rhetoric.
Blair and Cooper (1987) point out that contemporary rhetoric sees humans as entrenched in discourses as opposed to old perspectives which saw rhetoric simply as a tool of persuasion. Foucault imagined human subjects to be active within their discursive environment. Foucault is therefore an important contributor to contemporary rhetoric.
2. Foucault's work reframes rhetoric in a manner consistent with humanist goals.
Blair and Cooper (1987) argue that rhetorical criticism must critique social alternatives that are offered in rhetoric. They see Foucault's methodological arguments as driving rhetorical theory toward a more proactive position.
Blair (1987), "The Statement: Foundation of Foucault’s Historical Criticism"
1. We can trace unities in historical discourse. This lets us see moments of change. Together these moments make up a map of transformation and stability.
2. For Foucault, statements are sets of signifiers that are considered to represent knowledge. Statements facilitate relationships between individuals and groups, and we use them to perform the self. These functions only work through the relationships between statements.
3. When statements are uttered, they tell us something about the epistemological assumptions in a culture. There are three parts to studying statements:
A. Rarity -- Look at what is not being said and what is being silenced as well.
B. Exteriority -- Don't look for the hidden meaning. Look for the context that allows the statement to exist.
C. Accumulation -- Look for how statements come in and out of the culture.
4. Rhetorical studies includes history, politics, and epistemology. Blair (1987) argues that Foucault's concept of the statement allows us to integrate all of these elements.
2. For Foucault, statements are sets of signifiers that are considered to represent knowledge. Statements facilitate relationships between individuals and groups, and we use them to perform the self. These functions only work through the relationships between statements.
3. When statements are uttered, they tell us something about the epistemological assumptions in a culture. There are three parts to studying statements:
A. Rarity -- Look at what is not being said and what is being silenced as well.
B. Exteriority -- Don't look for the hidden meaning. Look for the context that allows the statement to exist.
C. Accumulation -- Look for how statements come in and out of the culture.
4. Rhetorical studies includes history, politics, and epistemology. Blair (1987) argues that Foucault's concept of the statement allows us to integrate all of these elements.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Fisher (1984), "Narration as Human Communication Paradigm"
1. Humans are story-telling animals.
Fisher (1984) argues that humans are essentially story-telling animals, or homo narrans. This means that we make decisions based on narratives. Narratives circulate around our environment, and we use these to make our decisions. Fisher (1984) notes that we make decisions based on a logic of good reasons. This may include more traditionally rational reasoning, though Fisher (1984) notes that these issues may only be partially understood because they rely on emotions.
2. Narratives can persuade when they have fidelity and coherence.
Narratives have fidelity when they match our understanding of reality. Narratives have coherence when they are internally logical.
Fisher (1984) argues that humans are essentially story-telling animals, or homo narrans. This means that we make decisions based on narratives. Narratives circulate around our environment, and we use these to make our decisions. Fisher (1984) notes that we make decisions based on a logic of good reasons. This may include more traditionally rational reasoning, though Fisher (1984) notes that these issues may only be partially understood because they rely on emotions.
2. Narratives can persuade when they have fidelity and coherence.
Narratives have fidelity when they match our understanding of reality. Narratives have coherence when they are internally logical.
3. The logic of good reasons unites the whole brain.
The narrative paradigm was Fisher's (1984) attempt at resolving dualisms like fact/value and reason/emotion. He argued that narrative logic unites the whole brain, and it allows rhetoricians to understand the ways logic and myth work together.
Wander (1983), "The Ideological Turn in Modern Criticism"
1. Wichelns' concept of public address was White, male, and class-privileged.
Wichelns' "The Literary Criticism of Oratory" legitimated public address, but in an ideologically limiting way. Wander (1983) notes that rhetoric originally limited public address to two-party politics. Early rhetoric therefore ignored women, people of color, and other classes restricted from government-sanctioned address.
2. Neo-aristotelians used Burke only as a method.
Burke legitimated rhetoric by linking it to other disciplines, but it was used as a method rather than a tool for ideological criticism. Neo-aristotelians strove for objectivity. As Wander (1983) argues, this necessarily made the criticism a description of the speaker's words, centering the speaker and linking the critic to the speaker's perspective.
3. Ideological criticism looks for historically situated power.
A. Ideological criticism should look for "emancipatory moments" in public discourse.
B. Wander (1983) suggests that rhetoric should turn to examine "powerful vested interests" and how these interests benefit from particular uses of discourse in policy development. The critic should evaluate destructive powers behind policies like war and environmental destruction and identify alternatives.
C. For Wander (1983), ideological criticism should acknowledge crises and historically situate "good" and "right."
Wichelns' "The Literary Criticism of Oratory" legitimated public address, but in an ideologically limiting way. Wander (1983) notes that rhetoric originally limited public address to two-party politics. Early rhetoric therefore ignored women, people of color, and other classes restricted from government-sanctioned address.
2. Neo-aristotelians used Burke only as a method.
Burke legitimated rhetoric by linking it to other disciplines, but it was used as a method rather than a tool for ideological criticism. Neo-aristotelians strove for objectivity. As Wander (1983) argues, this necessarily made the criticism a description of the speaker's words, centering the speaker and linking the critic to the speaker's perspective.
3. Ideological criticism looks for historically situated power.
A. Ideological criticism should look for "emancipatory moments" in public discourse.
B. Wander (1983) suggests that rhetoric should turn to examine "powerful vested interests" and how these interests benefit from particular uses of discourse in policy development. The critic should evaluate destructive powers behind policies like war and environmental destruction and identify alternatives.
C. For Wander (1983), ideological criticism should acknowledge crises and historically situate "good" and "right."
McGee (1980), "The 'Ideograph'"
"Ideographs are one-term sums of an orientation" (p. 7), McKee (1980) notes. They contain an ideological commitment and assume that others will read the same commitment in the term.
1. Ideologies control populations.
People practice ideology and this is a political practice. It has the power to control the public. Such power is preserved through rhetoric. Rhetoric allows us to see how ideology functions to control populations. Ideology impacts the ruler and the ruled. This is not a top-down approach.
2. Ideographs contain ideological commitment.
Social control is control over consciousness. Ideographs attempt to create a shared political false consciousness. Since ideographs assume that everyone will read a certain term with the same connotation, they create in-groups and out-groups. Those who do not read the term in the "right" way are excluded from society.
3. Ideographs work vertically together to form sense of logic, and horizontally through time to construct myth.
Ideology is a moral issue. If we know there is a truth, we have a moral obligation to admit it rather than lying to ourselves. Myth is amoral. It functions metaphorically, and therefore is always a lie. A rhetorical model should account for both ideology and myth. McGee (1980) argues that ideology should be the starting point.
1. Ideologies control populations.
People practice ideology and this is a political practice. It has the power to control the public. Such power is preserved through rhetoric. Rhetoric allows us to see how ideology functions to control populations. Ideology impacts the ruler and the ruled. This is not a top-down approach.
Social control is control over consciousness. Ideographs attempt to create a shared political false consciousness. Since ideographs assume that everyone will read a certain term with the same connotation, they create in-groups and out-groups. Those who do not read the term in the "right" way are excluded from society.
3. Ideographs work vertically together to form sense of logic, and horizontally through time to construct myth.
Ideology is a moral issue. If we know there is a truth, we have a moral obligation to admit it rather than lying to ourselves. Myth is amoral. It functions metaphorically, and therefore is always a lie. A rhetorical model should account for both ideology and myth. McGee (1980) argues that ideology should be the starting point.
Campbell (1973), "The Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation: An Oxymoron"
1. Feminist rhetoric uses rhetoric to challenge rhetoric.
We think of rhetors as having self-reliance, self-confidence, and independence, which Campbell (1973) argues is a violation of the female role. Therefore, feminist rhetoric is inherently unique because it is an attack on the fundamental assumptions of its cultural context. Campbell (1973) argues that feminist rhetoric contains moral conflict, since it uses imagined shared circumstances to point out that these circumstances are not shared at all.
2. Feminist rhetoric refuses audience passivity.
Style of feminist rhetoric must be anti-rhetorical, since characteristics of rhetors encourage submissiveness in the audience.
3. Feminist rhetoric builds public community from private experiences.
Feminist rhetoric must include discussion of the private, since women's experience has been restricted from the public sphere. Since structural solutions are a goal, discussions of the private must move to unite women's experience.
We think of rhetors as having self-reliance, self-confidence, and independence, which Campbell (1973) argues is a violation of the female role. Therefore, feminist rhetoric is inherently unique because it is an attack on the fundamental assumptions of its cultural context. Campbell (1973) argues that feminist rhetoric contains moral conflict, since it uses imagined shared circumstances to point out that these circumstances are not shared at all.
2. Feminist rhetoric refuses audience passivity.
Style of feminist rhetoric must be anti-rhetorical, since characteristics of rhetors encourage submissiveness in the audience.
3. Feminist rhetoric builds public community from private experiences.
Feminist rhetoric must include discussion of the private, since women's experience has been restricted from the public sphere. Since structural solutions are a goal, discussions of the private must move to unite women's experience.
Bitzer (1968), "The Rhetorical Situation"
Bitzer (1968) argued that rhetoric formed in response to situation. The situation shapes and controls discourse in the same way that a question shapes an answer. Situations are rhetorical when they call for a discursive response, and discourses are rhetorical when they respond to a situation that needs a response.
All rhetorical situations contain three parts:
1. Exigence -- Bitzer (1968) describes exigence as "imperfection marked by urgency" (p. 6). Not all exigences are rhetorical. Rhetorical exigences are those which can only be changed by discourse.
2. Audience -- Situations that are rhetorical must include an audience, and that audience must be capable of acting to produce change.
3. Constraints -- Bitzer (1968) acknowledges that people, objects, and relations may impede the suggested change. These elements are called constraints, and they may include things like attitudes, motives, traditions, and so forth.
All rhetorical situations contain three parts:
1. Exigence -- Bitzer (1968) describes exigence as "imperfection marked by urgency" (p. 6). Not all exigences are rhetorical. Rhetorical exigences are those which can only be changed by discourse.
2. Audience -- Situations that are rhetorical must include an audience, and that audience must be capable of acting to produce change.
3. Constraints -- Bitzer (1968) acknowledges that people, objects, and relations may impede the suggested change. These elements are called constraints, and they may include things like attitudes, motives, traditions, and so forth.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Dingo (2012), Networking Arguments
Dingo (2012) emphasizes the interactivity of rhetorics across time and space. She outlines and demonstrates a rhetorical method that involves mapping networks of arguments. This process allows scholars to understand the way rhetorics travel transnationally.
1. Transcoding
Transcoding refers to the process of remaking meaning depending on the context of the argument. Meanings are scrambled so that a term can function in a new context. Dingo (2012) argues that transcoding is an intentional reforming of a term by the speaker which often facilitates political moves.
2. Ideological trafficking
Ideological trafficking is the influence of history on a word. Historical meanings are packed into terms so that their ideological baggage "bubbles up." Dingo (2012) specifies that ideological trafficking disregards intention or awareness of speaker and audience.
3. Interarticulation
Similar to transcoding, interarticulation involves terms' ability to hold multiple meanings simultaneously. Unlike transcoding, interarticulation does not represent intentional reworking of a term. Instead, interarticulation is a result of a term's existence in various contexts.
1. Transcoding
Transcoding refers to the process of remaking meaning depending on the context of the argument. Meanings are scrambled so that a term can function in a new context. Dingo (2012) argues that transcoding is an intentional reforming of a term by the speaker which often facilitates political moves.
2. Ideological trafficking
Ideological trafficking is the influence of history on a word. Historical meanings are packed into terms so that their ideological baggage "bubbles up." Dingo (2012) specifies that ideological trafficking disregards intention or awareness of speaker and audience.
3. Interarticulation
Similar to transcoding, interarticulation involves terms' ability to hold multiple meanings simultaneously. Unlike transcoding, interarticulation does not represent intentional reworking of a term. Instead, interarticulation is a result of a term's existence in various contexts.
Brysk (2011), "Sex as Slavery? Understanding Private Wrongs"
1. Human trafficking laws are often inconsistent or incomplete.
Brysk (2011) notes that issues of human trafficking often contain contradictions along axes of sexualization and migration. In terms of sexualization, Brysk (2011) notes that policy often disproportionately focuses on sexual slavery and ignores non-sexual forms of slavery and trafficking. These policies often ignore prostitution as a choice influenced by economic policies. For migration, Brysk (2011) points out that sexual slavery is a problem that can remain within borders just as it can travel across them.
2. The reason for these inconsistencies is rooted in ideologies of power.
Brysk (2011) points out that many trafficking policies are rooted in ideas of "white slavery" and other ideologically loaded terms. An emphasis on sex trafficking that ignores willing prostitution is a move to assert power of women's sexualities and mobility.
Brysk (2011) notes that issues of human trafficking often contain contradictions along axes of sexualization and migration. In terms of sexualization, Brysk (2011) notes that policy often disproportionately focuses on sexual slavery and ignores non-sexual forms of slavery and trafficking. These policies often ignore prostitution as a choice influenced by economic policies. For migration, Brysk (2011) points out that sexual slavery is a problem that can remain within borders just as it can travel across them.
2. The reason for these inconsistencies is rooted in ideologies of power.
Brysk (2011) points out that many trafficking policies are rooted in ideas of "white slavery" and other ideologically loaded terms. An emphasis on sex trafficking that ignores willing prostitution is a move to assert power of women's sexualities and mobility.
Safri and Graham (2010), "Feminist Postcapitalist International Political Economy"
1. Incorporating noncapitalist economic sites can rework power relations to accommodate previously invisible and dispersed labor. Sites of this labor include remittances, worker cooperatives, and household work.
2. The global household is a site of convergence between economics and emotions. This site is ignored by neoliberal policies. If we centralize global women's unpaid labor, it will allow us to incorporate noncapitalist economic sites. Though individual actions cannot replace structural changes, remittances represent a bottom-up approach to restructuring economies.
2. The global household is a site of convergence between economics and emotions. This site is ignored by neoliberal policies. If we centralize global women's unpaid labor, it will allow us to incorporate noncapitalist economic sites. Though individual actions cannot replace structural changes, remittances represent a bottom-up approach to restructuring economies.
Bedford and Rai (2010) "Feminist Theorize International Political Economy"
1. Consumption in the North has redesigned economies in the global South.
Bedford and Rai (2010) argue that increased, debt-driven consumption in the North impacts economies in the South. Economic shifts burden women by increasing their labor inside and outside the home and forcing migration to industrial centers. These population shifts stress social infrastructures, making women more vulnerable to poverty and violence.
2. Scholars should address structures of capitalism, social reproduction, and exchange as well as women's agency within these structures.
Social reproduction includes biological reproduction of family and state, reproduction through unpaid labor in the home, and ideological reproduction. Social reproduction facilitates both oppression and the opportunity for resistance.
Bedford and Rai (2010) argue that increased, debt-driven consumption in the North impacts economies in the South. Economic shifts burden women by increasing their labor inside and outside the home and forcing migration to industrial centers. These population shifts stress social infrastructures, making women more vulnerable to poverty and violence.
2. Scholars should address structures of capitalism, social reproduction, and exchange as well as women's agency within these structures.
Social reproduction includes biological reproduction of family and state, reproduction through unpaid labor in the home, and ideological reproduction. Social reproduction facilitates both oppression and the opportunity for resistance.
Mohanty (2003), "Under Western Eyes Revisited"
Mohanty (2003) argues that "antiglobalization" should be a key issue for feminism. She centralizes the role of pedagogy in facilitating globalization, and explains three models at the core of this issue.
1. Feminist-as-Tourist
In this model, Western feminists briefly inquire about non-Western cultures. This perspective frames two-thirds world women and women of the global South as victims, while White Western feminists are framed as liberated.
2. Feminist-as-Explorer
Western feminists explore non-Western cultures more thoroughly in this model. However, these analyses exclude the United States from the analysis. "International" is used to emphasize distance from home. Local and global both reference non-Western culture.
3. Feminist Solidarity or Comparative Feminist Studies Model
Mohanty (2003) advocates this approach, noting that it emphasizes relationships and feminist solidarity. It focuses on links between women, common interests, and co-responsibility.
1. Feminist-as-Tourist
In this model, Western feminists briefly inquire about non-Western cultures. This perspective frames two-thirds world women and women of the global South as victims, while White Western feminists are framed as liberated.
2. Feminist-as-Explorer
Western feminists explore non-Western cultures more thoroughly in this model. However, these analyses exclude the United States from the analysis. "International" is used to emphasize distance from home. Local and global both reference non-Western culture.
3. Feminist Solidarity or Comparative Feminist Studies Model
Mohanty (2003) advocates this approach, noting that it emphasizes relationships and feminist solidarity. It focuses on links between women, common interests, and co-responsibility.
Naples (2002), "The Challenges and Possibilities of Transnational Feminist Praxis"
1. The "local" is a space of negotiation that allows women to collectively analyze social issues, even when the issues result from global policy.
2. A transnational feminist praxis emphasizes women's roles as agents of change across the globe. This means networking localities together on a global scale. Naples (2002) argues that a transnational feminist praxis should be rooted in "postliberalism" in which the role of the nation-state is de-emphasized in favor of networks between local collectives.
2. A transnational feminist praxis emphasizes women's roles as agents of change across the globe. This means networking localities together on a global scale. Naples (2002) argues that a transnational feminist praxis should be rooted in "postliberalism" in which the role of the nation-state is de-emphasized in favor of networks between local collectives.
Shohat (2001), "Area Studies, Transnationalism, and the Feminist Production of Knowledge"
1. Shohat (2001) argues that forms of domination should be examined in larger historical and political contexts. Therefore, area studies (like "Middle Eastern Studies") are problematic, because they isolate and homogenize groups.
2. Western feminists tend to frame "third world" women stereotypically and without agency. These discussions often take place outside of a discussion of "feminism," which means that "third world" women are not imagined to be part of feminist movements.
3. Sponge/additive approach
Western feminist concepts are extended onto other parts of the world (additive). Their lives are homogenized and absorbed into a master feminist narrative (sponge).
2. Western feminists tend to frame "third world" women stereotypically and without agency. These discussions often take place outside of a discussion of "feminism," which means that "third world" women are not imagined to be part of feminist movements.
3. Sponge/additive approach
Western feminist concepts are extended onto other parts of the world (additive). Their lives are homogenized and absorbed into a master feminist narrative (sponge).
Moghadam (2000), "Transnational Feminist Networks: Collective Action in an Era of Globalization"
1. Transnational feminist networks (TFNs) link together the local with the global. They move discourse across national lines to link individuals and organizations into poewrful collectives.
Moghadam (2000) discusses transnational feminist networks (TFNs) as a result of an increased focus on supranational issues within feminist movements. Through TFNs, women can organize locally while sharing information and joining in collective political lobbying and action as a global collective. Moghadam (2000) imagines these networks as a web, noting that a local organization may collectively tap into one TFN while simultaneously having members involved in other TFNs.
2. Global feminism is both local and global. The two levels of organization work together to create broad policy change.
Moghadam (2000) defines "global feminism" as discourses that move across national boundaries to increase women's access to resources and legal steps toward gender equality. "Global feminism" comes from the idea that there are common forms of disadvantage and feminist organizing across the world.
3. Moghadam (2000) mentions several specific TFNs. DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) works toward a people-centered socio-economic model that stretches between microeconomics of the local and the individual home and macroeconomics of the state. WIDE (Network Women in Development Europe) is a network of twelve national platforms, each of which includes one or more women's groups. WIDE critiques distribution of aid throughout Europe.
Moghadam (2000) discusses transnational feminist networks (TFNs) as a result of an increased focus on supranational issues within feminist movements. Through TFNs, women can organize locally while sharing information and joining in collective political lobbying and action as a global collective. Moghadam (2000) imagines these networks as a web, noting that a local organization may collectively tap into one TFN while simultaneously having members involved in other TFNs.
2. Global feminism is both local and global. The two levels of organization work together to create broad policy change.
Moghadam (2000) defines "global feminism" as discourses that move across national boundaries to increase women's access to resources and legal steps toward gender equality. "Global feminism" comes from the idea that there are common forms of disadvantage and feminist organizing across the world.
3. Moghadam (2000) mentions several specific TFNs. DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) works toward a people-centered socio-economic model that stretches between microeconomics of the local and the individual home and macroeconomics of the state. WIDE (Network Women in Development Europe) is a network of twelve national platforms, each of which includes one or more women's groups. WIDE critiques distribution of aid throughout Europe.
Ong (1999), Flexible Citizenship: The Cultural Logics of Transnationality
Ong (1999) proposes the term "transnationality." The prefix "trans" refers to movement across borders as well as a changing nature. Transnationalism describes "the cultural specificities of global processes, tracing the multiplicity of the uses and conceptions of 'culture'" (p. 4). Ong (1999) notes that transnationalism does not represent random or unstructured movement of people and capital. Instead, the structures that guide societies extend to structure global movement.
1. Political economy is not separate from everyday practice.
Ong (1999) critiques theories that attempt to separate economy from culture. She argues that culture and economy inform one another, and so culture should be studied within the context of economies.
2. Transnational movements are structured by the same types of structures that guide other social movements and positions.
3. The dominance of market logics create "flexible citizenship," in which people's migration decisions are shaped by economics.
Ong (1999) characterizes flexible citizenship as fluid and opportunistic. She argues that people in a global market move based on market opportunities. The fluidity is balanced by structuring forces related to culture including family, gender, power, and class mobility.
4. This flexibility does not weaken state power, since governments also participate in the process.
1. Political economy is not separate from everyday practice.
Ong (1999) critiques theories that attempt to separate economy from culture. She argues that culture and economy inform one another, and so culture should be studied within the context of economies.
2. Transnational movements are structured by the same types of structures that guide other social movements and positions.
3. The dominance of market logics create "flexible citizenship," in which people's migration decisions are shaped by economics.
Ong (1999) characterizes flexible citizenship as fluid and opportunistic. She argues that people in a global market move based on market opportunities. The fluidity is balanced by structuring forces related to culture including family, gender, power, and class mobility.
4. This flexibility does not weaken state power, since governments also participate in the process.
Smith (1999), "Research Through Imperial Eyes"
1. Global poverty, inequality, sickness, and poor educational access must be understood in historical context. Western epistemology has been complicit in this historical process.
Smith (1999) argues that European imperialism and colonialism have been a primary factor in keeping poor countries poor, sick, and hungry. One tool of this process is the spread of ideologies about "developing" nations and the "Third World." Research plays an important part in this process by defining what counts as knowledge and how knowledge should be gathered and understood.
2. Marginalized groups can resist against imperialism by offering "counter stories."
Marginalized people and nations can push back against this form of imperialism by offering alternate histories. Smith (1999) argues that reasserting cultural history allows marginalized cultures to take up agency of defining themselves. Cultures that have been defined by Western research domination can resist by defining themselves.
Smith (1999) argues that European imperialism and colonialism have been a primary factor in keeping poor countries poor, sick, and hungry. One tool of this process is the spread of ideologies about "developing" nations and the "Third World." Research plays an important part in this process by defining what counts as knowledge and how knowledge should be gathered and understood.
2. Marginalized groups can resist against imperialism by offering "counter stories."
Marginalized people and nations can push back against this form of imperialism by offering alternate histories. Smith (1999) argues that reasserting cultural history allows marginalized cultures to take up agency of defining themselves. Cultures that have been defined by Western research domination can resist by defining themselves.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Narayan (1997), "'Death by Culture'"
Narayan (1997) compares accounts of Indian dowry murders with instances of domestic violence in America. She argues that differences in culture are highlighted in accounts of Indian women deaths, but not in re-tellings of American women's death. Narayan (1997) argues that violence against women is not cultural specific, which points to the problems of describing only Indian women's deaths as the effect of culture.
2. By discussing culture in a way that reaffirms stereotypes and power imbalances, scholars Other and essentialize groups of women.
3. Narayan (1997) urges feminist scholars to apply local context to descriptions. She believes this will help balance re-tellings of events that would otherwise be used to distance women from different cultures.
Narayan (1997) explains that contextual factors shift and change when they cross borders. One way to prevent this kind of essentializing slippage is to focus on the context. Narayan (1997) urges scholars to consider a local context.
Kaplan and Grewal (2002), "Transnational Practices and Interdisciplinary Feminist Scholarship"
1. Transnational should replace International.
Kaplan and Grewal (2002) argue that "transnational" should replace "international" as a way of cutting ties with historical problems of nationalist ideologies. "International" implies that nations are discrete entities. Transnationalism traces circuits of politics, economics, and cultures that are produced by policies of global inequality.
2. Transnational links nations together, thereby destabilizing binaries.
"Transnational practices" involve alliances, subversions, and complicities that allow us to examine global power asymmetries. Linkage theory demonstrates connections between nations and governments. It also destabilizes forms of hegemony dependent upon binaries and center-periphery conceptions of multi-culturalism.
3. Women's studies should reconfigure itself against nationalist binaries. This move has four dimensions:
A. Critiquing boundaries -- Identities are often formed based on boundaries. We therefore need to examine the hegemonic production of boundaries.
B. Complicity and Conflict -- Alliances are important, but we should be careful not to miss conflicting readings of texts that aim to unite through commonality.
C. Critiquing "common sense" -- Ideologies are built in politics of time and space. We need to recontextualize ideological notions with regard to nationalist structures.
D. Deconstructing "high" and "low" culture -- Gender is built through lots of forms. New media is important now. We need to look across divides to find gendered representations.
Kaplan and Grewal (2002) argue that "transnational" should replace "international" as a way of cutting ties with historical problems of nationalist ideologies. "International" implies that nations are discrete entities. Transnationalism traces circuits of politics, economics, and cultures that are produced by policies of global inequality.
2. Transnational links nations together, thereby destabilizing binaries.
"Transnational practices" involve alliances, subversions, and complicities that allow us to examine global power asymmetries. Linkage theory demonstrates connections between nations and governments. It also destabilizes forms of hegemony dependent upon binaries and center-periphery conceptions of multi-culturalism.
3. Women's studies should reconfigure itself against nationalist binaries. This move has four dimensions:
A. Critiquing boundaries -- Identities are often formed based on boundaries. We therefore need to examine the hegemonic production of boundaries.
B. Complicity and Conflict -- Alliances are important, but we should be careful not to miss conflicting readings of texts that aim to unite through commonality.
C. Critiquing "common sense" -- Ideologies are built in politics of time and space. We need to recontextualize ideological notions with regard to nationalist structures.
D. Deconstructing "high" and "low" culture -- Gender is built through lots of forms. New media is important now. We need to look across divides to find gendered representations.
Alcoff (1991), "The Problem of Speaking for Others"
1. Speaking carries constraints, and it is not always afforded to every individual every time.
Alcoff (1991) argues that universalized positions are dangerous and unhelpful in feminist criticism. She criticizes the idea that one should *never* speak for others or that speaking for others is always problematic. This is because speaking is not simply a matter of choice, since choice is constrained and not everyone has access to the rituals of speaking.
2. Rather than speaking for others, we should speak to others.
When a privileged person speaks for an oppressed person, Alcoff (1991) argues, the structure is mired in privilege. Therefore, it is the structure that needs to be altered. Alcoff (1991) therefore urges feminist scholars to find ways to create conditions for dialogue.
Alcoff (1991) argues that universalized positions are dangerous and unhelpful in feminist criticism. She criticizes the idea that one should *never* speak for others or that speaking for others is always problematic. This is because speaking is not simply a matter of choice, since choice is constrained and not everyone has access to the rituals of speaking.
2. Rather than speaking for others, we should speak to others.
When a privileged person speaks for an oppressed person, Alcoff (1991) argues, the structure is mired in privilege. Therefore, it is the structure that needs to be altered. Alcoff (1991) therefore urges feminist scholars to find ways to create conditions for dialogue.
Enloe (1989), "Bananas, Beaches, and Bases"
1. Masculinity and femininity have been defined in terms of movement.
Enloe (1989) argues that femininity has been defined by staying close to the home, while masculinity is defined by travel. Therefore, women who move outside of the home are considered uncivilized, while men are praised for such movement.
2. Femininity's proximity to the home keeps women invisible, even though women play crucial roles in all types of global politics.
Enloe (1989) bases her analysis on the idea that the personal is political. She uses this concept to link together women's private sphere actions across the globe. For example, she argues that an increased demand for bananas in 1950s America contributed to shifts in global economies that impact women across the globe. As such, she argues, a simple shift in housewives' shopping patterns impacted women in other nation's economic status.
Enloe (1989) argues that femininity has been defined by staying close to the home, while masculinity is defined by travel. Therefore, women who move outside of the home are considered uncivilized, while men are praised for such movement.
2. Femininity's proximity to the home keeps women invisible, even though women play crucial roles in all types of global politics.
Enloe (1989) bases her analysis on the idea that the personal is political. She uses this concept to link together women's private sphere actions across the globe. For example, she argues that an increased demand for bananas in 1950s America contributed to shifts in global economies that impact women across the globe. As such, she argues, a simple shift in housewives' shopping patterns impacted women in other nation's economic status.
Spivak (1988), "Can the Subaltern Speak?"
1. Western academic thought serves Western economic interests.
Spivak (1988) argues that knowledge is always biased and never innocent. Knowledge always serves the interests of its producers. Western academic research will also be biased and favor Western investments like colonialism.
2. Research about subjects in the two-thirds world is generally part of the colonial project.
As Spivak (1988) points out, all research is already colonial since it identifies an "Other" or "over there" subject that is distant from the researcher. This subject contains something valuable, which should be gathered for the benefit of scholarship. In this situation, Spivak (1988) argues, discourses about the Other are generally articulated through the hegemonic framework of language.
3. The West is talking to itself in its own language about the Other. This prevents the subaltern from speaking.
Spivak (1988) argues that knowledge is always biased and never innocent. Knowledge always serves the interests of its producers. Western academic research will also be biased and favor Western investments like colonialism.
2. Research about subjects in the two-thirds world is generally part of the colonial project.
As Spivak (1988) points out, all research is already colonial since it identifies an "Other" or "over there" subject that is distant from the researcher. This subject contains something valuable, which should be gathered for the benefit of scholarship. In this situation, Spivak (1988) argues, discourses about the Other are generally articulated through the hegemonic framework of language.
3. The West is talking to itself in its own language about the Other. This prevents the subaltern from speaking.
Mohanty (1984), "Under Western Eyes"
1. Western feminists often frame women's issues in contexts of the "third world" and "developing countries." This creates a monolithic picture of women in the two-thirds world.
Mohanty (1984) is concerned here with generalizing about issues faced by women around the globe. She argues that Western feminists tend to look at women's experiences in the two-third world outside of the context of economic issues. Instead, feminism should look at the ways that women are constituted within those circumstances.
2. Methods that promote this type of essentialism have a colonizing influence. Western feminists should not ignore the complexities of intersection oppressions like class and ethnicity.
Mohanty (1984) urges feminist scholars to consider the complex interaction of many factors in contributing to women's oppression in the two-thirds world and elsewhere. She argues that scholars should include analyses of:
A. concrete historical and political practice,
B. specific local contexts, and
C. contradictions inherent in women's intersectional identities.
Mohanty (1984) is concerned here with generalizing about issues faced by women around the globe. She argues that Western feminists tend to look at women's experiences in the two-third world outside of the context of economic issues. Instead, feminism should look at the ways that women are constituted within those circumstances.
2. Methods that promote this type of essentialism have a colonizing influence. Western feminists should not ignore the complexities of intersection oppressions like class and ethnicity.
Mohanty (1984) urges feminist scholars to consider the complex interaction of many factors in contributing to women's oppression in the two-thirds world and elsewhere. She argues that scholars should include analyses of:
A. concrete historical and political practice,
B. specific local contexts, and
C. contradictions inherent in women's intersectional identities.
Said (1978), Orientalism
1. Orientalism is a simplified representation that the West forced on the East.
Said (1978) argued that the West secured domination over the East through representation. In Orientalist discourses, all Eastern nations are collapsed to appear fundamentally similar to one another and fundamentally different from the West. This difference is also elided with weakness, which functions politically to maintain Western dominance.
2. Orientalism is pervasive in political and ideological interactions involving the West and the East.
Orientalist is still present as biases against Eastern, and particularly Arab, cultures and nations. This is because the project of Orientalism was deeply woven into the cultural fabric of the West through many institutions including philosophy.
Said (1978) argued that the West secured domination over the East through representation. In Orientalist discourses, all Eastern nations are collapsed to appear fundamentally similar to one another and fundamentally different from the West. This difference is also elided with weakness, which functions politically to maintain Western dominance.
2. Orientalism is pervasive in political and ideological interactions involving the West and the East.
Orientalist is still present as biases against Eastern, and particularly Arab, cultures and nations. This is because the project of Orientalism was deeply woven into the cultural fabric of the West through many institutions including philosophy.
Waring (2003), "Counting for Something!"
Waring (2003) critiques the UNSNA's system of accounting for unpaid labor in the home and community. The majority of this labor is performed by women. When household labor is not accounted for in official numbers, then the women performing that labor also lose access to other economic programs. Waring (2003) identifies two ongoing issues in economic accounting systems:
1. Systems do not ask people to set their own indicators of well-being.
The most dominant measurement system uses economic growth as an indicator for people's well-being. Waring (2003) argues that economists should speak with people and ask them to rate their own well-being.
2. Systems should present data in non-monetary terms.
Waring (2003) argues that putting a monetary value to all work falsely aligns work in the home with market exchange. If unpaid labor were accounted by hours or workload instead, Waring (2003) points out, issues of gender inequality in terms of labor load could be better addressed through things like childcare services.
1. Systems do not ask people to set their own indicators of well-being.
The most dominant measurement system uses economic growth as an indicator for people's well-being. Waring (2003) argues that economists should speak with people and ask them to rate their own well-being.
2. Systems should present data in non-monetary terms.
Waring (2003) argues that putting a monetary value to all work falsely aligns work in the home with market exchange. If unpaid labor were accounted by hours or workload instead, Waring (2003) points out, issues of gender inequality in terms of labor load could be better addressed through things like childcare services.
Strassmann (1993), "The Rhetoric of Disciplinary Authority in Economics"
1. Economics is a discipline marked as explanatory rather than a domain to be explained.
Strassmann (1993) critiques economics for its disciplinary structure. Most disciplines define themselves by the domain they wish to examine, economics is instead defined by its explanation of things work.
2. Economics is based on central stories about the value of market exchange.
Economics privileges the market exchange. Since women have historically be excluded from this exchange, economics has therefore proceeded without fully accounting for women's existence in economies. To remedy this fact, stories have emerged that justify and dismiss women's oppressed position in capitalist economies.
3. Since market exchange is so central to economics as a theory and discipline, changes in economic structure are very difficult.
Economics frames itself as an approach that is built around certain core assumptions. Some problems in economics are related to things like self-interested individualism, which are very close to the core of economics.
Strassmann (1993) critiques economics for its disciplinary structure. Most disciplines define themselves by the domain they wish to examine, economics is instead defined by its explanation of things work.
2. Economics is based on central stories about the value of market exchange.
Economics privileges the market exchange. Since women have historically be excluded from this exchange, economics has therefore proceeded without fully accounting for women's existence in economies. To remedy this fact, stories have emerged that justify and dismiss women's oppressed position in capitalist economies.
3. Since market exchange is so central to economics as a theory and discipline, changes in economic structure are very difficult.
Economics frames itself as an approach that is built around certain core assumptions. Some problems in economics are related to things like self-interested individualism, which are very close to the core of economics.
Mies (1993), "The Subsistence Perspective"
Mies (1993) critiques the neo-liberal capitalist focus on commodity and suggests replacing this perspective with what she calls "the subsistence perspective." She argues that economies should be based on a bottom-up approach.
1. Housework is not understood as labor.
Mies (1993) interrogates capitalism's limited understanding of labor. In particular, she is concerned with housework and other forms of unpaid labor. Mies (1993) argues that capitalism cannot afford to pay for household labors, because these non-commodified forms would collapse a system based on commodity. Housework does not fit into the accumulation model of capitalism.
2. Economic equality can only occur when commodity models are discarded.
Mies (1993) argues that we should reverse the model that uses commodities to structure economics from the top down. Instead, she proposes a subsistence perspective that work from the bottom up with human need as its centerpiece. In the subsistence perspective, the goal of all paid labor must be to support life directly.
1. Housework is not understood as labor.
Mies (1993) interrogates capitalism's limited understanding of labor. In particular, she is concerned with housework and other forms of unpaid labor. Mies (1993) argues that capitalism cannot afford to pay for household labors, because these non-commodified forms would collapse a system based on commodity. Housework does not fit into the accumulation model of capitalism.
2. Economic equality can only occur when commodity models are discarded.
Mies (1993) argues that we should reverse the model that uses commodities to structure economics from the top down. Instead, she proposes a subsistence perspective that work from the bottom up with human need as its centerpiece. In the subsistence perspective, the goal of all paid labor must be to support life directly.
Hartsock. (1983), "The Feminist Standpoint"
1. Knowledge is socially situated.
Hartsock (1983) rejects the belief that knowledge is fixed. She argues that all attempts at knowledge are based on one's social position. Issues of identity including gender, race, sexuality, and class impact and delineate what we know, how we know it, and whether or not we are able to know it at all.
2. Marginalized groups have special access to certain questions and truths than non-marginalized groups. This is a result of their unique social position.
Socially marginalized positions can be epistemically superior. This allows those in oppressed positions to see beyond knowledges constructed by the oppressor.
3. Research about power relations should begin with the lives of the marginalized.
This epistemic superiority can lead research in directions that would otherwise be overlooked. This is particularly true in issues of public policy, since those in oppressed positions are more likely to see problems in need of solutions.
Hartsock (1983) rejects the belief that knowledge is fixed. She argues that all attempts at knowledge are based on one's social position. Issues of identity including gender, race, sexuality, and class impact and delineate what we know, how we know it, and whether or not we are able to know it at all.
2. Marginalized groups have special access to certain questions and truths than non-marginalized groups. This is a result of their unique social position.
Socially marginalized positions can be epistemically superior. This allows those in oppressed positions to see beyond knowledges constructed by the oppressor.
3. Research about power relations should begin with the lives of the marginalized.
This epistemic superiority can lead research in directions that would otherwise be overlooked. This is particularly true in issues of public policy, since those in oppressed positions are more likely to see problems in need of solutions.
Hartmann (1979), "The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism"
Hartmann (1979) argues Marxism has subsumed feminism in previous attempts at Marxist feminist theory. Marxism offers a background of economic theory, but this is not sufficient for theorizing women's position in both patriarchy and capitalism.
1. Economics is only one aspect of patriarchal domination.
Hartmann (1979) notes that men have dominated women economically, and that economics have functioned to subjugate women. However, she notes that Marxist theory simply argues that women are kept in the labor force. Feminist theory must also examine the ways other forms of women's labor are exploited by men. She specifically notes work in the home as one of these axes.
2. Patriarchy can be defined through capitalism, but is not synonymous with capitalism.
Hartmann (1979) defines patriarchy as social relations between men that work to oppress women. These relations have a material base. Though these relations are hierarchical, they work to empower men to dominate women as individuals and in groups.
Butler (1990), Gender Trouble
1. Like gender, sex is also a socially constructed category.
Butler (1990) argues that the concept of discrete sex categories grew out of social and political dynamics. Like gender categories, sex categories are constructed and therefore deconstructable.
2. Subjects' sex and gender identities are not a result of inner stable truths. Instead, they are performances that repeat themselves with no origin.
Gender is a performance of a performance with no original performance. Butler (1990) argues that we are constantly reaffirming our gender identity through outward demonstrations of what gender has come to mean. Society has come to understand this performance as a reflection of a true inner self, but it is actually just a repetition of what has become socially expected and acceptable.
3. The soul is the prison of the body.
Butler (1990) argues that gender constantly works on the body. Discourses of gender operate on the body to form outward expressions of gender performance and sexual identity.
Butler (1990) argues that the concept of discrete sex categories grew out of social and political dynamics. Like gender categories, sex categories are constructed and therefore deconstructable.
2. Subjects' sex and gender identities are not a result of inner stable truths. Instead, they are performances that repeat themselves with no origin.
Gender is a performance of a performance with no original performance. Butler (1990) argues that we are constantly reaffirming our gender identity through outward demonstrations of what gender has come to mean. Society has come to understand this performance as a reflection of a true inner self, but it is actually just a repetition of what has become socially expected and acceptable.
3. The soul is the prison of the body.
Butler (1990) argues that gender constantly works on the body. Discourses of gender operate on the body to form outward expressions of gender performance and sexual identity.
Bartky (1988), "Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power"
Bartky (1988) argues that women internalize the patriarchy. We are taught to see ourselves through patriarchal eyes, and therefore we discipline ourselves into performing femininity.
1. Social structures control our bodies through our minds.
Foucault argued that systems of power work to create docile bodies. This control comes through constant surveillance that eventually teaches people to police their own bodies in alignment with the function of the state. Bartky (1988) applies this concept to contemporary femininity, arguing that women are taught to internalize the patriarchy. We learn to watch our bodies and discipline ourselves into being docile.
2. Femininity requires constant self-policing.
Bartky (1988) argues that the performance of femininity requires women to discipline our bodies in terms of size, space, movement, adornment, and other aspects of feminine performance. These restrictions are not only required of all women, they are also unattainable. This keeps women constantly focused on performances of femininity.
3. Self-policing is obedience to the patriarchy.
Constant self-surveillance continually reaffirms that women's bodies serve primarily to please and excite men.
1. Social structures control our bodies through our minds.
Foucault argued that systems of power work to create docile bodies. This control comes through constant surveillance that eventually teaches people to police their own bodies in alignment with the function of the state. Bartky (1988) applies this concept to contemporary femininity, arguing that women are taught to internalize the patriarchy. We learn to watch our bodies and discipline ourselves into being docile.
2. Femininity requires constant self-policing.
Bartky (1988) argues that the performance of femininity requires women to discipline our bodies in terms of size, space, movement, adornment, and other aspects of feminine performance. These restrictions are not only required of all women, they are also unattainable. This keeps women constantly focused on performances of femininity.
3. Self-policing is obedience to the patriarchy.
Constant self-surveillance continually reaffirms that women's bodies serve primarily to please and excite men.
Scott (1986), "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis"
Scott (1986) argues that sex roles are socially constructed, and so feminist scholars must move away from the idea that biology is a determining factor in gender.
1. Gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes.
Scott argues (1986) that gender is constructed through four parts that all work together:
A. cultural symbols
B. normative concepts that help us interpret symbols
C. politics and social structures organize us according to symbols
D. we have our own subjective identities, in part defined by those structures
2. Gender is a primary way of signifying relations of power.
Scott (1986) notes that this construction of gender has been used in service of sexuality, which in turn cements men's power over women.
1. Gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes.
Scott argues (1986) that gender is constructed through four parts that all work together:
A. cultural symbols
B. normative concepts that help us interpret symbols
C. politics and social structures organize us according to symbols
D. we have our own subjective identities, in part defined by those structures
2. Gender is a primary way of signifying relations of power.
Scott (1986) notes that this construction of gender has been used in service of sexuality, which in turn cements men's power over women.
Fausto-Sterling (1985), Myths of Gender
1. Biology may impact behavior, but behavior also impacts physiology. Therefore, it is impossible for science to determine which attributes are behavior and which are physiological.
Fausto-Sterling (1985) points out that scientists have tried to link behavioral differences to biological sex. She notes that these studies are often methodologically flawed. Since biological attributes and behavioral/social attributes work in a cycle with one another, it is impossible to draw a line between biology and behavior. This would fail even theoretically, but is particularly problematic for post-positivist scientific method.
2. Gendered differences in learning styles are not a result of biology. Instead, they are evidence of discrimination in educational systems.
A wider range of studies involving spatial and verbal intelligences demonstrates that differences within the sex categories are similar to differences between. Furthermore, in more egalitarian societies, no difference between biological sexes appear.
3. DNA coding cannot be linked directly with eventual trait development.
Genes must be understood in a larger context, since human development impacts the resulting gene performance.
4. Hormones can be both a cause and an effect of behavior and environmental conditions.
Fausto-Sterling (1985) points out that scientists have tried to link behavioral differences to biological sex. She notes that these studies are often methodologically flawed. Since biological attributes and behavioral/social attributes work in a cycle with one another, it is impossible to draw a line between biology and behavior. This would fail even theoretically, but is particularly problematic for post-positivist scientific method.
2. Gendered differences in learning styles are not a result of biology. Instead, they are evidence of discrimination in educational systems.
A wider range of studies involving spatial and verbal intelligences demonstrates that differences within the sex categories are similar to differences between. Furthermore, in more egalitarian societies, no difference between biological sexes appear.
3. DNA coding cannot be linked directly with eventual trait development.
Genes must be understood in a larger context, since human development impacts the resulting gene performance.
4. Hormones can be both a cause and an effect of behavior and environmental conditions.
Rich (1980), "Compulsory Heterosexuality and the Lesbian Existence"
1. Lesbian existence refers to the presence of lesbians throughout history and contemporary society.
2. The lesbian continuum refers to the way that women experience other women throughout our lives. It is not necessarily a reference to genital sexual experiences.
Rich (1980) argues that heterosexuality is a violent political institution that secures women's subordination to men. Women should turn to other women in order to develop coalitions outside of the patriarchal structure of heterosexuality. This includes reshaping ideas of economics, family structure, and sexual and psychological fulfillment.
3. Men control and suppress women by denying us our sexuality.
Rich (1980) notes that men have used power to suppress women's sexuality throughout history, and she lists a number of ways this occurs. Men deny women sexuality and force their sexuality on women. Men exploit women's production labor by taking control over reproductive rights. Men deny lesbians access to their children. Men keep economic control over women.
2. The lesbian continuum refers to the way that women experience other women throughout our lives. It is not necessarily a reference to genital sexual experiences.
Rich (1980) argues that heterosexuality is a violent political institution that secures women's subordination to men. Women should turn to other women in order to develop coalitions outside of the patriarchal structure of heterosexuality. This includes reshaping ideas of economics, family structure, and sexual and psychological fulfillment.
3. Men control and suppress women by denying us our sexuality.
Rich (1980) notes that men have used power to suppress women's sexuality throughout history, and she lists a number of ways this occurs. Men deny women sexuality and force their sexuality on women. Men exploit women's production labor by taking control over reproductive rights. Men deny lesbians access to their children. Men keep economic control over women.
Rubin (1975), "The Traffic in Women"
1. Reproduction, and not necessarily capitalism, is the cause of women's oppression.
Rubin (1975) notes that women are oppressed by capitalism, but also in other societies that are not organized around capitalism. This is because societies have to account for both material needs and reproductive needs.
2. Reproduction is translated into oppression through the kinship system.
Marriage is a major element in gift exchange between clans. Marriage facilitates alliances between men by using women as the object of exchange. This is the basis for the kinship system. Women's oppression is the result of this social structure.
3. The sex/gender system cements the kinship economy in place.
The necessity of marriage in this system also necessitates sexuality. Since the society is based on marriage as gift exchange and reproduction system, males must be turned into men and females must be turned into women. Differences and complementarianism between the genders are emphasized, while sameness is dismissed. This sex/gender system maintains heteronormativity necessary for the political economy of marriage.
Rubin (1975) notes that women are oppressed by capitalism, but also in other societies that are not organized around capitalism. This is because societies have to account for both material needs and reproductive needs.
2. Reproduction is translated into oppression through the kinship system.
Marriage is a major element in gift exchange between clans. Marriage facilitates alliances between men by using women as the object of exchange. This is the basis for the kinship system. Women's oppression is the result of this social structure.
3. The sex/gender system cements the kinship economy in place.
The necessity of marriage in this system also necessitates sexuality. Since the society is based on marriage as gift exchange and reproduction system, males must be turned into men and females must be turned into women. Differences and complementarianism between the genders are emphasized, while sameness is dismissed. This sex/gender system maintains heteronormativity necessary for the political economy of marriage.
Moya (2001), "Chicana Feminism and Postmodern Theory"
1. Feminist politics have often neglected to account for Chicana identities.
Moya (2001) explains how many Chicanas resisted feminism in the 1970s because they felt feminism privileged gender over other identity factors. Many Chicanas focused instead on racial politics. Moya's (2001) critique of postmodern theory and identity politics is an attempt to move beyond the factors that caused this rift between feminism and Chicana politics.
2. Moya (2001) advocates a postpositivist realist theoretical approach.
She rejects the postmodern idea that identities are "radically unstable," and instead argues that identities are based on material conditions and experiences. Moya (2001) argues that postmodernist frameworks fail to account for the relationship between social location, experience, and identity, since postmodernism sees these areas as slippery. Moya (2001) stresses the importance of discursive and nondiscursive domains that acknowledge and celebrate concrete differences.
Moya (2001) explains how many Chicanas resisted feminism in the 1970s because they felt feminism privileged gender over other identity factors. Many Chicanas focused instead on racial politics. Moya's (2001) critique of postmodern theory and identity politics is an attempt to move beyond the factors that caused this rift between feminism and Chicana politics.
2. Moya (2001) advocates a postpositivist realist theoretical approach.
She rejects the postmodern idea that identities are "radically unstable," and instead argues that identities are based on material conditions and experiences. Moya (2001) argues that postmodernist frameworks fail to account for the relationship between social location, experience, and identity, since postmodernism sees these areas as slippery. Moya (2001) stresses the importance of discursive and nondiscursive domains that acknowledge and celebrate concrete differences.
Anzaldúa (1999), "La Conciencia de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness"
Anzaldua (1999) describes people living in an area of negotiation between raced cultures "la mestiza." She sees this position as a dual consciousness that allows la mestiza to navigate between cultures. La Mestiza is a potentially progressive position for Anzaldua (1999). She believes that la mestiza can destabilize the binaries that strengthen White supremacy.
1. La mestiza is produced when one group transfers cultural and spiritual values to another.
Anzaldua (1999) refers to the way in which White American values are spread to Mexican culture. She believes that this spread is changing Mexico's cultural landscape. People in the suppressed culture may choose to realign themselves with the dominant culture in order to survive.
2. Assertion of racial purity strengthens borders. Blending racial and cultural identities can weaken borders.
Anzaldua (1999) argues the cultural blending that can happen when people inhabit both Mexican and American identities can dismantle racial and cultural borders. Since borders are fortified when people reassert their racial and cultural purity, Anzaldua (1999) believes that border can be blurred when racial and cultural purity are dismissed.
1. La mestiza is produced when one group transfers cultural and spiritual values to another.
Anzaldua (1999) refers to the way in which White American values are spread to Mexican culture. She believes that this spread is changing Mexico's cultural landscape. People in the suppressed culture may choose to realign themselves with the dominant culture in order to survive.
2. Assertion of racial purity strengthens borders. Blending racial and cultural identities can weaken borders.
Anzaldua (1999) argues the cultural blending that can happen when people inhabit both Mexican and American identities can dismantle racial and cultural borders. Since borders are fortified when people reassert their racial and cultural purity, Anzaldua (1999) believes that border can be blurred when racial and cultural purity are dismissed.
Crenshaw (1991), "Mapping the Margins"
Crenshaw (1991) argues that identity politics often fails to acknowledge differences within groups. This is particularly important in terms of legal and political responses to violence against women of color. Crenshaw (1991) argues that the experiences of women of color are often ignored, misrepresented, or silenced due to the narrow lenses of race or gender. Instead, Crenshaw (1991) proposes, we should use an intersectional lens to highlight the ways that patriarchy and racism interact to form unique experiences of oppression.
1. Identity politics ignore intragroup differences.
2. Effects of patriachal oppression are exacerbated by effects of racist oppression.
Crenshaw (1991) specifically discusses the ways that structural racism make domestic violence even more dangerous. For example, racism may prevent a Black woman from being able to financially support herself. This could trap her in the abusive situation in a way that it might not for a White woman. Intersectionality is not adding together axes of oppression. It is recognizing the interactions between oppressions.
3. Identities are socially constructed, but we should still organize around them.
Crenshaw (1991) is concerned about the material impacts of intersectional identities. She fears that we will avoid addressing these impacts because we are trying not to reify social categories. She suggests viewing identity categories as coalitions rather than discrete groups.
1. Identity politics ignore intragroup differences.
2. Effects of patriachal oppression are exacerbated by effects of racist oppression.
Crenshaw (1991) specifically discusses the ways that structural racism make domestic violence even more dangerous. For example, racism may prevent a Black woman from being able to financially support herself. This could trap her in the abusive situation in a way that it might not for a White woman. Intersectionality is not adding together axes of oppression. It is recognizing the interactions between oppressions.
3. Identities are socially constructed, but we should still organize around them.
Crenshaw (1991) is concerned about the material impacts of intersectional identities. She fears that we will avoid addressing these impacts because we are trying not to reify social categories. She suggests viewing identity categories as coalitions rather than discrete groups.
Collins (1990), Black Feminist Thought
Collins (1990) defines "Black feminist thought" as a set of ideas produced by Black women to clarify Black women's standpoint. Black women's standpoint is important because it facilitates Black women defining their own subjectivity. White men have historically defined their own subjectivity, and defined Black women as the Other. A language of Black feminist thought and Black women's standpoint can help Black women regain the power in this relationship.
1. Thought and historical/material conditions are inseparable.
Black women produce Black feminist thought as a result of historical and material conditions of oppression. Black feminist thought has been recorded by others, but it is always produced by Black women.
2. Black women have a unique standpoint. This standpoint means that Black women share some commonalities of perception.
3. Commonalities in Black women's perception are complicated by other intersections of oppression.
Collins (1990) notes that Black women may express and experience their standpoints differently. This is because of diversity in terms of class, age, religion, sexual orientation, and other intersectional identity factors.
4. Black women's standpoints may not be clear or communicable for all Black women.
Collins (1990) argues that Black feminist thought requires Black female intellectuals to produce information that can help Black women understand and interpret their experiences.
1. Thought and historical/material conditions are inseparable.
Black women produce Black feminist thought as a result of historical and material conditions of oppression. Black feminist thought has been recorded by others, but it is always produced by Black women.
2. Black women have a unique standpoint. This standpoint means that Black women share some commonalities of perception.
3. Commonalities in Black women's perception are complicated by other intersections of oppression.
Collins (1990) notes that Black women may express and experience their standpoints differently. This is because of diversity in terms of class, age, religion, sexual orientation, and other intersectional identity factors.
4. Black women's standpoints may not be clear or communicable for all Black women.
Collins (1990) argues that Black feminist thought requires Black female intellectuals to produce information that can help Black women understand and interpret their experiences.
hooks (1984), "Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression"
1. We lack consensus about the meaning of the movement.
hooks (1984) is concerned that impressions about feminism's meaning are disparate. She is particularly concerned with those who argue that feminism seeks "equality with men." For hooks (1984), this position uncritically assumes that all women are equal, though many women face different forms of oppression.
2. Feminism should focus on ending sexist oppression.
hooks (1984) argues that feminism should fight against sexist oppression and the ideology of domination inherent in Western culture.
3. Feminism should be political rather than just a lifestyle.
hooks (1984) argues that feminism should remain focused on politics instead of being understood as a lifestyle. Instead of saying, "I am a feminist," hooks (1984) prefers to say "I advocate feminism." She argues that "I am" forces women to prioritize their allegiance with various movements, perpetuating the ideology of domination. Shifting from identity to politics allows marginalized women to contribute more fully to the conversation.
hooks (1984) is concerned that impressions about feminism's meaning are disparate. She is particularly concerned with those who argue that feminism seeks "equality with men." For hooks (1984), this position uncritically assumes that all women are equal, though many women face different forms of oppression.
2. Feminism should focus on ending sexist oppression.
hooks (1984) argues that feminism should fight against sexist oppression and the ideology of domination inherent in Western culture.
3. Feminism should be political rather than just a lifestyle.
hooks (1984) argues that feminism should remain focused on politics instead of being understood as a lifestyle. Instead of saying, "I am a feminist," hooks (1984) prefers to say "I advocate feminism." She argues that "I am" forces women to prioritize their allegiance with various movements, perpetuating the ideology of domination. Shifting from identity to politics allows marginalized women to contribute more fully to the conversation.
De Beauvoir (1949), The Second Sex
1. People think of women, Jews, and Black people on the same level of importance.
Women make up half of the world, but men see women as less important. De Beauvoir (1949) argues that women learn to stay quiet and not dispute men's opinion on this. She also believes that women are slaves to men. She has not been allowed to think freely, which holds her back. She also notes that the dominant group will enjoy more opportunities, better work, and higher wages.
2. Women are the Other.
Women are the Other to men's Absolute. De Beauvoir (1949) explains this using religious teachings about Adam and Eve. In the 18th century and after, men began to use philosophy and science to objectively prove that women are inferior.
3. "To be" is a process. Women are not born inferior. We are made to hold inferior positions.
Women make up half of the world, but men see women as less important. De Beauvoir (1949) argues that women learn to stay quiet and not dispute men's opinion on this. She also believes that women are slaves to men. She has not been allowed to think freely, which holds her back. She also notes that the dominant group will enjoy more opportunities, better work, and higher wages.
2. Women are the Other.
Women are the Other to men's Absolute. De Beauvoir (1949) explains this using religious teachings about Adam and Eve. In the 18th century and after, men began to use philosophy and science to objectively prove that women are inferior.
3. "To be" is a process. Women are not born inferior. We are made to hold inferior positions.
De Beavoir (1949) believes that women learn to act as the Other. We internalize the idea that we are deviant, and work to try to become normal. She argues that we must put aside this idea to move forward with feminist goals.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Miller (2004), "Rap's Dirty South: From Subculture to Pop Culture"
Miller (2004) argues that Southern rap culture foregrounds current racial issues in the South. This allows Southern rappers to challenge these issues in a way that build a specific community for those living in the Southern states.
Though rap has traditionally been associated with urban locations, rappers in the "dirty South" take pride in narratives of the rural South. This allows hip hop rhetoric to be transported to the South in a way that speaks directly to Southern culture.
This movement forged common ground among rappers who identify with the "dirty South." Miller (2004) argues that this created a coalition community of rappers and consumers who acknowledge and rebel against Southern racism.
Though rap has traditionally been associated with urban locations, rappers in the "dirty South" take pride in narratives of the rural South. This allows hip hop rhetoric to be transported to the South in a way that speaks directly to Southern culture.
This movement forged common ground among rappers who identify with the "dirty South." Miller (2004) argues that this created a coalition community of rappers and consumers who acknowledge and rebel against Southern racism.
Baldwin (1999), "Black Empires, White Desires: The Spatial Politics of Identity in the Age of Hip Hop"
Baldwin (1999) argues that White America's outrage over hip hop's immorality is really about Black Americans taking pleasure in commodity. Baldwin (1999) sees this as a historical changing of the guard the represents a renegotiation of White cultural power. While White suburbia is defined by consumer culture, Baldwin (1999) argues that White Americans are not comfortable with Black Americans taking the same kind of pleasure in consumerism. Hip hop's conspicuous consumption can be read as a threat of Black Americans taking over White Americans' roles as consumers.
Gabbard (2007), "White Face, Black Noise: Miles Davis and the Soundtrack
1. Soundtrack music has to be ignored to be effective. When Black musicians contribute soundtrack music, their role as a creator is ignored, as the work is in service only to the White film producers and characters.
Gabbard (2007) argues that
soundtrack music must be ignored to be effective. Audience
awareness of the musical bedding breaks the cinematic illusion. This becomes
problematic when one considers the White music industry’s historical cooptation
of Black music for its own profit, since using Black cultural forms to enhance
all-White film products hides Black musicians from view, exploiting them for
the purposes of the White film industry.
2. Gabbard (2007) uses Miles Davis' contribution to the Pleasantville soundtrack to illustrate his point. Though Davis' music plays an integral role in the characters' transformation, the politics of Whiteness in the film are never interrogated. Davis' songs function only in service of the White characters.
Gabbard's most compelling example
involves the snippets of Miles Davis' work that frame characters' emotional and
physical awareness in Pleasantville. As the characters learn more about their world, they change from black and
white into color, an effect that is enhanced by Davis' music. However, the
viewer is not encouraged to acknowledge the jazz bedding: "[films like this]
deny personhood to African Americans and keep them off screen at the same time
that the films use black music to give depth and romance to their white
characters" (275). In short, Davis' cultural work is shelved as a discrete art
form, and rechanneled in service of White characters and filmmakers.
Stilwell (2001), "Sound and Empathy: Subjectivity and the Cinematic Soundscape"
Stilwell (2001) uses psychoanalytic theories from feminist film studies to compare
film’s visual signs to its musical signs.
1. The visual is a masculine domain, while the aural is a feminine domain.
Stilwell (2001) divides film spectatorship into the masculine look and the feminine sound. Though she is quick to hedge this claim by clarifying that these categories should not be taken as discrete or essential (a problematic aspect of most psychoanalytical theories), her argument stems from the idea that the enveloping nature of sound casts the movie theater as a womb, causing the male gaze to collapse in on itself if the spectator closes her eyes.
2. By emphasizing the aural, films can position themselves to present a feminine experience with which women can more closely identify as spectators.
Stilwell applies the idea to feminist independent film Closet Land. For Stilwell, the film’s feminist spirit is best exemplified by its emphasis on sound, a trait that manifests in a highly emotional experience that prompts the viewer to take on a feminine subjectivity, identifying with the female protagonist and rejecting the masculine space in which she is trapped.
1. The visual is a masculine domain, while the aural is a feminine domain.
Stilwell (2001) divides film spectatorship into the masculine look and the feminine sound. Though she is quick to hedge this claim by clarifying that these categories should not be taken as discrete or essential (a problematic aspect of most psychoanalytical theories), her argument stems from the idea that the enveloping nature of sound casts the movie theater as a womb, causing the male gaze to collapse in on itself if the spectator closes her eyes.
2. By emphasizing the aural, films can position themselves to present a feminine experience with which women can more closely identify as spectators.
Stilwell applies the idea to feminist independent film Closet Land. For Stilwell, the film’s feminist spirit is best exemplified by its emphasis on sound, a trait that manifests in a highly emotional experience that prompts the viewer to take on a feminine subjectivity, identifying with the female protagonist and rejecting the masculine space in which she is trapped.
McRobbie (1980), "Settling Accounts with Subcultures: A Feminist Critique"
Hebdige's (1979) Suculture has been widely critiqued, but perhaps the most famous of these is McRobbie's (1980) feminist critique. As McRobbie (1980) aptly argues, the masculinization of “youth” is exacerbated by the academy’s refusal to acknowledge gender’s cultural role. Style itself is invisibly built on women’s backs, McRobbie (1980) notes, and by continuing to erase the ways in which the female body is objectified and acted upon in the name of style, cultural studies loses much political ground. McRobbie’s (1980) critique suggests a bridging of the public and private spheres in subcultural research, arguing that cultural studies gains complexity and depth by expanding its thrust to “questions of style and sexual politics” (p. 78).
She levels two main charges at Hebdige (1979).
1. Hebdige (1979) ignores the fact that his subcultures are the prerogative of men.
McRobbie (1980) argues that the subcultural moves Hebdige describes are primarily based upon the styles of the men in the group. Many of the groups he studies are exclusively led by men.
2. McRobbie (1980) takes Hebdige (1979) to task for ignoring the role women play in subcultures.
By ignoring women's roles in subcultures, Hebdige (1979) ignores the fact that subculture's male fantasy and expression is made possible by women who take up the extra burdens as wives and mothers.
Women are also often used as objects in the development of subcultural style. Women are present in the visibility of style, but generally only as accessories to the men's presentations.
She levels two main charges at Hebdige (1979).
1. Hebdige (1979) ignores the fact that his subcultures are the prerogative of men.
McRobbie (1980) argues that the subcultural moves Hebdige describes are primarily based upon the styles of the men in the group. Many of the groups he studies are exclusively led by men.
2. McRobbie (1980) takes Hebdige (1979) to task for ignoring the role women play in subcultures.
By ignoring women's roles in subcultures, Hebdige (1979) ignores the fact that subculture's male fantasy and expression is made possible by women who take up the extra burdens as wives and mothers.
Women are also often used as objects in the development of subcultural style. Women are present in the visibility of style, but generally only as accessories to the men's presentations.
Hebdige (1979) "Style as Homology and Signifying Practice"
Hebdige (1979) argues that a concept of
polysemic, postmodern semiotics should be integrated into subcultural studies. Punk
swastikas, for example, do not necessary refer to Nazism; rather, the symbol is
borrowed simply for its ability to shock and revolt a culture from which punks
aim to be differentiated. If we understand the signifying elements of style as
poached from a broader cultural context, Hebdige (1979) argues, then the function of
style is revealed as a way of distancing subcultural members from the mass society:
“although the punks referred continually to the realities of school, work,
family, and class, these references. . . were passed through the fractured
circuitry of punk style and re-presented as ‘noise,’ disturbance, entropy” (p.
61).
By borrowing from the broader culture, subcultures demonstrate both a distance
from the masses and a communal identity.
Dawkins (2010), "Close to the Edge: The Representational Tactics of Eminem"
Dawkins (2010) uses de Certeau to examine the dichotomy between Eminem and the black hip
hop tradition, arguing that Eminem uses three strategies to bounce between his
identity as white outsider and “black” insider. Dawkins’ (2010) primary purpose in the article is to use Eminem as a case study for understanding transracial politics in the popular culture arena.
1. Eminem redraws the boundary of the Other as women, LGBT people, and rich white men
First, she argues, Eminem
marginalizes women, homosexuals, and certain classes of white men in order to
redraw the same/Other boundary. By exaggerating the Othered status of these
groups, Eminem solidifies his position at the top of the hierarchy through his
own hip hop sameness.
2. Eminem marks himself as unique. He uses this uniqueness to position himself as unique within the Black community in which he wishes to perform.
Second, in carving out this borderland space for his hip
hop sameness, Eminem's marketability relies on his uniqueness. This uniqueness
becomes a rhetoric of authenticity, as he asserts the existence of a “real Slim
Shady” thereby denigrating other white rappers (and Marshall Mathers) as
imposters.
3. Eminem reproduces his position as within the Black community in a variety of platforms. This reinforces the role he has carved for himself.
Third, Dawkins (2010) argues that Eminem disguises the manufacturing of his
own sameness by combining a variety of cultural materials and styles into a hip
hop brand. He sells his authenticity by endlessly reproducing it.
Deaville (2006), "Selling the War in Iraq: Television News Music and the Shaping of American Public Opinion"
Deaville (2006) describes the use of music in newscasts, arguing that musical tone and style impacts the framing of issues for its audience. He uses newsrooms' preparations for an impending war following 9/11 as a case study.
1. News divisions began commissioning musical interludes for use in newscasts immediately after 9/11. The music was commissioned specifically as a way of being prepared for the beginning of a war.
2. The songs commissioned were primarily discussed in terms of justice and righteous wars. In some cases, composers even specifically noted that they were playing into a general feeling of America's right to "kick some Arab ass."
3. Deaville (2006) argues that this music thereby worked to frame the war in Iraq in a certain way. Specifically, most of the music was aggressive rather than contemplative. This influences the ways the accompanying news stories are understood by consumers. By framing the news stories with assertive, angry music, viewers are encouraged to read news stories about the war from a pro-war perspective.
1. News divisions began commissioning musical interludes for use in newscasts immediately after 9/11. The music was commissioned specifically as a way of being prepared for the beginning of a war.
2. The songs commissioned were primarily discussed in terms of justice and righteous wars. In some cases, composers even specifically noted that they were playing into a general feeling of America's right to "kick some Arab ass."
3. Deaville (2006) argues that this music thereby worked to frame the war in Iraq in a certain way. Specifically, most of the music was aggressive rather than contemplative. This influences the ways the accompanying news stories are understood by consumers. By framing the news stories with assertive, angry music, viewers are encouraged to read news stories about the war from a pro-war perspective.
McLeod (1999), "Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened with Assimilation"
McLeod (1999) traces authenticity discourses that surround hip hop performers by
using a method similar to content analysis. The center of his argument is the
phrase “keeping it real,” which he traces to a variety of sources including
interviews, magazine coverage, and recordings.
1. For McLeod (1999), the increasing
market for hip hop in white suburban America threatens to colonize the form’s
black cultural roots. Using an anthropological framework, he argues that the
historical response to the threat of assimilation has been a vocal
reaffirmation of the community, in this case, translating to the spatial
politics of “the street,” “the underground,” and the pre-commercial
“Old-School” style.
2. The strength of McLeod’s (1999) piece lies in its thorough
analysis of discourses; where many a rock essay references authenticity as
though it were above explanation, McLeod (1999) neatly maps the forms and uses of the
concept, leaving a methodological trail behind him.
Bayton (1989), "How Women Become Musicians"
Bayont (1989) examines issues of band formation, practice time, and
creative process as they pertain to women’s experience.
1. Female musicians primarily learned to play an instrument after they joined the band, as women were not encouraged to learn music in the aggressive way that men are.
She begins by comparing individual female and male
musicians, noting that the women she interviewed only began playing rock
instruments after they decided to
join a band. This contrasts work on male musicians, a difference Bayton
suggests is related to women’s socialization as passive and timid.
2. Feminist musicians struggled to create a model for their bands that was not leader-centered.
The essay
then tackles the challenges of group performance, focusing on feminist groups
in particular. Women she interviewed often discuss issues of leadership, as the
feminist model resists authoritarian forms of organization, but the rock model
relies on a lead singer to address the audience.
3. Female musicians found it difficult to negotiate their roles as mother and musician, but found their role as musician to open a positive space in which they could discuss all aspects of their lives.
Finally, Bayton notes the difficulties female musicians face
in splitting time between their roles as musician and mother, smartly noting
that male rockers, even when they are fathers, rarely experience the same pull.
Importantly, though, the all-female band provided a space for women’s dialogue
and solidarity, providing emotional and creative support in a safe environment.
Thus, the women Bayton interviewed faced a number of obstacles when developing
personae as rock musicians, but found the rock band to offer feminist rewards
as well.
Hennion (1983), "The Production of Success: An Antimusicology of the Pop Song"
Hennion (1983) reports on his interactions with popular music producers to examine the ways producers attempt to create a profitable product. He moves through a number of categories of consideration (including things like the singer's voice, the melody, the accompaniment, and the story of the lyrics). Hennion (1983) argues that popular songs function as dreams in two ways.
1. Popular music replicates the escapist feeling of a dream.
Popular music offers the escapist feeling of a dream primarily through its storytelling function. Hennion (1983) notes that the most successful popular songs should tell a story that feels simultaneously current and rooted in timeless myth. This effect is enhanced through the background music, which Hennion (1983) argues is often unnoticed by the listener. Elements like fading out within popular music further contribute to the dream-like status of music, since dreams do not end abruptly.
2. Popular music captures the present before politicians and commentators can. Music therefore represents the public's dreams for the future before they fully materialize elsewhere.
Hennion (1983) notes that producers do not tell people what to like. Instead, they offer a number of possible songs, and the public will eventually grasp on to one of them. He understands these various options as choices for the current cultural moment will be defined. The most successful songs are defined and circulated by popular musicians before anyone fully realizes where the culture is going. The song, therefore, co-creates the meaning of the cultural moment.
1. Popular music replicates the escapist feeling of a dream.
Popular music offers the escapist feeling of a dream primarily through its storytelling function. Hennion (1983) notes that the most successful popular songs should tell a story that feels simultaneously current and rooted in timeless myth. This effect is enhanced through the background music, which Hennion (1983) argues is often unnoticed by the listener. Elements like fading out within popular music further contribute to the dream-like status of music, since dreams do not end abruptly.
2. Popular music captures the present before politicians and commentators can. Music therefore represents the public's dreams for the future before they fully materialize elsewhere.
Hennion (1983) notes that producers do not tell people what to like. Instead, they offer a number of possible songs, and the public will eventually grasp on to one of them. He understands these various options as choices for the current cultural moment will be defined. The most successful songs are defined and circulated by popular musicians before anyone fully realizes where the culture is going. The song, therefore, co-creates the meaning of the cultural moment.
Adorno (1932), "On Popular Music"
1. Popular music is all the same. It distinguishes itself from classical music by repeating itself. Popular music producers trick us into thinking the music is new by altering minute aspects of melody or voice.
Adorno (1932) argues that popular music is all
cut from the same proverbial cloth, distinguishing itself from classical genres
by replicating itself endlessly rather than creating new and creative forms. In fact, he argues, popular music goes so far as to create small, internal advances within melodies and voices in order to disguise the fact that all popular music is highly standardized.
2. This standardization functions as escapism and wish fulfillment, which appeases people.
The purpose, according to Adorno, is to
create “a social cement” (p. 311). Listeners feel music first as leisure, which
offers a small respite from the “boredom of mechanized labor” (p. 310), and
second as a catharsis of wish fulfillment. While this is not an unreasonable
analysis, what is problematic about this essay is the way that Adorno (as
usual) assumes a totally passive audience, often insinuating the misery of the
faceless masses, even arguing that listeners “consume music in order to be
allowed to weep” (p. 313). Though it was not the most uplifting piece I read
all week, Adorno does make some interesting points which, were the Marxist
overdetermination toned down a bit, could be very compelling even 70 years
later.
Brown (2001), "Ally McBeal's Postmodern Soundtrack"
1. Ally McBeal's soundtrack attaches itself to individual characters. By aligning individual songs with individual characters, Brown (2001) argues, the show's soundtrack humanizes the characters. In particular, Brown (2001) argues, the use of soundtrack surrounding the character of Ally allows the audience to sympathize with her through the songs.
2. The show's use of soul singer Vonda Sheperd onscreen and offscreen enhances this effect. By visually reaffirming Sheperd as the source of the music, the otherwise fragmented show becomes more cohesive. Disparate messages in the show's structure are therefore brought together to form a narrative that aligns with Ally's character.
2. The show's use of soul singer Vonda Sheperd onscreen and offscreen enhances this effect. By visually reaffirming Sheperd as the source of the music, the otherwise fragmented show becomes more cohesive. Disparate messages in the show's structure are therefore brought together to form a narrative that aligns with Ally's character.
Stilwell (2007), "The Fantastical Gap Between Diegetic and Non-Diegetic"
Stilwell (2007) problematizes the way soundtrack theory has discussed diegetic and nondiegetic music as discrete categories. Instead, she argues that the boundary between diegetic and nondiegetic is fluid.
1. According to Stilwell (2007), many films stretch the boundary between these categories. These renegotiated forms are dismissed as deviant. Stilwell (2007) argues that instead of understanding these boundary-crossing films as anomalies, film scholars should realize that the inflexibility of these categories limits the range of interpretations available for film analysis.
2. By searching for areas in the borderland between diegetic and nondiegetic, film music scholarship gains a more thorough understanding of the emotional and cognitive work of film music.
1. According to Stilwell (2007), many films stretch the boundary between these categories. These renegotiated forms are dismissed as deviant. Stilwell (2007) argues that instead of understanding these boundary-crossing films as anomalies, film scholars should realize that the inflexibility of these categories limits the range of interpretations available for film analysis.
2. By searching for areas in the borderland between diegetic and nondiegetic, film music scholarship gains a more thorough understanding of the emotional and cognitive work of film music.
Dyer (2012), "Music and Presence in Blaxploitation Cinema"
Soundtrack music is inseparably linked to
character and setting through their simultaneously visual and auditory
presentation, musical choices can impact the racial tones of a message.
1. Theme songs for Black characters like Shaft align closely to the character's movements. The music seems to come from the setting, which ties the character to the setting.
Examining the interaction of soundtrack and visual imagery in 1970s blaxpoiltation films, Dyer (2012) argues that black characters like Shaft are proverbially married to their Harlem settings through an implication that the funk soundtrack radiates from the space itself. By closely aligning the black star’s movements with the soundtrack, the films indicate that Shaft and other black characters are inextricably tied to the dangerous and economically collapsing settings.
2. White characters do not use movements that align to the music. They therefore are not linked as closely to the space in which they work.
On the other hand, Shaft’s white counterparts move out of time with their soundtracks, emphasizing difference between the music and the character.
3. Music in Blaxploitation cinema implicitly argues who does and does not belong in certain settings. These settings are generally indicative of certain economic positions.
In this way, Dyer (2012) argues, the integration of music and image functions politically to segregate America, defining the appropriate spaces for black Americans through the covert rhetoric of soundtrack.
1. Theme songs for Black characters like Shaft align closely to the character's movements. The music seems to come from the setting, which ties the character to the setting.
Examining the interaction of soundtrack and visual imagery in 1970s blaxpoiltation films, Dyer (2012) argues that black characters like Shaft are proverbially married to their Harlem settings through an implication that the funk soundtrack radiates from the space itself. By closely aligning the black star’s movements with the soundtrack, the films indicate that Shaft and other black characters are inextricably tied to the dangerous and economically collapsing settings.
2. White characters do not use movements that align to the music. They therefore are not linked as closely to the space in which they work.
On the other hand, Shaft’s white counterparts move out of time with their soundtracks, emphasizing difference between the music and the character.
3. Music in Blaxploitation cinema implicitly argues who does and does not belong in certain settings. These settings are generally indicative of certain economic positions.
In this way, Dyer (2012) argues, the integration of music and image functions politically to segregate America, defining the appropriate spaces for black Americans through the covert rhetoric of soundtrack.
McClary and Walser (1988), "Start Making Sense!: Musicology Wrestles with Rock"
McClary and Walser (1988) identify the problem with using musicological methods to study rock music.
1. Classical musicologists often deride popular music as a lesser form.
2. McClary and Walser (1988) argue that this is due to the limitations of classical musicology as a method for anything besides classical music. By parsing out the various short-comings of classical music studies, such as the difficulties of notating and explaining nuances of performance and “the sensual power” (p. 289) of music, the authors demonstrate that the problem is not with popular music. Instead, the problem is with shoving popular music into a classical music paradigm. It is not that popular music falls short of some artistic bright line, but that classical musicology lacks the tools to describe the very different traditions of rock and other popular genres.
1. Classical musicologists often deride popular music as a lesser form.
2. McClary and Walser (1988) argue that this is due to the limitations of classical musicology as a method for anything besides classical music. By parsing out the various short-comings of classical music studies, such as the difficulties of notating and explaining nuances of performance and “the sensual power” (p. 289) of music, the authors demonstrate that the problem is not with popular music. Instead, the problem is with shoving popular music into a classical music paradigm. It is not that popular music falls short of some artistic bright line, but that classical musicology lacks the tools to describe the very different traditions of rock and other popular genres.
Goodwin (1988), "Pop Music in the Digital Age of Reproduction"
Goodwin (1988) engages with postmodern musical criticism in this essay. He is particularly concerned with the argument that digitally reproduced music feels inauthentic.
1. Digitally-produced music is not so different from traditionally produced music.
Listeners attempt to negotiate digitally produced music through the same modernist, real framework of musical history. Furthermore, digital reproduction attempts to synthesize the "real" as closely as possible.
2. Postmodern musical criticism tries to stretch digital music into something new.
Goodwin (1988) engages the post-modern argument that sampling represents the fragmentation and disintegration of popular music. He counters this argument by pointing the problems with theorizing in the abstract. Goodwin (1988) argues that the preoccupation with postmodernism in musical culture has resulted in theories that overstate the importance of postmodernism on the listening experience.
1. Digitally-produced music is not so different from traditionally produced music.
Listeners attempt to negotiate digitally produced music through the same modernist, real framework of musical history. Furthermore, digital reproduction attempts to synthesize the "real" as closely as possible.
2. Postmodern musical criticism tries to stretch digital music into something new.
Goodwin (1988) engages the post-modern argument that sampling represents the fragmentation and disintegration of popular music. He counters this argument by pointing the problems with theorizing in the abstract. Goodwin (1988) argues that the preoccupation with postmodernism in musical culture has resulted in theories that overstate the importance of postmodernism on the listening experience.
Barthes (1977), "The Grain of the Voice"
1. Lyrics and texts are only one part of a vocal performance. The voice itself is another.
Barthes (1977) divides his discussion of vocal performance into two aspects. The phenosong involves the lyrical and melodic aspects of a song. The genosong, on the other hand, involves the physical act of singing and the way that this act impacts and interacts with the lyrical elements.
2. The grain of the voice can be found in the genosong.
Barthes (1977) argues that the best musical performances include what he calls "the grain of the voice." By "grain," Barthes (1977) refers to "hearing a body," in that a roughness comes through in the singing. He notes that trained singers are often encouraged to erase the body from the song,
3. The grain of the voice creates a stronger connection between singer and listener.
For Barthes (1977), the grain of the voice allows listeners to connect with a singer in a more intimate way. He argues that the body's presence in the song creates a sensual connection between the performer and the listener.
Barthes (1977) divides his discussion of vocal performance into two aspects. The phenosong involves the lyrical and melodic aspects of a song. The genosong, on the other hand, involves the physical act of singing and the way that this act impacts and interacts with the lyrical elements.
2. The grain of the voice can be found in the genosong.
Barthes (1977) argues that the best musical performances include what he calls "the grain of the voice." By "grain," Barthes (1977) refers to "hearing a body," in that a roughness comes through in the singing. He notes that trained singers are often encouraged to erase the body from the song,
3. The grain of the voice creates a stronger connection between singer and listener.
For Barthes (1977), the grain of the voice allows listeners to connect with a singer in a more intimate way. He argues that the body's presence in the song creates a sensual connection between the performer and the listener.
Frith (1985), "Afterthoughts"
Frith's (1985) follow-up to his 1978 essay with McRobbie qualifies the claim that rock is inherently masculinist. Instead, Frith (1985) argues that rock should be studied within the cycle of production. Masculinist leanings in rock are part of a cyclical ideology. Frith (1985) therefore argues that analyses of rock and its audiences should be mindful of the ideological context in which production and consumption take place.
Frith and McRobbie (1978), "Rock and Sexuality"
1. Rock music pushes women into private sphere fantasies and men in public sphere fantasies.
Frith and McRobbie (1978) argue that the "cock rock" singer elicits identification by performing exaggeratedly masculine movements. In a culture of repressed female sexuality, women can't perform in this way. Without women performing as stars, female consumers have no outlet for identification. The female music consumer is pushed toward the domestic,l fantasizing about marriage and motherhood as partner to the star rather than fame and success as a star. Rock and pop thus create a gendered dichotomy in which men's contributions are a matter of public praise while women are relegated to the private sphere.
2. Rock music may also create a positive space for women.
Rock music may open up a space in which an exclusively female community can be built. though the space often revolves around male stars, it is importantly one of the few opportunities for girls to come together in the public sphere.
Frith and McRobbie (1978) argue that the "cock rock" singer elicits identification by performing exaggeratedly masculine movements. In a culture of repressed female sexuality, women can't perform in this way. Without women performing as stars, female consumers have no outlet for identification. The female music consumer is pushed toward the domestic,l fantasizing about marriage and motherhood as partner to the star rather than fame and success as a star. Rock and pop thus create a gendered dichotomy in which men's contributions are a matter of public praise while women are relegated to the private sphere.
2. Rock music may also create a positive space for women.
Rock music may open up a space in which an exclusively female community can be built. though the space often revolves around male stars, it is importantly one of the few opportunities for girls to come together in the public sphere.
Hall and Whannel (1964), "The Young Audience"
Hall and Whannel (1964) focus on youth culture and its interaction with popular music. The impetus for their essay is their perception that rifts in economic and social structures have produced discontent among British teens. They see this discontent as directly influencing teens consumption of popular music.
1. The beat of popular music reflects teen angst.
Hall and Whannel (1964) parallel popular music's tempo and beat with the energy and frustration of teenage years. They argue that the beat of the music helps teens structure their identity development.
2. Ethnographic methods can help researchers capture this identity development process.
Hall and Whannel (1964) emphasized the cultural role of music, and therefore pushed for music scholarship based in ethnography and participant observation. This methodological preference is clear in their choice not to include any specific examples of the type of music they are describing.
1. The beat of popular music reflects teen angst.
Hall and Whannel (1964) parallel popular music's tempo and beat with the energy and frustration of teenage years. They argue that the beat of the music helps teens structure their identity development.
2. Ethnographic methods can help researchers capture this identity development process.
Hall and Whannel (1964) emphasized the cultural role of music, and therefore pushed for music scholarship based in ethnography and participant observation. This methodological preference is clear in their choice not to include any specific examples of the type of music they are describing.
Riesman (1950), "Listening to Popular Music"
Early studies of popular music were often concerned with the cultures surrounding music's consumption. Riesman (1950) writes about this topic, and he focuses primarily on youth as a target market for popular music.
1. Most teens are conservative, but a minority will rebel against authority.
Riesman (1950) argues that the "majority" of teens are likely to follow conservative social norms, while a "minority" many question adult authority and act in more rebellious ways. Riesman (1950) sees popular music as a hub around which these groups gather to form communities.
2. We should interview popular music fans.
Since popular music facilitates community building, Riesman (1950) argues that scholars should attempt to infiltrate the community hub to understand how this happens. Riesman (1950) acknowledges that lyrical analysis is easier, but he believes that popular music's culture function resists understanding through texts alone.
1. Most teens are conservative, but a minority will rebel against authority.
Riesman (1950) argues that the "majority" of teens are likely to follow conservative social norms, while a "minority" many question adult authority and act in more rebellious ways. Riesman (1950) sees popular music as a hub around which these groups gather to form communities.
2. We should interview popular music fans.
Since popular music facilitates community building, Riesman (1950) argues that scholars should attempt to infiltrate the community hub to understand how this happens. Riesman (1950) acknowledges that lyrical analysis is easier, but he believes that popular music's culture function resists understanding through texts alone.
Stilwell (2001), "Film Music Scholarship Since 1980"
Stilwell's review of literature divides film music scholarship into nine areas of research. These areas can further be reduced to three broad emphases in film music scholarship: historical, musicological, and cultural.
1. Historical film music research often focuses on silent films and early film scoring. Here, Stilwell (2001) discusses the prevalence of classical music for this period of film sound.
2. Musicological analysis of film music is common in the study of contemporary film music uses. Stilwell (2001) argues that musicological approaches may be hampered by the form's complexity. Film's pairing of aural with visual creates difficulty for scholars trained to analyze only one of these areas. Film music has therefore often been analyzed as a merely aural medium, with much of the film music literature ignoring the visual imagery with with film music is paired. This has resulted in a body of literature that is very technical, but often apolitical.
3. Cultural perspectives of study often focus on the use of popular music in films to drive both music and cinema commodities. Though Stilwell (2001) notes the importance of including social context in film music scholarship, she believes that cultural studies' emphasis on context alone reinforces the idea that popular music is only important for its cultural significance, and not for its musical value.
1. Historical film music research often focuses on silent films and early film scoring. Here, Stilwell (2001) discusses the prevalence of classical music for this period of film sound.
2. Musicological analysis of film music is common in the study of contemporary film music uses. Stilwell (2001) argues that musicological approaches may be hampered by the form's complexity. Film's pairing of aural with visual creates difficulty for scholars trained to analyze only one of these areas. Film music has therefore often been analyzed as a merely aural medium, with much of the film music literature ignoring the visual imagery with with film music is paired. This has resulted in a body of literature that is very technical, but often apolitical.
3. Cultural perspectives of study often focus on the use of popular music in films to drive both music and cinema commodities. Though Stilwell (2001) notes the importance of including social context in film music scholarship, she believes that cultural studies' emphasis on context alone reinforces the idea that popular music is only important for its cultural significance, and not for its musical value.
Fiske (2003), "Understanding Popular Culture"
Fiske (2003) explores what he calls a "theory of incorporation" through the case study of ripped jeans. As he explains, ripped and faded jeans can be understood as a form of resistance against commodity culture. Wearing jeans that are ripped signals the wearer's resistance to replacing what would normally be understood as worn out.
This small sign of resistance is incorporated by jeans manufacturers like Calvin Klein when factory made rips and tears are marketed as fashion. Fiske (2003) argues that this incorporation robs such signs of resistance of their oppositional value. He describes this as containment, since it allows the act of resistance to continue, but only in a controlled way.
Finally, Fiske (2003) uses this case study to discuss the political meaning of popular culture. Fiske (2003) argues that popular culture is always a site of negotiation between the top and bottom. For Fiske (2003) change can only come from the bottom, since those at the top of the power relations will be resistant to losing their power.
This small sign of resistance is incorporated by jeans manufacturers like Calvin Klein when factory made rips and tears are marketed as fashion. Fiske (2003) argues that this incorporation robs such signs of resistance of their oppositional value. He describes this as containment, since it allows the act of resistance to continue, but only in a controlled way.
Finally, Fiske (2003) uses this case study to discuss the political meaning of popular culture. Fiske (2003) argues that popular culture is always a site of negotiation between the top and bottom. For Fiske (2003) change can only come from the bottom, since those at the top of the power relations will be resistant to losing their power.
Benjamin (1969), "Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
1. Photography and film are different from paintings in that they lack an "aura."
Benjamin (1969) argued that art forms rooted in mechanical reproduction technologies were inherently different from what he identifies as traditional art forms. A major difference is what Benjamin (1969) calls the "aura." The aura is a source of authority located in the painting that comes from a sense of authenticity. While a painting contains this aura, film and photography cannot, primarily because they represent an image of an image rather than a work of originality.
2. The loss of the aura moves the object away from ritual. The object is then based in politics.
The loss of the aura in a culture of mechanical reproduction is not necessarily negative. Benjamin (1969) seems unsure of the final impact of the loss of the aura. He is clear, though, that reproduction of art has the potential to create more egalitarian distribution of knowledge and the pleasure of consuming art.
Benjamin (1969) argued that art forms rooted in mechanical reproduction technologies were inherently different from what he identifies as traditional art forms. A major difference is what Benjamin (1969) calls the "aura." The aura is a source of authority located in the painting that comes from a sense of authenticity. While a painting contains this aura, film and photography cannot, primarily because they represent an image of an image rather than a work of originality.
2. The loss of the aura moves the object away from ritual. The object is then based in politics.
The loss of the aura in a culture of mechanical reproduction is not necessarily negative. Benjamin (1969) seems unsure of the final impact of the loss of the aura. He is clear, though, that reproduction of art has the potential to create more egalitarian distribution of knowledge and the pleasure of consuming art.
Johnson (1986), "What is Cultural Studies Anyway?"
Johnson (1986) describes three tenets cultural studies brings from Marxism. These three assertions for the basis of why cultural studies is important and necessary.
1. Cultural practices are aligned with social relations.
2. Power is embedded in culture, and it can work to inhibit people defining and realizing their needs.
3. Culture is not autonomous or predetermined, but a site of struggle.
In order to study cultural power and movement, Johnson (1986) proposes a model including four moments in the circulation of a cultural object: production, texts, readings, and lived cultures. These moments each interact with social relations. Moments like production and readings take place privately, while texts and lived cultures represent the public manifestations of these moments. Furthermore, as texts move through the cycle, they grow to represent more abstract and universal forms. Conversely, lived cultures are material and concrete, as they represent the real situation of social relations.
1. Production -- The moment of production happens in the private sphere, and involves the planning and development of objects prior to their release into the public. The production moment draws from lived cultures. While it is numbered as the first moment of cultural circulation, then, it is actually a continuation of a previous cultural object in the cycle.
2. Texts -- When the object is released from the private sphere of production, it begins to circulate as a text.
3. Readings -- The text gains real meaning when it is encountered by audiences. Meaning is made by readers in private engagement with the text. Readings, like production, are therefore a more difficult moment to capture in scholarship.
4. Lived cultures -- Once readers have engaged and made sense of the text, the text's meanings are sometimes integrated into the readers' lived culture. At this point, an element of the text can be taken from its context and reimagined as some element within the overall publicly experienced culture.
Based on his understanding of cultural cycles, Johnson (1986) encouraged cultural studies scholars to draw from a variety of methods including the study of production mechanisms, textual analysis, and ethnography and interviews of readers.
1. Cultural practices are aligned with social relations.
2. Power is embedded in culture, and it can work to inhibit people defining and realizing their needs.
3. Culture is not autonomous or predetermined, but a site of struggle.
In order to study cultural power and movement, Johnson (1986) proposes a model including four moments in the circulation of a cultural object: production, texts, readings, and lived cultures. These moments each interact with social relations. Moments like production and readings take place privately, while texts and lived cultures represent the public manifestations of these moments. Furthermore, as texts move through the cycle, they grow to represent more abstract and universal forms. Conversely, lived cultures are material and concrete, as they represent the real situation of social relations.
1. Production -- The moment of production happens in the private sphere, and involves the planning and development of objects prior to their release into the public. The production moment draws from lived cultures. While it is numbered as the first moment of cultural circulation, then, it is actually a continuation of a previous cultural object in the cycle.
2. Texts -- When the object is released from the private sphere of production, it begins to circulate as a text.
3. Readings -- The text gains real meaning when it is encountered by audiences. Meaning is made by readers in private engagement with the text. Readings, like production, are therefore a more difficult moment to capture in scholarship.
4. Lived cultures -- Once readers have engaged and made sense of the text, the text's meanings are sometimes integrated into the readers' lived culture. At this point, an element of the text can be taken from its context and reimagined as some element within the overall publicly experienced culture.
Based on his understanding of cultural cycles, Johnson (1986) encouraged cultural studies scholars to draw from a variety of methods including the study of production mechanisms, textual analysis, and ethnography and interviews of readers.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Neuendorf (2010), "Content Analysis: A Methodological Primer for Gender Research"
Neuendorf (2010) is concerned that, while content analysis has been particularly popular as a method in recent years, studies employing content analysis have often used less stringent standards for reliability.
Neuendorf (2010) defines content analysis as "a summarizing, quantitative analysis of messages that relies on the scientific method, including attention to objectivity/intersubjectivity, a priori design, reliability, validity, generalizability, replicability, and hypothesis testing" (p. 277). Neuendorf (2010) specifically notes that she is referring to quantitative studies, though she acknowledges that textual analysis forms can compliment quantitative content analysis as well.
Neuendorf (2010) defines content analysis as "a summarizing, quantitative analysis of messages that relies on the scientific method, including attention to objectivity/intersubjectivity, a priori design, reliability, validity, generalizability, replicability, and hypothesis testing" (p. 277). Neuendorf (2010) specifically notes that she is referring to quantitative studies, though she acknowledges that textual analysis forms can compliment quantitative content analysis as well.
This essay outlines the process for conducting what Neuendorf (2010) sees as a sufficiently rigorous content analytic study.
1. Preparation
Content analyses should be backed by theory. Neuendorf (2010) argues that theories about media's effects can be used to justify content analyses of texts.
In determining the scope of a content analysis, Neuendorf (2010) urges scholars to consider stepping beyond the boundaries of the text to also consider information about either producers or consumers in concert with the data about the text.
2. Methodology
In her discussion of content analysis method, Neuendorf (2010) is clear in arguing that content analysis should employ the same parameters implemented in other quantitative studies. She specifically notes that researchers should take care in selecting their unit for analysis and in developing their sampling frames. Using rigorous standards of quantitative research is particularly important when human coders are used to collect content analysis data. Neuendorf (2010) emphasizes the importance of intercoder reliability.
3. Reporting.
Finally, Neuendorf (2010) argues that the processes implemented in data collection and analysis should be thoroughly recorded and reported so as to ensure replicability.
Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010), "The Context of Current Content Analysis of Gender Roles"
Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) argue that feminist content analysis research is generally based on four broad goals.
1. To support feminist claims
Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) argue that a primary reason for content analysis of gender in the media is to support feminist claims that the media are biased against women. The authors argue that content analysis is a productive way of demonstrating the media's unfair portrayals of women over time.
2. To compare media with reality
Content analysis can also be used to demonstrate the differences between representations in media texts and in reality. Historically, the authors argue, media has shown limited distribution of women in terms of race, gender performance, occupation, and other factors. Research in this area may then compare current statistics of representation with historical representations in order to determine shifts in realistic gender representation.
3. To predict effects of media on audiences
Citing theorists like Bandura, Gerbner, and Goffman, the authors note that many content analyses aim to demonstrate the potential impact of imbalanced gender representation on their audiences. Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) argue that, since media exposure can influence audience perception and behavior, it is important to study what kinds of messages comprise the media.
4. To detect effects of media producers on media content
Since media producers are influenced by the societies in which they live, media content may reflect producers' ideological surroundings. Therefore, Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) explain that content analysis can be used to make assumptions about current cultural movements and perspectives. Often this type of work compares media produced by women to media produced by men in order to understand the inner workings of production.
1. To support feminist claims
Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) argue that a primary reason for content analysis of gender in the media is to support feminist claims that the media are biased against women. The authors argue that content analysis is a productive way of demonstrating the media's unfair portrayals of women over time.
2. To compare media with reality
Content analysis can also be used to demonstrate the differences between representations in media texts and in reality. Historically, the authors argue, media has shown limited distribution of women in terms of race, gender performance, occupation, and other factors. Research in this area may then compare current statistics of representation with historical representations in order to determine shifts in realistic gender representation.
3. To predict effects of media on audiences
Citing theorists like Bandura, Gerbner, and Goffman, the authors note that many content analyses aim to demonstrate the potential impact of imbalanced gender representation on their audiences. Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) argue that, since media exposure can influence audience perception and behavior, it is important to study what kinds of messages comprise the media.
4. To detect effects of media producers on media content
Since media producers are influenced by the societies in which they live, media content may reflect producers' ideological surroundings. Therefore, Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) explain that content analysis can be used to make assumptions about current cultural movements and perspectives. Often this type of work compares media produced by women to media produced by men in order to understand the inner workings of production.
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