February 22 2011 Authorship as Cultural Interrogation Authorship

February 22, 2011

Authorship as Cultural Interrogation • Authorship throughout a cultural history: – What comes to mind when you think of “author”? – Can you identify the difference between a literary text and a scientific text in terms of authorship? Are the mentalities towards authorship different? • Authorship is a culturally based belief—not everyone believes in the author. – Consider the days before the internet, the book, and the printing press—inquiry question: how has evolving technology changed the way cultures deal with the notion of authorship? – http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=p. QHX-Sjg. Qv. Q • Author creates a social order of property (Foucault 124). – Therefore, this is a reader’s (culturally based) assumption that whomever created the piece is a rational entity. What importance does this serve when grappling with a text?

Is discussing authorship important? • Is writing neutral? – Does writing deconstruct every voice in that because a text is released publicly it is therefore beyond the scope of the author due to readers creating their own interpretations and assumptions outside of the authors intentions? • Why or why not? • Can we truly and fully use only the author’s biographical information to understand a text? Why or why not? – If not, what else besides the author is important to look at?

Authorship and the Rhetorical Triangle • Review: – What is the rhetorical triangle? • Ethos, Logos, Pathos And • Author, audience, subject • Who is the author? (Margaret Atwood) – Where is she from? What are her life experiences? How might they have contributed to the creation of the novel? – Spend five minutes researching Margaret Atwood’s biographical information only

Culture and The Handmaid’s Tale • How has this text traveled through time? – Break into six groups. • Group #1: Research a critique for The Handmaid’s Tale printed immediately after publication. Find both a positive and a negative. • Group #2: Research if this text has ever been banned in the United States. If it has, state where and give the reasons why. Find at least three examples. • Group #3: Research more modern critiques of The Handmaid’s Tale, at least 1995 to the present. • Group #4: Identify a symbol/theme/motif, etc. , within the novel that seems culturally specific to the United States. Why might Atwood have included this theme into her novel? Research this aspect within the United States. • Group #5: Identify at least two of the cultures within The Handmaid’s Tale. Who are these cultures? Do they oppose each other? Why or why not? What epitomizes them? Research the aspects of these cultures, their mores, their symbols, the behavior, etc, and see if you can’t find something similar in other cultures throughout the world. • Group #6: Atwood was born in 1939. Research and create a cultural/historical timeline from 1939 to 1986. What cultural/personal /historical events might have served Atwood in helping her to creating this novel?