Month: November 2024

Read texts closely and think critically: Comprehend a text’s literal/factual content ; Distinguish between a passage’s literal/factual content and its figurative/symbolic/interpretive content; Analyze a text closely and identify rhetorical strategies therein ; Connect a passage’s formal structure and thematic content with the text as a whole ; Extrapolate the larger implications (social, philosophical, ethical, argumentative) of these patterns. 

To me this learning outcome establishes that through my time as an English major I should be able to take whatever text is in front of me, whether it is a novel, poem, political treatise, or a journalistic piece and be able to analyze the implicit content along with the explicit cultural, political, social, moral, etc. discourses it joins. I will also showcase skills in more formal literary analysis such as addressing the stylistic choices and strategies along with thematic. 

Examples from course work can include an essay from my first year English course, 

ENG 104 Indigenous Film & Literature, tired “Relationships with Indigenous Languages: How to Maintain Cultural and Self-Identity in an “English-Washed” World?” An excerpt from that is: 

“Learning the Grammar of Animacy by Kimmerer explains the tremendous struggle that an Indigenous person like herself has to deal with in efforts to preserve her ancestral language. Kimmerer feels a sense of responsibility in keeping the Potawatomi language alive, and through her desire to simply learn the language, she encounters a whole new understanding of why she felt so disconnected from her ancestor’s way of life. The power of context, cultural values, and beliefs that are expressed through language can be missed if the language in and of itself is not understood. The futile struggle of knowing that she has no one to practice speaking to in her everyday life could become too discouraging. However, her Potawatomi language teacher reassures her and “thanks us every time a word is spoken—thanks us for breathing life into the language, even if we only speak a single word”(Kimmerer, 53). Kimmerer’s intentions were good, hoping to do her part to learn the language of Potawatomi, which was virtually wiped out due to settler colonialism and leaves only nine people in the world today who speak it fluently. Nevertheless, an essential point is revealed, which can be picked up within the previous quote, is that the language is alive. She realized the disconnect between herself and learning the language because she was so intuned with the way English is conceptualized that she was missing the cultural and more profound meaning behind this Indigenous language. The “…grammar of animacy”, as she described, is her way of reconnecting on a much deeper level with her language. Furthermore, she expresses that it “… could lead us to whole new ways of living in the world, other species a sovereign people, a world with a democracy of species, not a tyranny of one”(Kimmerer, 57-8). Through one experience, we see just how isolated and disconnected an individual could feel from something that so many of us take for granted, language.” 

Another example from later in my course of study could be from an English course taken in my third year from ENG 326 Patient Narratives in a final essay where explored the unique usage of braided narratives: 

Moving into another example of the rhetorical choice of a braided narrative, we can look at Abby Norman’s patient narrative Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women’s Pain. Like Lunden, Norman employs impressive research and a woven narrative of another female figure influential to her illness. For instance, Norman discusses, “When I happened upon Gilda Radner’s memoir several years ago, in the midst of my own medical turmoil, I grew deeply concerned about her life”(Norman 20). In providing this framework early in her narrative, Norman’s choice to weave in Gilda Radner’s story sets up a significant theme of believing in women’s pain that draws us to a more extensive critique of women’s experience within the healthcare setting. Norman then expresses, “Radner’s story haunted me, not because she was some comedic legend whose life was cut short, or just because she died from cancer in her ovaries, but because she had died as a result of her doctors not believing her when she said she was unwell”(Norman 21). As Norman’s book delves into her struggle with endometriosis, making the connection to another woman in history whose pain was dismissed and whose experience was made trivial raises an essential question about the diseases themselves or their realities as women. Gilda’s harrowing story of progressively becoming sicker and being told it was all in her head, alongside Norman’s account of then assuming the role of a doctor to find answers herself, highlights the weight and responsibility women feel to advocate for themselves. Norman writes, “If I, or any other woman whose gynecological cancers or pathologies had gone undiagnosed, had just been sick in some other part of the body, in some other way, would it have been any different?”(Norman 23). Through Norman’s use of a braided narrative, she extends her experience with endometriosis far beyond one singular encounter. Moreover, she can raise women’s healthcare – especially reproductive healthcare – to expose the deeply troubling biases surrounding women’s pain. Unfortunately, with the addition of Gilda’s narrative, Norman subtly exposes how those biases and disbelief cost her life and could have the same result for countless other women without a structural shift in women’s healthcare. 

Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of literature in English: Demonstrate familiarity with specified content areas in literature, literary history, theory, and criticism ; Understand literature as a culturally and historically embedded practice ; Relate literature to other fields of inquiry

•  This learning outcome hits on the significance of literature as a practice across disciplines – in my diverse but interconnected medley of majors and minors (english, political science, writing, and gender, women, and sexuality studies) this outcome is incredibly important as it highlights how literature becomes a capsule of history, of social concerns of a given time, of cultural norms and practices, of power and agency, and of a shared human condition that throughout history wishes to meditate on the state of being and interacting with others. 
• Example of course work: 

Communicate effectively: Approach writing as a recursive process ; Develop and support claims about literary texts; Articulate claims in conceptually coherent essays ; Use conventions of standard written English ; Present research findings orally within the conventions of the discipline

•  In thinking about restating this learning outcome from a student perspective I would allege that to communicate effectively means you might have to reorient yourself as not coming to a final decision but employing a series of considerate and evidence based claims that when taken together showcase a depth of understanding. The process of communicating whether it is entering a debate on a piece of literature, showcasing comprehension of a text, or formulating a unique argument in a paper, it is essential to approach that as a process rather than finding a singular answer. 

•  Example of course work: 

Conduct research in literary and cultural studies: Use bibliographic tools to find source material ; Employ appropriate critical approaches in their research ; Contribute to scholarly conversations about literary and cultural texts and phenomena ; Incorporate and document source material using MLA style ; Communicate in accordance with standards of academic integrity

• This idea of as an English major being able to utilize tools and methodologies within a scholarly discipline as a learning outcome I would assert is a big part of fostering discipline skills but also learning how to transfer that process to whatever discipline might come next. While as an English major I have become well versed in what source material is used in scholarly writing versus creative, what style of citation to use, and recognize different organizational patterns are most effective for different forms of writing, I also now understand that each discipline has its own rules and norms. For example, looking forward to my next steps, I know that legal writing does not adhere to the same formal set of tools and methodologies as say if I were getting an post-graduate English degree but I feel comfortable in transferring my knowledge of research and standards of academic integrity to learning new approaches. 

•   Example of course work: 

Journal #7 

1. Frances Power Cobbe “Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Children” → Excerpt from book ‘Criminals, Idiots, Women & Minors’: Victorian Writing by Victorian Women Edited by Susan Hamilton 

Quote: “The proposal, then, to abolish this law [existing common law on marriage] seems to have in its favour Justice, Expediency, and even the Sentiment which has hitherto blindly supported the law. As the Parliamentary Committee report, they are strongly of opinion ‘that the Common Law of this country, which gives the wife’s property to her husband, should be repealed, and that the wife should have control over her property and earnings; and that her disability to contract and sue and be sued in respect of them should be removed.’That certain difficulties must arise in carrying out so extensive a change is obvious, yet they are probably less than might be supposed; and a brief trial of the working of a new law would enable the legislature to find out the weak point (if any) of their present work. As the Committee remark: 

Questions of importance arise in settling details of such a matter. Whether, for instance, the poor law liability of the father for the maintenance of the children should be extended to the mother; whether the change should be confined to future marragues only, or should be applied to existing marriages where other property is acquired, etc.

One thing, however, was unanimously agreed upon, and it is an important point in question. 

…A married woman living with her husband has an authority which, in spite of some fluctuation and uncertainty of judicial decisions, seems to be regulated by the general principle of the law of agency. Agency is a mixed question of law and fact, and the court will give due weight to such a fact as the possession of property by a married woman without any express statutable direction.

That such a change could not entail injurious consequences is guaranteed by two facts: first there follows no injurious consequences to the richer classes in England, by whom the law is practically set aside; the second, there have followed no injurious results, but very beneficial ones, to the lower classes in the American States, by whom the law has been repealed. We have already cited the testimony of distinguished American lawyers, Mr. Dudley Field, judge Welles, Governor Washbourne, and others, to this point. Justice, Expediency, a truly guided Sentiment, and such Experience as is yet attainable – all these then point unanimously to the repeal of the existing Common Law, as it touches the Property of Married Women.”(Cobbe 105).  

Analysis: In thinking of Harris urges us to think of the ways our own sources counter texts and engage in persuasive moves they make within their own source material, I selected an excerpt from Cobbe’s essay titled “Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Children” where she addresses the movement around the passage of the Married Women’s Property Act. Throughout this piece there are numerous instances where Cobbe will quote directly from parliament or discussion from the American judicial system and debate their points, raise counter arguments, and extend those examples to the realities of women in England. In this particular example, she takes the discussions from the Parliamentary Committee where they air some of their concerns on the repeal of the common law surrounding married women’s property and even though Cobbe tells us they do agree, she makes a point to contend with each potential injury and prove why it wouldn’t be an issue. She takes their concerns seriously but rather than simply argue that the benefits outweigh any costs, she takes the time to move in a systematic fashion to take those credible sources from America or point to the evidence of the class system in England and how it wouldn’t face any consequences from this repeal. As Harris says, “…the aim of countering should not simply be to note the gaps or limits of another text but to use that critique to develop a position of your own…if you keep your focus as a writer less on the problems of a text than on the work you want to do with it, you still can’t counter without disagreeing”(Harris 67). Most of how Cobbe frames her whole piece is to do something with the sources around her and make them work for her in advancing her position that the society has shifted and the law must catch up. 

2. Harris’ “Skepticism and Civility” 

In thinking about this section from Harris and identifying the limits of certain arguments and/or approaches within the sources I am working within for my project of extending a past essay I think that my attitude is not so much as to reverse or claim something different but more of a respectful admiration for the confines of sources I had available to use. In my extension, the effort isn’t to discredit or counter those earlier sources but assess some meaningful gaps in their interpretations that might be better bolstered by incorporating other types of sources such as primary materials from debates, works of political theory that contextualize the political moment that spurred Brontë’s novel or Bodichon’s activism. I also have to keep in mind that in keeping my extension right around this time period of mid-Victorian it can be powerful to examine why such an emphasis on progress surrounding marriage and property came out so strongly but also it will be important to acknowledge that this is a snapshot of a very progressive and prolific moment but there are other issues that might relate but this project and my sources just didn’t have the interest in giving as much attention to. I am also thinking about some of my past ideas with this source from ENG 216 and have a quote from my essay that says,  

“That the legislative judgment of England should hold up before the world a perfect picture of what it understands that married life ought to be, is of much more consequence than that it should try to mend cases which must be bad at the best”

It might be helpful for me to really distinguish that as my focus in ENG 216’s short essay was directly related to how the Brontë’s novel responds to this idea of a legal ideal for marriage, I was limited in how many outside sources to incorporate and that in revisiting this, I can get much deeper into the politics of the reality of Victorian women and not just fictionalized accounts to perhaps better understand why literature was such an important factor for pushing progressive views in society but how the hard work in law and politics had to also be such a relentless driving push to actually implement these changes that their society has begun to think differently about.