We have talked briefly about the symbolic significance of Lucy's violation as a kind of allegorical violation/invasion of England itself. Is there anything different about the way Mina's relationship to Dracula is represented? Specifically, I'm thinking of the scene described on 250-252. In discussing this feel free to comment on the gender politics of this section of the book---for example, the way in which the men attempt to protect Mina from dangerous knowledge.
A related question (which you do not have to answer) returns us to the question of Whiteness in this book. Dracula is always represented as too pale. And, as Mina is being 'turned' people like Renfield notice that she is too pale ("I don't care for pale people"). Can one be too white to be (racially)"white"?
See you Monday,
Dan
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Invasion, Transfusion, and the Woman's Body in Dracula
Hi all,
Sorry for the late post. While I had promised that I would have you address the reviews of Dracula in this session's post, I changed my mind:)
Instead, I'd like you to think about the role that the female body plays in dramatizing the kinds of fears we've been talking about---Invasion, miscegenation (mixing of 'blood'), sexual impurity etc... What do you make of the drama around Lucy? This includes the time in Whitby (the sleepwalking episode), the three suitors who all become her blood donors, and the violence that attends her (second) death. What is the role of gender, of desire, and of foreign-ness?
Sorry for the late post. While I had promised that I would have you address the reviews of Dracula in this session's post, I changed my mind:)
Instead, I'd like you to think about the role that the female body plays in dramatizing the kinds of fears we've been talking about---Invasion, miscegenation (mixing of 'blood'), sexual impurity etc... What do you make of the drama around Lucy? This includes the time in Whitby (the sleepwalking episode), the three suitors who all become her blood donors, and the violence that attends her (second) death. What is the role of gender, of desire, and of foreign-ness?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Eastern Promises--Race, Blood and Desire in Dracula
Having started Dracula, I'd like you to comment on a number of issues, all of which naturally intersect.
1) How does Harker describe the "East" in his travels and what is the difference between how he describes 'ordinary' people and the Count?
2) Thinking about the Count's discussion of his "blood" (metaphorical that is), what is the role of 'race' here (a word the Count uses often)?
3) What is the role of Gender, especially in the scene with the women in the Castle? How is female desire represented? How is male desire represented? How is Harker gendered?
There's a lot here, but then, there's a lot in the book!
--Enjoy,
Dan
1) How does Harker describe the "East" in his travels and what is the difference between how he describes 'ordinary' people and the Count?
2) Thinking about the Count's discussion of his "blood" (metaphorical that is), what is the role of 'race' here (a word the Count uses often)?
3) What is the role of Gender, especially in the scene with the women in the Castle? How is female desire represented? How is male desire represented? How is Harker gendered?
There's a lot here, but then, there's a lot in the book!
--Enjoy,
Dan
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Boucicault, Theatre, and Race
Boucicault's The Octoroon represents a departure from the texts we've been reading in two ways.
First, it's a different genre. In your response, please take into account the question of how race is represented on stage---that is, both how race is visualized and how it is performed (in the sense of manifested, constructed, and created on stage).
Second, as opposed to the selections we looked at last week, which seemed to echo Curtis's argument about the simianization of the Irish, I'd like your response to how Boucicault represents Irishness here. Specifically, think about how situating the 'irishman' not only in a 19th century U.S. Southern plantation but also among a variety of racial others (native americans, African Americans etc...). Perhaps more important, how does Zoe's racial identity affect how we read Irishness or even race itself in the play?
Feel free to address other issues, but I just wanted you to think about these for the post and for class.
First, it's a different genre. In your response, please take into account the question of how race is represented on stage---that is, both how race is visualized and how it is performed (in the sense of manifested, constructed, and created on stage).
Second, as opposed to the selections we looked at last week, which seemed to echo Curtis's argument about the simianization of the Irish, I'd like your response to how Boucicault represents Irishness here. Specifically, think about how situating the 'irishman' not only in a 19th century U.S. Southern plantation but also among a variety of racial others (native americans, African Americans etc...). Perhaps more important, how does Zoe's racial identity affect how we read Irishness or even race itself in the play?
Feel free to address other issues, but I just wanted you to think about these for the post and for class.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Otherness, Irishness, and the 19th century novel
Hi all,
This is just a post to get you started with our reading for Friday. I've given you very short excerpts from both Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. The readings continue the discussion we've been having in class, regarding the way in which widely different representations of Otherness get mapped onto Irishness in particular. You may write about either text. In the case of Frankenstein I've provided images that directly link Frankenstein to Irishness. In the case of Wuthering Heights I'm thinking of the work of people like Elsie Michie (LSU Professor!) who have argued that the representation of Heathcliff is connected to the kinds of representations we saw in Curtis's book.
Please familiarize yourselves with the plots of these texts if you haven't read them or if it's been a while... See you Friday,
Dan
This is just a post to get you started with our reading for Friday. I've given you very short excerpts from both Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. The readings continue the discussion we've been having in class, regarding the way in which widely different representations of Otherness get mapped onto Irishness in particular. You may write about either text. In the case of Frankenstein I've provided images that directly link Frankenstein to Irishness. In the case of Wuthering Heights I'm thinking of the work of people like Elsie Michie (LSU Professor!) who have argued that the representation of Heathcliff is connected to the kinds of representations we saw in Curtis's book.
Please familiarize yourselves with the plots of these texts if you haven't read them or if it's been a while... See you Friday,
Dan
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Views of the Famine
Hi All,
So, I forgot that you have to be a member of the blog to make a new post. Sorry about that! Just do your responses to the "Views of the Famine" in the Comments section. Remember, you only have to comment on one article among all of them.
--Dan
So, I forgot that you have to be a member of the blog to make a new post. Sorry about that! Just do your responses to the "Views of the Famine" in the Comments section. Remember, you only have to comment on one article among all of them.
--Dan
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