There won’t be class Monday because I picked up a bug and I’m losing my voice. That doesn’t mean we have to lose our rhythm, though. In lieu of the conversation we might have had in class, here are some general remarks on Allah is Not Obliged.
Monthly Archives: February 2011
The Period and the Subject (HUM303)
I looked over the surveys and the quizzes, though I’ve yet to grade the latter. I realize I could have been more explicit about my expectations for the identification section and so I’ll probably be grading more generously than usual for this first pop quiz. I think of “identification” in its obvious meaning– what text did this come from/ who said it/ etc.– but also as an opportunity to synthesize information. Making the connections is crucial.
Revolution Makes You Young
From an interview with Nawal El Saadawi– Egyptian doctor, scholar and activist– on the January 25th Movement:
A tu edad
Cartoon by Juan Kalvellido.
Translation:
“At your age, I was already working.”
“And, at your age, grandma, I’ll be still working.”
Interpellation (HUM470)
We didn’t have a chance to apply Belsey to Douglass, but there will be one last opportunity to do so on Friday. My interest is to look at Frederick as a case of “failure to interpellate”— as someone who refused to acknowledge “the hail” of ideology. That interest stems from the belief– in line with Angela Davis’s lectures– that Douglass’s Narrative offers us a useable past, a means with which to examine our own subject-formation. Surely there were enslaved people who identified completely with the roles they had been assigned under chattel slavery. Malcolm X certainly thought so, and he used that phenomenon to criticize African Americans who were not willing to explicitly, immediately, passionately abolish white supremacy. Consider these (heavily edited) remarks:
The Cultural Logic of Ke$ha (HUM415, 303)
In an email, somebody brought up Ke$ha– who, it’s true, I haven’t been thinking about all that much– and if we have time on Friday (Thursday for those in HUM303) we should screen this video and discuss it.
Group (HUM303)
It’s the best when the class talks. Groups are a way to get class discussion rolling in a low-pressure fashion. Still, it’s not for everyone. I’d greatly appreciate feedback on whether you find group work useful. As always, if you’re shy use a pseudonym.
Not overstate it, but I think it’s important, when appropriate, for us to disagree. Every opinion and interpretation is not equal. To suggest that they are is at its best a form of patronizing complacency– a way of avoiding difficult work and of patting others on the head– and at its worst a kind of nihilism. (Consider that if every opinion is valid then we are compelled to accord a “fair hearing” to white supremacists or misogynists or other deep thinkers.) Respectful dissensus brings rigor to the work we do and raises it to the level of scholarship.
The course information page has been updated, including a new pdf version of the syllabus.
Contextualizing AINO (HUM415)
If you’re interested in gathering some historical context for Allah is not Obliged you can consult the following links:
A post from analepsis containing pdf files taken from Country Watch.
Images of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who was instrumental in the Sierra Leone civil war and is on trial for war crimes.
The RUF’s manifesto Footpaths to Democracy. This is the text cited by Hoffman.
IDAFGM 2011
Today is International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation. Here’s an article from the UK Guardian and a video from Sister Fa, a campaigner against FGM.
Reading Hamlet (HUM303)
It might be useful to recall which passages from Hamlet we discussed/ screened on Thursday. Claudius’s opening speech is in Act One, Scene Two (I.ii). Remember that this scene is particularly important in terms of the way that two young characters in the play– Laertes and Hamlet– are treated. These two young men seem to represent different “types” of (male) youth. Also, it’s important to note that in this scene Claudius has effectively and rather smoothly usurped Hamlet’s rightful position as presumptive heir to the Danish throne.
analepsis 