http://www.clusterflock.org/2008/05/graphing-jane-austen.html thoughts, questions, original art and content and links to stuff we think is of interest; a group blog dedicated to pretty much everything. by people you would like to meet at a party; proof of intelligent life on the planet; inhabited by Internet hunter gatherers in the pre-apocalyptic realm; a destination that offers constellations of stimulating links to popular (and not so popular) culture; a group blog dedicated to culture: art, design, music, food, architecture, science, travel, movies, books, typography, politics, etc.; inclusive of geezers!; a delightful mixture of orange words and pictures of well, the insides of a stuffed animal–delightful all the same; the social network I never thought I’d join. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:11:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.clusterflock.org/2008/05/graphing-jane-austen.html/comment-page-1#comment-128367 condour Thu, 22 May 2008 19:45:19 +0000 http://www.clusterflock.org/?p=10585#comment-128367 Hmmm... If an inspirational Robin Williams character finds something execrable, it's almost certainly on the right track. Hmmm… If an inspirational Robin Williams character finds something execrable, it’s almost certainly on the right track.

]]> http://www.clusterflock.org/2008/05/graphing-jane-austen.html/comment-page-1#comment-128251 Daryl Scroggins Thu, 22 May 2008 15:34:33 +0000 http://www.clusterflock.org/?p=10585#comment-128251 Thanks for posting this, Deron. There are many interesting ideas here, but this is not the first time I have heard calls to bring literary study closer to the methods of science. I think, though, that the contemporary scholar's urge to seek firmer ground has as much to do with professional frustration as it does with the literature being studied. People spend years training themselves--and only belatedly ask <i>why</i> am I doing this? What do I actually hope to achieve? So--the aura of science is injected as a bracer. There are already plenty of sociologists who examine the effects of literature upon populations, relating it to various theories generated in other fields. But it seems to me that literary scholars often confuse the value of a literary work with the value of their own study of it, in a way that is subconsciously parasitic: they insulate themselves from attacks on their own authority by transferring such attacks to "established" works. And as the number of readers declines, so does the authority that depends on readers. I suspect that an appeal to science might slightly bolster the confidence such scholars need to continue with what they are doing, but the best source of confidence comes from a more intense self-examination with respect to what is valued in literature. What has led to one's desire to study it and talk about it? It's surprising how many scholars one runs into who, when asked by some innocent student to account for why it is important to study literature, will simply trot out the old ridicule-infested answer: "Well if you have to ask, there's obviously no answer that will satisfy you." Thanks for posting this, Deron. There are many interesting ideas here, but this is not the first time I have heard calls to bring literary study closer to the methods of science. I think, though, that the contemporary scholar’s urge to seek firmer ground has as much to do with professional frustration as it does with the literature being studied. People spend years training themselves–and only belatedly ask why am I doing this? What do I actually hope to achieve? So–the aura of science is injected as a bracer. There are already plenty of sociologists who examine the effects of literature upon populations, relating it to various theories generated in other fields. But it seems to me that literary scholars often confuse the value of a literary work with the value of their own study of it, in a way that is subconsciously parasitic: they insulate themselves from attacks on their own authority by transferring such attacks to “established” works. And as the number of readers declines, so does the authority that depends on readers. I suspect that an appeal to science might slightly bolster the confidence such scholars need to continue with what they are doing, but the best source of confidence comes from a more intense self-examination with respect to what is valued in literature. What has led to one’s desire to study it and talk about it? It’s surprising how many scholars one runs into who, when asked by some innocent student to account for why it is important to study literature, will simply trot out the old ridicule-infested answer: “Well if you have to ask, there’s obviously no answer that will satisfy you.”

]]> http://www.clusterflock.org/2008/05/graphing-jane-austen.html/comment-page-1#comment-128099 John Buaas Thu, 22 May 2008 11:28:05 +0000 http://www.clusterflock.org/?p=10585#comment-128099 This reminds me of that early scene in <i>Dead Poets Society</i> where Robin Williams' character has a student read a passage from their text where the author says one can graph the emotions of a poem, or something like that, to which, after a pause, Robin Williams says, "Excrement." This reminds me of that early scene in Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams’ character has a student read a passage from their text where the author says one can graph the emotions of a poem, or something like that, to which, after a pause, Robin Williams says, “Excrement.”

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