The document discusses the importance of taking both a critical and aesthetic approach when analyzing communicative acts and cultural texts. It emphasizes that there is no single inherent meaning, and meanings are constructed through complex social and historical processes. Readers are encouraged to actively engage with texts by considering issues like viewpoint representation and cultural assumptions rather than passively accepting messages. Both emotional and intellectual responses are valued in obtaining a richer understanding.

1. Putting it all together…

2.  There is no perfect or model language or
act within a language.
 All cultural practices are sign
systems, much like language itself.
 There is no inherent, natural meanings in
anything…all meaning is constructed
through the complex relationship between
signifiers and signified.
 No language act is unbiased or innocent…
Reading Critically

3.  There are many possible, often
conflicting, interpretations of a text…all
we can do is agree to a tendency of
interpretation.
 Many communicative acts are
political…the desire to influence, gain or
maintain power is worth considering when
trying to determine the meaning of a
work.
Reading Critically

4.  We should never be passive consumers of
what we read.
 Actively engage a work, don’t passively
encounter it.
 The checklist: Whose views are being
represented, whose interests are being
served, what are the intentions, what
position are you being invited to take
up, cultural assumptions at play, what is
missing…
Reading Critically

5.  Close reading for content and form is
assessed in this course.
 Careful attention to texts and other
communicative acts calls attention to
construction, style and beauty.
 Feeling is valuable even as we approach a
text critically.
 You do not simply need to pick apart texts
coldly and cynically…
Appreciating Beauty

6.  The emotional, sensory and affective
nature of texts is as important as the
intellectual…we may question our initial
feelings, but not at the cost of outright
denial…emotional encounters should be
recognized and explored.
 The individual voice of an artist is
valuable…communicative acts often arise
from strong emotion or passion.
Appreciating Beauty

7. Guernica
Appreciating Beauty

9.  The goal is to approach all communicative
acts with an eye for both the critical and
the aesthetic.
 You should be able to both recognize
subtle manipulations in an
advertisement, and realize why these
images are emotional pleasing.
 These aspects need not be in
opposition, but act in concert toward a
richer understanding
Appreciating Beauty

10. For the following clips take both
the Critical Approach…
 Whose views are represented?
 What are the intentions behind them?
 Whose interests are being served?
 What cultural assumptions are being
made? Taken for granted?
 What perspectives are left out?
Appreciating Beauty

11. …and the Aesthetic Approach
 What are your impressions?
 What is the tone and atmosphere?
 What is the effect of the imagery, sound?
 What feelings are stirred by the content?
 What ideas does the creator wish to convey?
 How are these ideas suggested or presented?
Appreciating Beauty

12. Appreciating Beauty

15.  Pleasure often enhances our experience with
language.
 Aesthetic responses inform our cultural
values and belief systems…when we think about
why we enjoy a particular language act we begin to
examine our cultural values
 An aesthetic experience can help us
understand how form and content come
together to create meaning or emotion.
 Consideration of the aesthetic value of a work
gives rise to a demand to consider more
critical aspects.
Appreciating Beauty

16.  Literature in translation allows students to
take a more global view of literature.
 English translations are more subtle
approximations of the original than
primary documents.
 Translation is an art in itself.
 Translators must often make decisions
and compromises.
Appreciating Beauty

17.  What digital resources do you Use?
 Technology is always changing…but this
does not mean newer media is always
superior.
 What role does technology play in the
writing process?
 Cave painting->handwriting->the
typewriter->the word processor->Google
docs.->?????
Using Technology

18.  We are constantly surrounded by text in a
digital environment…and we are
constantly producing language using
technology.
 Are technology driven reading practices
different from print driven practices?
 What are the implications of global
communication?
 Do practices such as texting and emailing
affect the way we use language?
Using Technology

19. Using Technology
Using Technology

21. Creative Intervention…
 Machinima is an art that uses an existing
platform to create a new work of art…
 While viewing this clip ask yourself…What
genre would you call this? Is this an
original work of art? Does it infringe on
the creator’s rights?
Using Technology

23.  Technology can be used in may creative
ways to analyze language…
 Franco Moretti uses literature as data to
map literary trends.
 “Distance Reading”…collating data instead
of close reading.
 Exploring emerging patterns…quite
different than simply closely reading
texts…
Using Technology

24. Using Technology

25.  We always turn to a text to find meaning
or support our ideas.
 Looking closely at a text we can see how
the devices work together to create
meaning.
 Being an active reader means much of the
power of a text is in your mind.
 You are not simply uncovering the
thoughts and intentions of an author…
Reading, Listening, and Viewing

27.  New Critics argue that the text is more
important than the authors intent.
 Barths recommends the “death of the
author”, and consequently any possibility
of pinning down meaning.
 Do not search for the secret meaning
locked in a text, but traverse the
bottomless space a text offers.
Reading, Listening, and Viewing

28.  Annotating and taking notes will help
ensure active reading.
 Questions about a text prompt you to look
for answers.
 Try not to prejudge what you are looking
for as it will cloud your reading.
Reading, Listening, and Viewing