| Sontag The Saussure Example A note on the use of theory in this class GoPost – how did it go? – responses Sontag – Impressions – GoPost style discussion HW – Read Barthes – Practice 2 responses, due by class. – Next week we start Hawthorne. “Custom House” intro chapter for Monday..

Saussure Example: Semiotics in Humor

A note on theory… This is a class about reading. My goal is to show you some of the reasons why this is more difficult that we usually assume so that you can read with self- awareness. The theory is intended to point out some of the common assumptions that can trip you up, in particular, the desire to find the ‘true meaning’ of what you read. As we progress, I will draw our attention to the ways in which the texts we are reading take up the same topic, the way the texts are themselves about reading. When it comes to what you decide to write about or discuss on-line, that is up to you. My hope is, however, that when you address your interests you do so with an awareness of what we will discuss in class.

GoPost How did it go? Questions, now that you have tried it? I have put some comments up, more to come this evening. Biggest issues so far: – Thesis not coming from quotation – Description is summary of essay rather than explanation of what the quotation is doing, the issues it raises.

Responses 3 per week. At least one for each writer. Every Friday by 5pm. You are encouraged to revisit old discussions or spend your responses in one place and make more than 3 responses. Procedure – Read the Claim Paragraph. – Find quotations in the text that address that claim by: Complicating it Supporting it Refining it Extending it – Post the quotation and how it relates to the Claim paragraph.

Grading – Largely for completion. I’ll check everyone to make sure they have the right number of posts. – I will also read the discussions to get a feel for what you all are concentrating on. When I do, you will get dinged if you response is incomplete. – This works best when you invest your interests and your ideas, when you make the discussion about what you find important. To that end, I’ll mostly keep out of discussion.

Sontag In her essay, “Against Interpretation,” Susan Sontag rejects the contemporary style of interpretation that looks beyond surfaces for the ‘true meaning,’ for it neglects the really important aspect of art, the sensual experience. As she says about Resnais and Robbe-Grillet’s Last Year at Marenbad, “What matters in Marienbad is the pure, untranslatable, sensuous immediacy of some of its images, and its rigorous if narrow solutions to certain problems of cinematic form” [21]. According to this statement, there are two important elements to consider, the “sensuous immediacy” and “form.” Noticeably absent is any sense of the narrative, characters, message, or content of the film. Sontag, therefore, suggests that to show respect for the work of art and to avoid the pitfalls of interpretation, we as readers must ignore content and intellectual issues raised by a text to focus on how the form makes us feel.

What is Interpretation for Sontag?

Why is interpretation problematic?

Is interpretation always bad?

What should we have instead?

Surface

Form / Content

ReEvaluate the original claim: In her essay, “Against Interpretation,” Susan Sontag rejects the contemporary style of interpretation that looks beyond surfaces for the ‘true meaning,’ for it neglects the really important aspect of art, the sensual experience. As she says about Resnais and Robbe-Grillet’s Last Year at Marenbad, “What matters in Marienbad is the pure, untranslatable, sensuous immediacy of some of its images, and its rigorous if narrow solutions to certain problems of cinematic form” [21]. According to this statement, there are two important elements to consider, the “sensuous immediacy” and “form.” Noticeably absent is any sense of the narrative, characters, message, or content of the film. Sontag, therefore, suggests that to show respect for the work of art and to avoid the pitfalls of interpretation, we as readers must ignore content and intellectual issues raised by a text to focus on how the form makes us feel.