Ugh. I'm going through a sort of crisis with Howard's article. Not because I disagree with anything she says, but because postmodernists (typically the theorists/friends I'm drawn to and love) absolutely delight in jarring me out of complacency. And sometimes, even as a self-proclaimed queer, I just want life to be easy; this is one of those times that I'm feeling very resistant to the idea that something is simply a social construct that we can only make sense of through our own rhetorical designs.
I want, in this case, for things to be "cut and dry" as Josh said in his post; whenever I run into one of these crises caused by pomos, I immediately get flustered--What? How can I be a feminists if women don't exist! Well, then I'll just have to quit everything! Of course I eventually come to terms, understanding that, just because something is a social construct, doesn't mean very real, lived experiences don't develop from them.
But I'm still in crisis mode.
How do we teach students to write their own-original-but-heavily-influenced-and-perhaps-not-original-at-all-but-that's-ok sentences rather than being "gatekeepers" of a gated community to which we don't even belong?
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What a great post. Wish I could write so concisely. Something tells me that to be a self proclaimed queer, and correct me if I'm wrong, does not necessarily invite complacency, not in our society, not when it is self-proclaimed. To have complacency in this society I would think self proclaiming nothing is the way to go--then everyone leaves you alone, doesn't challenge you, and the peace comes with invisibility. That, however, may not lead to real peace, if one is a thinker and a doer. You, like Jeff, raise the issue of the meaning of authentic voices--do they exist? Are we the gatekeepers of authenticity? Is that being way too full of ourselves? I think not actually. I like the idea of being a gatekeeper. Very mythic. I'm a myth. Which means, I'm what? Fictional? Ahh! Back to Kafka, or perhaps Calvin and Hobbs.
ReplyDeleteT.
As always, enlightening, Amy. Hooray for Kumashiro!
ReplyDeleteI found myself, after reading this, appropriating Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: I can't define plagiarism, per se, but I sure know it when I see it.
I have a feeling this goes against the pomo party line...
"being 'gatekeepers' of a gated community to which we don't even belong" --> I'm interested in what you mean here. We don't belong because such communities don't really exist but are constructions instead? We don't belong because we problematize them?
ReplyDelete(BTW, that might be my least favorite word ever: as though there aren't enough problems without running around creating more!!!)
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ReplyDeleteAmy!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your post. I'm still chuckling and agree with you. In that light...we're all hypocrites in the classroom. And who has given us the power to keep the gate...the man?