tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post7207129887376805315..comments2024-03-28T10:34:18.285-04:00Comments on The Closet Professor: Si Mis Manos Pudieran DeshojarJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-57946360694916498582011-04-24T19:04:36.932-04:002011-04-24T19:04:36.932-04:00You are most welcome, Chris. I am going to have t...You are most welcome, Chris. I am going to have to look into LaCapra more, when I looked him up he sounds very interesting and right up my alley. I also thought about Paul Fussell's "The Great War and Modern Memory" and how that gave us a whole new perspective on the WWI, because he examined the thoughts of the soldiers more so than the big picture of the war.<br /><br />When I was taking classes on conducting and interpreting Oral Histories, I became very aware of putting yourself in the persons mindset. If the interviewer is not objective, then we end up steering the interviewee into a direction to make our preconceptions for us. I also found the fascinating difference between a transcript and the recording. The tone, speech patterns, and inflections of a persons voice can tell us so much. More often than not though, we only have someones written words or actions to help us interpret the past. I'm getting a little too philosophical on this one (I think, LOL). <br /><br />If you would ever like to discuss it more, feel free to email me at jec1918@gmail.com. As someone who works with both history, art, and literature, it would be interesting to get a new perspective. If I get a chance to do so in the next few days (school/teaching is very busy right now), I'll send you an email.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-8887725894034574492011-04-23T22:35:12.810-04:002011-04-23T22:35:12.810-04:00Thanks for sharing your point of view, Joe, I was ...Thanks for sharing your point of view, Joe, I was really interested in what I could learn from a historian.<br /><br />There are various schools of thought in literary studies vis-a-vis biographism, of course, but research-wise I'd say everything is up for grabs. And while I agree with you that we might want to change/alter our viewing lenses when we look at the past, we are also creatures of our times and cannot escape our contemporary values in doing so... I'm scratching my head thinking of LaCapra as a possible answer to this, with his dialogical method of the past and present potentially illuminating each other.<br /><br />The most beautiful part though, as you said, is that we as readers can interpret poetry our way. Thanks again.Ms. Faustushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03191744120373670081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-12628280667039418612011-04-22T14:38:34.799-04:002011-04-22T14:38:34.799-04:00Me too, Jay.Me too, Jay.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-59688622548379555252011-04-22T14:38:20.017-04:002011-04-22T14:38:20.017-04:00Chris, I agree with you, but I believe, as stated ...Chris, I agree with you, but I believe, as stated in my previous comment, that we can interpret poems in our own way. Literature is on of my minor fields, and I tend to use history as a valid form of literary interpretation. Not all English professors agree with me on this, but I think the history of the times, greatly influences the writer.<br /><br />As for whether or not I feel like I am intruding into someone's private life as a historian, I do not. To be truthful, it is one of the great joys of being a historian to look into the lives of those who have passed away. I remember working with a particular diary of a teenage girl from the 1800s and sharing her joys of discovery and marveling at her intellect for someone so young. When I did more research about her life after the events that she wrote about, I cried when I found out that she had died shortly after the diary was written. I went back and reread it and realized that all the signs were there that she was dying. The illnesses she described. She didn't realize it at the time, just as I hadn't when I first read it. I felt like it gave me a personal perspective, like I knew her and her thoughts. It deeply affected my view of her life and the time period she was writing about. I think it makes historians better at their job when they are able to, at least partially, understand the lives of those we write about and study.<br /><br />I try very hard to be objective in my professional writing, so I attempt never to look at history through modern day views. I think when we look at something through a modern day lens, we often are being intrusive and twist their words. However, I endeavor to bring my mind in line with their point of view and time.<br /><br />I hope this makes sense.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-63276298667404481662011-04-22T14:26:27.312-04:002011-04-22T14:26:27.312-04:00Mike, I am glad you enjoyed this post. I think th...Mike, I am glad you enjoyed this post. I think that one of the great things about poetry is that it is how we interpret it. Poetry is such a beautiful art form. The poet may have had one interpretation, but we can always have another.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05299122685163501819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-46746739214323868372011-04-19T18:58:14.719-04:002011-04-19T18:58:14.719-04:00Wow. These are incredible. And the second guy is a...Wow. These are incredible. And the second guy is a true hunk, I want him!<br />Peace <3<br />JayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-80683448632708146102011-04-19T14:06:58.682-04:002011-04-19T14:06:58.682-04:00I always wonder about these... My own training in ...I always wonder about these... My own training in the study of literature was pretty rigidly anti-biographism and text-centered, except when the author's biography could be shown to illuminate their work. This is definitely one of those cases, because when read in this key, Lorca's poems indeed represent a shift in literary history and criticism, not to mention the political significance of literary studies becoming even more inclusive of homosexuality as a research topic.<br /><br />When authors pass away, they become property of the world, down to every last scribble. Their surviving family members sometimes wish history would remember them in a different light (I'm thinking poor Sylvia Plath and what Ted Hughes did to her diaries and writing). But if I forget my professional training and look at authors as just individuals with their own privacy, I wonder how much of themselves they would have liked to share with us if they had the choice?<br /><br />As a historian, do you ever have issues with being intrusive?Ms. Faustushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03191744120373670081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356114186987252972.post-35022377202183325152011-04-19T12:09:06.780-04:002011-04-19T12:09:06.780-04:00Leía sus poemas en la universidad cuando estaba es...Leía sus poemas en la universidad cuando estaba estudiando Espanol. I read his poems in the university when I was studying Spanish. Que divertido a leer y see that I understood the poem without any problems!Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03866077134601099787noreply@blogger.com