Mid-Term
COGN 150: Poetry, Performance, and Protest
Professor: Bill Marsh
Mid-Term Questions
Respond to THREE of the following questions. For each one, write one page in response (typed, double-spaced, so about 300-350 words per response). If your answer goes a little long, that’s okay, but try to keep it to the specified word limit. The questions are designed for short, focused answers.
Please indicate the QUESTION NUMBER at the top of each page.
Please USE YOUR OWN WORDS and avoid quoting (too much) from the readings. I’m more interested in getting your understanding--your language, your “metaphors”--than a reiteration of the text.
When finished, please use this exam sheet as a cover sheet and staple all pages together. Hand in on Friday, February 18th.
Note: In preparation for final papers, I’ll be GRADING TOUGH on these (for your own good :). Please take the necessary time to plan and execute your answers. As with final papers, grades will be based on content (the journey), organization (the container), and language clarity (bricks and mortar).
* * *
1. What’s the difference between the “transmission” and “ritual” views of communication as described in Carey? Give an example or two (from class or elsewhere) to help clarify your answer.
2. In his essay “The Poet,” Emerson writes: “Thought makes everything fit for use” (packet p. 51). Discuss this quote in relation to Emerson’s broader points about language, experience, and poetry? If appropriate, give an example or two to help clarify your answer.
3. What does Vološinov mean by “interindividual significance” (packet p. 61) and how might this concept be useful for a study of poetry as communication activity? Feel free to use an example or two (from other readings or from class examples) to clarify your answer.
4. Silliman writes (in “The Political Economy of Poetry”): “Context determines the actual, real-life consumption of the literary product, without which communication of a message (formal, substantive, ideological) cannot occur” (packet p. 65). Discuss this statement in relation to the “Slam Nation” segments we watched in class (be sure to say something about context, communication, and consumption in your answer).
5. In “The Rejection of Closure,” Hejinian argues that the “open text...resists reduction and commodification” (packet p. 80). First, what does she mean by “reduction and commodification”? And second, what do you see as the political potential of this kind of literary (poetic) resistance?
6. In what ways does David Antin’s talk poem “a private occasion in a public place” defamiliarize poetry, the poetry reading, and the poet as traditionally understood? You should begin your answer with a brief definition of “defamiliarization,” and then be specific about the different ways in which Antin’s piece is an example of Shklovsky’s concept.
7. How do we “live by” metaphors? In writing your answer, focus on one aspect (perhaps even one passage) of Lakoff and Johnson’s study that you found particularly important, stirring, troubling, or inspiring. In other words, you don’t have to summarize the whole book. Instead, pick off a relevant piece, chew it up, digest it, and then feed it back in words that make sense to you.
Professor: Bill Marsh
Mid-Term Questions
Respond to THREE of the following questions. For each one, write one page in response (typed, double-spaced, so about 300-350 words per response). If your answer goes a little long, that’s okay, but try to keep it to the specified word limit. The questions are designed for short, focused answers.
Please indicate the QUESTION NUMBER at the top of each page.
Please USE YOUR OWN WORDS and avoid quoting (too much) from the readings. I’m more interested in getting your understanding--your language, your “metaphors”--than a reiteration of the text.
When finished, please use this exam sheet as a cover sheet and staple all pages together. Hand in on Friday, February 18th.
Note: In preparation for final papers, I’ll be GRADING TOUGH on these (for your own good :). Please take the necessary time to plan and execute your answers. As with final papers, grades will be based on content (the journey), organization (the container), and language clarity (bricks and mortar).
* * *
1. What’s the difference between the “transmission” and “ritual” views of communication as described in Carey? Give an example or two (from class or elsewhere) to help clarify your answer.
2. In his essay “The Poet,” Emerson writes: “Thought makes everything fit for use” (packet p. 51). Discuss this quote in relation to Emerson’s broader points about language, experience, and poetry? If appropriate, give an example or two to help clarify your answer.
3. What does Vološinov mean by “interindividual significance” (packet p. 61) and how might this concept be useful for a study of poetry as communication activity? Feel free to use an example or two (from other readings or from class examples) to clarify your answer.
4. Silliman writes (in “The Political Economy of Poetry”): “Context determines the actual, real-life consumption of the literary product, without which communication of a message (formal, substantive, ideological) cannot occur” (packet p. 65). Discuss this statement in relation to the “Slam Nation” segments we watched in class (be sure to say something about context, communication, and consumption in your answer).
5. In “The Rejection of Closure,” Hejinian argues that the “open text...resists reduction and commodification” (packet p. 80). First, what does she mean by “reduction and commodification”? And second, what do you see as the political potential of this kind of literary (poetic) resistance?
6. In what ways does David Antin’s talk poem “a private occasion in a public place” defamiliarize poetry, the poetry reading, and the poet as traditionally understood? You should begin your answer with a brief definition of “defamiliarization,” and then be specific about the different ways in which Antin’s piece is an example of Shklovsky’s concept.
7. How do we “live by” metaphors? In writing your answer, focus on one aspect (perhaps even one passage) of Lakoff and Johnson’s study that you found particularly important, stirring, troubling, or inspiring. In other words, you don’t have to summarize the whole book. Instead, pick off a relevant piece, chew it up, digest it, and then feed it back in words that make sense to you.
posted by bill at 7:40 AM
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