Showing papers on "Narratology published in 2001"

Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse

Abstract: "Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse" develops a narrative theory of the pervasive use of disability as a device of characterization in literature and film. It argues that, while other marginalized identities have suffered cultural exclusion due to a dearth of images reflecting their experience, the marginality of disabled people has occurred in the midst of the perpetual circulation of images of disability in print and visual media. The manuscript's six chapters offer comparative readings of key texts in the history of disability representation, including the tin soldier and lame Oedipus, Montaigne's "infinities of forms" and Nietzsche's "higher men," the performance history of Shakespeare's "Richard III, " Melville's Captain Ahab, the small town grotesques of Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" and Katherine Dunn's self-induced freaks in "Geek Love."David T. Mitchell is Associate Professor of Literature and Cultural Studies, Northern Michigan University. Sharon L. Snyder is Assistant Professor of Film and Literature, Northern Michigan University.

Narrative Theory and the Cognitive Sciences

Abstract: Research on human intelligence has postulated that studying the structure and use of stories can provide important insight into the roots of self and the nature of thinking In that spirit, this volume focuses on narrative as a crossroads where cognitive and social psychology, linguistics, literary theory, and the recent hybrid called "cognitive narratology" intersect, suggesting new directions for the cognitive sciences The ideas contained here demonstrate the importance of narrative as a cognitive style, a genre of discourse, and a resource for literary writing and other forms of communication

A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey

Abstract: Whereas traditional commentaries tend to be comprehensive and micro-textual, this narratological commentary, first published in 2001, focuses on one aspect of the Odyssey, its narrativity, and pays lavish attention to the meso- and macro-levels. Drawing on the concepts of modern narratology as well as the insights of Homeric scholarship, it discusses the role of narrator and narratees, methods of characterization and description, plot-development, focalization, and the narrative exploitation of type-scenes. Full attention is also given to the structure, characterizing function, and relation to the narrative context of the abundantly present speeches. Finally, the numerous themes and motifs, which so subtly contribute to the unity of this long text, are traced and evaluated. Although Homer's brilliant narrative art has always been admired, this commentary aims to lay bare the techniques responsible for this brilliance. All Greek is translated and all technical terms explained in a glossary.

Reinterpreting the Learning Organisation.

Abstract: Examines the theoretical and practical development of the concept of the learning organisation (LO). Some theorists have used the term LO interchangeably with organisational learning, while others have drawn distinctions between the two. Provides a brief review of the current LO literature in the context of learning and organisational learning, and the theoretical tensions existing between these concepts. Treats the LO as a metaphor in order to explore the possibilities for its re‐interpretation. Establishes the centrality of narrative to all human endeavours and that every organisational aspect is anchored in narratives. Holistically re‐interprets the LO using narrative theory. Suggests the LO needs to be re‐interpreted in the context of power relations and Bourdieu’s social theory. Claims that the use of metaphor, narrative and social theory enhance our thinking about the LO conceptually and will open up practical possibilities for practitioners and consultants.

Narrative Voice and Agency in Drama: Aspects of a Narratology of Drama

Abstract: the social scene, any scene. I write plays, when I can manage it, and that's all. That's the sum of it. So I'm speaking with some reluctance, know ing that there are at least twenty-four possible aspects of any single statement, depending on where you are standing at the time or on what the weather's like. A categorical statement, I find, will never stay where it is and be finite. It will immediately be subject to modification by the other twenty-three possibilities of it.1

A Method for Qualitative Narrative Analysis of Psychotherapy Transcripts

Abstract: The approach described in this chapter has been influenced by three of the most significant developments in late twentieth century psychotherapy theory and practice: experiential therapy, narrative theory, and qualitative research methodology. Experiential models and practices have evolved from the pioneering work of Carl Rogers and other client-centered therapists and researchers (Rogers, 1951) to encompass a diversity of experientially-oriented therapies. The current status of experiential therapy is reviewed in Greenberg, Watson and Lietaer (1998). The key features of experiential approaches to therapy are a conception of the human subject as imbued with agency and reflexivity (McLeod, 1996b), and a perspective on therapeutic practice that eschews labelling/diagnosis and emphasises the resolution of personal difficulties through a process of meaning-making based in the expression and unfolding of immediate bodily feelings and emotions. The second source of influence has been the growing body of theory and practice in relation to narrative and storytelling. One of the most striking developments in philosophy, social science and psychology in the later years of the twentieth century has been the renewal of interest in narrative. Within psychology, there have been major contributions in this sphere from Bruner (1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993), Polkinghorne (1988) and Sarbin (1986)). The "narrative turn" has had a significant impact on the work of many counselors and psychotherapists. Although some important lines of development of what might be termed 'narrative-informed' therapies have taken place within psychoanalysis (Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1990; Schafer, 1992; Spence, 1982) and cognitive/constructivist therapy (Gonqalves, 1995; Russell & Van den Brock, 1992), it can be argued that it has only been in the writings of White and Epston (1990) and their colleagues that the value in therapy of playing close attention to the stories told by people, and in the ways in which these stories change and become "re-authored" has been fully appreciated and exploited (McLeod, 1997; Payne, 2000). The juxtaposition and integration of experiential and narrative frameworks for therapeutic practice is relatively unusual. Similiarities in therapeutic style between the founders of experiential therapy, such as Carl Rogers, and the founders of "post-structuralist" narrative therapy, such as Michael White and David Epston have been pointed out (Payne, 1999). However, beyond a shared ethic of affirmatory "not-knowing", it is possible to see that there are a number of ways in which experiential and narrative ideas and methods may complement each other. The studies by Rennie (1994) and Grafanaki and McLeod (1999), for example, have shown the importance of the therapeutic relationship in storytelling: the story the person tells in therapy is closely bound up with his or her moment-by-moment experiencing of self-in-relationship with the therapist and with his or her bodily experiencing of feeling and emotion. These are aspects of therapy that are neither theorised nor researchable within current narrative frameworks. At the same time, the experiential therapies have not evolved a language for identifying or reflecting upon stories, with the result that this important route into meaning-making is not exploited as much as it might be. Using experiential and narrative constructs together is a means of opening up a new "clearing" within which we are forced us to think in fresh ways about what happens in therapy. A third thread of influence has been the explosion of interest and creativity that has taken place around qualitative or "human science" methods in recent years, primarily within social science as a whole but more recently also within the field of counseling and psychotherapy research. There now exist a number of distinct genres of qualitative research: phenomenology, grounded theory, hermeneutics, metabletics, collaborative inquiry (see McLeod, 1996a, 2001). …

Telling Wonders: Ethnographic and Political Discourse in the Work of Herodotus

Abstract: As he explores the causes of the East-West conflict from its most remote antecedents, Herodotus includes conflicting traditions about different historical periods as well as apparently tangential descriptions of the customs of faraway peoples. What was his aim in combining such diverse material? Rosaria Vignolo Munson argues that Herodotus' aim was two-fold: to use historical narrative to illuminate the present and to describe barbarian customs so that the Greeks might understand themselves.Herodotus assumes the role of advisor to his audience, acting as a master of metaphor and oracular speech and as an intellectual fully aware of new philosophical and political trends. By comparing, interpreting, and evaluating facts through time and space or simply by pointing them out as objects of "wonder," he teaches that correct political action is linked to an appropriate approach to foreigners and additional "others." Munson relies on traditional scholarship and modern studies in narratology and related critical fields to distinguish between narrative and metanarrative, providing a framework for analyzing the construction of Herodotus' discourse and his presentation of himself through it.Munson's work will be useful to classicists and ancient historians and will also engage anthropologists interested in cultural interaction and notions of ethnicity and literary critics interested in narrative constructions.Rosaria Vignolo Munson is Associate Professor of Classics, Swarthmore College.

Portrayed on the Heart: Narrative Effect in Pictorial Lives of Saints from the Tenth through the Thirteenth Century

Abstract: Hagiography, or writing about and illustrating the lives of saints, was one of the most creative areas for artistic inspiration in the literature and arts of the Middle Ages. This book explores the sumptuously illustrated saints' lives that were made in medieval Europe. Cynthia Hahn discusses a broad range of manuscripts and other artifacts, many of which are reproduced here, and provides an analysis of their pictorial and narrative structure. Hahn's book is a virtual compendium of images - many rarely published - as well as a learned study that deepens our understanding of the role of various types of saints, the nature of their audience and the historical moment when individual works were produced. After two informative introductory chapters setting the historical and narrative context of pictorial hagiography, Hahn considers the Lives of Martyrs and Virgins, Bishops, Monks and Abbots, and Kings and Queens and concludes with an examination of the extraordinary chronicles and illustrations of the lives of saints by the English monk Matthew Paris. She considers such questions as: Why were illustrated saints' lives produced in such great numbers during this period? Why were they illustrated at all given the trouble and expense of such illustration? And to whom did the saints' lives appeal and how did their readers use them? As she addresses these and other intriguing questions, Hahn traces changes that occurred over time both in the images and the stories, and shows how their creators, mostly the intellectual elite, were finely attuned to audience reception. This important aspect of hagiographic production has received scant attention in the past, and as she considers this issue in light of contemporary narrative theory, Hahn brings us to a fresh appreciation of these intricately illustrated manuscripts and their multiple audiences.

Form and Context: An Essay in the History of Narratology

Abstract: This essay compares two distinct traditions of narrative theory: on the one hand, that of structuralist narratology as it emerged in the 1960s and in its various subsequent manifestations; on the other, that of German-language Erzahltheorie as codified in the 1950s, with a prehistory dating back to German classicism. Having mapped the connections between these traditions, this essay then concentrates on exploring how narratology, unlike German narrative theory, has come to broaden its project exponentially since its first critical incarnation as a strictly formalist poetics. While the German tradition has concentrated on rhetoric and voice (with reception theory constituting a largely separate area of inquiry), narratology, which frames the text within a symmetry of real, implied, and fictional intelligences, has always had the potential to pose questions about how narrative functions in relation to a surrounding world of ideas. Of the two only narratology can therefore theorize both authorship and reading. In specific terms, this essay argues that the controversial narratological abstraction of implied authorship represents the only point at which a negotiation between textual and contextual worlds can logically take place. Evidence of how crucial such theorization has been in the development of contextualist narratology is sought in the examination of a test case, namely the much-disputed project of feminist narratology.

The fiction of bioethics: a precis.

Abstract: Recently, bioethics has become interested in engaging with narrative, but in this engagement, narrative is usually viewed as a mere helpmate to philosophy. In this precis to his book The Fiction of Bioethics, Tod Chambers argues that narrative theory should not be simply a helpful addition to medical ethics but instead should be thought of as being as vital and important to the discipline as moral theory itself. The reason we need to rethink the relationship of medical ethics to narrative is that ethicists test their ideas by applying them to cases, and cases are a narrative genre. Recognizing the importance that cases have for the way medical ethicists do ethics is essential in order to appreciate the field as a form of applied philosophy. Like other forms of representation, narrative has distinct and defining features, which ethicists, in order to understand the data of their field, must learn to recognize and differentiate. Ethicists need to attend to the way decisions about the discourse of a narrativ...

Dancing in the dark : Deconstructing a narrative of epiphany on the Isopata ring

Abstract: In theory, narratives in any medium can recount religious, profane, real, or fantastic events. But some stories, those involving battles for instance, are easier to relate and understand than others; they have more narrative value, or narrativity. The often-reproduced scene on a ring from Isopata, Crete, is an instructive example of the rich narrative character of the finest Aegean glyptic art. It also exemplifies the difficulties posed to the modern viewer-narrator by images that depict religious tales or events. The examination of the pictorial structure and gestures of the protagonists on the Isopata ring undertaken here, which takes the form of a comparative analysis and centers the discussion within the theoretical framework of narratology, discloses the intense ambiguities of the ring's representation. The characters on the ring appear to take part in an event of some significance, yet it is not possible to determine the individual status of each figure (e.g., divine or mortal) from the pictorial texts at our disposal. Nor can we tell precisely what each figure is doing, where they are positioned in relation to one another, and in what sequence the action depticted should be read. This revelation is unsettling, given that the traditional view of Minoan religion as being focused on invoking an epiphany of the goddess through ecstatic dancing is based in large part on readings of the scene on the Isopata ring.

Can the Theory of Narratives Help Science Teachers be Better Storytellers

Abstract: The narration of historical details is an art. It can be learned by studying narrative theories which lead to a better understanding of the narrative process. Not every physics teacher is born an expert in storytelling. The analysis of the whole process of story production and its reception by an audience is a precious tool, even in the hand of an inexperienced storyteller. Science teachers can profit from an education in this direction.

Enhancing Your Experiential Program with Narrative Theory

Abstract: The narrative perspective reminds us that experiential learning must be more than teaching participants how to apply predetermined skills and generic concepts to future life situations. Participants must be given the opportunity to explore personally meaningful concepts that come from their own history, context, and feelings for true learning to occur. In this article narrative theory is used as a framework from which to explore the different stages of experiential learning and the consequent role of the facilitator in connecting experiences to the ongoing life story of each participant.

Narrative perspective and the interpretation of characters' motives

Abstract: This article addresses the question of the effects of narrative perspective on readers. A review of the (mainly social science) literature suggests a number of factors that may affect readers' inte...

Epistemic responsibility and narrative theory: The literary journalism of Ryszard Kapuscinski

Abstract: The combination of epistemic responsibility from moral philosophy and narrative theory provides a foundation for establishing literature-based standards for judging the quality of literary journalism. The application of these theories to the work of Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski provides an elaboration of standards to which other literary journalists can be held. These literary standards can accommodate the demands of journalistic integrity, yet allow a broader range of creativity essential to good literature.

Frameworks: Narrative Levels and Embedded Narrative

Abstract: William Nelles. Frameworks: Narrative Levels and Embedded Narrative. New York: Peter Lang, 1997. 208 pp. /$42.95 cloth. In mapping out the geography of embedded narrative theory, William Nelles has provided us with a scholarly and yet readable roadmap to follow in Frameworks: Narrative Levels and Embedded Narrative. And, like any good map, this book takes into account old roads and new, providing a satisfying overview of earlier and current theories, and the disagreements around those theories, all of which provide a broad context in which readers may locate his instructive approach to this intriguing structural device that is "so widely found in the literature of all cultures and periods as to approach universality" (1). Perhaps the hallmark of this writer's own style is that he is considerate of contemporary readers' sensibilities: he does not ignore competing or dissenting voices in his discussion but, instead, he welcomes the interaction of ideas. The effect of such inclusivity builds confidence in readers used to encountering either polemical invective or dogmatic narrowness in books of a theoretical bent. He greets other theorists like a modern Zeno, "with an open hand instead of a closed fist" (Hatch 4). This "persuasive sweetness" (using that phrase in the same way that the ancient Greeks did-as a chief characteristic of successful teaching), combined with well-worked logic, goes a long way: Nelles has provided us with a convincing inductive argument about this aspect of narrative theory, and, by doing so, he has underscored the interdependence of theory and interpretation in a way that will be useful for years to come. In taking what he himself describes as a structuralist and narratological approach to his subject (159), Nelles directly confronts and lays to rest two criticisms of structuralist theories of narrative from humanists and from those "theorists committed to the cutting edge of the various poststructuralisms" (161). As for the humanists and their fears that the general field of narratology works to simplify the multiple nuances of narrative discourse into scientific formulas and diagrams, Nelles provides the comforting reassurance that his theoretical approach to embedded narratives "does not at all eliminate the need for interpretive 'readings' but rather presupposes and in fact underscores it" (160). As a case in point, a clear understanding of the definitions of both the unreliable narrator and the ironic narrator will not help us decide what is at work in Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Only an interpretation can do that for us (160). On the other hand, deconstructionists looking for contradictions and gaps in Nelles's work will find that he acknowledges the possibility of inconsistencies in his narratological theory. As a matter of fact, they will find that he has hung a lantern on them already, thus taking the sting out of the usual poststructural critique. As Nelles succinctly puts it, "the premises upon which the model rests are no more than strategic moves that are not grounded in either concrete realities or transcendent truth. Narrators do not literally speak and no one will ever know how the implied reader will interpret a given text" (161). Subsequently, he deftly parries in both directions without closing off a productive dialogue with either theoretical camp. Nelles's openhanded and inviting stance is maintained throughout the book. In chapter 1, "Historical and Implied Authors and Readers," he sorts out for readers these two concepts, which have been, he correctly notes, "a recurring source of confusion for theories of narratives and their applications" (9). To begin with, he offers his own understanding in his characteristically easy-to-understand way: "the historical author writes, the historical reader reads; the implied author means, the implied reader interprets; the narrator speaks, the narratee hears." He usefully complicates these definitions by providing examples from well-known literary works. …

Technology and mythic narrative: The matrix as technological hero‐quest

Abstract: This inquiry analyzes the narrative structure of the technological hero‐quest myth contained within the recent film, The Matrix, and explicates the implications of this message upon the audience Joseph Campbell's hero‐quest, modified with insights from narrative theory, is applied to the The Matrix in order to highlight its appeal to modern audiences Utilizing insights from the philosophy of Kant and Schopenhauer, Campbell's monomyth is altered to account for the existential and ontological separation the technological hero experiences This film is shown to be a powerful myth for alienated and disempowered individuals in technologically driven communities, with potentially troubling consequences due to its theme of “solitary enlightenment” Auditors are offered the chance to identify with a hero who is enlightened, but ontologically separate, and thus warranted in destroying the community in order to “save” it

Can the Theory of Narratives Help Teachers to Become Better Storytellers

Abstract: The narration of historical details is an art It can be learned by studying narrative theories which lead to a better understanding of the narrative process Not every physics teacher is born an expert in storytelling The analysis of the whole process of story production and its reception by an audience is a precious tool, even in the hand of an inexperienced storyteller Science teachers can profit from an education in this direction

Text world theory : a critical exposition and development in relation to absurd prose fiction

Abstract: This thesis presents a unified and systematic Text World Theory, tested and refined under practical application. It draws on a variety of linguistic, psychological, critical theoretical and cognitive scientific models, principally the cognitive discourse grammar originally developed by Paul Werth. The thesis delineates the critical and philosophical inheritance out of which Text World Theory evolved, in order to evaluate and engage critically with the theoretical framework in the light of recent developments in literary linguistics and cognitive poetics. This inheritance includes the fields of possible worlds semantics and narratology, artificial intelligence research and cognitive psychology. Essential modifications, revisions and crucial adjustments are made to Werth's approach in order to produce a refined model of Text World Theory. The augmented framework is tested through several practical and inter-related analyses. These centre around Absurd prose fiction, selected in order to highlight the adaptability of the new Text World Theory especially in the context of literary environments that are often judged to be challenging on a cognitive dimension. Extensive analyses of Paul Auster's The Music of Chance, Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman, Emmanuel Carrere's The Mustache, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, and Donald Barthelme's Snow White are undertaken over the course of the thesis. Further adaptations to the model are proposed as a result of these applications. The thesis aims primarily to be a contribution to the field of cognitive discourse study. However, incidental contributions are also made to the areas of the critical study of Absurd prose fiction, pragmatics and semantics, cognitive poetics and literary critical theory in general.

Fabula and fictionality in narrative theory

Abstract: The concept of fabula, or its many near equivalents, has always been a staple of narrative theory, yet it is vulnerable to many theoretical objections. It is possible to justify a rhetorical view of the concept's pragmatic value, and so its particular relevance to fiction, but only once various flawed notions of fabula have been eliminated. Some of these relate back quite directly to its Russian Formalist roots, but others have arisen through Structuralist mediations of the concept (in the guise of such pairs as "story" and "discourse"). The inadequacies of these models are manifest in fabula's relationship to event, chronology, temporality, causality, perspective, medium, and the genesis of narrative. The concept remains valuable, however, in respect of its role in interpretation, especially in the case of fictional narrative. The rhetorical basis of this view of fabula and its relation to sujet effectively overturns the logical hierarchy of previous representational models.

Narrative Identity in Transition: the lived experience of an organisational merger in local government

Abstract: This thesis is concerned with the question of how narrative activity influences the conditions in which a new sense of self is actively emergent for an employee at a time of organisational merger It is contended that an organisational merger is a transformational event with complex temporal and spatial characteristics, involving the activities of making shared meaning (MacIntyre, 1981; Ricoeur, 1974a), narrative-making (Carr, 1986; MacIntyre, 1981; Ricoeur, 1984, 1985, 1988) and positioning (Bourdieu, 1993, 1998b) These activities are central to the conditions in which persons and organisations are both formed and reformed Consideration of how they are part of a project of narrative identity (Ricoeur, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992) opens new possibilities in our understanding of the lived experience of a merger In appropriating narrative theory, this thesis is exploratory in nature as narrative ideas have not, to date, been applied to an understanding of the lived experience of an organisational merger Mergers are currently understood as a clash of cultures, and a merger is treated as a marriage with partners, compatibility, commitment, rituals, dominance and fit Whereas culture is construed in the literature as a quality that differentiates one organisation from another, and personal experience is understood in terms of adjusting to the presence of another culture, in this thesis a different theory is employed The main theory integration in this thesis gives prominence to the dynamic of activity/passivity (Allen and Starr, 1982; Schelling, 1800/1978) and the notions of agency, relationship, transformation, and identity Narrative theory is integrated with social theory (Bourdieu, 1998b) to enrich our understanding of these notions Hence this thesis extends the contribution of Drummond (1996, 1998), and is situated in the constructive postmodern stance of process philosophy (Gare, in press-a; Griffin, 1993) This stance is invoked as a response to calls for better theories of action in management studies (Reed, 1996; Wilmott, 1994) It is argued, in agreement with Gare (in press-a, in press-b), that living organisms have a complexity that makes it difficult to maintain a state of indifference with respect to changes in their environment, and that they must form and reform themselves as products Attention within management studies to self-organising activity at the levels of person, organisation and field of practice, is therefore central to our understanding of complex events such as organisational mergers In this regard narrative-making and positioning are self-organising activities that are yet to be brought to centre stage in management theory While no previous work has been done to apply narrative ideas to an understanding of mergers, such a move is nevertheless consistent with the increasing interest in narrative that is occurring across the theoretical divides in management studies The application in this thesis concerns a merger of two government organisations These organisations, herein given the…

Habit Formation and Story Telling: A Theory for Guiding Ethical Action

Abstract: This article proposes retrospective narrative justifications combined with classical concepts of habit formation as a theory of ethics appropriate for practicing technical communicators. To explicate the theory, the article draws on Alasdair Maclntyre's ethical theory, which involves habit formation and narrative theory; on apologia and account-giving theory; and on traditional ethical stances, such as the teleological and deontological doctrines. Special attention is given to the ends-means relationship and the tension between individual and corporate identity in technical communication environments.

Biography and the Postmodern Historical Novel

Abstract: Introduction: Biographical narrative as "magical disturbance" Part 1 biographical narrative in practice: French canadian bean soup - Dutch schultz, deathbed autobiography and the postmodern gangster fiction conspirtational identity - biography, fiction and the Oswold enigma writing the vaccum - Richard Nixon as narrative subject. Part 2 - biographical narrative in theory: the problem of Genre I - biography and/as history the problem of Genre II - fictional reality and modes of biographical narrative theory makes practice - the quest of the biographer hero. Afteward - writing about writing about the historical figure. Appendix - text of the "Last Words of Dutch Schultz".

Joycean Temporalities: Debts, Promises, and Countersignatures

Abstract: This text argues that James Joyce's writing is structured everywhere by the peculiar temporalities of the promise - the not yet of speculation - and the signature that carries it. In discussing this, Tony Thwaites casts light on a number of debates in Joyce studies and narrative theory.

Socio-rhetorical interpretation : theoretical points of departure

Abstract: In the past two decades, narrative criticism (narratology) and social-scientific criticism have come to the fore as the two most prominent new methodologies to be associated with gospel research. When these two methodologies are integrated in the reading of biblical texts, this is now referred to as "socio-rhetorical inter­ pretation". This article departs from a specific understanding of what is meant by a narratological reading of a text on the one hand and, on the other hand, by a social-scientific interpretation of biblical texts, in order to propose a working definition of a socio-rhetorical analysis of texts. 1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS As the 20 th century ends and the third millennium begin, narrative criticism and social scientific criticism have come to the fore as the two most prominent new methodologies to be associated with current gospel research. Moreover, literary approaches to the Gospels (e g, narrative criticism) have now established themselves sufficiently for scholars studying the Gospels from a literary perspective not to need to fear losing what has been gained in the last two decades if they endeavour to integrate their work with social scientific criticism. According to Tannehill (1997:132), the need for this integra

Anselm Kiefer and Art after Auschwitz

Abstract: Anselm Kiefer and Art after AuschwitzCompared to literary studies, the discipline of art history has been slow to theorize the complex relationship between historical reality and its representations. In part through the incorporation of film theory, however, art historians have begun to incorporate post-structuralism into their work. Developing an eclectic model indebted to psychoanalysis, feminist film theory, and narratology, Lisa Saltzman places a leading German artist, Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945 to non-Jewish parents), in the sociohistorical matrix of the haunted environment of contemporary Germany. His art is a symptom of the difficulty contemporary Germans have had in moving from a stagnant state of melancholia to a psychologically productive mourning of Hitlerism. Her work resituates Kiefer as a postwar artist who may have more in common with filmmakers such as Wim Wenders and Werner Fassbinder, and with novelists such as Gunter Grass, than with the "neo-expressionist" artists to whom he is usually compared.For Saltzman, Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" is the most influential essay in film theory. Although Mulvey describes how the male gaze dominates the female body in film, Saltzman interprets the essay as an example of a post-modern ethics based on the Mosaic injunction against the worship of images. She argues that Mulvey writes in the tradition of a prior classic of post-modern ethical criticism, Theodor Adorno's "Cultural Criticism and Society" (1949), in which he wrote that "After Auschwitz, to write a poem is barbaric." Saltzman's point is that Kiefer represents a visual trace of his own theorization of the hebraically inflected ethical issues of representation that reformed Adorno and Mulvey. Unlike the strict injunction against iconography in the paradigmatic essays by Adorno and Mulvey, however, Kiefer registers ambivalence about the prohibition against image making. He plays out the desire to witness the Holocaust while framing silence in a way that represents the world of the past and the struggle to remake the German self after Auschwitz. Kiefer pivots between a wish to mourn the past and, therefore, to work through his belated relationship to Hitlerism, and a melancholic realization that forgetting the past is impossible for him.Saltzman succeeds in making her case for Kiefer's ethical imagination, especially when she pays close attention to the aesthetic (formal) elements of his art. Her attention to his technique of burning, charring, or cauterizing his surfaces in works after 1975, for example, enables her to theorize his painting as "the concrete trace of historical wounding. …

Refiguring the Map of Sorrow: Nature Writing and Autobiography

Abstract: Recent decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in both autobiography and environmental literature. In Refiguring the Map of Sorrow, Mark Allister brings these two genres together by examining a distinct form of grief narrative, in which the writers deal with mourning by standing explicitly both outside and inside the text: outside in writing about the natural world; inside in making that exposition part of the grieving process.Building on Peter Fritzell's thesis in Nature Writing and America that the best American nature writing blends Aristotelian natural history and Augustinian confession, this work of literary interpretation draws on psychoanalytical narrative theory, studies of grieving, autobiography theory, and ecocriticism for its insights into how nature writing can become an autobiographical, healing act. Allister examines works by Terry Tempest Williams, Sue Hubbell, Peter Matthiessen, Bill Barich, William Least Heat-Moon, and Gretel Ehrlich in order to demonstrate the difficulty of hearing nature speak, and of translating terrain and self into language and form. As he focuses on the many ways in which humans connect often deeply and urgently to animals or the land, Allister vastly extends our understanding of "relational" autobiography."