Guadagnino's "I Am Love"

Describe the role of Emma in the film - how do you see her character? In relation to her family - her lover - herself.

What about her past in Russia? Why do you think Guadagnin creates this character as an immigrant who has "lost herself" within Italian culture, society, the language, etc.?

Describe the ending of the film - how do you see Emma's character? Liberated, deluded, something else? Why or why not?

How might this film comment on the status of women as we have studied it over the course of the semester?

Ernaux's "Simple Passion / Passion simple"

Please answer at least two questions or bring up your own topics for discussion:

1. The beginning of the novel is very important (the X-rated movie). What is so shocking here? The graphic description of sex? Something else? Why does Ernaux say at the end of this: "It occurred to me that writing should also aim for that - the impression conveyed by sexual intercourse, a feeling of anxiety and stupefaction, a suspension of moral judgement"? How does this statement relate to what you think Ernaux attempts to do in the novel?

2. Describe the narrator's association with temporality. What does time signify for her? Does she live "in the present"? How does she treat the present, past and future? Why is this significant? How does this relate to her relationship with A? (Or, how does her relationship with time relate to the theme of presence / absence found within the novel?)

3. This is in large part a novel about writing. Notice the times in the novel where the narrator mentions the act of writing. Why write this novel? What does the narrator hope to accomplish? How might this relate to the notion of autobiography (we can assume that the narrator is Ernaux herself)?

4. Discuss the notion of gender in the novel. What images of the main characters (the narrator and A) do we have here? Do you see this as problematic? Is this a realistic portrayal of relationships? Is it too over the top, frustrating? Why? (Or, why would a supposedly "modern, enlightened and forward-thinking female writer" write such a novel that seems to portray women in a seemingly negative light?)

5. What does the title "Simple Passion" imply? What about "simple" and "passion" separately? How might these meanings relate to the text?

Link's "Beyond Silence / Jenseits der Stille"

Topics of discussion:

Please address some of the topics below (or other topics) in a short essay concerning the film.

The different ‘worlds’ in which Lara lives – the hearing / deaf worlds, the child / adult worlds, the musical / non-musical worlds, etc.

The parents together – what do they represent? And the father and mother separately?

The parents’ relationship to the hearing world.

The parents’ relationship to music.

The father’s relationship with his family (both immediate and extended).

The father’s relationship with Lara.

The mother’s relationship with Lara.

The relationship between Lara and her aunt.

The relationship between Lara and her sister.

In what ways is this a “coming of age” story? What is it Lara “learns” throughout the film?

The dichotomy between home / Berlin.

Would the film have been different if Lara were a boy? In what ways?

The notion of an “internal music” we all possess – how does this manifest itself in the film?

"Like Water for Chocolate / Como agua para chocolate" - Day Three

As for Tuesday, pick three quotes from the remaining four chapters for comment. Try to have one of the quotes come from the final culminating scene of the novel.

Presentations Left

THURSDAY, APRIL 14:

Gabriela (Like Water for Chocolate)

THURSDAY, APRIL 21:

Mitch (Beyond Silence)

THURSDAY, APRIL 28

Roxana (Beyond Silence)

Mitchell (Under the Sand)

Samantha (Like Water for Chocolate)

Jordan (Annie Ernaux)

Gabriela (final paper?)

Felicia (final paper?)

Maral (Annie Ernaux)

TUESDAY, MAY 2

Jessica (I Am Love)

Kaytlinne (I Am Love)

"Like Water for Chocolate / Como agua para chocolate" - Day Two

Please choose three quotes that interest you from the chapters for today and do a "close reading" of them.

Esquivel's "Like Water for Chocolate" / "Como agua para chocolate" - DAY ONE

Please answer at least three questions:

JANUARY - APRIL

1. Esquivel presents the text both as a novel and a cook book. Why do you think this is the case? How do the recipes add to the novel? How does the novel add to the recipes? (Or, some related questions – how do food and the story intertwine? Why and how is food so important here?)

2. Do an analysis of Tita (the main character of the novel) – what does she represent within the framework of the novel?

3. Do an analysis of one (or more) of the other characters in the novel: Mama Elena, Rosaura, Gertrudis, Pedro. What do these characters represent? What “archetypes” do you think they fulfill?

4. There is a healthy amount of “magic realism” in this novel. How do these fantastical elements add to some of the main themes, plot points, etc. of the narrative? Why do you think Esquivel adds these elements to the novel?

5. Write about a specific scene in the novel that struck you – analyze this scene (do a “close reading” of it). How do you read this scene? Why do you feel it to be important? What issues / conflicts / themes / etc. does it raise that can help to an overall understanding of the novel?

Almodóvar’s “Volver”

Main Characters:

Raimunda (central character)

Soledad (Raimunda’s sister)

Irene (mother of Raimunda and Soledad)

Agustina (the friend with cancer)

Paula (Raimunda’s daughter)

Please discuss some of these topics (or bring up your own) in a coherent short response about the film:

The role of women in the film (a specific female character or the notion of women united / divided).

The place of men in the film (if there is one?).

The theme of the “return” (hence the title of the film “Volver” = “to return”).

The dichotomy between the city (Madrid) and the country (the small town)

A scene in the film that struck you and why….

Post-Duras Fun

After the discussions we've had in class about "Moderato Cantabile," I am reminded of the video for "Beethoven" by the Eurythmics (1987) which puts into visual format the "bored housewife syndrome" and that desire "for something else" that has come up in our conversations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbuMXyzouJQ

Reading Schedule for "Like Water for Chocolate / Como agua para chocolate"

Day One: January - April (Chapters 1 - 4)

Day Two: May - August (Chapters 5 - 8)

Day Three: September - December (Chapters 9 - 12)

Marguerite Duras - "Moderato Cantabile" (Day Three)

Please read chapters 6 - 8 for today.

This part of the novel marks a shift in tone from what has come before.

Choose three comments from these chapters that you think foreshadow, signal, or mark this transition and do a close reading of them.

Marguerite Duras - "Moderato Cantabile" (Day Two)

Please read chapters 3 - 5 of the novel.

As you read, locate three quotations that spark your interest and do a "close reading" of them (place them within the larger context of the scene / chapter / novel, analyze the symbolism here, how do you interpret these quotations, etc.).

Marguerite Duras - "Moderato Cantabile" (Day One)

Please answer two questions or come up with your own topics for discussion.

1. Describe the piano lesson that we find in the first chapter. What role do these three people take (the child, the teacher, and Anne)? How does Duras’ style help in creating this first scene? Try to give precise examples from the text.

2. The scream interrupts the lesson – what role does this scream play? Is there a link between the scream (or screaming) and music? Speak about the scream as it is interpreted in this first chapter – describe the reaction of Anne and the others.

3. After discovering the source of this scream (the murder of a woman), try to analyze it. Why do you think it is from a woman who has been killed and is now dead? What is Anne’s reaction to this? Why?

4. After finishing Chapter 2, why do you think Duras begins the novel by giving us a “musical opening”? In what sense is this musical opening a “primal scene” (scene of initial trauma)?

Reading Schedule for Duras' "Moderato Cantabile"

Day One - Chapters 1 - 2

Day Two - Chapters 3 - 5

Day Three - Chapters 6 - 8

François Ozon - "Under the Sand"

1. What exactly would you say is the “traumatic event” in the film? Why do you think the director (François Ozon) chooses to present the event as he does in the film?

2. What is Marie’s reaction to this event? How does she cope with the aftermath (or does she)? Does she have a “working through” process in order to come to an understanding of the event? Include some specific scenes / images from the film to support your answer.

3. It seems that we have strong evidence to support the fact Jean did drown. Why do you think Marie refuses to accept the fact that this is Jean’s body in the morgue?

4. How do you read the end of the film?

Post-Freud Fun

Hello everyone - I invite you to check out this quite funny web-based show (very short episodes - around five minutes) that I just discovered called "Web Therapy." Lisa Kurdrow plays the worst therapist imaginable, dislikes her patients, and has reduced the 50-minute session to only three minutes.

http://www.lstudio.com/web-therapy/

Freud's "Dora" - Day Two

1. Where do you see Freud blurring fact and fiction? Why do you think he does this? How is it necessary to his creation of an "overall story"? What might this have to say about Freud? About psychoanalysis?

2. Transference plays a main role in the interpretation of both dream. Where do you see transference occurring (on both Freud's and Dora's part)? (Freud's transference may be harder to discern, for some of his transference is unconscious - it reveals itself in his writing, but rarely does he state it bluntly.)

3. In what ways do you think Freud's dream analyses are validated and / or fall apart? How does he justify what he does in the dream analyses?

Freud's "Dora" - Day One

Please answer two of the questions below or come up with your own topics for discussion:

1. In what ways do you think Freud's case study can qualify as literature (or do you think it can)? Do you see a "meeting place" between literature and psychoanalysis in this text? (In other words, what might literature and psychoanalysis have in common that this text reveals?)

2. In what areas do you think Freud attempts to put forth some of his theories concerning women, gender, etc.? What are these theories as the text presents them?

3. Do you see any "blind spots" in the text? (Things that may seem obvious that Freud might miss?) Where do you think Freud fails in his analysis of Dora? (It has been regarded by critics as basically an impossibility from the outset that Dora will be 'cured' by Freud - why do you think this is the case?)

Reading Schedule for Freud's "Dora"

I've posted Freud's "Dora" on Blackboard for you to read.

Please read for the following days:

Day One (3/1/11) - Parts 1 - 2, pp. 1 - 55

Day Two (3/3/11) - Parts 3 - 5, pp. 56 - 112

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day Three

What relevant themes do you see in Sor Juana's poetry? How does her poetry relate to issues she raised in her letter? What is it that poetry affords her that prose does not?

Speak about at least two of the assigned poems and please include quotations from them in your response.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day Two

Choose two passages from the text that interest you and comment upon them (try to do a "close reading" of them, meaning: What language, images, rhetorical devices does Sor Juana use and why?)

Please include the pages numbers of your citations.

The Constitution Today: Women

The Constitution Today: Women

Interesting conversation on NPR today.

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-02-17/constitution-today-women

When the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920, it was the first time women's legal rights were specifically addressed in the U.S. Constitution. Women played no role in the document's ratification in 1787. And when former slaves got the right to vote in 1870, it was a severe blow to the women's movement. In later years, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution in ways that include and protect women. But the battle for an Equal Rights Amendment continues. As part of our ongoing "Constitution Today" series, we delve into how the document addresses women and the role they've played in its history.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Day One

Please answer both questions:

1. The beginning of Sor Juana's letter is quite important (pp. 39 - 49) - like we saw with the introduction to Christine de Pizan's "City of Ladies," Sor Juana wants to orient the reader to her main objectives while at the same time must walk a fine line between humility and superiority. What do you think she wants the reader to take away from this letter? What rhetorical devices does she use in order to achieve her goals?

2. As you read, what are two quotations that particularly jump out at you? Why? Do an analysis of these quotations - why does Sor Juana say these things? Please include both quotations with a page number in your blog posting.

Reading for Sor Juana's "The Answer / La Respuesta"

We will spend three days on Sor Juana beginning this Thursday. The first two days we will discuss "The Answer" and the third day will be spent on her poetry.

Day One: pp. 39 - 70

Day Two: pp. 71 - 105

Day Three: Sonnets (pp. 158 - 163), Philosophical Satire (pp. 164 - 167)

Please see below the questions for "Women on the Verge..."

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Please discuss (part or all of) three of the following topics:

1. The role of women in the film. The types of women Almodovar introduces to us. The role of Pepa, Candela (the friend involved with Shiite terrorists), Paulina Morales (the feminist lawyer), Lucia (Ivan's wife and Carlos' mother), Marisa (Carlos' girlfriend).

2. The role of men in the film - mainly Ivan, but also to a lesser extent Carlos.

3. Why the title of the film? How are these women "on the verge of a nervous breakdown / al borde de un ataque de nervios"? Why? How might we relate the problem/s of these women to those women central in Maria de Zayas' novellas (or can we)?

4. The role of the telephone in the film.

5. A specific scene in the film you think speaks to some of the main themes of the film.

6. Why the comedic tone for a film dealing with serious issues (separation, anguish, psychological and emotional trauma)?

María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 3

Please answer three questions or come up with your own topics of discussion. Remember - do NOT make a new blog for this entry. Everyone should have just ONE blog which will contain ALL the responses for the entire semester.

1. In story 7 (“Marriage Abroad: Portent of Doom”), Blanca seems to have found a fool-proof method for assuring that the Prince is genuine in his love: her insistence in a one-year courtship period in which, it appears, she is in control. Despite this, she remains unhappy. Why do you think this is the case? Is there an aspect to the type of “love” between her and the Prince that is causing this unhappiness? (I think this has something to do with the poem on page 250 and is not yet to be found in the Prince’s homosexuality, for at this point in the story this is not yet an issue.)

2. I do not think it is accidental that story 7 immediately follows the story of Esteban / Estefanía. In story 6, Zayas introduces the theme of lesbian desire, and here we have two men found in bed together. Zayas once again introduces the theme of characters’ crossing of societal borders (as with Isabel / Zelima in story 1). What do you think the message is here about men crossing boundaries of gender and sexuality? (Hint: I think the fact that the Prince does not have a name speaks volumes.) Or possibly a different yet related question: How do you think these and other “boundary-crossings” in the text are subversive yet simultaneously maintain a societal status quo?

3. Story 8 (“Traitor to His Own Blood”) begins with Francisca’s comments about gossip and its evils. Think about gossip. What does it do? We have in a sense an “original speech act” that transforms as the gossip spreads. What might this have to say about speech in general? Do we have any control over the meaning of our words? How does this power of speech come into the story?

4. Story 9 also contains the underlying theme of blood and all its implications. “Blood” is in the title, we have bleeding corpses, etc. What do you think blood implies here (religious, social, biological overtones)? Why do you think the corpses bleed? What might this imply?

5. Story 10, “The Ravages of Vice” (really the last of 20 stories), has Florentina as the main female protagonist. Why do you think Zayas concludes her book/s that are supposedly in defense of women with a story about such a treacherous woman? On the same note, Gaspar is unique in the male characters of the book – he behaves impeccably (he does not deceive nor kill a single person). Do you think Florentina and Gaspar’s character traits can help in a reading of the overall text?

6. It seems that story 10 is the most violent of the book – we have the highest number of corpses by its end (more than any other story) and the violence in it is senseless. Why do you think there is such a high level of violence in the text, specifically against women? I think this is more than just “women beware” message. What we have here is in truth a moral imperative. What is it? What is it that tortured, raped and murdered bodies of women have to tell us?

María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 2

Please address three of the topics below or come up with your own (at least three) topics for a discussion.

1. Before the story of tale four begins, its narrator (Filis) has some opening remarks about men and women (pp. 139-40). How do you interpret these remarks? How do they serve as an introduction for what comes later in the story?

2. In both the 4^th and 5^th stories we have the theme of the “image of a woman.” We have spoken about this before, but what does this theme bring to these two stories? (An understanding of the myth of Pygmalion helps here.)

3. What do you think is the significance of the skull in story four? Think about what a skull might mean in a variety of contexts (especially the skill as the remains of a head – what are the functions of a head?).

4. Think about the role of doña Inés in story 5. What agency does she have in the story (or does she have any at all)? She is replaced by a dress, a statue, and then trapped in a wall (where she goes blind). How do you interpret this?

5. In story 6, we have the androgynous Esteban / Estefanía. Gender here is much more complicated than biological predeterminacy – everyone takes the biologically male Esteban for the female Estefanía since s/he conforms to what society considers “female.” How can this character aid in a rereading of gender and traditional gender roles? (Think, we still have gender-bending as an element in films today – men masquerading as women or vice versa. Why this fascination with such a topic?)

6. In story 6, Esteban / Estefanía sings a poem (pp. 219-23) invoking tales of desire from classical mythology. What kind of desire is portrayed in these tales (those used in the poem) and how can they relate to the type of desire typified by Esteban / Estefanía? What is the irony here once s/he reveals him/herself?

Film Screenings

All films are at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 10 - H 303 - "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"

Tuesday, March 8 - D 202 - "Under the Sand"

Thursday, March 31 - H 303 - "Volver"

Tuesday, April 19 - D 202 - "Beyond Silence"

Thursday, April 28 - H 303 - "I Am Love"

María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 1

Please deal with topics raised in three questions or bring up your own topics for discussion. Remember though, I do NOT want your posting to be a synopsis of the text. I am looking for your own ideas and thoughts concerning what you read.

1. When María de Zayas’ works were ‘rediscovered,’ a lot of critics jumped on a feminist bandwagon and claimed that Zayas’ writings mapped out a kind of ‘proto-feminist’ movement. More recent criticism of her writings have moved away from this stance and some critics have even stated bluntly that her writings are not feminist (or at best, have considered her a ‘flawed feminist’). What are your thoughts on this? Can you make an argument for and / or against a feminist critique of Disenchantments?

2. We are going to speak more about this in class, but how do deceit and trickery come into play in the game of desire acted out in each story? How might these themes play into a greater overall message that the stories’ narrators try to convey? (In short, what might deceit imply on a narrative level?)

3. There is a very strong “code of honor” in these stories. How does this play out and what might such a code imply?

4. Isabel / Zelima is a complicated character who is able to move between supposedly rigid social, ethnic and religious boundaries. Think about the multiplicity of her identities (free / slave, Christian / Muslim, rich / poor, “pure” / “corrupt,” European / Arab). Where is her agency in all this? Has she been manipulated by both society and men or does she have control here? Possibly both? How do her identities come into play?

5. The second story (“The Most Infamous Revenge”) is a bit tricky. Lisarda, the story’s narrator, seems to excuse men by saying “How weak are those women who cannot persevere in their good intentions, and this is why I excuse men for the low opinion of women. But let us lovingly excuse love’s errors.” How do you interpret this statement in light of the story as a whole?

6. How do you explain the inclusion of the supernatural in the third story? What does it have to say about justice and desire?

Conversation about "The Feminine Mystique" on NPR

Here is an excellent conversation I was listening to today that I feel is very relevant to our course. It concerns the revolutionary book, "The Feminine Mystique," that helped usher in the second wave of feminism in the United States during the 1960s.

You can listen to it here on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/26/132931581/stirring-up-the-feminine-mystique-47-years-later

Christine de Pizan / The City of Ladies - Day Two

Please discuss two ways in which you think Christine works to establish her feminine literary authority in what you have read for today. You can discuss themes, characters, examples, ideas, etc. that she employs in this latter section of her book. How does what she do here relate to what we discussed Tuesday in class (her attempts to work against the monolith of male authority before her, her overall projects and aims in the text, etc.)? Does she introduce anything new here?

Christine de Pizan / The City of Ladies - Day One

Please respond to two questions or come up with your own comments / questions / discussions.

1. The prologue (beginning of the book) is quite important for it here where Christine directs the reader as to how one should read and interpret the overall text. What do you think Christine wants to get across to her readers? Why? What do you make of the fact that Christine's mother interrupts her before she can really begin her 'work'? Why include this seemingly mundane detail?

2. Why do you think Christine adopts a tone of humility and even gullibility at the beginning of the text? How should we interpret this initial tone? How does this prepare the reader for what is to come? Give some specific examples.

3. What examples / methods does Christine use (from what you have read thus far) in her defense of women? Why do you think she chooses these examples? How do they help her to build her case?