Literary Criticism, Discourse and Critique

This week the class readings covered three subjects: the impact of black literary criticism on the feminist movement, the definition of discourse and how the term discourse has been misused, and how the beginnings of feminism can help us critique the events that occurred in the United States after 9/11.

The first article reminded us that in the beginning the academy presumed that all women were white and all persons of color were men. This changed when women of color entered the feminist movement and demanded that they be included as part of the feminist movement. This helped the feminist movement to include everyone and begin to fight all forms of oppressions. As the article discusses this fight for inclusion by women of color spilled over into other disciplines such as literature and allowed for texts to be rediscovered and reinterpreted based on this new group who was able to look at the texts. I believe that processes such as this are always good as it forces disciplines to take a hard look at itself and accept new interpretations of the disciplines core beliefs.  

The second article explored the term discourse and how it has been used and misused in academic literature specifically in the discipline of political science. The article argues that many use discourse as a substitute for looking at ways people argue, instead we should use discourse in order to explore how political figures operate for political purpose. This is important when looking at the political process and trying to ensure that we are examining politicians based on their articulation of feminist goals.

The last article opened with a scene from the beginnings of the feminist movement and the historical academic association’s difficulty with women studying women in history. The author connects this scene with the events after 9/11 by stating that feminist scholars are now able to provide critical interpretations of events and to show how feminist scholars are now able to explore the operations of differences and the workings of power. The author suggests we need to look more critically at the conflict in the Middle East and probe deeper our assumptions of both players in the conflict. We also need to be careful that we do not take at face value analysis that suggests George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan because of women’s issues. She ends her article by calling our attention to the women in black, an independent feminist organization that unites women throughout the word in support of feminist issues.