Subjectivity

In one of our classes we touched on the the idea of subjectivity and I've wanted to explore my own ideas about the term in relation to what was discussed.

(I was very tired in class, so I may muddle things up here quite a bit...I recall that at the time I was uncertain as to whether I should concentrate on taking notes or on listening for better comprehension. I ended up doing a bit of both, neither particularly well)

Judith Butler was one thinker Curtis referenced and her idea of subjectivity:

'The subject is the linguistic occasion of the self':
'The subject is the linguistic occasion for the individual to achieve and reproduce intelligibility, the linguistic condition of its existence and agency' (Judith Butler, 1997, p11)

In the 'hey you!' moment where an individual turns in response to the utterance, they become a subjective entity. They become determined momentarily, their subjectivity is not fixed, it occurs as a moment in time, as a body, as a linguistic occasion, and more...they are robbed of personal agency...subjective forces push down and through the individual...whether the individual is aware of them or not and the individual's free will becomes questionable.

Apparently this perspective was depressing for Foucault: everything we express is just power/subjectivity through the individual...we just express power...until his idea that the subjective forces expressing through the individual represented an opportunity/power to influence these forces.

Queer Theory example: the degree to which I am subjected/read as an intellectual is the degree to which I can subvert this, the degree to which I can shift meanings.
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Something that struck me was how different these ideas of subjectivity were to ideas of subjectivity I have inherited from the Alexander Technique, Hatha Yoga and the Breath Meditation traditions I have experienced.

I felt myself agree with the idea that subjective forces push down upon us and express through us, and that it is in their expression that we are given an opportunity to subvert them. However, I'm skeptical as to whether we really are powerless to resist subjective forces acting upon us. If I recall correctly, the 'hey you!' is an example of how the individual is irresistibly drawn into the subjective web in the moment of responding and turning. But...I consider it possible to achieve a degree of subjective control enabling no response to the 'hey you' or rather a delayed or inhibited response. Here I'm indirectly referring to the Alexander technique (F.M. Alexander 1869-1955) and his idea of inhibition:

‘All those who wish to change something in themselves must learn... to inhibit their immediate reaction to any stimulus to gain a desired end' [and in order to stop falling back] 'upon the familiar sensory experiences of their old habitual use in order to gain it, they must continue this inhibition whilst they employ the new direction of their use' (The Use of the Self, p. 115).

Inhibition in this sense should not be associated with an idea of emotional repression or suppression. The idea is that instead of reacting to an external force, we momentarily inhibit that reaction and then either restrain it or allow it depending on the outcome of an immediate questioning judgement. I consider this idea similar to experiences I've had in practicing 'breath meditation' where through a singular focus I attempt to inhibit my mind's habit of thinking.

Some meditation practitioners I have talked to have described the process of learning 1-pointedness as a process of allowing thoughts, accepting them, not engaging with them and through a process of releasing them eventually quietening the mind to complete focus and then stillness/silence. This is not complete silence/stillness because that only occurs when the brain is dead.

In my experience, this doesn't work. When I accept my thoughts, when I allow them, I just get more of them. My rationalized concept of what I am doing in a breath meditation is that I am inhibiting my brain/mind's inclination to think, to move. I am mindfully stopping thoughts (albeit with limited success).

Perhaps I am confused, but for me, the very act of thinking, of ideas, of a search for meaning, is a search for objectivity, for an objective reality. An inevitable and valuable search for truth, for connections, for a recognition of causes and effects, a necessary conflict from which my identity slurps into existence, but not subjectivity, not the true inner self. For me, subjectivity can only occur when my mind's fixative eye becomes truly mine, when it becomes silent, when it becomes still. I liken the mind to a light beam (Sauron's Eye :D). It flickers to and fro, always looking outwards, always responding to what it encounters. It can move at different speeds, it can look afar or near, it can be diffusely focused or it can be a narrow beam, it (almost) never stops moving. In the act of breath meditation (focus) the light beam fixes onto a single thing, a single point...eventually, the light beam will wink out as the sustained focus dissolves into a withdrawal of the mind from the external world, from the senses of the body, into itself...a complete inhibition.

As a Zen Buddhist might say, the idea cannot be grasped, it can only be experienced: "it's not this!" (I think it likely a Zen Buddhist would be calmly horrified at this subjective mixture of conjecture, half baked ideas, and unreferenced confusion). To my mind, the experience cannot be grasped because that is the objective urge to understand, to project, to critically reflect, not the subjective capacity to just reflect, to just experience. To me this is the 'beginner's mind' the Zen Buddhist seeks, where within any activity a mind and body are only engaged in that activity. When you cook, just cook...when you eat, just eat...a steady light beam.

These terms subjectivity and objectivity are troublesome, in particular objectivity. A mind independent truth is unavailable. An apt analogy for the conundrum is a quote from the Greek mathematician Archimedes “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world”. But of course, he/we are incapable of leaving the world to place that lever. We cannot leave our subjectivity.

Lesson Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkxaBKd8SwA&feature=related

School

'Remember, boys

we are the school

on top of the hill'

When we practiced the haka

in assembly, one boy couldn't

do it right, he wasn't manly

enough, kept slapping his hands

like a girl, so the leader of

the rugby team pulled him out

front, and made him do it

alone

In later years

one of the teachers

passing a third former

tied to a tree with his tie

asked if the boy was all right

on his way to class

You would think

the first punch

would surprise you

more than hurt you

but that wasn't the case

it hurt so much

i couldn't breathe

'Remember, boys

we are the school

on top of the hill'

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“Kapa o Pango"

Kapa o Pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau!

(All Blacks, let me become one with the land!)

Hī aue, hī!

Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! (This is our land that rumbles)

Au, au, aue hā! (It’s my time! It’s my moment!)

Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! (This defines us as the All Blacks)

Au, au, aue hā! (It’s my time! It’s my moment!)

I āhahā!

Ka tū te ihiihi (Our dominance)

Ka tū te wanawana (Our supremacy will triumph)

Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī! (And be placed on high)

Ponga rā! (Silver fern!)

Kapa o Pango, aue hī! (All Blacks!)

Ponga rā! (Silver fern!)

Kapa o Pango, aue hī, hā! (All Blacks!)

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The "Kapa o Pango" haka created controversy when the gesture of a thumb drawn down the throat was interpreted by many observers as implying throat slitting. The All Blacks and Māori interpreted it as drawing the breath of life into the heart and lungs ("hauora"). This led to calls for it to be banned, although a poll conducted in July 2006 showed 60 percent support in New Zealand.

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Lesson Plan – ‘School’ Poem Reading

The students: Ss are mostly freshmen or sophomore. They are volunteer Ss in a ‘Global Zone Conversation’ class. If Ss complete 32 hours over 1 semester they’re given an automatic A grade. However the number of credits offered is small. Class sizes vary a lot; they can be as small as 2-3 and as large as 10-15.

Some Ss are quite capable of conversation, many fumble and pause a lot and some are rather inept at both understanding and responding.

Materials: There will be two materials available. The first item will be a short video introducing the New Zealand haka and New Zealand rugby, in the form of a traditional Maori dance performed by the New Zealand National Rugby team ‘the All Blacks’ (see link above). The second item will be an A4 sheet for each Ss with a translation of the haka on one side and the poem on the other.

Lesson Goal/Rationale:

The primary goal is to create a ‘critical’ atmosphere in which Ss are encouraged to share their own readings of the poem and the ways in which they might relate to the content and tone of the poem. ‘School’ is oppositional in tone and intent; hopefully it can elicit an emotional response from Ss and a comparison between the poems’ culture and their own. Korea has a long history of protesting to and of responding to education. It's possible Ss have high school experiences of their own they can share/compare. ‘School’ is a poem that criticizes the culture from which it speaks and so one of the goals in using this poem is to share how criticizing one’s own culture is something that people do and that it is ok to do so.

There are no specific target language functions or structures. That would be an undesirable limitation of what Ss may potentially have to say. The ideal lesson is one in which the Ss explore the meanings of the poem with minimal input from the teacher.

Potential problems/obstacles:

Ss inexperience with poetry and an unwillingness to commit to sharing their ideas. Language/cultural/confidence barriers.

Activities:

The class could function as one large group, or perhaps Ss could be separated into smaller groups (if separated, groups of 2, 3, or 4 are suggested).

1)Share the video.

It is recommended that the teacher tell the Ss that while the haka they see is a war dance performed by men, it can also be performed by mixed groups, and women and children. It can be a war dance but it can also be done for amusement, as a way of welcoming guests and a way to celebrate great accomplishments or occasions.

2)Share the translation of the haka. Invite discussion and questions. Perhaps ask Ss if there is anything similar in their culture.

3)Share the poem. Explain that the poem is talking about a traditional single sex high school in New Zealand.

If Ss seem to be having difficulty visualizing what is happening in some of the stanzas, it might be a good idea to ask Ss to cover up the poem with a blank sheet of paper and then uncover a stanza at a time. Before inviting discussion of the second and third stanzas, the teacher could offer a brief description of what is happening:

Stanza 2: an assembly of young boys all of the same age group are practicing their school haka in an auditorium. The seats at the back are higher up than those at the front. The school’s rugby team is angrily leading the haka, facing the younger boys as they demonstrate.

Stanza 3: a boy is trapped next to a tree near the middle of the school grounds. His tie is knotted around his neck and the trunk of the tree.

A way to encourage discussion might be for the teacher to ask questions in an attempt to lead Ss towards asking questions of their own. The more Ss engage in dialogue together the better. Please refer to the next page of the handout in which potential questions and potential readings of lines are offered. Use these at your own discretion.

NB: This poem was written by me. Because of the personal nature of the poem and because I don’t want to inhibit Ss in their responses, I wouldn’t tell them who wrote the poem. Instead I would describe the author as a friend of mine. That would bolster the credibility of my relating of the events of each stanza. If another teacher were to use this poem they should feel free to reference this lesson plan as their source of information and myself as its author.

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'School' Potential Discussion Questions/Line Readings

(the poem should be read with mini pauses between each line)

'Remember, boys

we are the school

on top of the hill'

Who is speaking? From what authority? Who is the (ideal) audience?

A teacher speaking to students? School director/rector? A boy (student speaking to students) or a man (ex- student speaking to ex-students)? Boys = innocence/youth; Is the audience ‘boys now’ or ‘boys then', or society as a whole? Patriarchy? Single sex school: Korean parallel? Is the ‘hill’ literal or figurative?(both). A message about the role of education in society? Hegemony / Where is power coming from? How is it maintained?

When we practiced the haka

in assembly one boy couldn't do it right, he wasn't manly

enough, kept slapping his hands

like a girl, so the leader of

the rugby team pulled him out

front and made him do it

alone

Why practiced? How is culture replicating itself? ‘haka’ juxtaposed with ‘Assembly’? Two cultures mixing? Positive or negative or neither? What is ‘right’? What is ‘manly’?

Girl’s game? ‘like a girl’ shameful? Gender scorn? Pack mentality? Sexual image? Masturbation? An all boys school feminizing some boys? What does that mean about our concept of masculine and feminine, how constructed is the separation? Why is the boy isolated? Failure to be the same as everyone else results in being ostracized. A tragedy: forcing yourself to do something not right for you. A tragedy of not being quite normal enough.

In later years

one of the teachers

passing a third former

tied to a tree with his tie

asked if the boy was alright

on his way to class

The first line builds context: space and time relationship. More than one teacher / a school is a complex/complete system. What age is a third former? (approximately 13 years old). A third former is in their first year of high school. A NZ high school goes for 5 years. What is the stanza's image? Ask Ss to draw it? Who is going to class? What has happened here?

You would think

the first punch

would surprise you

more than hurt you

but that wasn't the case

it hurt so much

i couldn't breathe

‘You’ who is being addressed? Reader? Speaker to himself? No one in particular? Ex-students? Ambiguous audience? ‘think’ irony? A mockery of violent culture? Of humanity? A lack of thought? What is the impact of this line? Violence: a sucker punch to the belly. Why a small i? Deliberate? Boy image?

'Remember, boys

we are the school

on top of the hill'

Why is the stanza repeated? Is this the same speaker as the first stanza? Things don’t change? The student becomes the teacher...‘Remember’: a reminder that it is our memories that help the system self replicate/sustain itself… The poem is an admonition? A cry out for change, or is that a too positive interpretation?

Are all the stanzas about the same boy? Is he the speaker ‘i’ we meet in the 4th stanza? (the 2nd and 3rd stanza are both about different boys) Can we tell from just a reading of the poem?

Who is speaking? From what authority? Who is the (ideal) audience? What kinds of people are described? What feelings is the poem trying to conjure? What is the poems purpose? The individual narrative as part of a larger resistance movement?