4/23/18
4/19/18
Straight Talk About the N Word
Socratic Seminar:
As before, you are welcome to have some notes with you. HOWEVER, do not answer the questions in toto – this is not conducive to seminar discussion. )This is probably the last time the questions will be provided ahead of the discussion.) Just spend some time today thinking about these topics. The questions are meant to guide your thinking.
1. Civilization and Savagery:
How is Jonathan’s visit to Transylvania portrayed? What interests him? How does he understand cultural differences? What seem to be for him markers of `civilization’? How does Dracula describe himself, his family, the history of his land? What connections might you make between Eastern Europe as frontier, cultural crossroad, war-zone and Dracula’s insistence upon family, aristocracy, a warrior/hunter ethic? What might `cultural contamination’ mean in the context of this novel? How might the interests and fears of imperial Britain be reflected in vampirism, in Dracula’s intent to invade London? What might be the significance of Quincy Morris, the Texan, in the text’s interrogation of frontiers?
2. Heroism:
What does it mean to be heroic in this novel? What kinds of heroism are in contention here? How might `epic’ heroism be a threat (or a reproach) to modern constructions of masculinity? How is masculinity represented in Dracula? Is heroism a matter of individualism? What is the significance of male bonding? What do you make of the recurrent theme of `selfishness’ vs. `duty’? Which is good? Which is dangerous? What kinds of threat evoke acts of heroism?
3. Christianity/Religion:
How does the novel invert Christian mythology in its description of Count Dracula’s reign of terror? For instance, what specific elements of Stoker’s story parallel scenes or images from the New Testament? Why might this subversion of Christian myth be significant?
4. Writing/Compiling Dracula:
When do we begin seeing the novel taking shape under our eyes? How do modern technologies facilitate the construction of the narrative? How are responsibilities for the compilation of the narrative shared? What kinds of discourse are privileged in the arranging of this `factual’ record? How are narratives coded as truthful? Which narratives have authority for the characters? How does the text reflect upon its own construction? Who reads what when? What might the variety of genres and modes included in the text signify? What are the significances of language in Dracula? (shorthand, unknown tongues, extorted letters, journal writing)
5. Ritual and Science:
How do the characters in this novel acknowledge and accommodate mystery in their rational, modern world? Does magic lie outside the scope of science? Does it challenge or affirm the characters’ sense of the possibilities of scientific knowledge? Does mystery (and religion, for that matter) become grist for the scientific mill, another technology to manipulate? If not, how does mystery escape the realm of the expert? What do you make of van Helsing’s ability to bring together the realms of science and ritual? Who is an authority in this novel? In which realms of expertise?
6. Vampirism:
What characterizes vampirism in this novel? How does vampirism challenge the structures and home truths of Victorian society? Why might the stranger (the Other) be coded as monstrous? How might vampirism be a way of exploring forbidden sexuality? the European past? aristocracy as anachronism in the modern era? the inability (and consequent anxiety) of Europeans to define their borders and culture in an age that required clear demarcation between the colonial administrators and the administered?
Dellatte Online 