12 Aug One of the hallmarks of the humanist tradition was the general consensus that the self was knowable and coherent.
Please respond to two of the following five short essay prompts. Each of your responses should be about 500 words in length and should include textual evidence in support of its claims.
- One of the hallmarks of the humanist tradition was the general consensus that the self was knowable and coherent. Pointing to two of the theorists we have covered thus far, discuss how these two critical approaches complicate this assumption.
- What does Althusser mean by interpellation, and how does this term function within Marxist criticism? Based on your understanding of this concept, how would you characterize the relationship between art and ideology?
- How does Lacan’s understanding of the unconscious differ from that of Freud? How do these differences shape the way these two theorists conceived of the relationship between identity and desire?
- Foucault is often cited as having synthesized concepts from the multiple critical approaches that preceded his work. After identifying two of Foucault’s theoretical preoccupations, explain how his contribution built upon the work of Saussure, Marx, or Freud (pick two from this list).
- How does Russell’s “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” engage with Foucault’s notion that subjects are created through discipline? More generally, what is gained when literature attempts to communicate theory?
