ETS 142: Narratives of Culture: Subjectivity Unit
Thinking Paper #5
In The Theory Toolbox, Nealon and Giroux state, “The ‘subject’ is an outwardly generated concept, an effect, an understanding of personhood based on the social laws or codes to which we are made to answer…. [It] is always understood in reference to preexisting social conditions and categories” (37).
The assignment: Notions of self can be heightened during random encounters. Demonstrate the ways in which the notion of self is heightened during random encounters as illustrated in two (2) of the pieces that we have read together. You may choose from Olds’ “On the Subway”, Davidson’s The Lunch Date, Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space” and Trudeau’s “Street Calculus.” Use the quotation above from Nealon and Giroux to help the focus of your assignment but please remember that this is not a critical lens-style essay. You are not agreeing or disagreeing with the quotation or stating that it is valid or invalid. Instead you should be looking for points of difference in the pieces.
Your analysis should be shaped in part by our class readings and discussions on the concept of subjectivity. When explaining your analysis, be sure to incorporate the course’s theoretical language. Let the concept of subjectivity serve as the focus of your discussion; the readings are the vehicles for your discussion. You are using the theory to produce the meaning of the text. The paper is due on Monday, March 19th, 2012 and it should be one to two pages in length.
Generative Questions to Help Shape your assignment