[reposting] Apr 5: More Discussion of Testimony, Trauma Narratives & Memorials

[reposting after the discussion ....]

BIG QUESTIONS:

1. We've spent some class days considering how text moves through gestalt / visual lifeworlds / visual ethics. How can text move through testimony?
2. How do these concepts of "hypermediacy" and "embodiment"-- and how they work in various hypertext trauma/testimonial projects -- give us insight into how text moves? Another way to ask this is: How do hypermediacy and embodiment (in Delagrange's conception of them) contribute to Gilmore's "testimony" (which she says necessarily moves through time, memory, and public spaces) and Anzaldua's "mestiza way/consciousness"?

SOME RESPONSES THAT EMERGED FROM DISCUSSION (in chronological order):

• the form of these projects tells us something about how we come to know text (we use it according to whether or not we have had a specific experience with texts like it)
• the form leaves us with tension or a paradox to contend with, which could be useful for projects doing prison representation (or offering critiques of the prison system)
• the form invites/requires participation that may produce affect or different kinds of affect
• the interactivity of the project could influence the rate at which traumas occur (or influence our perceptions about the rate at which traumas occur)
• the orientation of these texts is both physical and political (esp. Sharon Daniel's "Public Secrets")
• the project's form offers different ways to embody the narratives which could be useful if the subjects of the narrative also want the opportunity to be embodied differently (i.e., the female inmates performing an interpretive dance for an audience during a special program wanting to be seen as more than just female inmates)
• as participants in these projects, we co-construct the narratives / maybe also blurs boundaries of interpretation between reader, writer, text
• the hypertext relies on chaos (rather than order) -- can better reflect the narrative situation
  
• the form of the project makes some embodiments more visible and some less visible
• the dis-embodied voices make it more about the human as an object of public knowledge
• cultivates understanding, not just sympathy or stereotype
• for Delagrange, hypermediacy and embodiment involve memory -- Dr. G adds: this is interesting because there is a concept called "antimemory" that is sometimes used to describe how reading a hypertext relies both on memory and on what we experience in the immediate moment of reading.
• for Delagrange, hypermediacy explains how we come to know text (or image or art) 
• for Delagrange, embodiment comes out of a tradition of realizing how physical beings move in space / within spatial constraints (e.g., chironomia, the art of gesture)
• ironically, the disembodiment of certain factors (such as the audio files in Sharon Daniel's "Public Secrets") may make the text more acceptable to someone who might read the testimonies differently if s/he simply saw them in article form -- might help reader get beyond prejudices, disbelief, stereotypes, etc. -- because it places all stories/testimonies on even ground
• hypertext is a liminal space because it constantly shifts the primary axis of organization
• the project makes a liminal space not only for subjects (victims) but also for readers (users) -- Dr. G wonders: could this point to a new intersectional identification for the reader/user? Would that matter? Could it point to a new set of values we have to be willing to hold or perhaps a new way of reading we need to be willing to practice? 
• offers a way to expand the idea of "prison complex" as a liminal space, or at least a space that extends beyond the razor wire border -- Dr. G adds: this is interesting because Sharon Daniel does argue that the prison system keeps expanding because it is an unacknowledged secret, so her hypertextual project is one attempt at making the secret "public"

(board images from today, courtesy of M. Dennery!)

 












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Dear All Good Folks in ENG 4815:


First, please do refresh your memory of our discussion last class (here). We need to continue with Gilmore and Anzaldua, for Gilmore's piece is a bit challenging to unpack and Anzaldua's essay deserves more attention. (And may Eric Doxtader forgive us for not incorporating him into our discussion.)

Second, as promised, for Thursday's class, I need you to do some formal preparation in advance:

(1) Locate a hypertextual or digitally multimodal example of a human rights text that functions primarily based on testimony or testimonial narrative. If you are stuck, feel free to use Sharon Daniel's hypertext essay "Public Secrets", but you may also feel free to explore other sources. (For example, you might search electronic journals such as Vectors, Kairos, or Rhizomes. Or, you could search other human rights organizations for their uniquely digital projects (e.g., BeyondPrison, Jewish Voice for Peace, Human Rights Watch), or even an organization you may belong to, whether faith-based or non-. Spend some time navigating the hypertextual/digital project, taking note of how it launches, how it works, what it argues, and etc. (If you use "Public Secrets," be sure to VIEW PROJECT.)

(2) Compose a post to this course blog in which you discuss how the project you have chosen reflects each of the following concepts (this will likely take several paragraphs):

• Delagrange's idea of "remediation" or "embodiment" -- this will depend upon which chapter you have chosen to read from Technologies of Wonder: chapter 2 or chapter 3 (downloading PDF of your chapter is highly recommended);
• Gilmore's idea of "testimony" or "trauma discourse";
• Anzaldua's  "mestiza way" (I suggest "mestiza way" instead of "mestiza consciousness" because I know that Anzaldua doesn't say that just anyone can qualify as "mestiza", but please select the idea that you think works best with your hypertext).

(3) Please include an image, screenshot, or URL of your chosen hypertext somewhere in your post.

Do not worry: this is not a test; it is an opportunity for you to discuss/try on new terms, even as you are still figuring them out. Because this blog is a public space, of course, please be sure to accommodate a reader not in this class (i.e., explain and unpack your assumptions and terms).

Many thanks,
-Prof. Graban