Symptomatic Reading Flashcards
Class
Economic groupings
- they are social structures existing independently of the individuals comprising them
- Class can be a crucial causal factor in explaining the constitution of the individual’s personality/psychology
Ultimatly there are two major classes in capitalism
- Those who produce
- Those who distribute the product
Labour
The work an individual does
- the use of their time
Capitalism
An economic system that focuses on individualistic values
- Personal freedom
Capitalism is a system of exploitation, with society divided into two broad classes.
- Bourgeosie - Owners
- Proletariat - Workers
According to Marxist theory, capitalism does not work unless someone is being exploited
Marxism
An economic theory that focuses on collective values
- Analyses the effect of class struggle
Marxism does not equal Leninism
Exploitation
What happens when your capatity to work is not being fairly compensated
- This leads to profit
Class Struggle
“A conflict between different social classes, especially (in Marxist ideology) the conflict of interests between the workers and the ruling class in a capitalist society, regarded as inevitably violent.”
Proletariat
Workers in Marxist theory
Bourgeoisie
Owners (or distributers) in Marxist theory
Base/Superstructure
The nature of society is determined by a combination of an ideologial superstructure and and economic base
- Both areas have the ability to influence the other
Ideologial Superstructure
- Religion
- Politics
- Culture
- Art
Economic Base
- Commodities
- Economic Relations
- Class struggles
- Means of production
Gender
The concept of gender is typically placed in opposition to the concept of ‘sex’;
- Sex - a matter of biology, (XX or XY)
- Gender (feminine/masculine) - a matter of culture;
Gender may be taken to refer to learned patterns of behavior and action, opposed to what is biologically determined; biology need not be assumed to determine gender.
Feminism
The belief that women are subordinated to men in Western culture.
“[Feminism’s] aim is not to benefit solely any specific group of women, any particular race or class of women. It does not privilege women over men. It has the power to transform in a meaningful way all our lives… Feminism as a movement to end sexist oppression directs our attention to systems of domination and the inter-relatedness of sex [and gender], race, and class oppression… The foundation of future feminist struggle must be solidly based on a recognition of the need to eradicate the underlying cultural basis and causes of sexism and other forms of group oppression.”
Patriarchy
The ways in which material and symbolic resources (including income, wealth, and power) are unequally distributed between men and women through social institutions such as the family,
Material Resources
- Money
- Income disparity
- Education
- Medical Acess
- Medical studies are most commonly done on men
- Women’s health is still largely unexplored
Symbolic Resources
- Language
- Insults often imply femininity
- More words for women who engage in sexual promiscuity
- Acceptible traites
- Assertive woman = Bad (B–ch)
- Assertive man = Good
Heteronormativity
The privileging of heterosexual norms, values, identities while excluding what is non-heterosexual
- i.e., Queerness.
Queerness
“the quality or characteristic of having a sexual or gender identity that does not correspond to established ideas of sexuality and gender, especially heterosexual norms”
Sexuality
Sexual feelings, thoughts, attractions and behaviours towards other people
Race
A classification of people based on shared inherited physical characteristics, such as skin colour
Racism
Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed towards a person or group of persons on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is minority or marginalized
Systematic Racism
The way the very structures and organized systems of our societies, our languages, our customs, our conceptual schemes, and our dominant institutions can produce racist effects even without consciously intending to do so
- Relies on the idea that racism is pervasive in Western societies like Canada, the USA, etc
Colonialism
The policy or practice of acquiring partial or full political control over a country/territory, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically
Eco-criticism
Involves challenging the idea of human privilege, or speciesism, a term coined by philosopher Peter Singer.
- Thinking critically about the ecoogical dimentions of human pratices, social systmes, and ideas
Speciesism
Describes the unjustified belief in human superiority, just as racism and sexism are used to criticize false beliefs about forms of superiority based on race or gender.
Nature
The phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations
Pollution
The addition of any substance or energy to the environment at a rate faster than it can be diluted, dispersed, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form.
Types of pollution include:
- air pollution
- water pollution
- land pollution
- light pollution
- noise pollution
- plastic pollution.
Symptomatic Reading
Symptomatic Reading considers the underlying presuppositions of a text.
- Its focus is on the things a text can’t or is unwilling to say but nonetheless can be shown to influence the perspective the text exhibits
Omission Theory
Also known as Iceberg Theory
- Coined by Ernest Hemingway
- “It’s not the notes you play. It’s the notes you don’t play.”
There should be way more that you don’t write than what you do
