Since I seriously doubt that anyone has yet had a chance to read the Foucault essay (after all, we're still on day-one of the course), I thought I'd write a few words about the essay and pose a question or two for discussion (please, engage with one another in the comments; discussion here counts for participation credit).
As for background information, Michel Foucault was born in 1926 and died in 1984, and was a prominent public intellectual and political activist. In his political engagements, he was particularly involved in gay rights and prison reform movements. Hence his rather famous books were entitled "Discipline and Punish" and "The History of Sexuality." He had doctoral degrees in both philosophy and psychology, the latter of which he earned first, publishing his first essay as an introduction to a book by the existential psychologist Ludwig Binswanger in 1954. His first major work was "Madness and Civilization," which called into question all conventional understandings of mental illness.
Foucault's methodology is typically classified (by his own terms) as Archeology and Genealogy, which is to say, he seeks out the most fundamental levels of a phenomenon in question and traces its development, rather than seeing it as timeless or pre-given.
Hence, the "author" cannot be taken as a given. It is true that there is in fact someone who writes a given text, but there is a difference between the writer and the author when the reader comes into play. The word "author" implies "authority" and is thus taken as having an authoritative and true interpretation of the text he has written. However, even psychoanalysis shows us that we are not always fully conscious of what we right, so we already find the concept of the author to be in question.
Foucault considers the "author" not as an individual, or as a structure, but rather as a function: that is to say, "I, the author, mean such and such." And examines how the author is constituted.
My question to you, from which you may stray as far as you like in discussing interesting points in the essay, is the following: why is the concept of the "author" so important and embedded in our culture?
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As you mentioned above, the reader seeks authority. A reader looking for a mystery novel will seek a book written by an established mystery writer, or someone who they trust can write a believable story for another reason. It is not only a matter of authority, but of accountability- the reader wants to have someone to look to with questions or arguments or for further information or stories. For example, JK Rowling is often interviewed for more information on her Harry Potter characters, and there is even an expectation from her fans that she should- and is even perhaps obligated- to continue to produce works. Also, literary rockstars are similar to famous musicians or models in that others want to emulate them. They have been widely acknowledged and accepted and so others in the literary world or with literary/academic/etc. interests want to reference them, repeat their arguments, build off of these or debate them in order to prove their own authority or expertise. When writing an academic paper, a student will be taken more seriously if he quotes Foucault rather than, say, his mother- even if his mother has something valuable to say.
ReplyDeletePS. also there is the ease and tradition of categorization of written text by author. people are used to looking in the bookstore for an author rather than a topic, and it is arguably better than other methods
ReplyDeleteIn our culture the author also serves as the true or authentic interpretation of a work. When reading a book or any text the reader will often attempt to infer the true meaning behind the text. As a reader the answer to all of the questions that may arise while reading a book, obviously have to reside within the author. I think this is true in our culture because of the familiarity that we have with the idea of private property and ownership of both physical and creative property. In order to find out about the inner workings of a business ask the owners, the significance of a song ask the composer and the true meaning of a book ask the author. However, if there is a difference between the writer and the author as Foucault points out, not even the person who wrote the text can be completely correct.
ReplyDeleteI think that the importance of the author in our culture stems from our society being so dominated by production and consumption. The reader, as the consumer of the text, considers he/she who produced the text to be of the utmost importance. The author is this direct producer of the text. Although several other indirect forces are involved in the production of a published work of writing, the author is the person directly credited with the creation of the work, and his/her name appears on the binding. If the written work meets the reader’s expectations, he/she will seek out its producer again when looking for a similar product, in the same way that consumers develop brand loyalty. The author, then, is more than just a person and his name more than just a name. Foucault writes “an author’s name is not simply an element in a discourse (capable o f being either subject or object, of being replaced by a pronoun, and the
ReplyDeleteLike); it performs a certain role with regard to narrative discourse, assuring a classificatory function.” The author’s name is the brand that produces that line of products which is all the text, regardless of subject or style, contained within his works. The author’s name, then, serves as a reference point, or a method of categorizing a group of writings. When one thinks of Confucius one is thinking of an entire philosophy, a vast category of ideas. The same goes for authors such as Plato, Homer, Nietzsche, etc.
I agree that who the author is, is very important in many cases. It is actually one of the first things i look for when I am looking for a scholarly source. For example if you read an article about the health dangers of plastic in a medical ournal written by a medical professor that would clearly be more reliable then if you read an article stating the opposite in people magazine written by some random guy. But who the author is does not matter as much, I think, when it comes to nobels or light reading books. When I pick out a book I read the synopsis and maybe the first few pages but I don't really care who wrote it. If it sounds good then I will probably read it. But that is not to say that I am not subconsciously more likely to pick a book written by an author who's name i have heard before.
ReplyDelete-Hadas
I agree that the the author in many cases is very important. Take for instance the recent success of the movie Avatar from acclaimed movie director James Cameron. He has written and directed the movie and people will seemingly pay any price (that is the movie tickets are set prices, although I feel many would pay more than the listed cost) to see the movie. The movie recently hit the billion dollar mark with global ticket sales, a feat that has never been done with any movie in its first few weeks of opening. This says a great deal about the importance of a "name" in general attached to a movie, book, article, etc. Although the movie is made in English, many other cultures and languages have translated the movie that reminding us that cultural barriers do not exist when the author of something great has created a new piece. As Hadas as mentioned above, many have subconsciously chosen to watch this movie due to the author's past work.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that the idea of an "author" is a significant part of our society and in my opinion, there are two main reasons for this. The first reason is that once we enjoy one work of a specific author, we assume that their other pieces will interest us as well. Of course sometimes an author, just like a musician, can be a one hit wonder, but more often than not it's the writing style we are drawn to, not the specific content, and the author does not disappoint us when we go on to read their other works. From the point where we develop an interest (in what we believe is the author), we associate any similar styles we may stumble upon with that name, and even if we know that our favored author did not write whatever literature we are currently reading, we hold that original work as a standard. Since the author is held as the standard, and not that specific first book we read by him or her, being the author becomes a significant role.
ReplyDeleteThe second reason that the "author" might have such a significant role in our society is because Americans are possessive and always seem to be in competition. Being the author of something, whether its a literary work, a piece of art or a computer program, suggests that since you built it, you know more about it than anybody else- which puts you in a position of power. Since everybody is competing to get to the top, the more you are the "author" of, the smarter, better, more creative, etc. you appear to others, which makes you feel more powerful, or at least better about yourself.
In both cases, authoring a work is associated with knowledge and success, two things our society seems to always be chasing.
-Aleksandra
It all depends what the "author" Is trying to say. In academic pursuits and otherwise the author wants to be the authority on the subject. Although, if on reads the op/ed section of the newspaper be it Rossie or O'Rielly who obviously have very different opinions on the same subjects it is up to the reader to determin how they fell has more credibility. In this type of writing an author may draw just as many readers from those who dissagre with his or her point-of-view as those who concure. Hence, when reading an article or a book it is important that the reader/consumer considers the authors motives in what is produced.
ReplyDelete-Zach Pedley
The concept of an author stems from the notion that we (society) need to hold somebody responsible for their actions. In being an author, like a function as Foucault said, he/she must fulfill many responsibilities such as taking the blame for blasphemous writings or accepting praise for awe-inspiring books. The concept of an author allows for identification of a person or persons with whom the reader can either reference or follow. Like what Natasha said, a student who quotes an author over his mother will be taken more seriously. This is because the works of authors have been scrutinized by many and may be rewarded with praise, which gains respect. From this respect, an author can be deemed a reliable source. Therefore, when somebody cites Plato, his wacky aunt, a scientific journal, etc., the reader will know the person(s) responsible and decide if that information is valid.
ReplyDelete-Kalle Yee
The idea of an author is one who depicts a story, message, etc. Depending in the atmosphere in which an author is writing being a journal, novel, or column the author must be conscious of what message he or she is trying to convey. I agree with Kalle's opinion about every author actually taking full responsibility of it's work whether it be inspirational or something which sparks great controversy. The significance of the author surfaces when its readers knows that the author is qualified and have the right credibility to write whatever they produced. Then the reader will have the ability to judge and decide whether the author's information is credible or even valid. I think especially in today's modern age we as a society must be more aware of the author in anything we read such as blogs, articles, and even news. Everything written is based on the perspective of its writer so the reader should be cautious of the writer's motive and intention of his work. So the importance of knowing who the author of the work is crucial.
ReplyDeleteBrenda A.
This may be a late comment but in my opinion, I think it is because of the way our society is structured and dependent on our status and how we look at others. I agree with Zach that authors have a sense of credibility to their work. They are solely in charge of manipulating their ideas, stories, and information to influence the reader. With influence comes power and along with power comes status and respect.
ReplyDeleteHaving the power to affect our emotions and our minds makes us hold authors in a certain respect. For that they gain a status that will influence the opinions of future readers who may consider reading their works. This is also seen in society with actors/actresses.
-Karen
As probably previously stated before by classmates, the author's ultimate definition is always held in the mind of the reader. Much like art unless the piece is totally didactic then the audience will never percieve the piece as the author intended. Knowing this, the author is not so "authoritative" but rather iconic. If there were to be a piece on the existentialism of inner-city life, written beautifully, it would become more important as to who the author was. If it were written by a 15 year old teenager who was beaten by a gang for initiation purposes then it would become more deep and brooding, compared to a 35 year old caucasian female who wrote it after landing in chicago for 30 minutes while transfering flights and believed to be "in the hood." But I digress, in our current culture who wrote the piece frequently outwieghs what the piece is about. Much like how having a masters in psychology would validate Foucault's books, if I were to write the same type of text on the dichotomy of the male psyche between sexual and intellectual and the correlation between both, I would not even be considered to be published without any formal education. Who you are makes the piece.
ReplyDelete-Ae Rhee Chung
*Karell Belle
ReplyDeleteI agree that the author plays a major role behind whatever work of literature he or she produces. I think the author does this by trying to make the writing more meaningful for the reader than for his or herself, this is where Roland Barthes idea that “the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the author," comes into place. The author creates his work according to what the reader may find to be appealing. I agree with Tito when he makes a correlation to the idea of production and consumption to the author and reader. Because the author is considered the producer of the work and reader is the consumer and the work of literature being produced is the “Brand.” For example, this is similar to clothing consumers will continue to shop in specific stores because they like the brand due to the style and quality. This is the same as a work of literature because if the author keeps producing works which interest the reader, the reader will continue to purchase his or her works. Once the author’s name is behind the work of well- known literature, his or her name also becomes a “name brand.”
-Karell Belle
I had a revelation, or rather a enlighten thought on this topic while I was playing with my son and reading AESOP's fables; (remember that from childhood?). Would you rather read a book that I recommended or one from Oprah Winfrey's book recommendations? (http://www.oprah.com/entity/oprahsbookclub). She seems to have an "affect" on those author's she recommends. The importance of an author and an influential figure is paramount to the success of both. Her influence leads to an author either becoming a bestseller or at the very least, being displayed prominently in the front of every Barnes and Nobles in America. On the flip side, would you read something that I recommend? I am currently reading "higher order Perl" (programming language). Seems fun huh? :)
ReplyDeleteBrian - I think you hit the nail on the head as far as Foucault's critique of the "author" - it's an instrument of power and of bourgeois capitalist social power - it's homogenizing. If everyone read what Oprah recommended then literary culture would founder. The more obscure the author, the more like the actual writer, I'd say - in a sense, only those who are successful by chance are writers, as such.
ReplyDeleteAesop, as well as pseudonymous writers present a special case, don't they? The author function is reduced to "just a name" and is in a sense laid b are.
I'd be happy to read something you'd recommend Sounds like fun and something I should become familiar with - as far as programming languages go, I'm most familiar with Fortran (77, 90 & 95), Matlab (r13-2009a), basic C and R. I also have a passing understanding of MySQL and php, but can hardly do much with them. I would love to be able to turn my programming skills toward literary/philosophical tasks - you'd be surprised at how much fucking data you can wind up working with as dissertation time approaches! My master bibliography for it is already at 10 pages, and I've got a year and a half to finish on time!
Homogenizing like many authors intend to. If reading something so thought provoking and influential, why not have those that write it form a religion around it? it seems that powerful effect that both Oprah, Aesop and even J.K Rowling have instilled upon today's readers of normal books (ie, real pages and not pushing a button on a e-reader).
ReplyDeleteCoincidently, Perl was written by a Linguist named Larry Wall that found many faults in the toolset that the used daily (sed, awk, C, bourne shell (aka bash)). He created this language to be more like how he thought of the language itself. Maybe you can use your style and praxis :) (i should get extra credit for that) to implement a language that you feel is more efficient. Then again, my skills as a good linguist are far from a 5th grade level's yet I do tend to think in code in my sleep, which is necessary when processing more than 30TB (thats terabytes) of market data per month. Perl was originally developed for text manipulation, so I won't be surprised if you can use it to suite your needs. Fortran and Matlab are both expensive languages. By that I mean both the application itself and the hardware that runs on Fortran and Matlab require some lovely funding that im sure Binghamton has gobs of!. Perl is great because its free and runs on a free OS !. So enough of my evangelism for Perl and back to our thoughts on authors and their need for infinite power. Sounds like the evil villian Lex Luther from Superman........
and regarding those books for Perl that I'd recommend :)..
ReplyDeletePerl by Example for the newbies at Perl.
http://www.amazon.com/Perl-Example-4th-Ellie-Quigley/dp/0132381826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263080227&sr=1-1
Higher Order Perl for the experienced Perl programmer
http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Order-Perl-Transforming-Programs/dp/1558607013/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263080031&sr=8-1
Now go by the books as I need my power to grow! :)
s/by/buy/g for my previous comment. That is a regular expression in Perl. :) if your unfamiliar with context, please refer to the Perl by Example book...
ReplyDeleteI think an author is so crucial to our society because it gives credit to whoever has expressed themselves, whether it is a novel, a poem, a musical, a blueprint, a movie, a dance, or a tv show. Knowing who the author is lets the consumer/reader know who they are relying upon. The reader knows which author is going to provide what they want/need. For instance, if I was upset about losing a shoe, I would go to a friend who could relate to my situation because she loves shoes and knows how it feels to lose a shoe. The same thing would apply to looking for a mystery book. I would go to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle if I was looking for a great Sherlock Holmes mystery. Or I would watch "White Chicks" or "Superbad" if I was looking for a feelgood funny movie (at least to me, of course it's debatable to many). What I'm trying to say is that knowing an author allows the consumer to find someone (or someone's work) who they can relate to and know that the author can provide whatever it is they are seeking.
ReplyDelete-Kalle Yee