Boundaries in Culture January 29, 2007
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I was struck by the description that Stephen Greenblatt gave to the concept of culture, describing it as being defined by opposites, constraint and mobility. These terms caused me to reflect on the nature of culture as a means of controlling the behavior of its members and how it defines the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Greenblatt calls them “models to which individuals must conform”.
The author uses the terms “improvisation, experiment, and exchange” to describe how cultural boundaries are established. I think about our own culture and how it changed during my lifetime. Whereas today we Americans are used to a wide latitude in acceptable social behavior and have few limits put on our mobility, not so many years ago, especially in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the boundaries were being tested and moved. All I have to do is think of the scandal that Elvis produced when he first jumped on the stage and started gyrating in front of his audience. The cultural changes that started during this time are manifest today in such social phenomena as the large number of marriages ending in divorce, single-parent households, and gay lifestyles. Was the old order better?
The role of literature in the enforcement of cultural boundaries is another subject the author discusses. By using praise and blame in literary works an author can pronounce judgment on members of a culture of whom the author either appreciates or disapproves. But as Greenblatt says, the arguments used lose their effectiveness as time goes by and as the culture changes. For us today to understand works like these requires knowledge of the culture portrayed.
With respect to literary style, Greenblatt says that literature that pushes against the boundaries of culture is what “students of literature reserve their highest admiration for”. This is what I like in literature, too. I couldn’t have said it better. I’m always looking for works that are “different”. For example, I particularly like Emily Dickinson for her odd perspective on the world and I always think of her poem “I’m nobody, who are you?” as an example of her unique perspective on the culture of her time.
Cultures are constantly evolving and as they do the boundaries of acceptable behavior are moving. I only wonder what our culture will look like in 100 years. Certainly it won’t be like today, but we probably won’t even notice the changes because they will take place so gradually.
Continuities in Humanism January 29, 2007
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Nicholas Mann points out the subjective nature of history by reminding us that the years between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance are called the “Dark Ages”. However, a closer look at the period shows continuities with the past of Greece and Rome and a strong connection with the Renaissance. I was struck as I read this chapter with the continuities to the present. My liberal arts education was filled with studies of the humanities, and all the while I never realized how far back in history this kind of education went.
The author gives background information throughout the chapter to help me understand the development of the period. He describes the need for an educated class outside the monastery during the Carolingian Renaissance and how Charlemagne’s edict to establish schools for the secular clergy started the development of professions like doctors, lawyers, notaries, and civil servants, professions still in existence even today.
The pervasive influence of the Church during the early stages of humanism affected the level of scholarship and constrained the scholars from developing a deeper knowledge of their classical subjects that later ones were able to achieve. In addition, the church and canon law limited how far the early scholars could go in the study of pagan literature. Even today we hear complaints from certain religions about the secular nature of schools and the evils of a “liberal arts education”.
I always assumed Petrarch was a Roman, I guess because of his name, so I was surprised to discover that he was the most important figure of this period and considered the father of Humanism. Petrarch is known for his scholarship on classical works, his fascination with Cicero and Virgil, his work in the secular world as a politician and diplomat, and most importantly his vernacular poetry. His knowledge of the classics was so extensive that he could even note inaccuracies in the original works. In his letter collection, or epistolario, he deals with the subject of imitatio and suggests that the reader be careful to imitate the classical writers in a style that is “neither servile nor too visible”. Through continuities provided by earlier scholars, Petrarch was able to use their scholarship to aid his extensive work in the classics, which benefited scholars in the next period, the Renaissance.
The continuous study of the classics of Greece and Rome even in universities today is testimony to the contribution of humanists like Petrarch who searched out the classical manuscripts and devoted so much energy to their understanding. We are all the beneficiaries of their work.
Hello world! January 29, 2007
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This is Sally’s blog for the MODL5304 class, Currents in European and Latin American Thought. Sally is a second year graduate student at UTA in the Modern Languages Department. Prior to going back to school to work on her Spanish skills, she was in the Computer Software business for many years. Sally enjoys swimming, gardening and politics when she’s not studying.
