Question1:
In what ways have we been using “voice” in our discussions thus far? Think both actual definitions of voice (as an expression of self and/or community), as well as what voices can do (fictionalization of the self), coming to voice and authenticity (Slave narratives, Wild Tongue, etc.) and finally voice as technology.
Question2:
Why is an understanding of voice and the process of coming to voice relevant to an understanding of human communication and social relationships? Think about the relationship between subject and object as well as what coming to voice and silencing reveals about the human condition and human relationships. (See bell hooks’ theory of “subject” and “object” in her theory of voice and silencing, Boesch’s Sound of the Violin, Rodriguez, etc)
Question3:
According to Kathleen Norris in “A Crowded Writer on the Lonely Prairie”, what are the forces that “conspire to silence a person” in a small town such as Lemmon, S.D.? Give two examples. Why does Norris say that the process of writing make one an outsider in one’s own community? How does Norris feel about insider/outsider status? How does this compare to bell hooks’ understanding object/subject? According to hooks, how is voice silenced? What do these struggles of voice reveal about culture in the US?
Question4:
Sibley in his study of W.E.B Dubois writes: “The whiteness of human geography is a problem for a subject which concerns itself with the diverse experiences of the world population.” (The subject he is referring to is sociological research.) What does he mean? How does exclusion work to silence as illustrated by the case of W.E.B. Bois? What are at least two forces?
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