Feedback from Noah

This is interesting stuff. Once I read the book I could probably be of more help, but, from what you've told me, it seems like this would be ripe for a post-colonial interpretation. For instance, the patriarchal notion that a Gorilla (third world) must be educated in the way of humans (first world) - that it must be saved from its primitive nature - smacks of imperialism. And yet, the gorilla doesn't use human means of communication, but instead employs a unique medium, telepathy, to demonstrate its worth. This mirrors one of the big themes in post-colonial literature. That is, the idea that the formerly colonized people of the world need to find a voice independent and free from the influence of remnant imperialist ideologies. Rather than shifting from an imperialism perpetrated by the threat of physical violence to one of cultural, intellectual, and economic violence, the idea is that the people's of the former third world should and are developing a new paradigm.

Anyway, that's the lit theory perspective. I don't really know about rhetoric stuff, though.

notes

PHILOSOPHICAL/RHETORICAL
Socrates [Wikipedia]-internal nature is more important than external nature; man > world
the knowledge that affects us is worthy of possessing
1) Know thyself. 2) Virtue is knowledge. 3) Virtue is happiness
spiritual degradation is mental degradation
Socratic questioning: To solve a problem, it would be broken down into a series of questions, the answers to which gradually distill the answer you seek. The influence of this approach is most strongly felt today in the use of the Scientific Method, in which hypothesis is the first stage. The development and practice of this method is one of Socrates' most enduring contributions, and is a key factor in earning his mantle as the father of political philosophy, ethics or moral philosophy, and as a figurehead of all the central themes in Western philosophy.
To illustrate the use of the Socratic method; a series of questions are posed to help a person or group to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge. The Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those which lead to contradictions. It was designed to force one to examine one's own beliefs and the validity of such beliefs. In fact, Socrates once said, "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others."

POLITICAL
-need for environmental education; save the world one student at a time; we need to be retaught and learn to listen to nature (Derrick Jensen); BUT world can’t accept such a ‘revolutionary’ idea
-revisit the past to see mistakes made; consequences of those mistakes that we must live with
-need new perspectives/counterarguments
-imperialism, colonialism of zoos (domestication-curing primitivism; education-curing ignorance)
-man vs. beast, we marvel at how animals can communicate, i.e. Koko the ‘talking’ gorilla, sign language
-anthropomorphism – when we relate to animals, we apply human characteristics to them (imperialistic?) , i.e. Dog Whisperer
-need for (cultural?) diversity (that includes animals?), philosophy, and culture

QUINN/ISHMAEL
Story elements
-magical realism
-spiritual tone (Zen or Buddhist?)
-“Teacher seeks pupil, must have an earnest desire to save the world” – newspaper ad
-Socratic dialogue
-leavers vs. takers
-talking gorilla-strange and ungodly yet less disturbing than a telepathic gorilla but telepathic is more realistic. All about finding the connection/s between man and beast.

Characters
-erudite gorilla [spokesperson/representative for animals? silverback gorilla-closest to humans, easier to communicate with them] endangered animal – victim of poaching (gorilla head, feet, paws [ashtrays]), bushmeat, commercial hunting, killed for no reason-sport, habitat destruction, Ebola
can't speak but he's telepathic, learned human language and culture from benefactor, bend rules of science/possibility, wild --> zoo --> raised by benefactor-civilized--> omniscient (student has surpassed the master?) narrator sees him as gorilla first and 'person' (teacher/ friend) later

Questions:
-Why the name ‘Ishmael?’ Moby Dick’s narrator, tell it like it is, voice of reason? Watch Ahab destroy himself
-Why is Ishmael a gorilla? Why is he male? :P Why Socrates?
-Has Ishmael 'evolved?' or 'gone through evolution?'
-Why does Ishmael only ask for one student in the ad? How many did he expect—only one?
-Do animals have the capacity to teach us? (communication)

Need to find out:
-Is Ishmael literate? (read and write?)
-Does he employ positive listening rhetoric or dominate the convo like Socrates does?

notes from prompt

-the animal question, human-animal relation and its cultural, rhetorical, and political implications, representation of animals and the human-animal relationship in literature, film, and popular culture, discourses of modernity (interdependence of discourses of race and racism, patriarchy, heterosexism, colonialism, and animality), rhetorical function of animals in political discourse, postmodern art, philosophy, and poststructuralist theory; rhetoric of the animal rights movement (legal efforts to define some species of animals as “persons”), relation of animal cruelty to human violence against humans (serial and mass murder, terrorism, and genocide); domestication as rhetoric of domination; cultural function of zoos in a postcolonial world; the rhetorical and political uses of anthropomorphism; the ethics and politics of animal industries (factory farming and pet industries), complexities of our relationships with nonhuman animals and our ethical obligations to them

So many decisions...

the CFP i'm working on

Human-Animal Relation (Journal Issue; August 1, 2009)

Lynn Worsham/JAC: A Journal of Rhetoric, Culture, and Poltiics
email: worsham@ilstu.edu

cfp categories: American, childrens_literature, cultural_studies_and_historical_ approaches, film_and_television, gender_studies_and_sexuality, postcolonial, theory, rhetoric_and_composition, science_and_culture, twentieth_century_and_beyond

CALL FOR PAPERS: Special Issue of JAC

In the context of the widespread intoxication with digital technology, JAC plans a special issue that reconsiders what Jacques Derrida calls “the question of the animal.” As we become persuaded by the ways in which “human being” and human existence are forever altered by digital technologies, the animal question continues to reassert itself, challenging us to develop a more rigorous understanding of the myriad ways in which nonhuman animals historically have served to define what it means to be “human.”

We invite full-length theoretical articles that address a wide range of topics related to the animal question, especially the human-animal relation and its cultural, rhetorical, and political implications. We are particularly interested in articles that explore the various rhetorics at work in the representation of animals and the human-animal relationship in literature, film, and popular culture.

We are also interested in historical articles that examine the discourses of modernity, especially the interdependence of discourses of race and racism, patriarchy, heterosexism, colonialism, and animality. Also of interest are articles that examine the rhetorical function of animals in political discourse, postmodern art, philosophy, and poststructuralist theory.

Other topics of interest include the rhetoric of the animal rights movement, including recent legal efforts to define some species of animals as “persons”; the relation of animal cruelty to human violence against humans, including serial and mass murder, terrorism, and genocide; the history and practice of domestication as a rhetoric of domination; the cultural function of zoos in a postcolonial world; the rhetorical and political uses of anthropomorphism; the ethics and politics of animal industries, especially factory farming and pet industries; and the complexities of our relationships with nonhuman animals and our ethical obligations to them.

Articles should be conceived as theoretical contributions both to the emerging interdisciplinary field of animal studies and to the interdisciplinary field of rhetorical theory, broadly conceived. We are not interested in sentimentalized personal narratives detached from scholarly and theoretical conversations about the human-nonhuman animal relation. JAC is an interdisciplinary theoretical journal devoted to the study of rhetoric, discourse, culture, and politics. Deadline for submissions: August 1, 2009. Send inquiries and submissions to Lynn Worsham, Editor, JAC at worsham@ilstu.edu; or to Campus Box 4240; Illinois State University; Normal, IL; 61790.

it's aliiiiiiiiive

I decided to resurrect my old research methods blog because it was a time when I was actively researching. Now, I'm going to use it as a way to brainstorm, keep, and organize all my new ideas. Also, I like the layout and the title ;)