Week 8!

I've created a couple of surveys in our Blackboard site to test the intra-subjectivity of your responses to closely-similar versions of the same work. Take these by March 1st. A favorite thesis of mine is that agreement increases when attention is focused on the same "thing". So many times we think we are talking about the same thing, and yet we are not. Make sure that we are focusing on a key feature -- then agreement seems to follow.

Agreement, of course, does not prove the objectivity of aesthetic features (for example), but it certainly diminishes the sense of utter subjectivity - the feeling that we often get when we confront aesthetic issues for the first time.

Shakespeare Versions: The Grades

Here are the results of your choices from last class. The trends are interesting and I'll be commenting on them in upcoming posts.

Grading Musical Versions

In the same way we can set up a set of respects (or criteria) for comparing musical versions. This table is for a "straw" vote on which version of the Beethoven Cello Sonata in certain respects. It may or may not be possible to make a summative judgment. Again, coming up with the overall "points" in this case may or may not be possible. But it is an occasion to engage in a complex way in the various modes of discourse, where appreciation is key. It may well be that by the time a vote can be taken the important things have already been done and the summative judgement is moot. (This is, perhaps, Isenberg's key claim.)

"Grading" the Versions of Romeo and Juliet

Our viewing of the two versions has involved all of the modes of discourse, including especially those of appreciation and interpretation. But the evaluative mode is possible here as well, though it is complicated. One needs to choose the respects in which the strengths and weaknesses of the two versions are compared. One most be careful to be talking about the "same thing" (though this may beg important questions!). Once the criteria are identified, then it would appear possible to apply them one by one. It might even be possible to "sum up" the individual grades and offer an overall score. Consider this table of possible criteria for the 1968 and 1996 versions of our Shakespeare play. As an exercise, we will whether preference trends (at least) emerge within the class.

ZFS and Web Links - Fixed (and a note)

Cal Poly just shifted over from DFS to ZFS in early February and some web links were affected, but are now okay. There are some links that still point to DFS folders but this should not matter this quarter. These are the Indian Iconography links. At some point I'll need to update them. For example, the Krishna Home pages will be http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcmanley/PAM/krishhp.htm and so on rather than through the IGE group link as given on the blog and which will go away at some point.

This is not an issue of concern for regular user, but I'm a believer in continuity and long term use of material put on the web and this should remind me of future updates, should they be needed.

Comparisons Assignments

I indicated there would be a comparison assignment last week, but felt you might best focus on completing the Arts Colony Assignment first (and to complete more of the Shakespeare scenes). So the first intra-subjective survey on Romeo and Juliet is now available in the Week 7 Course Document folder. Take it before next Monday. There will be a similar survey on the Beethoven Cello Sonata soon. Stay tuned.

Your Paper Assignment Resources -- Isenberg Article

One student reported problems accessing the paper materials on Blackboard. I checked and found them intact on my system, but just in case, here is the link to the *.pdf file of the Isenberg article.