The Self, the Other, and the Self as Other in Text, Image, and Performance Janet Hegman Shier, 112 Greene, jshie@umich.edu www.umich.edu/~jshie 647-4378 Office hours: Mon 3-4, Thurs. 4:30-5:30 and by appointment ". . . one of them pointed us in the direction of the self-service machines inside the station He thought we'd meant by "self," those places where you could get soft drinks and sandwiches. Since then, I've always associated "self" with those self-service machines, and I think of "self" as a coin-operated contraption." -Andrei Codrescu The self is a matter of personal experience; both as subject and as object. It is who/what we are. We play a role in shaping the self as the "I" and we respond to the self as "me", the object. The self is both "I" the knower, and "me," the known. It is both the memories of "me" in the past and the imaginer and cultivator of "me" in the future. We draw from our memories to imagine and create, and we draw from our imagination to recall memories. We reflect on the past, present and future and we do so simultaneously and alternatingly, as we negotiate between thought and actions, each of which reinforce and represent the self. In this course, we will focus on issues of identity, involving the self and the other in text, image, and performance. Through readings, writing assignments, discussions, interviews, and theater and art assignments, we will study, write about, fictionalize, and perform the self and the “other” and we will explore the curious intersection of the two. Three processes will guide us in our work: perception, production and reflection. We will look at a range of subjects related to the course, including self-portraiture, the use of masks, posing and imposing the self. We will look at the correlation between the arts and identity, we will look at the role of fixing memories (vs. imagining and recreating sites of self). We will consider why and how in photography, posing has been described as a dramatic struggle for control and authenticity, a site, or theater, of self-creation. Of critical importance will be a number of theater and arts workshops, in which you will model self vs other by experimenting directly with what it means to be both actor and audience, what it means to “wear a mask” of the other and what implications representing oneself or acting (as the other) can have on breaking or establishing routine and breaking with or creating the self. The role of the self will be explored through theater workshops which are designed to place the self as author, actor, and spectator. Our theater exercises will be a laboratory for observation and experimentation, drawing clues from Brecht's theories of alienation effect and historicising, and drawing from Boal (Theater of the Oppressed and Image Theater ) to explore how much of what we do is culturally defined, how much is personally defined and how to "break" with routine to effect change. Not surprisingly, theater and arts workshops will provide a chance to express the self, a freeing of the self, an opportunity for experimentation and self-examination and an escape from/to the self. Overall, the theater and arts workshops will inform participants in the very nature of the self as active agent and reflective being. We will focus on a number of questions, including but not limited to the following: • How does time and the awareness of time and space figure into our understanding of self? (Role and nature of memory) • What (and where) are the sites of self and how do they come about? (What happens when we travel? when we speak a second language? What is the role of “home”?) • What is self knowledge? How do we become proficient reading, writing, listening to (and comprehending), and speaking the self? How are those skills enhanced or limited by our cultural and social context? • How can we have/Do we have one identity, yet many selves? (i.e., with the various individuals who know us.) • How do we mask and mark the self? What is the difference? • Is the self secret? a prison? • What role do the senses play in our image of the self and memory? • How do others serve as mirrors of the self? • How and to what end is the self distorted, exaggerated, deformed, empowered, enabled, and dis-abled? • How/why.when does the self change or transform? Is it a part of a journey of sorts? • What events shape our understanding of our self? • How do we consciously and sub-consciously realize/fictionalize "I" ? • How do we narrate the self? What is the story of the self? Our study of the self will encompass study of others' autobiographical writing as well as, literature, fine art, including landscapes, self portraits, and photography (Advertising/Self promotion and television may figure in here, as well). As part of our reaction to these, we will create versions of our own in order to better understand and appreciate what goes into making or cultivating self, reflecting (on) the self, and performing the self. We will fictionalize autobiographical stories and explore the self through other media which lend themselves towards interpreting the "self's" place. We will ask ourselves to what extent identity is an individual’s unique paradise and to what extent it is a prison. Readings, assignments and projects will all be geared to help us focus on our study of self as "subject" and self as "object." They will not be linear, nor can they! Our tools of inquiry will take us through points where text, image, and performance intersect. The nature of our inquiry will lead us to reflect on the dual nature of the self in its capacity to be like a secret that is on permanent display. The inquiry itself will take us to old and new sites of self. Required readings: All readings will be disseminated on-line. If students prefer, a course pack will be made available at Excel on South University. Students should note, however, that many articles on the reading list will not be required reading of all students. Course Requirements and assessment Participation & Attendance. (40%) You will be required to participate in all aspects of the course. You are expected to attend every class session and be there on time. You may have one excused absence, but you must give me prior notice and only absences due to illness will be considered excused. If you must miss class, you are still responsible for what was covered in class.. You will be evaluated on the basis of preparation for class, active participation in class discussions, scene work, workshops, engagement with materials, completion of written and oral assignments, including arts assignments (to be described in class), portfolio development, and on the degree and quality of participation, effort, and growth in creative work and scholarship. A grade will be assigned on “major” papers. Any paper may be resubmitted once to improve your grade by one degree (e.g., B can become B+). No paper should be resubmitted more than once, unless you are reworking it for the final project; Each student will keep a portfolio containing creative and reflective assignments, a protocol of the course, and a collection of starting points for future study topics related to the self (follow up). The portfolio should contain at a minimum bi-weekly entries, responding to questions that arise in readings or in class discussion and sketches. The point of these will be, in part, to allow for greater reflection on course topics, to provide a mechanism for dialogue between you and me, to determine topics for longer papers and to let the instructor intervene with suggestions to steer the student to further individual readings, art works or writing topics that might be of particular interest and value to you. Writing assignments. (60%, including 10% for final project) You will submit weekly writing assignments in the first 2/3 of the course, followed by two longer assignments (4-5 pages) and one individual project, due at the end of the semester. Specifics of these assignments will be given in class. You should always feel free to discuss topics with me and to propose alternate topics for papers. Grades on papers will go down for each day they are late unless you have made prior arrangements with me (only under extenuating circumstances). Some writing assignments will be modeled after readings, others will be reactions to readings, at least one will be fictionalized autobiography. In addition to these, you will do numerous “quick” writes (in and out of class) at my discretion. Many of these will be graded [+] or [ -]. •One of the last three (longer) writing projects may be revisions and extensions of earlier semester projects or may grow out of portfolio work. • As a final project, each student will evaluate work from the semester and will, with guidance and support from me, develop one aspect of a written assignment (fictionalized story, lyric essay, creative assignment) to include in a class book of text and image (original painting, drawing, collage, photography). A draft of the final project, including images to accompany it, must be turned in by the 12th week of classes, in order to allow sufficient time to edit the paper and submit it as a final project to include in the class book. As an alternative to working with text and image, students may develop a piece for performance, which they will perform for the class. In this case, documentation of the performance, as well as the script itself, will be included in the class book. There must be a written component of the final project (i.e., an improvised monologue on stage will not suffice, but an improvised piece that grows out of a written version of the piece is fine.). Each student will be responsible for ongoing self-assessment of his/her progress in the course. • Each student will be required to help host Element-3, a young group of artists-in-residence who are hosted by this class. Students in this seminar are also required to attend both public performances of the group in E Quad and to interview one of the artists. In addition, students are required to attend at least one literary reading, artist’s talk or cultural event and to write a critique for this as one paper assignment. A list of suitable events will be posted on the web site. Finally, each of you is required to attend outside office hours to review papers, progress, and to discuss future goals and individual work with me. Your attendance at office hours and appointments will help you with your overall progress, help me gear assignments to you, and contribute to your learning and assessment of your work. You must attend office hours at least 3 times during the semester, or as recommended on the basis of your work. The syllabus and timeline for the course will be kept somewhat flexible. They will come out in installments and be changed and updated syllabus, as necessary. They will be posted on-line, and you should refresh the page frequently to find updates. As necessary, the syllabus will be changed to accommodate guest speakers’ schedules and to allow for creative work to develop.