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matos's picture

I want to start of by

I want to start of by saying that I really enjoyed Johnson’s article. It was a departure from the homework I’ve been doing lately, to delve into the basis of an article, it’s language, in order to figure out some sort of meaning. However, I would’ve liked it if she expanded it to subjects besides poem, to straight forward political speech.

But moving on to Johnson’s quote “There is politics precisely because there is undecidability”. I’m having problems with this because I’m having trouble defining what “politics” is. Yes, I’m a political science minor and I read the newspaper and all that good stuff, so I guess I should know. The definition that’s coming to mind is the regulation of moral, social and economic issues. So with this is definition, I’m going to say that Johnson’s quote makes complete sense. Uncertainty, or “undecidability”, in masses creates a need for some hierarchal power to create certainty. The unfortunate reality is a lot of politics is based on what’s already been decided. Which is where I think Moharty’s argument would come in. I think Moharty reinforces a point that is brought is several times in Pratt’s essay; that things are not linear but constantly evolving and going back and forth between perspectives and dimensions. So, thought there is undecidability, politics is not a remedy for it.

 

Regarding the idea the politicizing the poem is to “misinterpret her[The Mother’s] goal” is to go back to one of the class’s first questions on how do we interpret literature; from our perspective or the author’s.

 

PS. Gail your sculpture is magnificent.

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