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kayla's picture

science vs. expression

 Admittedly, the humanities are my comfort zone. I love it here. But I still appreciated the discussion question Anne asked in class: What particular contribution can the division of the humanities make to our understanding of gender and sexuality? It wasn't something I would have necessarily thought out on my own even though it's something definitely worth considering. Literature, unlike science, is an expression rather than stated fact. It offers readers a character (and in the case of The Doll's House, a face) to associate with whatever issues are discussed in the text, and then delves deeper into these issues through tools like symbolism and imagery. And it is through this use of characters that allows readers to sympathize with gender and sexuality issues--like the example someone brought up in class of Will & Grace allowing viewers to "have gay friends." Characters have the ability to evoke emotion in readers, unlike the anonymity of scientific texts, and offers us an entirely new perspective on gender and sexuality. 

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