Today we work through two more of Burke’s central essays, one on metaphysics and the other on language (and the way language structures/impacts our relation to the world).
I want to spend the beginning of class dealing with the former, and the end of class dealing with the latter. So, first, I will ask you to pair up. Each pair will deal with one clause of Burke’s definition. Working together, submit a five sentence summary of your clause to Canvas.
After we work through the “Definition of Man,” I want to introduce the ideas in “Terministic Screens” by turning to an unlikely source: George Carlin. In fact, as a good friend once argued, Carlin in some ways represents the kind of naive verbal realism that Burke works hard to undo. From another perspective, however, Carlin demonstrates (perhaps unwittingly) that the words we use have symbolic power, that they commit symbolic acts.
Third, time allowing, we will go over my responses to the longer projects. I will ask everyone to commit to a longer project on Thursday, and to come to office hours today, tomorrow, or Thursday (I have a sign-up sheet).
Homework
Burke, “Dramatistic Method” and “Identification” from the Burke Anthology.
