“Fitting In”: Taking Up Space in the 116th US Congress
“Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) Every year, I make a feminist New Year’s resolution: apologize less; shut down more mansplaining; take up more space. Sometimes I mean this last one literally: I’ve learned to square my shoulders
Revisiting Unruly Instruction
This week, we dive into Broadly Textual’s archive, from its days as Metathesis, to revisit a piece of important work by now-Dr. Melissa Welshans. Her post, written in 2014 during her time in the English PhD program, addresses the same issues discussed by Natalie El-Eid in her first contribution this month, and reflected in the
Dysphoria
“The aim of this month’s posts is to interrogate our need to reconstruct our bodies, minds, and identities to fit the cultural standards of who and what we should be.” — Natalie El-Eid, “New Year, New You … True You?,” January 8, 2019 Write something, Write something, Write anything,Write About bodies, about my body, about
New Year, New You … True You?: Reconstructing Identities and Cultural Standards
Welcome to 2019, everyone. With the ushering in of a new year comes the seemingly incessant need for a new “resolution.” But is it really a need? Or are we dealing, rather, with a set of societal norms and the pressure we feel to conform to them? It’s a pressure that’s hard to escape. We’re
Winter Break
Greetings and Seasonal Salutations, Readers, As the holidays rapidly approach, currently commence, or in some cases, recently close, the graduate students who staff this e-pub are taking some time to write our end of semester papers, grade student work, and share the season with friends and family. We’ve had a great school year so far,
“Enter RUMOUR, painted full of tongues”: Virality and the Dangers of Rhetoric
Over the last few weeks, I’ve explored the relationship between early modern fears of rhetoric and their relevance in our political climate. Thus far, I’ve focused on a specific kind of rhetoric, the anti-media rhetoric of President Trump, drawing parallels between his words and Henry II’s famous statement “will no one rid me of this
“If Thou Consider Rightly of the Matter”: Intent, Interpretation, and the Fear of Rhetoric
Last week, I looked at Julius Caesar as a case-study for understanding early modern fears concerning rhetoric during the late 16th and early 17th century. I hope to have demonstrated the degree to which Shakespeare was wary of the relationship between rhetorical provocation and the violent potential of the crowd. However, representations of rhetorical provocation
“Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War”: Julius Caesar and the Power of Rhetoric
Last year, while writing for Broadly Textual about the political implications of staging Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar under the Trump administration, I off-handedly suggested that the play could be read as one in “which a demagogue exploits a mob of Roman citizens and preys upon their anger and resentment to compel them to destructive violence.” Later
Will No One Rid Me of This Turbulent Media?
In 1170, Henry II, King of England, is alleged to have complained to a group of knights within his household, “will no one rid me of this turbulent priest.” Speaking of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett, this statement was alleged to have been interpreted as an order, and a group of knights travelled to
Final Conclusions: #MeToo Poetry
Click to read Ray’s previous installments. Human Value It is the right to crystallize people you find lacking worth. You gum your faculties. I am not as sharp as a diamond and will not let you shape me or carve some eternal chant into my soul. My soul is a piece