Questions for 2/18

Mohanty holds that “Western feminist discourse, by assuming women as a coherent, already constituted group which is placed in kinship, legal, and other structures, defines third world women as subjects outside social relations, instead of looking at the way women are constituted through these very structures” (414). She calls for feminist discourse to consider cultural and historical context within different third world societies rather than making broad statements about “sexual division of labor, the family. Marriage, household, patriarchy, etc.” (410). Mohanty’s discussion of Western feminism’s depiction of “Third World women” lacks a material presence (Durham and Kellner admit this absence on p. 340), but how has Western feminism influenced how Third World women are depicted materially? One example that came to mind when I was reading was how National Geographic depicts Third World women.

In his discussion of the hybridization of cultures, Canclini suggests that through the hybridizations he describes, “cultures lose the exclusive relation with their territory, but they gain in communication and knowledge” (442). He further suggests, “at every border there are rigid wires and fallen wires” (442). Throughout his discussion of the effects of mass media on Third World cultures, I wondered what Mohanty would say to this argument: Perhaps that these statements may hold true for the societies he considered but not for all? North and South America have a unique relationship - one of both negative and positive influences, and the two continents have certainly impacted one another’s cultures – but I am not sure that the hybridization that can be seen in these cultures is true elsewhere in the world. However, it may be that my biases and personal experiences are coloring my perception and that this hybridization is a global trend, not just an American one.

Moving from theory-based questions…

Pfister cites Hawthorne fearing that the presence of a stove rather than a hearth would cause domestic life to “‘seek its separate corners, and never gather itself in groups’” (150). I know this is not directly related to Pfister’s analysis, but this lament made me wonder: What would Hawthorne think of the TV? And worse yet, TVs in different rooms so that family members can watch what they want and not argue over the remote?! Maybe the stove was the downfall of domesticity… dun.dun.dun

Robert’s discussion of the Lava Lamp and its both mainstream and counterculture acceptance had me wondering if another product successfully lives in those two worlds.

I am not sold on Ye’s Argand Lamp and wife coming together as the light of the home, but maybe that is because it is late and just seems cheesy to me at this point. With that said, I am struggling to formulate a good question to pose.

On an extremely light note…who else was disappointed that there was no juicy secret as to why Elizabeth Coolidge was buried away from her family?! Brown really set me up for disappointment at the beginning…but he did succeed in keeping me reading to find out.