"Symbolism versus association: my question is, do these amount to parallel, or even complementary methods, as Freud wished? Or are we dealing rather with two antagonistic vectors, precisely those of anti-hermeneutics and hermeneutics?" (8)."I will insist once again on the fact that the original discovery of Freud is that of a method.
"This method is constantly defined as analytical, associative-dissociative; "free association" (freie Assoziation) or "freely occurring ideas" (freie Einfalle) are only the means employed for the dissociation of all proposed meaning. An analytical method, then; one that is supposed to conform to the object it posits - the 'representation' termed 'unconscious'" (7)"psychoanalysis is not the system of stereotypical interpretations to which it is too often reduced by certain of its adepts, to the great advantage of its detractors, who have things made very easy for them" (8)YES!
Laplanche offers a psychoanalytic anti-hermeneutic theory. “I thus come back to the general problem of hermeneutics, to state, within the framework of the general theory of seduction, a fundamental proposition: the only genuine, originary hermeneutics is the human being” (10). Laplanche dubs his psychoanalytic anti-hermeneutics as the “theory of seduction.” While LaPlanche offers an interesting engagement with hermeneutics, I found myself confused by what his theory truly means. What does a general theory of seduction entail?
“Many of Freud's statements run counter to the inclusion of his work in hermeneutics. I have insisted, for a long time, on the absolute priority given to method.”“Before being identified as a clinical practice or a theory, psychoanalysis is first defined as 'a procedure for the investigation of psychical processes, which are otherwise hardly accessible'.
Britzman writes about the pedagogical value of psychoanalysis. Britzman highlights her own experience with psychoanalysis in educational settings, and uses her own personal anecdote in three acts. What underlying roles take place between student and teacher? “Kristeva’s (2010) view is that psychoanalysis – and I would add education – is a treatment for thought and desire. Both are word clinics, places to make up the mind.” (129). With this proposition in mind, how can one use Britzman’s comparison of education with psychoanalysis in their pedagogical practice?
“the captivating term ‘autobiographical impulse’ to discuss desire for our storied lives with the pressing question, what holds us back from saying more.”“an intimate conflict between the desire to make one’s world meaningful when speaking to others and the schooled prohibition on worded lives where we are ‘taught in educational systems how to cover our narrative tracks and even be ashamed of them’”“The existential dilemma is that words signify more than we mean and can be used to invoke the breakdown of our meaning.” -focus of psychoanalysis obviously“He argued that words are found in othe
Oh, I enjoyed this one. I am going to be using the phrase "autobiographical impulse", the desire to be authentic with words, to author ourselves using words that will always excess meaning. Britzman learns of her own entrapments and impulses in this narration. The desire to "interfere" with the other, in this case, how a student attends Britzman's lecture hall, forces her to become an analyst to her student during her office hours, because she is held by her own interruptions. In a pedagogical scene, what is being played out?
"For the literary critic M. Bakhtin, lateness is a feature of language. He argued that words are found in other people’s mouths, borrowed, tattered by use, yet they can feel anonymous. ‘Language’, Bakhtin (1981) wrote, ‘is not a neutral medium that passes freely and easily into the private property of the speaker’s intentions; it is populated – overpopulated – with the intentions of others’ (341–2).
There was much in this article to contribute to the theory and practice of archive ethnography - I hope to touch on the points that were most influential and helpful for me. First, I appreciated the discourse on reading “against the grain” with existing archives. For me, this is especially useful as much material on California prisons exists in state and federal archives but the voices of prisoners and the emphasis on rehabilitation is typically invisible. I love the idea of using an existing archive for insurrection and subversion.
Zeitlyn authored an expansive article lifting the intersection between archives and anthropology. According to Zeitlyn, an archive (or archives or Archives) as a collection of materials is put together for a specific purpose by the researcher, historian, or individual. The author discusses the views of philosophers and researchers Derrida and Foucault who propose that archives attempt to maintain control of a hegemonic narrative and through it, control of people but reading “against the grain” of archives allows for alternative narratives to rise and absent voices to be heard.
