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IRGiCResearchSeminarMay12-13,2016–LINES
Abstracts
PeterDayan,“Istherelifebeyondlines?”
TimIngold’sTheLifeofLinesmakesapowerfulcaseforconsideringthatthereis
nolifewithoutlines.Healsoshowsthatagreatdealofcontemporaryintellectual
andmaterialcultureseemstobeblindtothisfact.Ishallbeaskingwhetherthat
meansthatcontemporaryhumanityisnotreallyalive(andwhatdefinitionofthe
word“life”thismightimply),andhowart,seenfromaFrenchperspective,might
helpustoanswerthatquestion.
JørgenRiberChristensen,“FromSterne’sNarrativeLinestoComplexTV”
It is the ambition of the presentation to examine a linear and
sequential
narrativestructurewithspecialfocusonchallengestoit.Thisfocuswillinclude
examinationsofaselectionoftextsfromdifferentgenresthatexploitdeviations
fromastraightnarrativelineandstrayfromit.ThesetextsincludeSterne's18-
century Tristram Shandy, a TV adaptation of a Wodehouse short
story, an
episode of the TV series Coupling, and finally the relatively
new category,
complex television, in a wider sense. This concept of complex –
or quality –
televisionisthecriterionfortheinclusionofthetwomentionedTVproductions.
The linear and sequential narrative codified by Aristotle's
prescriptive
beginning,middleandendhasbeenemployedandalsochallenged:
Awholeisthatwhichhasabeginning,amiddle,andanend.Abeginningisthatwhichdoesnot
itselffollowanythingbycausalnecessity,butafterwhichsomethingnaturallyisorcomestobe.
An end, on the contrary, is that which itself naturally follows
some other thing, either by
necessity,orasarule,buthasnothingfollowingit.Amiddleisthatwhichfollowssomethingas
some other thing follows it. Awell-constructed plot,
therefore,must neither begin nor end at
haphazard,butconformtotheseprinciples.(Aristotle,c.300B.C.VII)
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This narrative norm is linear not only in its sequence of events
but also
graphically, and in textbooks for film producers and
scriptwriters it can be
illustratedasinfigure1wherethelinehasbeenenrichedbycurves.
Figure 1. Ola Olsson's narrative, linearmodel, here in an early
versionwith six steps. (Olsson
1982/1986,1,mytranslation).
Anotable challenge in literaryhistory to theAristotelian linear
and sequential
narrativestructureisLaurenceSterne'sgraphicrepresentationsofthenarrative
structure, plot and chronology of The Life and Opinions of
Tristram Shandy,
Gentleman(1759-1767/1777).
Figure2.Sterne'snarrativelines,TristramShandy1777,Vol.5,p.54.
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Sterne's metafictional instructions to the reader in the form of
these linear
graphicrepresentationsofaplot,whichisnotlinearbyanymeans,areexpanded
intothefamousmarbledpages(21-22,vol.3).Thesepagesdonotevencontain
lines;but they turn thenarrative insideout, as theyembed
thebook'sbinding
within itspages.Thismaybeunderstoodasa
topsy-turvymise-en-abîmewith
theouteredgesofthetextbeingplacedcentrally.Aristotle'sbeginningandend
(i.e.thebook'sfrontandbackcovers)arehereinitsmiddle.
Another,morespecial,butquitecommon,sequentialandlinearnarrativedevice
istheuseofsetupandpayoff.Thefunctionofthesetupistomakeprobablean
elementoftheactionthatfollowslater.Thiselementiscalledthepayoff.There
runsa straight line from the setupdirectly to thepayoff, and if
this line isnot
there,thenthesetupshouldbedeleted.Chekov,alsonormatively,describesthis
asnarrativeeconomy:“Removeeverythingthathasnorelevancetothestory.If
yousayinthefirstchapterthatthereisariflehangingonthewall,inthesecond
orthirdchapteritabsolutelymustgooff.Ifit'snotgoingtobefired,itshouldn't
be hanging there.” (Chekhov in Valentine 1987) Again, this
linear narrative
device canbe challenged, but also employed to its full extent.
P.G.Wodehouse
works consistently with setups that are released in succeeding
payoffs, and a
later television series,Coupling (Britain, BB2 2000-2004) excels
in this device
and challenges the narrative structure when multiple setups are
united and
mergedinonesinglepayoff.
Sterne's narrative lines as a representation of a highly complex
plot structure
have not died out. Interactive hypertexts are an example, and
contemporary
popular media such as streaming television and DVD series use
narrative
structuresthataresimilarincomplexitytoTristramShandy.Thenarrativelines
inseriessuchasTheWireandLostmaybethere,buttheyaresometimesbroken,
sothatapayoffmayrefertoanon-existentsetup,andthesheerlengthofaseries
withmanyseasonsmakes thebeginningofanarrative line fadeoutof
sightof
the audience and into oblivion. This relatively new television
genre has been
calledcomplexTV(Mitchell2015).
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References
Aristoteles(c.300f.Kr.)Poetics.Athttp://www.gutenberg.org/files/1974/1974-h/1974-h.htm.
Bordwell,David&Thompson,Kristin(1997).FilmArt.AnIntroduction.NewYork:McGraw-Hill.
Bordwell,David(1986/1997).NarrationintheFictionFilm.London:Routledge.
Breum,Trine(2004).FilmFortællingogForførelse2.København:Frydenlund.
Field,Syd(1984).TheScreenwriter’sWorkbook.NewYork:Dell.
Ingold,Tim(2007).Lines:ABriefHistory.LondonRoutledge.
Larsen,PeterHarms(2003).Delevendebilledersdramaturgi1-2.København:DrMultimedie.
Mitchell,Jason(2015).ComplexTV.NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress.
Olsson, Ola (1982/1986). Några Anteckningar om dramaturgi.
Rapport från seminaret
”Dramatikernidialogmedsinsamtid”.Oslo:NordiskaTeaterkommitten.
Sterne,Laurence(1777).TheLifeandOpinionsofTristramShandy,Gentleman.London:J.Dodsley
inPall-mall.
ValentineT.Bill.1987.Chekhov:TheSilentVoiceofFreedom.N.Y.:KensingtonPublishingCorp.
Bent Sørensen, “TheVortex and the Line: PerformativeGestures
inAllen
Ginsberg's‘WichitaVortexSutra’”
QueeringthestraightlineofModernism(hereIfollowTimIngold'sideathat“the
straightlinehasemergedasavirtualiconofmodernity,anindexofthetriumph
ofrational,purposefuldesignoverthevicissitudesofthenaturalworld”),Allen
Ginsberg suggests in his long poem about America and the Vietnam
War,
‘Wichita Vortex Sutra’, that lying media discourses about the
necessity of
participation
inthewarmaybecancelledoutbyapoetperformingthesimple,
yet impossiblespeechactofdeclaringtheendof
thewar.Thepoetmustenter
intrepidly the vortex of lies told by the voices disseminated by
the media on
behalf of politicians, authority figures and benighted members
of the general
public,utterafewlinesofmagicspells,andthewarwillendofitsownaccord.
ThevehicleofthisspeechactisproposedtobetheSutra,ascriptureconsisting
ofa‘string’or‘thread’ofaphoristicstatementsdesignedtoprovidethereaderof
theSutrawiththepossibilityofEnlightenment.Ginsberg's‘WichitaVortexSutra’
consistsofqueerlines,designedtounravelthewebofliesseducingAmericainto
war,willingitsreadershiptoperformpeaceinunisonwiththepoet/prophet.
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CameliaElias,“TheStraightandCrookedPath:EconomiesofCuriosityand
StorytellinginSecularizedTibetanBuddhistTexts”
Mypointofdeparture is in a fewpopular
textswrittenbymeditationmasters
and scholars in Tantric Tibetan Buddhism, Chögyam Trungpa, Lama
Yeshe,
TsonkyRimpoche.Thesewritingsand teachings since theearly60s
textshave
beenextremelyinfluentialinmediatingfromEasttoWestknowledgeaboutand
inquiry intothenatureof themind.What Iaminterested in
ishowthesetexts
havehadenormousappealintheAnglo-Americanculture,notonlythroughthe
commodification of Tibet as inscribed by the negotiation of
economies of
curiosity, but also through a distinctly emergent appreciation
of nondualist
perception.
Steen Christiansen, “Wide Open Lines: Humaning with The
Chemical
Brothers”
Dom&nic’smusicvideofortheChemicalBrothers’“WideOpen”(featuringBeck
on vocals) is an interesting rendition of the post-cinematic
media ecology. A
minimalist setup of a dancer in a factory hall slowly turning
into an animated
body, still dancing, can be viewed as exemplary of the shift to
a fluid, digital
image regime. Shot in one continuous Steadicam take, the
animation slowly
overtakesthehumanform,renderingthedancingbodyasapurelydigitalform.
Thereare several lines to investigatehere: the lineof
thecamera’smovement,
itself a choreographed form; the line of the dancer’s body; the
line of the
animation;thelineofthemusicthatloopsbackoveritselfasmostEDMdoes.
Readinthecontextofapost-cinematicmediaecologythatadaptsandresponds
to cultural developments such as neoliberalism and
accelerationism, “Wide
Open” presents an example of what Robin James has termed
“resilience”— a
way of resisting without rejecting the modulation of affect
inherent in
contemporarybiopolitics.
James’argumentcaninitselfberegardedasalineof
force,somewherein-betweenDeleuze’slineofarticulationandlineofflight.This
lineofforcefallswithinwhatTimIngoldhascalled“humaning,”afoldofhuman
actionsandaudiovisualtechnologies.
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MikkelJensen,“DrawingtheLine–ProtestandSocialEngineeringinShow
MeaHero”
ResidentialsegregationisafactofmanyAmericancitiesbuttheissueseemsonly
rarelytobeatheartofpopularfictions.However,in2015HBObroadcastitssix-
part miniseries Show Me a Hero which deals head on with how de
facto
segregation is linked to public housing and a confrontational
political culture.
Based on Lisa Belkin’s 1999 500-page journalistic tome of the
real struggle in
Yonkers, New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s, this
television show
portraysatumultuousperiodinasingleurbanarea,butwhich,theviewermay
infer, speaks to larger issues in contemporary American politics
and culture.
Since the1954Browndecision’s call for racial integrationofpublic
schools, at
“allbutdeliberatespeed”,theissueofintegrationhasbeenanissueinAmerican
cultural politics. Underlying such ventures is an attempt to
redress certain
realitiesinAmericansociety,especiallywithregardstorace.Suchambitionsfall
under the umbrella term of ‘social engineering’ which is a
rather contested
concept in American culture; indeed, to Francis Fukuyama
resistance to social
engineering was/is a staple for him and other prominent
neo-conservatives
(Fukuyama 2006). In this sense, ShowMe a Hero’s portrayal of a
struggle to
integratediverseneighborhoodsintervenesinanalreadyexistingpublicdebate
throughitsrepresentationofeventsinrecenthistory.
ShowMeaHero portrays how the young Democratic politician
NickWasicsko
who in 1987, at age 28, runs for mayor of Yonkers, NY against
incumbent
RepublicanAngeloMartinelli.Wasicskoinitiallyhastroublegainingmomentum
inhismayoral campaignbut finds acausecélèbre in calling for
resistance to a
courtorderthatstipulatesthatthecityofYonkersmustbuild200unitsofpublic
housingtohouseminorities,allofwhicharetobeconstructedingenerallywhite
neighborhoods.Thecourthad foundthat, for40years,
thecityofYonkershad
discriminated againstAfricanAmericans andHispanics in schools
andhousing
(48Hours).Theissuethatthecourttriedtoremedywasthefactthat
formany
yearsminoritieshadbeenexcluded fromcertainneighborhoodsand thus
they
hadbeendiscriminatedagainst.AsGinaBellafantenotesinTheNewYorkTimes:
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“In1988,closeto98percentofYonkers’spublichousingstockwaslocatedinthe
southwestsection,whichcontained81percentofthecity’sminoritypopulation”
(Bellafante 2015, NP). In other words, the vast majority of the
minority
population lived in public housing and the city had made sure
that public
housinghadalmostonlybeenbuiltinasinglesectionofthecity;itwasacaseof
de factoresidentialsegregation.However,Wasicskowins
theelectionbutafter
takingofficehesoonrealizesthathispoliticalpowerwillnotsufficetogoagainst
thecourtsandhethereforechangeshisstancefromfightingthecourtmandated
public project to instead fighting for it. (In 1993,Wasicsko’s
former executive
assistant,
JamesSurdoval,describedWasicskoasbeingnot“pro-desegregation”
butrather“pro-compliance”(Berger1993:NP).)
ThispaperseeksoutthelinesofsegregationinShowMeaHeroandlooksathow
contesteditcanbetobreaksuchlines.Inthissense,Iaimtolookathowtheline
iscrucialtounderstandingwhatGunnarMyrdalcalledthe“AmericanDilemma.”
WorksCited
Belkin,Lisa(1999)ShowMeaHero
Bellafante, Gina (2015) “Lessons of Yonkers FromDavid Simon’s
‘ShowMe aHero’”NewYork
Times,August5,2015.
Berger,Joseph(1993)“BafflementatYonkersOfficial’sDeath”NewYorkTimes,October31,1993.
Fukuyama,Francis(2006)AftertheNeocons.London:ProfileBooks.
Kavanaugh,Bill(2007)BrickbyBrick:ACivilRightsStory.KavanaughProductionsInc.
Lipsitz,George(2011)HowRacismTakesPlace.Philadelphia:TempleUniversityPress.
Mittell,
Jason(2015)ComplexTV:ThePoeticsofContemporaryTelevisionStorytelling.NewYork:
NewYorkUniversityPress.
Schuck,PeterH.(2003)DiversityinAmerica:KeepingGovernmentataSafeDistance.Cambridge,
MA:BelknapPress.
Simon,David(2015)ShowMeaHero.HBOMiniseries.
Woods,Sean(2015)“‘ShowMeaHero’:DavidSimonIsStillMadasHell”RollingStone,August11
2015.
ChristinaCaseySchoux,“LineofResistance:NewOrleansSecondLines”
A second line is the groupofdancers that follows the first
lineof “churchand
club members, brass bands, and grandmarshals in the jazz street
parades of
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blackNewOrleans”(Turner2014:69),andthetermhascometorefertostreet
paradesasawhole.Second lines,held tomark
funerals,annualcelebrationsof
localbenevolentsocieties,andCatholicCarnivalevents,havebeenapartofNew
Orleansculturesincethe1780s.Secondlinesfollowroutesthroughcitystreets
that are meaningful to organizers, starting at a club member’s
house, for
example, and continuing down side streets with pauses at
favorite bars, and
often concluding at a park. Because second lines are usually
organized by
working-classAfricanAmericanNewOrleanians,theparadeswindthroughpoor,
urbanneighborhoodsthatmainstream,medianormallycharacterizeasblighted
hotbedsof crime. Second lines reconfigure the
city,withparade-goersdancing
down streets ordinarily reserved for cars, dancing on
streetlights, dancing on
cars, dancing on the front porches of houses. This
transformation ofmundane
urban spaces into sites of unruly, sacred, and spontaneous
celebration is a
physicalperformanceofresistancetotheconstanteffortsofdominantsocietyto
control and marginalize the African American community. At the
same time,
dominant society appropriates images of second lines to
advertise the city as
richwithculturaltradition,auniqueattractionfortourists.
Turner, Richard Brent. (2014). Jazz, The Second Line, and
African American Religious
InternationalisminNewOrleans.Souls16(1-2):69-78.
BrianGraham,“’Andfirsthedrewaline’:Losandthesignificanceoflinesin
Blake’sTheFourZoas”
Attheendof“NighttheSeventh”ofBlake’sTheFourZoas,Blake’sLos,againsta
background of “furious war”,takes a stance and then performs an
act which
might seem powerless and quaint against such a backdrop: he
draws a line,
beginningworkconsistingoflineswhichEnitharmon,hiscompanion,tinctures,
asitemerges.Placingthismomentinthecontextofthepoem’sepicstruggle,this
paper explores the reasons for Blake’s choice of image at this
juncture in the
“history”,therebymakingacontributiontoourunderstandingoftheopposition
betweenformandformlessnessinthenarrative.
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AskeSparsøe,“DrawingtheLine:textualsculpturesinmodernistverse”
The advent of the typewriter around the turn of the 19th century
changed the
literarylandscapeofEnglishpoetry,andusheredinaneraofexperimentalverse
that was especially monumental. Monumental, because the
typewriter
transformedtheconditionsunderwhichpoetswrote,andthenewfoundcontrol
of the page greatly contributed to visual and therefore material
poetic
experiments that had barely been possible before this time. As a
result,
punctuationandspacingwasassignednewprominence.Whereasbothelements
wereonce treatedas ‘accidentals’bypoet, editororboth,
anumberofEnglish
writersnowinsistedonthe faithfulprintingof
theirpoeticworks,downtothe
verylaststop.Stops,andlines,arepertinenttoEzraPound’s‘InaStationofthe
Metro’(1913).Withitsiconicuseofspacing,thismaybethefirstpoemtospeak
of its composition on a typewriter. Pound’s experimental haiku
initiatedwhat
would be a life-long application of visual devices in his poetic
works. The
greatest,mostcontroversial,andbyfarthelongestoftheseworksisTheCantos,
a study in modernist poetics and the idiosyncratic visual style
that is often
associatedwithPound.
InCantoLXXXI,Poundclaimedtohavebroken iambicpentameter.
Indoingso,
themost iconicpoetic lineof theEnglish literary traditionwas
contested.This
wasaccomplishedinpartbythecadencesofPound’sfreeverse,andinpartby
thevisual experimentsofhis textual sculptures.Thebroken line
isone reason
whyTheCantos,forallitsfame,isequallyinfamous,andfewreadersendeavour
toreadtheentirework.Themusicalityofiambicpentameterwaslosttomuchof
Pound’s verse, and throughout parts of the Cantos, his free
verse could not
compensate for this loss. The second reason for the infamy of
The Cantos is
Pound’s feverish obsession with economy and politics, which
shines through
timeandagain.Bothoftheseelementshavebeendiscussedatlength;thethird
reason,Pound’s interest invisualexperiments,hasreceived far
lesssystematic
treatment.AsmusicalitywasattimeslosttoPound,sotheabsenceofthorough
scholarlytreatmentoficonicityinTheCantosisourloss.
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Throughoutthismodernepicwork,Poundemploysaplethoraofvisualdevices.
Someofthesedevicesareverysignificant,andgreatlycontributetotheartistic
meritofthepoetry.Thiswillbemyimmediateconcern,andhavingprovidedan
introduction to visual and monumental poetry, my presentation
will thus
proceed to present one such instance of prominent, visually
informed poetry
found inPound’sCantoXVII.A thoroughanalysisofonepartof
thispoemwill
illustrate why it is paramount that the experimental lines of
Pound’s visual
poeticsareseen,andunderstood.
JensKirk, “Looking for
theLine:TheBorderBetweentheHumanandthe
NaturalinContemporaryEnglishWriting”
Among other things, cultural semiotics is concerned with the
borders that a
givencultureerectsagainstthatwhichitisnot,i.e.nature.Sincetheturnofthe
millennium, a wide range of texts have emerged in Britain that
are explicitly
concernedwithfindingwildnessandestablishingnotonlywheretheboundary
to wildness is located but also the character or identity of
that dividing line.
Thus,inTheWildPlaces(2007)RobertMacfarlanerelateshowhisperceptionof
thewildchangesfromsomethingthatexistsoutsidehumanhistorytosomething
muchclosertohome.Similarly,inheressay“Pathologies”KathleenJamiechases
wildness or nature in the context of a basement lab at Ninewells
Hospital in
Dundee(Jamie2012).
Thispaperexaminestheriseofagrowingbodyoftextsacrossthemediathatare
concerned with the representation of that boundary inside
London. Texts as
widelydifferentasWillSelf’saccountofhiswalk
through“BucolicLondon”on
hiswaytoHeathrow(Self2007:20-38),CharlesRangeley-Wilson’sstoriesofhis
pursuits of the rivers of London and wild trout in those rivers,
the BBCs An
UnnaturalHistoryof London, andweb sites such as
thewildlondon.org.uk and
WildCapital.co.uk all agree in the importance of looking for
that line and
examiningitsnature.
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Jens Lohfert, “Linjer, knudepunkter og cirkler. Om nogle
aktuelle
tendenseridansklitteraturhistorieskrivning”
Litteraturhistorie er et kerneelement i modersmålsundervisningen
på alle
niveauer i Danmark, men bliver i dag ofte italesat som et fag i
krise. Det
harmonerer ikke med situationen inden for
litteraturhistorieskrivningen, som
p.t. fremstår som en af de litteraturvidenskabelige discipliner,
der foregår den
størstefornyelseindenfor.Jegvilimitindlægpræsentereogdiskuterenogleaf
deaktuelletendenser.
GunhildAgger,“Hovedlinjeridansktv-drama1994-2016”
Mitoplægudspringerafdeovervejelser, jeggørmig i
forbindelsemedenbog,
der bærer arbejdstitlen Ny dansk tv-drama. Titlen spiller på min
’gamle’ bog
Dansktv-drama–arvesølvogunderholdning (2005).Dergårnaturligvisen
linje
fra den tidligere bog til den nye. Den gamle dækkede perioden
fra fjernsynets
begyndelse til midt-90’erne, mens den nye kommer til at omhandle
perioden
derefter.Denneperiodeerafmangeblevet fremhævetsomenslags
’guldalder’
(perioden fra slut-90’erne til ca. 2013), hvor dansk tv-drama
høstede
international anerkendelse for sine resultater og sine
produktionsmetoder. I
løbet samme periode, ogmedmærkbar styrke umiddelbart efter, blev
en lang
række grundvilkår ændret – fra de platforme, fjernsynsmediet
benytter, til
dominerende produktions- og distributionsformer.
Transnationalitet blev helt
konkret et nyt nøgleord. Ikke desto mindre er der også visser
former for
kontinuitet. Der er således både tale om fortsættelse og en
betoning af en ny
begyndelse.
IdensammenhængerdetinspirerendeatinddrageTimIngold(2007):Lines.A
brief history til begrebsafklaring såvel som
refleksionsinstrument over egen
position.Iforbindelsemedbegrebsafklaringviljegdiskutere”hovedlinjer”eller
”hovedstrømninger” som begreber, der ofte bruges i historiske,
faglitterære
fremstillingersomgrebtilafgrænsning.Iforbindelsemeddettemegetgenerelle
og meget anvendelige begreb vil jeg diskutere begrebet om
periodisering.
Periodeafgrænsning forudsætter brud på linjen i form af
afbrydelse eller
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grundlæggende forandring. Det interessante bliver her hvornår,
hvordan og
hvorfor der sker brud? – Jeg vil konkretisere med eksempler fra
dansk tv-
dramahistorieiperioden.
JanSchlosser,“ÜberdieLinie:ErnstJüngerognihilismensovervindelse”
LinjentydeliggørforskelleiErnstJüngersogMartinHeideggersrefleksionover
muligheder for overvindelse af nihilismen: trans lineamhos
Jünger (1950), de
lineahosHeidegger(1955).Minteseer,atdisseforskellekanpræciseresvedat
inddrage Ingolds terminus linje (2007), der udfoldes i en
metafysisk og
antropologiskkontekst.IngoldogJüngerdefinererlinjensomnogetdynamiskog
temporalt.Jüngerforestillersig,atnihilismenkanovervindesi(efterkrigs)tiden.
Med essayetÜberdieLinieplacerer han sig inden for en
bevægelsesform, som
ogsåbehandlesafIngold,hoshvemtranslineam-bevægelsenforbinderenrække
punkter. Ud fra Ingold kan Jüngers linje beskrives som en linje,
der fører fra
punkttilpunkt.HeideggerskritiskelæsningafÜberdieLiniemåinddragesforat
konkretisere disse punkter. Jüngers linje forbinder nihilismen i
stedet for at
overvinde den. På begge sider af linjen er metafysikken og
nihilismen
dominerende. – Linjen er et centralt begreb på tværs af genrer
og perioder i
Jüngers forfatterskab efter 1945. Novellen Aladins Problem
(1983) viser, at
centrale tanker fra Über die Linie ligeledes spiller en
betydelig rolle i den
narrative tekstproduktion. Den optimistiske efterkrigstolkning
af linjen og
muligheder for at overvinde nihilismen er dog blevet til
resignation og
pessimisme i Aladins Problem. Denne tekst viser, at det ikke er
muligt at
overskride linjen. Heideggers tese om nihilismen som en udstrakt
zone
bekræftesiJüngersnovelle.
UlliPinkert,“DieLinie–AnnaSeghers’prosacyklusfra1949”
I1949,åretdaDDRblivertilogtoåreftersintilbagekomstframangeårseksil
skrev Anna Seghers tre fortællinger, som hun offentliggjorde som
cyklusmed
overskriften, Die Linie. Tid og sted i teksterne er meget
forskellige: Kina,
Frankrig og Sovjetunionen i 1920erne og 30erne, men alle har de
et
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kommunistisk persongalleri. Fortællingernes omdrejningspunkt er
forholdet
mellempartitopogpartibasisogfastlæggelsenafdenrigtigepartilinje.
Mit foredrag fokuserer især på Seghers’ trefoldige interesse for
partilinjen og
denskulturelleogpolitiskekontekst.
Anker Gemzøe, “‘Statsraad inde i sig selv’ – Identitet og
valgret hos Thit
Jensen”
After all,what is a thing, or indeedaperson, if not a tying
togetherof the lines – thepathsof
growthandmovement–ofallthemanyconstituentsgatheredthere?Originally,‘thing’meanta
gatheringofpeople,andaplacewheretheywouldmeettoresolvetheiraffairs.Asthederivation
ofthewordsuggests,everythingisaparliamentoflines.--TimIngold:Lines.Abriefhistory
Gerd. Det tyvende Aarhundredes Kvinde (1918) og Aphrodite fra
Fuur. Den
moderneKvindesUdviklingshistorie(1925)ernogleafThit
Jensensbetydeligste
romaner. De er udtryk for hendes holdning til den politiske
valgret, der blev
indført i 1915og iværksat fra1919, og indlæg i hendesdebatmed
sig selv og
sine læsere om kvindefrigørelsens nødvendighed og mulige
omkostninger.
Valgretten–iformafkvindersfundamentalerettilatvælgederesliv–erbådeet
politisk og eksistentielt hovedmotiv hos Thit Jensen. I disse
romaner er en
debatscene, a parliament of lines, endog personlighedsmodel
og
formgenererendeprincip.
Tim Ingolds Lines muliggør en ny, skærpet belysning af denne
komplekse
sammenhæng. Linjer som aftegning af ”the paths of growth and
movement”
findesdelsienironisk-symbolskopladningafkvindeligesyslersomathækle,at
brodereogikkemindstatkniple,dels
iromanernesraffineredesammenkobling
afpolitiskogpersonligpluralisme,affolketingog”detGerdskeRigsraad”.
Peder Kaj Pedersen, “Linjer: satser, melodier, temaer, motiver,
stykker,
stemmer,sange?”
Noget af det mest indflydelsesrige i de sidste årtiers
musikforskning er det
begreb, som den new zealandske musikforsker Christopher Small
lancerede i
-
bogenMusicking (1998). Bogen var et opgør med den vestlige,
værkbaserede
kunstmusikkultur med alt dens komponist- og koncert(u)væsen. Som
Small
spidsededettil:“Thereisnosuchthingasmusic.Musicisnotathingatallbut
anactivity,somethingthatpeopledo.Theapparentthing“music”isafigment,an
abstractionoftheaction,whoserealityvanishesassoonasweexamineitatall
closely.”Small introduceredeheroverforetbegreb formusik,
somnogetnogen
gør,begrebet”musicking”.Small
flyttedefokusvækframusiksomkomponeret
ogikoncertsalenblotinterpreteretogoverpåaltdet,nogengør,foratderkan
væremusik.
Musik blev med andre ord et fænomen, som altid må begribes i de
mange
situationer, hvor der foregår ”musicking”. Den privilegerede
status, som det
musikalske værk som det foreligger fra komponistens hånd havde i
et
koncertvæsenbaseretpåinterpretationafenkanonafsådanneværkerosv.blev
anfægtet.Musikblevetfænomen,somaltidmåbegribesidemangesituationer,
hvorderforegår”musicking”,sandtnok.Menderfulgtemåskeogsåentendens
til, at et vigtigt musikkulturelt aspekt, den empiriske
realitet, som det
komponeredeværkudgår,gledibaggrunden.
Tim Ingolds Lines: A Brief History (2007) viser, at det stadig
lønner sig at
reflektereovernetopdekategorier, derharmeddetmusikalskeværkat
gøre.
Jegviltageudgangspunktihansrefleksioneroverdenmusikalskelinje,menjeg
vilforsøgeatledetankegangenvidereovertilbegrebetmusikalsksats,somefter
minopfattelseerafgørendeidennesammenhæng.OgsåherkanmanmedSmall
hævde, at der er tale om ”an abstraction of the action” men ikke
om at dens
realitet forsvinder, når vi undersøger det nærmere. Det vil jeg
prøve at
eksemplificeremedafsæthosIngold.