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  • T S Eliot, with his sister and cousin

    Welcome to Arts One Open

    Arts One Open is an open, online extension to the University of British Columbia’s Arts One program that enables anyone to join this voyage of discovery and critical analysis. We provide recordings and other material from lectures given in Vancouver by some of UBC’s most experienced teachers.

Recent posts

Here are the most recent posts to the site, including blog posts by students and instructors in Arts One. Click on the titles to go to the original posts if you want to comment.

Oedipus Rex; a story adored and preserved by the perverse and the decadent

Homo sapiens is, as far as the mountain of evidence given to us by history suggests, a species of animal that quickly and easily becomes bored. Like a great many of the lesser creatures that we share our world with, when bored we either seek entertainment or become destructive; and in some extreme and famous cases (think Bonaparte), both. Which brings us to the point; Oedipus was not guilty of anything more than being prophesied to do exactly what he did, before he was even a twinkle in his father’s eye.  Whether right, wrong, or otherwise, his exact fate was foretold and none of his vain attempts to escape it did anything more than draw it closer. The problem therein lies in that we, as a species, gravitate most to stories that could be told of ourselves; images and words that we can vicariously live through to escape the dull, humdrum drudgery of our lives.

What, then, would the story of Oedipus say to a prospective patricide or mother-plougher?

Put into, say, the shoes of Emperor Nero a half-millennium later. Nero, as the adopted son of an Emperor, was taught the Greek Classics in word and theater from childhood and enjoyed the luxury of being the proprietor of the Imperial Box in the Colosseum,  Circus Maximus, and Grand Amphitheater (we do know, according to Pliny the Younger, that he would often take month-long trips what is now Nimes simply to watch his favourite troupes of actors congregate and perform for several days). He would, of course, have watched such a grand classic as Oedipus several, if not multitudes of times. Nero, of course, stood idly by as his mother poisoned his adopted father (and his brother Britannicus, the prior heir-apparent) and made frequent visits to her bed thereafter. Eventually, he grew tired of Agrippina’s intrigues and had her killed, drowning his soul ever deeper into the abyss. Yet, he remained mostly sane and hale for another decade, free of guilt in his words and deeds according to Pliny the Elder. Could he simply have interpreted, through the story of Oedipus, that his own actions were the will of Jupiter no matter how heinous they were, or might have been? That he was not at fault for succumbing to the leys and paths of fate? Nero, like many others, simply took the story of Oedipus a tad too seriously.

And let us examine another great patricidal name of history: Karadorde Petrovic of Serbia, the first Balkan-born man since Skanderbeg to defeat the Ottomans in pitched battle, and the inventor, one might say, of the concept of a free, independent Serbia. Fearing his father might betray him (a fleeing fugitive, guilty of murdering an Ottoman Aga who looked at his wife suggestively) to Ottoman authorities as they fled to Austria, he simply murdered Old Man Petrovic as he slept. No qualms, no regrets. Patricide, pure and simple, an action that Karadorde never let blemish his cause as he emulated Skanderbeg and fought both for and against the Ottomans over the course of his storied life. Replying to accusations of willful patricide to a defeated Dahi at the height of his uprising, he said: “Deus eam voluit.” God willed it. Fate, as it were, willed it. To a great extent, much the same argument put forth by Nero in reasoning his actions to others: I am a tool of fate, no more. My actions are not my own, no more so than Oedipus chose to happen upon his father at a crossroads and engaged in a deadly scuffle with the man. Right, wrong… who but Zeus, Jupiter, or God might make that judgement?

These are but two examples; how many decadent aristocrats have fallen into the Oedipal trap of callous apathy, of putting aside their morals by reasoning that their fate is simply what some deity hath laid down as their prophesied path? Macedonia, Sparta, Athens, Carthage, Rome, Ming China, Byzantium, The Holy Roman Empire, Portugal, Spain, France, The Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Soviet Union… the great hegemonic powers of the world all began and ended their decline into decadence when the aristocracy, the one-percenters of the imperium began wasting away in bloodthirsty, beastial excess. Excess, I say, that is fueled by stories such as Oedipus Tyrannus – or Oedipus Rex, one might equally argue – being recounted in body and word, era upon era upon generation upon generation, for simple entertainment. One must needs remember, after all, that the stories we read often and easily influence our character. And our character, in a vicious cycle, shapes what stories we tell of ourselves with our very deeds. Oedipus Tyrannus fa Rex is a story that exonerates patricide and incest as a thing of simple, uncontrollable fate; would people in latter times drawn to such things have not found considerable relief in that proposition? I say yes, yes they did. And still do, in some cases, today. Ave.

Posted in blogs, lb1-2016 | Tagged with Oedipus, Sophocles

Collaborative class guidelines

Here is a document on which we can create class guidelines together: http://is.gd/a1_guidelines2016

In class you can either write on a piece of paper your answers to those questions, or type on the document. I use that online document system because you can be truly anonymous (on Google docs you may not be, if you’re logged into your google account!).

Posted in blogs, lb4-2015 | Tagged with announcements

Oedipus Rex does not deserve our pity

In his Poetics, Aristotle explains that the ideal tragedy requires a conclusion that evokes a cathartic response. Aristotle argues that in the face of a successful tragedy, an audience
“who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes place. This is the impression we should receive from hearing the story of the Oedipus”
For this to be true, Sophocles would require an audience to feel extreme pity at the tragic downfall of the titular character. Oedipus’ character exemplifies a heroic king during the opening scenes, a necessity if an audience is to find him worthy of pity after his tragic downfall. He seems to be imbued with intelligence beyond that of regular Thebans, and is respected universally amongst his subjects. In the opening stage directions, part of this is made clear,
“A delegation of Thebans… carry suppliant boughs… From inside the palace, limping, OEDIPUS comes through the palace doors and stands at the top of the steps…He is dressed in gold and wears a golden crown.”
The use of costuming and proxemics puts Oedipus not only at the center of the stage, but also immediately reveals him to be of supreme importance and authority. Not only does he have power, but Oedipus reveals in his opening dialogue with the Priest that he empathetic and caring for his people, asking the man at his feet,
“Why are you kneeling? Are you afraid, old man? What can I give you? How can I Help? Ask. Ask me anything. Anything at all. My Heart would be a stone if I felt no pity or these poor shattered people of mine.”
Oedipus is built up in his regal authority and intuitive reasoning, developing him- Aristotle would claim- as the ideal tragic hero.

The argument that Oedipus exemplifies tragic heroism does not reflect the true nature of Oedipus’ character. Oedipus is less a ‘tragic hero’, and more a deeply flawed individual, overpowered by hubris and anger, undeserving of pity or respect. To prove this, it must be made clear that Oedipus’ character is dominated by vice.

Oedipus Tyrannous does not have enough redeeming character traits to be pitied. This is revealed through his hubris (excessive pride), unchecked anger, and irrationality. During his opening monologue, he exclaims “everybody everywhere knows who I am: Oedipus, King.” This is necessarily a problematic claim. Either it is factually accurate, and is thus superfluous (footnote 1), or is untrue, and thus Oedipus is overstating his worth- but in either sense it is egotistical and arrogant. This hubristic statement foreshadows Oedipus’ hamartia, and his continued self-aggrandisement becomes quickly tiresome. An audience can’t feel pity for a character with such grandiose opinions of his own abilities. Oedipus also repeatedly succumbs to a hot temper. In his analeptic description of killing Laius, he concedes that he failed to manage his fury;
“the old man himself wanted to thrust me out of the road by force. I became angry and struck the coachman who was pushing me…as I passed he [the old man] struck me from his carriage, full on the head with his two pointed goad…And then I killed them all.”
To have such limited respect for human life is an indictment on Oedipus’ character. To have murdered over such a small offence is entirely unreasonable, and reveals how ill-tempered he truly is. Oedipus continues to reveal his vices in his consistent unfounded blaming of various innocent characters. Having been told that he murdered Laius by Tiresias, he accuses Creon of an attempted coup;
“Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me… so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit–seer blind in his craft!”(footnote 2)
This furious response is not only illogical, as argued by Creon (footnote 3), but also impious. Tiresias is a respected seer; never condemned by the chorus (footnote 4), and is purported to channel the words of the Gods through bird-lore. For Oedipus to claim that he is ‘blind in his craft’ is cruel, but more importantly for a 5th Century Greek audience, irreverent. Given his myriad character flaws and offensive behaviours, Oedipus is not a tragic hero and does not evoke any pity.

(1) Superfluous because, if it is true, then to exclaim it is not necessary
(2) This quote isn’t from our text, just a version I found online… I will buy the actual translation and substitute in the relevant quote
(3) Creon’s logic is as follows (written from his perspective); I am the brother of the queen, and thus have power, wealth, and authority. I don’t have to make hard decisions like Oedipus, as king, and thus I have all the benefits of being king without the stress and worry. To excite a coup against the King would be illogical.
(4) The moral guide in Greek theatre

Posted in blogs, lb1-2016 | Tagged with Oedipus, Sophocles

Academic Integrity Reading & Discussion (for Sept. 9)

I am handing this out in class, but it will be much easier to find the readings here, digitally. Please see below for a reading and discussion assignment that starts Friday, Sept. 9.

 

Academic Integrity Definition Reading & Discussion

Arts One, Hendricks, 2016-2017

 

Our class it taking part in a pilot project to try to help students understand “academic integrity” in a deeper and more useful way than it is usually covered in many postsecondary classes. As part of this project, we’re asking what you think academic integrity means, what the complications with it are, and why it’s valuable.

At the beginning of the academic year, we’re going to write up a definition of academic integrity as a class, and then we’ll revisit it later and see if we still agree with it as the year goes by, or whether we think it should be changed.

 

For Friday, Sept. 9

Please read the following excerpts from UBC policies and articles from elsewhere before class on Friday Sept. 9. The links to these readings are posted under “announcements” on the course website, for easy electronic access (https://a1hendricks.arts.ubc.ca).

  • UBC Policy 85, on Scholarly Integrity: http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/files/2015/08/policy85.pdf
  • From the UBC Calendar, section on Academic Conduct & Discipline: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,0 Just read the first three sections of this site, namely:
    • Academic Honesty: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,958  (this link was broken earlier; I fixed it Thursday late afternoon!)
    • Academic Misconduct: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,959
    • Disciplinary Measures: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/Vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,960
  • Nelms, Gerald. “Why Plagiarism Doesn’t Bother Me at All.” Teaching and Learning in Higher Ed, 20 July 2015. https://teachingandlearninginhighered.org/2015/07/20/plagiarism-doesnt-bother-me-at-all-research/
  • Nwanevu, Osita, and Stewart, Rachel. “Watch Melania Trump Plagiarize Michelle Obama….” Slate, 19 July 2016. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/19/melania_trump_plagiarizes_michelle_obama_s_2008_speech.html

 

On Friday, Sept. 9, we will discuss the following questions and write up a preliminary list of things for a definition of academic integrity, what some complications/questions with might be, and why it is valuable.

We’ll discuss the following questions in small groups and each group will write answers on a shared online document, located at: https://is.gd/integritydef2016 It may ask you to log in; you don’t need to do so. Just start typing as “guest”!

  1. What does “academic integrity” mean to you?
  2. What does it mean at UBC, after reading the UBC documents? Is this similar to how you think of academic integrity?
  3. Why might academic integrity be important in educational institutions? Why might something like academic integrity be important beyond educational institutions, in workplaces and the wider society and culture?
  4. What are some complications with academic integrity, things that might make it difficult to judge if an action is wrong or not? What questions do you have about it?
  5. Why do you think some people commit academic misconduct?

 

For Wednesday, Sept. 14

Read through the other groups’ answers and make a few comments on answers from one or more of the other groups, on the shared document (https://is.gd/integritydef2016) before class on Wed. Sept. 14. Make your comments by using a different colour of font, so we can tell what the original answers were and what the comments are. Go to the button on the top of the doc with an “A” and a red underline, and you can choose the font colour of your text.

Christina will put the answers to questions (1) and (2) together into something like a shared definition by Friday, Sept. 16, and you will have a chance to comment on it then. Through this process we will come to a shared definition of academic integrity for our class that fits with UBC policies.

 

Later in the year

We will return to this definition and the same or similar questions as above (and any others that come up) at least one more time during the year to see if knowledge and experience we’ve gained in university changes anything of what we thought at the beginning of the year.

 

Resources about academic integrity

 

Please see the course website under “links,” “writing/citing” for a number of useful resources about academic integrity, how to paraphrase correctly without accidentally committing plagiarism, and more. Course website: https://a1hendricks.arts.ubc.ca/links/writingciting-resources/

 

 

 

Posted in blogs, lb4-2015 | Tagged with announcements, integrity

Welcome!

Welcome to Arts One, Hendricks’ seminar, 2016-2017! This “announcements” area is where I’ll post, well, announcements for the class. If they are time-sensitive you will also get them via email, but they will be here for future reference as well. I’m in the process of updating the site for the new year, so you may still see some things that are from last year that may not be relevant this year. The blog posts from last year’s students are still here for you to peruse if you wish (they will remain, and yours will add to them).

If you ever have any questions about the class or the site, please just email me! c.hendricks@ubc.ca

 

Posted in blogs, lb4-2015 | Tagged with announcements

Jason Lieblang

Jason Lieblang

 

Instructor with the Seeing and Knowing team

  • Bio
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Jason Lieblang is an Instructor in the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies, where he coordinates the first-year German language program and teaches courses on nineteenth and twentieth century European culture. To learn more about his teaching and research, visit his profile on the CENES website here.

He is also keenly interested in epistemology, the branch of philosophy that asks what it means ‘to know,’ as well as in cinema and comics, two cultural forms within which the relationship between seeing and knowing are a central concern. He will bring his enthusiasm for all of these to the Arts One program.

Lectures by Dr. Lieblang on this site

 

Posted in faculty, Jason Lieblang, people, Seeing and Knowing | Tagged with

Mulvey & Hitchcock

Laura Mulvey in 2010

Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,”Screen (1975) 16 (3): 6-18.

Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo (1958)

 

  • Lecture
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  • Questions

In the first half of this lecture Christina Hendricks discusses Laura Mulvey’s article, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” She discusses Mulvey’s own later thoughts on this article, compares what Mulvey has to say in it with what the class had read from John Berger in Ways of Seeing, and then goes through a reading of several of the points in the article. In the second half of the lecture, Jason Lieblang discusses Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, reading it in part through Mulvey’s arguments. He begins by talking about Hitchcock’s work more generally, then focuses on the themes of seeing/being seen in several of Hitchcock’s films, including Vertigo. In the last part of the lecture he looks at the film through Mulvey’s arguments about gender and vision, and ends with some questions we might ask about her arguments.

Faculty:
Christina Hendricks
Jason Lieblang
Lecture date: February 29, 2016
Theme: Seeing and Knowing

Please see this Mediasite link for the video with the sides attached.

  • Presentation slides on prezi.com for Christina Hendricks’ lecture on Mulvey
  • Presentation slides on prezi.com for Jason Lieblang’s lecture on Hitchcock
  1. Compare Mulvey’s ideas regarding the male gaze in cinema with Berger’s assessment and analysis of the visual representation of gender roles in Ways of Seeing.
  2. Mulvey’s essay distinguishes between two modes of looking for the film spectator. Do either or both of these modes resonate with your own experience as a spectator watching Vertigo? Why or why not?
  3. Can Mulvey’s ideas about the male gaze and the representation of women be applied to literary texts? Discuss using one literary text we’ve read this year as your case study.
  4. Can Mulvey’s arguments in “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” be applied to any of the films we’ve discussed in our Arts One group so far (apart from Vertigo), or do any of them not seem to fit what she’s saying? Explain why or why not.
  5. Mulvey makes no mention of the other main female character in Vertigo, Midge. Does Midge fit into Mulvey’s analysis of mainstream Hollywood cinema?
  6. Discuss a film from Hollywood’s Classic Age (1930s through 1950s) that you consider exemplary of Mulvey’s charge that films of this period “coded the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal order” (8). Support your argument with sequence analyses that discuss both theme and film form.
  7. Discuss a film from Hollywood’s Classic Age (1930s through 1950s) that you believe subverts what Mulvey identifies as the “cod(ing of) the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal order” (8). Support your argument with sequence analyses that discuss both theme and film form.
  8. Discuss a film that you think transcends what Mulvey calls “outworn or oppressive forms” of the male gaze and/or dares “to break with normal pleasurable expectations in order to conceive a new language of desire” (8). Support your argument with sequence analyses that discuss both theme and film form.

 

More material related to Mulvey
More material related to Hitchcock

Image attribution:
Laura Mulvey in 2010, by Mariusz Kubik, licensed CC BY 3.0

 

Posted in Christina Hendricks, Jason Lieblang, lecture, powerpoint, Seeing and Knowing, video | Tagged with C20th, Film, Freud, gender, Hitchcock, Lacan, Mulvey, Vertigo, voyeurism

Weimar Cinema

A bit late, but finally here is my last blog post of the year – it’s been a long journey, with both ups and downs, but it was a fun one and undoubtedly a great experience.

Now, onto Weimar Cinema.

Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1921). In the public domain. Accessed from Wikimedia Commons.

The expressionist films of the Weimar period are renowned for their visuals and dramatic tension, which was a result of attempting to compensate for the films’ lack of words and dialogue. Notably, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari directed by Robert Wiene features a unique, twisted set design, and exemplifies the dark, brooding atmosphere that is often found in films of this era.

The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari Lobby card (1920). In the public domain. Accessed from Wikimedia Commons.

The town in which the film is set in is all sort of distorted – the buildings are jagged, curved, and defy the laws of physics, the people drift aimlessly down the carnival, in a strange perspective, and the darkness clashes with light at every turn. A scene in which all of the set elements come into their greatest degree of influence is the film’s climax: Cesare, controlled by Dr. Caligari, sneaks through the night to kidnap Francis’ fiancee. The woman is lying vulnerable in a bed of pure white; the insomniac creeps through the windows, surrounded by a shroud of darkness, and flanked by the jagged pillars next to his entrance. As he approaches, his dark figure merges with the background, and it is as though the shadows themselves are encroaching upon the unprotected damsel. Here, the set design is not only laden with symbolic meaning, but is also a huge part of what makes the scene so dramatic.

Posted in blogs, lb4-2015 | Tagged with Film, Weimar Cinema

Buddha

Buddha Statue at Dawn (2009). In the public domain. Accessed from Wikimedia Commons.

 

Given my interest in reading manga, I was excited to know that we would have the chance to read and discuss Buddha, a work by the famed manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Although I knew the work would be touching on themes much more mature than those generally from that era of manga (which tended to be geared towards younger audiences), I was not sure what entirely to expect. I can now say that I was quite pleasantly surprised on how many interesting parallels between this work and the others we had read this year could be drawn.

While Tezuka’s work does not nearly approach the deep and philosophical questioning that is now occasionally found in some modern works, he masterfully weaves complex ideas into the entertaining medium of what was then children’s literature – while keeping the book humourous and easy to read, he explores many mature themes such as death, sexuality, social class, and the validity of religion. Throughout the novel, the brahmins’ religious legitimacy is questioned, and the class system seriously threatened by the controversy of Chapra’s position in the army and society. While in the end the rigidity of tradition and caste ends up banishing Chapra and ultimately takes his life, he poses a final challenge to the brahmin council:

“And so who decided it had to be that way? People? Or was it the gods?” (374)

Here, Chapra is not only defying his own fate, but the basis of Indian (and human) society – what is the right of humans to decide the rights of others? Who is the hand that writes fate – mere mortals, or a higher power? What is the meaning of belief, if all it benefits is a select few?

Posted in blogs, lb4-2015 | Tagged with graphic novel, Tezuka

The Significance of Font Variation in the Graphic Novel Adaptation of City of Glass

The graphic novel adaptation of Paul Auster’s City of Glass by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli illustrates each significance voice with a distinct font. The typewriter font is used for the narrator to indicate the final draft of the narrative as the typewriter is an instrument that once marks the page, cannot be erased. If one makes a mistake, the entire page is to be re-typed which communicates the quality of professionalism and officially of the narrator’s words. The typewriter font is used to convey the authenticity of the narrative and the authority the narrator has in the novel.

Peter Stillman Sr.’s words are embellished with a capital letter of a calligraphy style as he is a member of the upper class and well educated. The ornamental letter describes his profession as a former professor who is wealthy and was respected. The capital letter that begins his speech bubbles are written in this style as his words are carefully chosen as his is a professor concerned with languages, specifically the language of God. As a professor, Peter Stillman Sr.’s words are intellectual with a higher understanding od the words that he uses, in comparison with the layman and the capital letter indicates his knowledge.

Peter Stillman Jr.’s speech bubbles originate from within to represent that his thoughts and words are different from the other characters. There are lowercase letters in his speech as a result of the abuse and neglect that he had experienced as a child. The trauma from his father’s experiments has changed his speech patterns as the different font indicated that his language skills originate from an abnormal processing method.

Virginia Stillman’s voice on the phone is captioned with un-bolded and several lowercase letters. The lines of the words are also not straight as the telephone distorts the words of the speaker and do not truly reflect the voice of the caller. The lowercase letters indicate uncertainty of the legitimacy of her concern and the ability of the investigator that she is calling. The lower case letters and wavy composition of the works from her voice through the telephone communicates the process of sound waves converting to pressure in the air. The different frequencies of each sound are also depicted by the fluctuating appearance of Mrs. Stillman’s words.

A different font is used to signify the diverse characteristics of each character in the graphic novel adaptation of Paul Auster’s City of Glass for metaphorical and atheistic purposes.

 

 

Posted in blogs, lb1-2015 | Tagged with Auster, City of Glass, graphic novel, Karasik & Mazzucchelli

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