English Lens

Structuralism/Post-structuralism, Post-colonial, Feminism, Psycho-analytical, Existentialism, Formalist

Structuralism

studing the structures of lanaguage, once we find the deep structures we can determines how texts produce meaning

De saussere

the idea that words are composed of three things: sign, signifier, signified

Signifier

the physical form of a word

Signified

What a word makes us see/what it represents

Semiotics/semiology

the study of signs

Syntagm

a collection of signs that go together

Difference/arbitrary

the concept that the words and pictures that we assign meaning to don’t come from its value but rather how different it is from other words/pictures

Binary

graphed through extreme differences

Deep Structures

structures of language that we wouldn’t necessarily be aware of

Apotheosis

the point when the main character realizes they are the main character

Authorial Authority

author is in charge of the meaning of the text

Post-structuralism

meaning of text is uncertain and unreliable, focused on what is missing/omitted, audience give text meaning

différence (differ and defer)

different possibilities and meaning of a word or pharse

Deferral

to postpone the meaning

Interpretation/multiplicity

many ideas and meaning for one thing

Sliding Signifier

words slip away from us

Deconstruction

the practice of post-structuralism where you take apart and deliberately play with the signifiers

Audience

the audience gives meaning to a text, not passive receivers anymore

Post-colonial Theory

The study of how colonism and imperialism impacts others

Colonialism

the practice of taking over another country/forcing their ideas onto natives

Imperialism

powerful countries expanding and controlling smaller and weaker countries

Diaspora

the spreading out of culture and people

“Discovery”

only consisdered discovery from the colonizer’s perspective

Epistemology

the study of an area of knowledge/study of knowledge itself

Knowledge Production

knowledge is not discovered but produced and manufactured for people

Discourse

The network of signs, behaviours, practices, activies, spaces that create a given reality

Eurocentrism

History and culture is based on European ideologies

Imagined Communities

every community is imagined, made of discourse

Orientalism

The tenacity to exoticize other cultures, focues on the difference

Center/margin

The center is european ideas, marginized is the indigenous people being kept on the side

Self/other

“I’m not like you” mentality, focues on difference

Hegemony

when discourse has achieved such a high level of control, we simply accept it and don’t police it

Hybridity

creation of a new/mixed culture that came from the colonized and colonizer

White’ Man’s Burden

idea that they need to save people who are “less” than you, justifies european centric behaviour

Oporia

impasse in our logic, to not know how to deal with it

Feminism

To challenge the unfair and unequal distribution of power and wealth in patriachal society

Patriarchal Society

based on male rule and domination

Institutional Sexism

sexism that is embedded into systems of institution

Patriachy

system of society or government where only men hold power, women don’t

Gender Roles

culture construction, a set of differences and discourse

Sex

biology of people that identify them as male or female

Feminity/Masculinity (stereotyping)

The stereotypes that create imbalance of power, female are lower than male

First Wave of Feminism (mid 19-early20)

Struggle for women’s suffrage (right to vote)

Second Wave of Feminism (1960-1970)

Stuggle for equal pay, rights at work and representation in power roles

Third Wave of Feminism (1980-1990)

Focues on positive nature of ambiguity and difference, not all women are the same

Radical Feminism

looking into how more deeply rooted it is in

Male Glaze

visual pleasure of female body that is only enjoyed from a male perspective

Fourth Wave of Feminism

celebrates the diversity of identity available to women

Semiotic Guerrilla Warfare

meaning of signifiers can be shifted from powerless to powerful

Plurality

not one way to be a women

Psychoanalytic Theory

based on premises and prodcedure established by Sigmund Freud

Ego (unconsicous+conscious)

Rational part of the mind

Superego (unconscious)

morals of the mind

ID (unconscious)

Irrational part of the mind

Conscious

what we are aware of

Preconsicous

ordinary memories that can be readily brought into consciousness

Unconscious

instincts, undesired and traumatic memories

Paradigm

patterns that shape how we understand the world

Personal Conscious (Carl Jung)

what we are aware of

Personal Unconscious (carl jung)

ordinary memories that can be readily brought into consciousness

Collective Unconscious (carl jung)

a storehouse of knowledge, experiences and images shared by the human race

Archetype

universal templates of human memories, images and experiences

Shadows (archetype)

our dark side that we don’t want to show the world

Anima (archetype)

source of motivation

Persona (archetype)

the self you show the world

Theoretical Framework

literature that is made of our wishes which is denied by reality or society

Individuation

the idea that we must discover and accept all sides of ourself

Condensation

one thing happened but multiple conflicts are being explored

Displacement

substituting an unconsicous object for one that is more acceptable

Symbolism

representation of sexual objects of desire with objects that resemble them

Manifest Content

disguised fantasies, what is actually present

Latent Content

unconscious wishes made acceptable

Existentialism

rejection that there is a plan in the universe

Bad Faith

uses others as an excuse to making choices

Leap of Faith

making a choice whether makes a difference or not

Ontology

study of being

Existence Precedes Essence

Implies that the human being has no essence

Absurdism

the belief that nothing can be explain or rationalize human existence

Choice and Commitment/Freedom and Responsbility

Humans have the freedom to choose and we must accept the risk and responsbility for our commitments

Dread and Anxiety

Dread is the feeling of general apprehension, anxiety stems from our understanding of choice and its consequences

Nothingness and Deatth

Death hangs over all of us and nothing structures our world

Alienation or Estrangement

We do not understand or know anything about anyone/anything, we only exist right now

Human Subjectivity

Emotions are yet another choice we make and are responsible for them

Formalism

taking apart a text to inspect its elements and how they work together to produce meaning

Personification

human abtributes are given to immate objects

Numerical

the use of numbers to create meaning

Graphic

the design which gives meaning

Oedipus Complex

The idea that every man wants to date his mom and kill his dad

Electra Complex

The idea that every woman wants to date her dad and kill her mom

Thanatos

Death instinct, drive for love

Eros

life instinct, drive for love

Aporia

when the speaker expresses doubt

Verisimilitude

The appearance or semblance of truth or realism

Bildungsroman

Coming of age genre

Suspension of Disbelief

avoidance of logic to accept the almost impossible premises

Vernacular

writing in the everyday/common lanaguage of a specific region or culture

Pathetic Fallacy

human emotions reflected in objects, nature or animals

Objective Correlative

a technique where the character never directly tells the reader what they are feeling