Death of an author?

I must say, at the beginning of my semester, i started with much vigour in being very interested in the topics. I truthfully and sincerely am interested in them, for they are not so much on communication itself.. despite.. it being called 'bach. in communication', but more so on humanities and social science.

I am still a freshie in terms of my faith, but that is another story. Two of my subjects entitled; Communication research and methodology, and authorship and criticism poses a lot of theories that makes one question the faith they believe in. Doesn't matter what faith it is, all faiths are questioned and challenged in the authorship class.

We're now goign into what is an author and how they have changed over the years since the enlightenment period to the post-structuralist and post-modernist view.

Let me see if i can do my lecturer justice by describing what is an author. What has been perceived to be an author, are people who not only just write, but people who are able to bring forth a story to life through their own feelings. Hmm.. A person who writes against what is potrayed or a norm in society mostly that of the English ideology, showing originality, to be considered a genius. The author is the epitome of that which is refined and sophisticated.. yada yada yada..

There was one i statement i could not help but disagree with. We learnt that the author, a person who has written text is no longer considered original or alive anymore. Whatever that is written these days is just a copy, improvisation, or a thought of another thought. The subconsciousness of the author takes over and then what is written could be not directly what is meant by the author but by his inner feelings.

The latter, death of an author, rather meaning that the person who writes his works, is actually not the one doing so, but rather the language takes over the person. I can't help but disagree with it, because then what about the Bible that is read? The author i beleive is to be God, because it is His Word. But if an author is dead then in the end, there really is no God. Of course one can argue that the Bible is written by humans and not by God directly Himself. But then again it is said it is inspired by God...

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...

So if the Word is God, so how can they say that the author is dead and language has taken over. Then can that mean that 'nothing' has actually created the meaning? I think not.. and i think i'm rambling. I just can't accept the post-structuralist way. It is so harsh and i think it relates quite a bit with relativism, the idea all systems and beliefs go, as long as it is good for you.

Another thing i just can't agree with is how they question on our very selves. As in everything around us.. all institutions build us up. So if you were to take the analogy of yourself as an onion. The outer skins of that onion are what you believe in to be your original self. But in the end if you were to think about it, try peeling away all that you beleive in because it's not really from you but from things that influence you. Then you are actually nothing!!!?? Just like the onion which in the end has no core. Sigh.. stupid analogy. So we are actually nothing, our selves don't exist, we have no purpose cause we are just built up from other things.

The last time i faced that statement it was last year, i didn't know what it means to have a purpose. This time i faced it again just this week, and instead i really questioned. Am I believing just for the sake of believing? Or is because God is really real in my life? I choose the latter for my reasons. God is real and He is very much alive. PRAISE GOD!

In anycase i'm just saying that i can't agree with the posts stuff even if i am living in it. Hehehe i'm retaliating.

Before it all began,
Before it all made sense,
Before every single prayer,
Before every single plea,
Before my very breath..

You knew how it would start,
You knew how it would finish,
You heard before I cried,
You heard before I thought,
You created me and moulded me..

It all began with You,
Your Love, Your Grace, Your Mercy,
Your Word!



prayer Posted by Hello

8 comments:

Perhaps there are a few things that we can learn from them, even if not positively, we might as well learn not to make mistakes that they make.

I realized that many times, the "untrained" theologians like us will also interpret the bible as if the author is dead and the meaning is only to the fancies of the readers. Our Roman Catholic friends like to say of us Protestants, We have ONE Pope, you have many popes. It's one danger we have to guard against.

pos-laju

9:26 PM  

On the contrary,I do somewhat agree that an author does improvise or write thoughts that were actually originally of others' thoughts. Perhaps, let us view this in another light. IMHO, the knowledge that is imparted unto us are usually of another person's mind and thoughts and we receive such knowledge through books, thesis etc. It is somewhat difficult to determine the point of origin from an author and another who "improvised his ideas and wrote them as his own" (or perhaps,from readers like us , for that matter) because when we find ourselves agreeing to what the original author said, it may be in actual fact that we may have thought of that idea first; but the author somehow; was able to articulate that idea before us. But that does not necesarrily make the authors who improvised less creative nor is he more dead than the genius writer who was able to come up with his own ideas.The art of improvisation would probably strengthen the ideas even more; as one does not simply use just about anybody's ideas without weighing its relevance and feasibility. Of course, the same cannot be said about the Word of God, for the writers have been given a revelation by the Author, a divine inspiration that is to be called His own. Therfore, when it comes to the Bible; rest assured that we have an original Author who has crafted every knowledge that He has chosen to reveal to Man, through Man- thus came our Bible. On the other hand, I do wonder what would an author's mind be, without Language- the medium that conveys the very message that the author has for us. I would then say, that language does not take over an author's works; nor does it make him dead. Language is both water- the elixir of LIFE and also wine- the name by how some of us would call "liquid gold". Perhaps, if we learn to see that nothing is not of GOd's, then it wouldn't have mattered to us if we do not own anything or if we are nothing at all. Apologies for the bits and pieces, here and there. "Random thoughts", these are- and I do believe they are not original either.:)

FedEx- more trusted courier brand..hehe

12:30 AM  

postmodernism's de-emphasis on institution may be viewed as a positive concept to enhance the communal and organic movement of the society.

Perhaps it's time also we take a second glance at those laws and boundaries that we have taken for granted and reexamined them again, as Chritians, in the light of the Scripture. This is returning to the first square, and there perhaps we may find after all a deinstitutionalized ekklesia. :)

just some thoughts for you to consider and pursue.

pos-sible

12:55 AM  

Hmm, the post-modernism, challenges instutions, perhaps you coudl look at it in the sense that it si saying also not to conform to the ways of the world, which can be applied to chrisitian principles.

"Do not conform to the standards od the world, but be transformed in the renewing of your mind, only then will you know God's will for you." ...I'm paraphrasing here.

If i wer to look at it in that light the perhaps you can say i'm no longer being anti-post, but rather being objective of it. To see it's shortcomings and it's more appealing side.

1:07 AM  

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Ciaoz.

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