As I was reading this article I was wondering how I felt about oral stories verses writing literature. Also what is literature? I then tried to make connections from oral stories and written literature and how this is a form of remediation. In the readings it discussed how certain cultures such as the Sioux is more found of oral story telling. Within our culture I think, being a woman brings a sub-culture. When I was younger I clearly remember telling stories to my friends. Most of which were girls and were sworn to stay silent by the finger promise. I did this and other little girls did as well. I did this until I received my first diary. I believe this is a form of remediation within my social little girl culture. Refraining from telling stories to my classmates and now keeping them private and in a journal. The feeling of “expression” has been modified to a different form. Now instead of expressing to another person who holds your story it is in written form. It is exactly how you intended it to be. Unlike when it is concealed with another person they have the ability to morph what was told. As discussed in “The Orality of Language” people do not have the ability to clearly get a grasp of an oral story. I found this within my life to be true so I then moved to keeping a diary.
One way you could have gone for this response would be to discuss, in terms of the various forms of remediation discussed previously, what sorts of arguments might you make regarding the (continued) fondness for oral storytelling by the Sioux.
ReplyDeleteI get where you are coming from when you talk about telling stories as a young girl, to writing your thoughts in a diary. Why do you think we shifted from oral storytelling to written storytelling? And why do the Sioux prefer oral storytelling instead of written? Culture obviously has a big role in answering these questions. For us in the American culture we have shifted our ways of storytelling as our technology advances. We went from oral, to written, to digital; it is neverending. From diaries we have gone to writing online, such as with a LiveJournal or with blogs. The Sioux prefer to stay with oral communication and storytelling probably because of their culture, non-advancement with technology, or lack of resources. Although I am not sure these reasons are corret. I am sure there are other underlying reasons, what do you think they are?
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought of that as a type of remediation. To talk about shared secrets to a diary is extremely interesting, especially the fact that you talk about it as a feeling. I like the comparison, as well, to the fact that you compare this to the discussion of an entirely oral culture to a literate culture. Thanks for making me think about things I never would have thought to discuss!
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