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March 02, 2005
chapter 9 disscussion questions
1. Vico makes a clear distinction between primitive man and modern man, and it is modern man who possess the capability to be ironic. If Vico's assertion concerning the truly representational nature of language is accurate, and if we carry this assertion into our readings and discussions about history, particulary comp history, how can we tell/write our stories respectfully and responsibly?
2. And what about Vico's view of culture? From my understandings of our class discussions, it seems to me that we agree that culture inforns how historians are written and read. Yet Vico, according to White, "did not believe that culture was primarily a function of environmental, and more specifically climatic, conditions" (198-9). What does Vico mean by "environment?" I'm hoping that the discussion about environment will lead to a look at what kind of environment produces a program that claims "cultural rhetoric."
Posted by emnorris at March 2, 2005 12:22 PM