Ritual, Technology, and The witch hunt New Historicism Ritual, Technology, and The witch hunt

New Historicism New Historicism seeks to find meaning in a text by considering the work within the framework of the prevailing ideas and assumptions of its historical era. New Historicists concern themselves with the political function of literature and with the concept of power, the intricate means by which cultures produce and reproduce themselves. These critics focus on revealing the historically specific model of truth and authority (not a "truth" but a "cultural construct") reflected in a given work. In other words, history here is not a mere chronicle of facts and events, but rather a complex description of human reality and evolution of preconceived notions. Literary works may or may not tell us about various factual aspects of the world from which they emerge, but they will tell us about prevailing ways of thinking at the time: ideas of social organization, prejudices, taboos, etc. They raise questions of interest to anthropologists and sociologists. New Historicism is more "sociohistorical" than it is a delving into factoids: concerned with ideological products or cultural constructs which are formations of any era. (It's not just where would Keats have seen a Grecian urn in England, but from where he may have absorbed the definitions of art and beauty.) So, New Historicists, insisting that ideology manifests itself in literary productions and discourse, interest themselves in the interpretive constructions which the members of a society or culture apply to their experience. http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/new.hist.html

So…….. How is ‘authority’ a social construct of the time? …in 1692? …in 1950? …now? What can we focus on in literature or in ‘artifacts’ to bring the answer to light?

The Crucible Arthur Miller Interview Ritual Naming Names What enables each concept? Technology

1950S McCarthy hearings televised

1692

Now…are Muslims the new witches…the new traitors? Hardball 1-3:15 4:50- end ‘PROBABLE CAUSE’ Bill O’Reilly 3:15 Breaking the Set 0-1:30 What Would You Do? (ABC)

So…The Witch Hunt A New Historicist looking at The Crucible might how technology is connected with the social construct of ‘authority’. Identification of discourse Miller’s reference to ‘ritual’ and ‘naming names’ The play’s reference to Rev. Hale’s ‘books’ ‘New’ technology of books ‘New’ technology of television Our social construct of authority NOW… Television? Internet? Is this ‘witch hunt’ for traitors again part of our social discourse?

What is the message, relative to the Social Discourse on Authority and Fear…? Trailer