1. the Theory of Relativity of Dialectics Chall/a/nging Presented by: Kristina Yegoryan J.M.Coetzee J. Derrida A. Einstein

2. BIOGRAPHY SCHOOLING O born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1940 O mother: a primary school teacher O father: trained as an attorney O University of Cape Town in 1957, graduated successively with honors degrees in English and mathematics O Graduate school of the University of Texas at Austin O In 1968 graduated with a PhD in English, linguistics, and Germanic languages O Doctoral dissertation was on the early fiction of Samuel Beckett

3. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2003 was awarded to J. M. Coetzee "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider" (NoblePrize org)

4. COETZEES WORKS Dusklands (1974)- first book published in South Africa in 1974. In the Heart of the Country ( 1977)-won South Africa's principal literary award, the CAN Prize and was published in Britain and the USA. Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)- received international notice. Life & Times of Michael K (1983)- won Britain's Booker Prize. Disgrace (1999)- won the Booker Prize.

5. Binaries have been assigned specific roles in our lexicon, and we are already “plugged into a system that has already programmed us with a set of values [which] we imaginatively believe to be our own and use to mediate our judgment on anything we perceive to have any sort of moral value” (Arakelian).  DIALECTICS CONSTITUTE THE NOTIONS OF AUTHORITY AND INFERIORITY

6. Time is relative to each person DEPENDING on his motion relative to others. The meanings of dialectics can be different for each person DEPENDING on his/her relation to others. Shattering Age-Old Ideas

7. DECONSTRUCTING / DISPLACING  DIFFER/A/NCE  Deferral- the meaning of words and signs is defined through appeal to additional words, from which they differ.  Difference - differentiates elements from one another and thus engenders binary oppositions and hierarchies that underpin meaning itself. J. Derrida

8. DECONSTRUCTING / DISPLACING The Tradition of Linguistics has set up a hierarchy of binary oppositions and the meanings of dialectics is predetermined, BUT by displacing them, we can subvert hierarchal, reputed binaries, temper their pre- assigned meanings, and see new ideas, new meanings that have been beyond the zone of our expectations.  CHALL /A/ NGING J.M. Coetzee

9. “Deconstructing binaries and understanding how they work doesn’t eliminate them but uncovers how they’re used as a means of gaining power” (Eve Sedgwick). “Concepts that have been oppressed by the dominant ones also have power, which is not visible on the surface but becomes visible once deconstructed” (Sedgwick).

10. 1. Narrator’s voice / silent discourse “Who does the writing, who seizes power by taking pen in hand? Can black experience be depicted by a white person?” (Wastberg). VOICE/ SILENCE ”I tend to resist invitations to interpret my own fiction”. J. M. Coetzee

11. 2.Gendered voice/ Subjectivity Phallocentric feminine voice / audible silence VOICE/ SILENCE “Silence is a sounding thing, to one who listens hungrily” ~Gwendolyn Bennett

12. 3. Authorship VOICE/ SILENCE Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence. Leonardo da Vinci The wisest have the most authority. Plato

13. AUTHORSHIP- different accounts of the reading experience “Men readers approximate maleness with humanity” “Women read with immasculation” Patricinio Schweickart

14. AUTHORSHIPAUTHORSHIP Reader/ Writer  New Criticism- rejection of readers’ feelings and author’s intention _________________  “Readers can, do, and should interpret texts without privileging authors’ (imagined) intentions” ~ Ian Barnard

15. REOCURRENCE OF THE CHARACTER A Literary Term: Archetype- a timeless symbol ________________  Elizabeth Costello (Lives of Animals, Slow Man, Elizabeth Costello)  Foe, Robinson Cruso(e), and Friday (Foe)

16. OLD/NEW ORDER DISPLACEMENT, REPLACEMENT, AND CHANGE Displacement and replacement: Elizabeth Costello for Paul as the new order replaces the old in life.  FOE- Displacement of time and the past is replaced with the new.  Disgrace – Status change and displacements of power relations (professor/student, white/black)  Slow Man - change in personal life  Waiting for Barbarians – Displacement of status and life change  In the Heart of the Country- change in power, status, and in personal life

17. SELF/OTHER SELF/OTHER “ Self is a linguistic construct and subjective agency is an effect of language” Lacan

18. O “ Coetzee uses Costello as a possible stand-in for himself, but then has Costello create other characters such as Paul Rayment … causing a fracturing of or a multidimensional representation of his identity.” Wastberg Search for Self/Other

19. SEARCH FOR SELF and DESIRE FOR OTHER Mirror Stage- J. Lacan  Form of totality  Perception of self  Origins of ‘ideal ego’ -- - - - - - - - - - - -  Alienation  Being fractured and divided  Estranged body  Fragmentation of Desires-search for self

20. SELF-OtHER IN : Slow Man In the Heart of Country Foe Th e sense of self is only ever garnered from identifying with the images of these others (or itself in the mirror, as a kind of other) Lacan

21. J.M. COETZEE Coetzee reemphasizes the theory of relativity and through displacement shows the relativity of meaning of each signifier in the binary set. Displacing time, different scenes, themes, retelling the past with a new look, Coetzee suggests to reconsider the meanings and values of dialectics to be able to understand the problems that have been embedded in the social epitome of our past and present and thus approach them with a new perspective, a new approach.

22.  Arakelian. Geghard. “Can we call it a popularity contest?” csunmoodle. 26 Feb. 2011 Web. 2 April 2012.  Barnard, Ian. “Authorial Intent in the Composition Classroom” from Composition Forum 24 (Fall 2011). Copyright 2011. Web. 2 April 2012.  Derrida, Jacques. “Difference.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed Julie Rivkin, Michael Ryan 2 nd ed. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.  278- 300.  “Jacques Lacan.” Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A peer-Reviewed Academic Resource. Web. 2 April 2012  “J.M. Coetzee-Bibliography.” NoblePrize.org. Web. 9 April 2012.  “J.M. Coetzee Quotes.” GoodReads Author Quotes. Web. 2 April 2012.  Knox, Jeremy. “The Avatar in the Mirror: A Lacanian analysis of the virtual world self.” Education e-learning. Web. 2 April 2012  “Quotes.” Brainy Quotes. Web. 4 April 2012.  Schweikart. Patricinio. “ Reading Ourselves: Toward A Feminist Theory of Reading.” Lecture Notes. 13 Nov 2009.  Richard Clarke. LITS3303- 11B. Web 14 Nov. 2012.  Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. “Between Men.” English literature and male homosocial desire. Web. 4 April. 2012.  Wastberg, Writer Per. “Presentation Speech for 2003 Noble Prize in Literature at Stockholm.” Noble Web 2003. Web. 2 April 2012.

23. the Theory of Relativity of Dialectics Chall/a/nging Presented by: Kristina Yegoryan J.M.Coetzee J. Derrida A. Einstein