The Notational self

tbryant@calarts.edu

The Notational Self is a concept that expands from a single assertion: Attention is an ongoing daily activity of selection and analysis that shapes individual ethics, worldview and aesthetics. But often times, this activity is engaged casually, uncritically, even unconsciously, without reflection, like a computer program constantly running in the background of our lives. This unit invites you to engage in critical self care, not through massages, therapy and baths (though that’s important), but by paying attention to your attention. Inclusive of all creative practices, cultural backgrounds, languages, races, genders and oppositional stances, the Notational Self asks you to think about what makes you you, what inspires or intrigues you in your metier, what you value and why, how you make sense of relationships with people, authority, and your education in and outside of the classroom, what you do, or can do, to take care of your self.

Notational self 1

Before lecture read:

Michel Foucault, "Technologies of the Self" (pdf, 17 pages)

Prompt for reading annotation (submit on Canvas site):

To annotate means to write notes in response to a text or image. These notes can be questions, agreement or disagreement, or other commentary or responses to what you're reading or seeing. You can do this in the margins of the handout itself, or on a separate sheet of paper or document, making sure your notes correspond to the appropriate area of Foucault's text, so that you can find them later for discussion.

So, for this reading assignment, annotate Foucault's text with focus on the following and then submit a summary answer to each of these questions:

What does Foucault mean by "technology" in his concept of "technologies of the self"?

What are the technologies of the self Foucault explores?

What resonated with you and why?

What was confusing for you and why?

Notational Self 2

Before lecture read:

Adrienne Kennedy's People Who Led to My Plays

Aisha Sabatini Sloan's "A Clear Presence"

Prompt for reading annotation (submit on Canvas site):

Explain where you think Aisha Sabatini Sloan’s experience corresponds with any one of the four technologies of the self in Foucault:

· Turning things into other things, like art (technology of production)

· Dreams and dreaming, and The American Dream (technology of sign symbols)

· Contemplates or interacts with social, cultural, local, governmental, etc. power (technology of power)

· Reflects on conduct, body, soul, way of being, either as an individual, or as part of a collective (technology of the self)

And also:

After reading the excerpt from Adrienne Kennedy’s People Who Led to My Plays, what kind of portrait of her emerges for you from her archive of imagination and inspiration? What or who fascinates her, impresses her, makes her wonder? Whose voices seem to matter a lot to her? How does she see herself, her culture, or the world?

Notational self 3

Before lecture read:

Reread Foucault, "Technologies of the Self"

Watch (in lecture): Tisa Bryant, "With Love there is No Death"

Prompt for reading annotation (submit on Canvas site):

For this prompt, we return to Foucault and “Technologies of the Self” to home in on a jump-off point for your narrative essay. As a reminder, the four technologies of the self are:

· Technologies of production (production, manipulation, transformation of things)

· Technologies of sign systems (use of signs, symbols, meanings, signification)

· Technologies of power (determines the codes of conduct for individuals, for submission, domination, or objectification of the subject)

· Technologies of the self (individual or collective means of operating on the body, thoughts, conduct, soul and way of being towards transformation and attaining happiness, wisdom, perfection or immortality)

Which one of these resonated most for you, and why? Another way to approach this is to think about the annotation prompts for Aisha Sabatini Sloan’s “A Clear Presence” and the excerpt from Adrienne Kennedy’s People Who Led to My Plays. What did you make note of, in those exercises, or any other writing exercises you did in relation to these readings and the four technologies of the self above? What stood out to you? What connected to your own life, experiences and attention? Review all your notes so far, and see what you can pull forward that most interests you and connects to your notational self.

The things you pull forward can form the basis for citation or reference in a way suitable to a narrative essay. Consider what Sloan does, on the one hand, or what Kennedy does, with a heading like, My mother’s sayings, followed by quotes from her mother. How are Foucault’s, Sloan’s or Kennedy’s voices now a part of your ecology of knowledge? How might you present the things they’ve said as part of your attention, either as people who have said things that are useful in your exploration of how one of these technologies of the self can relate to your world view. While Sloan and Kennedy might be easier to quote in a natural flow of writing, do try to find one thing Foucault says about the technology of the self you’re choosing.

Notational Self 4

Narrative The Notational self Essay

Write a narrative essay that

centers one of Foucault's four technologies of self and
responds to topics or concepts presented in one of the other texts from this module (Kennedy, Sloan, Bryant)
uses one of the following prompts:
- Describe your technology of the self in relationship to a specific place. How do you relate to the physical space you are in (either currently or in the past)? How does your location communicate larger systems of power and histories? How does your attention to the details of your habitat reveal larger insights? [Aisha Sabatini Sloan’s “A Clear Presence,” is a key example here]
- Describe your technology of the self in relationship to a specific larger community and/or a specific mythology of culture (such as “the American Dream” or “the self-made artist”). It may be helpful to identify, even annotate, a specific archive that reveals the connections and ruptures of your chosen community. [Look at Adrienne Kennedy’s People Who Led to My Plays as an example here. An example of an archive can be family photos, headlines of historical events, legal documents, or even works of art]
- Describe your technology of the self in relationship to a specific creative work--a film, a song, a painting, a building, really anything.Write a personal essay in response to it, over it, making it your own. [Look to Tisa Bryant’s “With Love There Is No Death” as a model here. Feel free to accompany your essay with a recording of you reading or performing your text]

Your essay must be at least 1000-1250 words.

The narrative essay is not simply a personal essay. You will draw on your own experience, your own technology of self, to discuss, more broadly, your critical insights into your relationship to a place, a community or to a work of art. Keep in mind: technologies of the self isn’t about a set of rules, but about techniques that allow for growth, expansion, evolution of the self, mind, body and spirit in relationship to other people/community, places, or things. You don’t have to have all the answers; you can explore these concepts to see what realizations you can come to through consideration, analysis, observation, writing. Use your own voice. Tell the story of your experience; tell the truth as you understand it.

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