¶ … advocate a qualitative methods of analysing a text - like those who advocate quantitative methods for such an analysis - often appear to be fighting for the soul of the reader and even of literature themselves as they passionately argue for one form of analysis over the over.
But, while the impassioned literary warriors on either side might not want to admit to this fact, it might well be that there is no single correct way to analyze a text. Or rather there may well be no single correct way to analyse every text. There may be one best way for each text, requiring us to consider local definitions of analysis rather than universal ones.
Before we look more generally at this issue, let us attempt to apply this principle to an actual example. We may perform a qualitative analysis of a Jeanette Winterspoon novel as a way of demonstrating that it would perhaps be impossible to analyse this particular text from a quantitative point-of-view.
It is no accident that Jeanette Winterspoon means to seduce us with her slim novel Written on the Body. For the book is meant to convey to us what physical love means through the act of making us complicit. While the work is certainly meant to be admired as a very clever act of literary craft - and legerdemain - it is also intended to lure us into the world of passion that we tend to think of as absolutely individual but that is in fact collective.
Whether or not Winterspoon has read the work of French sociologist Emile Durkheim is not clear, but it is impossible to read Written on the Body and not think of Durkheim's work on suicide. Initially one might think that the two have nothing whatsoever in common, but in fact they are tied together by one of the most profoundly important understandings of human nature. "I love you is always a quotation," Winterspoon writes, and by this she means not...
Additional research showed that those who were frequently exposed to these movies were also inclined to develop risk-taking behavior (Greene and Kromar). Vulnerable young women who had long-term exposure to sexually objectifying media could suffer from decreased self-esteem, according to another study (Aubrey 2006). A group of 149 female undergraduates in a big mid-Western university was surveyed for their responses after having been exposed to such media. The study revealed
One of the most dramatic and most recent examples of American media distortion concerned the well-publicized media campaign throughout 2002 and part of 2003 in advance of the U.S.-lead invasion of Iraq. At that time, (then) American Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence that he introduced as absolutely conclusive and irrefutable that Iraq had developed nuclear and chemical weapons of mass destruction to justify the ultimatum issued to Saddam
Media Communications Representation of characters and role models in different media outlets is based on perceptions and preconceived notions held by the producer, co-producers, and audiences at large. Only those representations are drawn that largely resonate with current meanings given to people, characters, places, and objects.The paper presents two theoretical approaches to study media and its impact at large. Theory of social constructivism provides framework to assess the meanings given to
Cable television is also prevalent in Hong Kong, which has adopted a free-market approach to cable programming (Oba and Chan-Olmsted 2005). Any attempts to limit this "intrusion" of information that could be interpreted as culturally imperialist or as an "invasion" of the West would be met with a huge public outcry from the people of Hong Kong, who are by now accustomed to having this type of media access. It
future entertainment ... is to model synergistic interactions of determinants and dimensions of media entertainment across levels of analysis," (Berger, Roloff, & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2010, p. 356). One of those levels of analysis has to do with the relationships audiences develop with characters on the shows they watch regularly. These audience-to-character relationships are one-sided, because the character is (a) fictitious and not possible to have a bilateral relationship with; and
Communication Systems Put Wheels on Projects Facilitation participation. Development Support Communication (DSC) is a system that facilitates the sharing of information about development agenda and associated actions (Adesida, 2001). The purpose of development support communication is the effective linking of the stakeholders in a development process (Adesida, 2001). The range of stakeholders who benefit from a development support communication system is broad, including the planners, the implementers, the donor community,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now