Alisoun's Ear

Storm, Melvin

doi:10.1215/00267929-42-3-219

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…As Storm observed: “Few elements have escaped scrutiny: her spurs, her hat, the colors in which she is dressed, even the probable locations of her birthmarks. It is therefore surprising that the most rhetorically prominent detail of all, her deafness, has received so little serious scholarly attention” (Storm, , p. 219). While there has been much commentary about her deafness in relation to other topics of discourse, very little scholarship has made this deafness the actual topic.…”

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In his article, Storm takes interest in the Wife's deafness in order to make the argument that Chaucer uses it “iconographically to reflect her intellectual abilities and her spiritual state, echoing a long patristic tradition of equating the ears and hearing with apprehension of truth” (Storm, , p. 220). I am not quite certain what Storm means by “iconographically,” and so I turn to V. A. Kolve's use of the term, which he borrows from Erwin Panofsky, D. W. Robertson, Jr., and F. P. Pickering (“among others”) “as a means of describing verbal compositions that invite the imagining of symbolic pictures in the mind” (Kolve, , pp.…”

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Melvin Storm's interpretation of the Wife of Bath is guided by medieval Christian views of deafness: he begins with the point that “the Middle Ages seems to have seized upon the analogies” between deafness and an inability to understand truth “with particular enthusiasm” (Storm, , p. 219). Storm argues that “unregenerate or simply untrained, the Wife of Bath is without question given to misunderstanding and distortion of the auctoritee to which she has access” (Storm, , p. 223). That she hears with only one ear, he argues, emphasizes the medieval Christian theology of balance: balance between both sides of the head, balance in life (literally and figuratively).…”

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…That she hears with only one ear, he argues, emphasizes the medieval Christian theology of balance: balance between both sides of the head, balance in life (literally and figuratively). The Wife is, according to Storm, shown to be unbalanced: “she more delights in having been created than in having been redeemed” (Storm, , p. 225). In this interpretation, deafness is not only associated with ignorance but also with insanity.…”

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

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Go ask Alisoun: Geoffrey Chaucer and Deafland (deafness as authority)

Robinson

2018

Literature Compass

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I would like to ask that scholars of medieval studies consider several factors in examining the relationship(s) between deafness, Deafland, and Geoffrey Chaucer—really consider what it means to be hearing disabled, to be deaf. The barrier between Chaucer scholars and the deaf is actually as simple as unawareness. This barrier might be understood in two ways: (1) as a wall between Chaucerians (both scholars and students) and Geoffrey Chaucer's text or (2) as a lack of full perspective, of complete comprehension, of that wall: its depth, its height, its volume, its density, and so forth. In other words, this barrier represents a difference in dimensions, as well as a difference between a priori appreciation and experiential understanding of the senses. To voice is not a measure of either vocalness or muteness of sounds. It is not a measure of one's ability or inability to speak. Voice is not measured in terms of sound at all. It is a measure of how fluent one is: is that individual fluent in a spoken language, fluent in a written language, fluent in a signed language? (Remember, in the Middle Ages, it was rather common for one to be fluent in one spoken language, such as Old Irish, and fluent in a specialized language, such as Latin—something not at all unfamiliar to those who are fluent in American Sign Language and written English today.) Chaucer's Wife of Bath's characterization makes for an interesting tie to members of Deafland (both those who do and do not sign) and to the uniqueness of visual–spatial perspectives contained within a predominately temporal–audio world, which has always given priority and privilege of sounded voice over signed voice (if the latter was permitted to exist at all). In the case of this complex character, this Wife of Bath, the likelihood of misunderstanding who she is, and what Chaucer intends us to see in her, is high. Alisoun seems to be a magic deaf person—in even some of the most unlikely of situations, such as from one end of a long line of pilgrims on horse—but actually, she is not. There is nothing magical about deafness, just as there is nothing magical about audism and other forms of discrimination. Abstract in ASL (online): https://globalchaucers.wordpress.com/recordings/

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Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Lack Of Authority In Scholarship: the Images Of The Wifementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Go ask Alisoun: Geoffrey Chaucer and Deafland (deafness as authority)

Robinson

2018

Literature Compass

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“…Indeed, Chaucer illustrated the struggle resulting from the perception of the authority of the written word in his work ''The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale'' [2]. For centuries, books were the dominant form of popular written authority.…”

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confidence: 99%

Use of a laboratory exercise on molar absorptivity to help students understand the authority of the primary literature

Soundararajan¹,

Bailey²,

Markwell³

2008

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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To promote understanding of the authority of the primary literature in students taking our biochemistry laboratory courses, a biochemistry laboratory exercise on the determination of an acceptable molar absorptivity value of 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) was developed. This made the laboratory course much more relevant by linking to a thematic thread, b-galactosidase, that scaffolds concepts in one exercise with those in later exercises. The substrate for the continuous assay of b-galactosidase is the chromogenic 2-nitrophenyl-b-D-galactopyranoside that produces 2-NP. In an early laboratory exercise, students determine the wavelength of maximum absorption for the protonated and deprotonated form of 2-NP at various pH values and then determine the molar absorptivity of 2-NP. Students were encouraged to discuss apparent discrepancies not only in their own determinations of molar absorptivity values for 2-NP, but also in the published molar absorptivity values for 2-NP (2,150-21,300 M 21 cm 21 ) at almost the same pH and at 420 nm. Finally, the students were led to a publication that serves as an authentic source for molar absorptivity of 2-NP.Keywords: Molar absorptivity, 2-nitrophenol, pH, primary literature.College teachers often discuss their students' general perception that the written word carries unquestionable authority [1]. Indeed, Chaucer illustrated the struggle resulting from the perception of the authority of the written word in his work ''The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale'' [2]. For centuries, books were the dominant form of popular written authority. Internet, at present, is perhaps the richest source for information and misinformation. Recent debates about the value of Wikipedia as a source of accurate information is a case in point. For example, the History Department at Middlebury College prohibits students' use of Wikipedia as a source appropriate for research work [3]. A major task of higher education consists of developing the attitudes and skills needed for critically evaluating written words as sources of reliable information for scholarship. Most first-year college writing courses attempt to teach students about the difference between the types of written texts. Encyclopedias offer valuable introductions to topics and bibliographic resources for further study, but are generally not permitted as references for the research works. General Internet searches of particular topics also uncover websites, which can be used for a general orientation to a topic, but such general sites function much like encyclopedias, providing general introductory information, but without the authority of a publishing house.One of the first things that college librarians show their students is academic search engines. Introduction to these academic search engines leads to the further distinction between peer-reviewed and nonpeer-reviewed literature. Students are taught the meaning of peer review and trained to use mainly peer-reviewed articles for their research works. The laboratory recitation and corresponding exercise ...

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Gothic Ornament and Sartorial Peasants

1998

The Shock of Medievalism

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Alisoun's Ear

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Go ask Alisoun: Geoffrey Chaucer and Deafland (deafness as authority)

Go ask Alisoun: Geoffrey Chaucer and Deafland (deafness as authority)

Use of a laboratory exercise on molar absorptivity to help students understand the authority of the primary literature

Gothic Ornament and Sartorial Peasants

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