Expose Expository

I wanted to write one more ‘goodbye’ blog to wrap up the semester. It all started with the question, ‘What is expository?” Everyone in the class racked their brain to trying to figure out the correct definition. Then, Dr. Brown told us it wasn’t as simple as we thought-she said we may never find a straightforward answer to the question. I didn’t understand-if we there was no definition, what was the point of a course called, ‘Theory of Exposition?’

     

     As class went on, I was amazed at the discussions that the readings were prompting. It was very interesting to hear so many different viewpoints on specific subjects-all dealing with the evolution of language in some way, which is really fascinating considering how it all began. Even though we didn’t write a research paper, have tests, or give a 20 minute presentation on a particular subject like a standard course these days, I really learned a lot just by mere conversation. It made me realize that the days of lectures and text books are not sufficient enough anymore. We need to step away from the rules for a bit and talk.

    

     Gradually, the title of the class made perfect sense to me. We weren’t defining, we were theorizing, and I really think that is what exposition is all about. It challenges us; gets us thinking in a way never have before; and if it’s really good, it convinces us. When I look around now, I see exposition everywhere! I think we are all products of expository in some way-expository exposed.

     

     I think one of the most important things I have learned during the course of this class has been the vast role that advanced technology is playing when it comes to writing. Everything is being shortened by Facebook posts, twitter, and texts-we are losing touch with authentic writing and “LOL-ing” all over the place. It makes me sad to think about what it will be like for younger generations several years from now. Will the shortened computer/smart phone exposition win over the elongated one? It makes me want to shut it all off for a while, and perhaps I will

I’ll end with my favorite quote from the readings this semester:

“Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions…” –Nietzsche

Thanks for a great class, that’s a wrap! 

Is texting ruining relationships?

Before I begin, I would like to point out that this blog entry is inspired by a post from one of our fellow classmates, “Online Dating Communication”:  http://tuprwr.blogspot.com/. I found the topic very interesting, especially because one of my favorite things to write about is relationships. Anyway, to sum it up, Jan concluded that messages written on an online dating service do not really have much of an effect on people when it comes to dating. He made some great points, but I would like to take a different view in saying that I think messages- text messages in particular-often get in the way of authentic dating.  

    

The only way I can really explain this is if I give you an example. And I guess I’ll sacrifice myself by exposing my relationship disasters of the past. During the summer before my senior year of college, I started “talking” to a guy in my grade solely via text message. Let’s call him Bob. Bob always wanted to talk on the phone, but that was never really my thing. It freaks me out once you run out of things to talk about and then awkwardly try to hang up as quickly as you can-(but maybe that is just me and my weird phone phobia…). Anyway, Bob and I literally texted morning to night-we easily exchanged 300-400 texts each day, if not more. I was really falling for him and it was all happening through text messages. His smiley and winkey faces at the end of his messages made me blush and smile. I couldn’t wait to wake up every morning and start texting Bob. Everything he said was charming and perfect- I was convinced this was the start of a serious relationship and felt thrilled that we had conquered the ‘getting to know you stage’, awkwardness aside.

Before I knew it summer ended and it was time to move back into the dorms. For the first time, Bob and I were going to have a real date- a face to face conversation- and although I felt super nervous, I was also incredibly excited. But alas, the date was mediocre at best filled with many awkward silences and discomfort. I was confused- how could we have nothing to talk about? Why did he seem so dull if he was so funny through text? I didn’t want to give up on the relationship, but I found myself missing our romantic summer of texting and dreading our dates. It obviously wasn’t going to work.

     

After a few weeks of trying to figure out what went wrong, I realized it was those deceitful text messages that had me fooled. Sometimes I would spend about five to ten minutes rewording and rearranging my text so that it sounded perfect. And I imagine he did too. Then when it came down to actual dialogue, I couldn’t 'reword' myself any longer-I couldn’t hit delete or wait a bit to press send; I couldn’t make myself adorable with my smiley faces and hearts. In other words, texting allowed us to become the perfect potential boyfriend/girlfriend just by our word choice and arrangement-our exposition (who knew I was preparing myself for a grad school course at the time). So I wonder, does our texting language just create a phony version of ourselves-the edited version? How does it transmit in relationships?

     

It’s not just me either; I find that many of my friends get frustrated when they text with boyfriends/girlfriends. I can’t tell you how many times someone will read me a text from a guy/girl and ask, “What did they mean by that?” “Does the smiley face mean he likes me or is he just being nice? As if relationships weren’t hard enough, now we have to dissect their text too. Part of the problem is that it is hard to interpret tone and meaning by text; often eye contact, body language, and facial expression is key to developing a relationship and text messages tend to strip us away from that. It all goes back to the idea that everyone interprets a text differently, and I think this applies to text messages as well (what do you know, exposition really is everywhere). Of course, not everyone uses text messages as their sole communication medium in their relationships as I once did a few summers back. But many couples these days do prefer texting rather than talking on the phone. It’s just more convenient, and it’s arguably making the people in relationships lazier. A quick message is a lot easier than taking the time to sit down and have a conversation on the phone. But can we really maintain a relationship through texting-are the “LOL’s” and “JK’s” enough, or is the ‘texting exposition’ not sufficient enough?  Did Jan and I just have different experiences, or do messages really affect the success of relationships? Hmmm…

A theory of exposition

This week's reading gave me a little bit of a headache at first. I found myself saying, "ok so, what is it already??" a lot while I read the article. But once I stopped yelling at Reddick, I began to really get a feel for what exposition is for the first time all semester. Finally!!  Exposition is not meant to be defined. I think its purpose is to challenge and invoke conversation and debate among its readers( which we've all witnessed during class discussions).


The reason that we have these discussions is because all readers interpret a text differently. Of course, writers naturally assume that all of their readers are somehow mind readers. But as Reddick puts it, "Since lay readers do not already posses the concept, they could understand it from a mere assertion of it if only language functions like a conduit; that is, only if what is in the mind of the composer can be transported to the mind of the reader via the language of the text...Of course they do not, for as Reddy and Sperber and Wilson have shown, language cannot function like a conduit' (218). In other words, we cannot always assume what a writer is trying to tell us- but we can always play around with different conclusions and theories about their intentions. This is what drives our creative minds to analyze and research (all that stuff good students are supposed to do).


So, this brings me to my question. Is there ever an 'explanation' for anything, or we all just theorizing? Do you find that often when you read an article for a specific answer you never actually get it? Reddick says, "Because the examples are conventional and because they are presumed to contain an explanation, the question of what counts as an explanation does not get addressed'(219). What do you make of this quote?