Gee and Althusser on “Theory…”

In both Gee’s “Ideology and Theory: The Moral Basis of Discourse Analysis” and Althusser’s “Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses,” the fundamental components of what constructs “ideology” is discussed.

Gee examines the history of ideology, starting with De Tracy’s notions of ideology all the way to Marx’s view that these beliefs are a product of the economic relationships in society. Gee argues that there is no escape from theory, but in order to contemplate if there is a possible escape, we must first understand what we are dealing with.

Along the same line, Althusser argues that many systems function based on ideologies. He provides examples about students and standardized testing, which work toward the idea that teachers are being forced to teach students to regurgitate information, rather than being able to critically think about it.

This is where the two articles seem to come back together. It does not seem to matter as much what the scenario is, but rather what system is in place. Some ideologies are much more effective than others, but without completely understanding what is at stake, then the meaning will never truly be understood.

Meyers’ “Whose Inquiry Is It Anyway? Using Students’ Questions in the Teaching of Literature”

This article presented several interesting viewpoints concerning the digestibility of literature for students. From a teacher’s perspective, the text is most likely familiar and therefore, he/she feels that certain key points must be derived through specific questions, but that is not to say that these questions are the most effective for the students. Moreover, I found that understanding and utilizing the ten levels of questions was the most beneficial “take away.”

The ten levels of questioning are seemingly used to create a more developed level of understanding by fostering a sort of critical “group think.” Moreover, this process strongly promotes the idea of a teacher as a shepherd, more than a cattle driver. It is important that the teacher stand back and resist prodding the conversation along, rather he/she should start the discussion and then allow students to have an authentic group discussion, with minimal teacher influence. This will hopefully get students to be involved in the literature for themselves, not just because the are being told to do so by their teacher.

 

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