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Papers by domna stanton

Research paper thumbnail of Top Down, Bottom Up, Horizontally: Resignifying the Universal in Human Rights Discourse

Research paper thumbnail of The Female autograph : theory and practice of autobiography from the tenth to the twentieth century

University of Chicago Press eBooks, 1987

... written after A Room of One's Own, I review recent femin... more ... written after A Room of One's Own, I review recent feminist and nonfeminist autobiographic criticism in an attempt to deline-ate one of ... The two letters to Felix that Citron translates in "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Musician in Her Brother's Shadow" expose the growing frustration ...

Research paper thumbnail of On Linguistic Human Rights and the United States “Foreign” Language Crisis

ADFL bulletin, 2005

... Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson, to create a universal declaration of linguistic rights... more ... Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson, to create a universal declaration of linguistic rights; the European community's recognition of the rights of minorities; and the opposition to globalization ... Linguistic Rights and Law)and ratified in Barcelona in 199612?derives its ...

Research paper thumbnail of Toward a Contextual Literary History: French Studies in the U.S

Contemporary French civilization, Oct 1, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of A New Universal for Human Rights?

Routledge eBooks, Feb 5, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of A Woman Who Defends All the Persons of Her Sex

Research paper thumbnail of The Dynamics of Gender in Early Modern France

Research paper thumbnail of Editor's Column: The Publishability of PMLA Submissions: Policy and Practice

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Mar 1, 1995

N MY FIRST Editor's Column (108 [1993]: 9-13), I wrote that it was not imperative to change yet a... more N MY FIRST Editor's Column (108 [1993]: 9-13), I wrote that it was not imperative to change yet again the description of the "ideal PMLA essay" set forth in the statement of editorial policy, which has been in effect since 1981. "[O]f interest to those concerned with the study of language and literature," such an essay, according to the statement, "exemplifies the best of its kind, whatever the kind; addresses a significant problem; draws out clearly the implications of its findings; and engages the attention of its audi ence through a concise, readable presentation." As I argued, "what is judged to be 'of interest,' 'engaging,' and 'readable,' 'a significant problem,' and, of course, 'the best of its kind' has undergone and will continue to undergo changes in relation to the complex shifts of contextual forces" (10-11). Although I continue to espouse that view, each of my columns in 1994 grappled with, or at least referred to, aspects of PMLA'& editorial policy. In retrospect, this preoccupation is surely related to the experience of reading submissions to PMLA, for they inevitably raise the question, What makes a publishable essay? Those who perform such readings for the journal-the more than five hundred specialists who evaluate submissions in their fields every year; the thirty-two members of the Advisory Committee, who serve as second and more general readers; and the seven members of the Edito rial Board, who reach the collective decisions to reject essays, send them back for revision and resubmission, or publish them-judge not only whether an essay is outstanding but also whether it is the right kind of essay for PMLA. And yet the statement of editorial policy, despite its em phasis on receptiveness to a variety of topics, scholarly methods, and theo retical perspectives, does not provide a properly nuanced understanding of publishability. The existence of such a contractual understanding is critical if referees and submitters-two groups that overlap substantially in the pro duction of MLA publications-are to play their parts. Thus, in the belief that self-consciousness produces more-astute acts of critical reading, not

Research paper thumbnail of Papiers collés II

Research paper thumbnail of Sexual Pleasure and Sacred Law: Transgression and Complicity in Vénus dans le cloître

L'Esprit Créateur, 1995

L E DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L’ÉROTISME n’est en rien extérieur au domaine de la religion,” Bataille writ... more L E DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L’ÉROTISME n’est en rien extérieur au domaine de la religion,” Bataille writes in L ’Erotisme, 1 as he examines the internal connections and structural parallels be­ tween the erotic and the sacred and their mutual definition through pro­ hibitions. If the sacred represents “ ce qui est l’objet d’un interdit” (76), human sexuality is limited by the taboos created by religion, and the erotic is constituted by the transgression of those taboos (283). As the interdependent elements of a structure, transgression and prohibition are not antithetical in Bataille’s analysis; in more dialectical terms, transgres­ sion “ dépasse [l’interdit] et le complète” (72). More radically, “ l’interdit est là pour être violé” (72), he insists; it is empowered and can be en­ forced only if it is violated. And in Les Larmes d ’Eros, Bataille observes that “ l’interdit donne sa valeur propre à ce qu’il frappe . . . un sens qu’en elle-même, l’action interdite, n’avait pas.” 2 However, this intimate, “ aboriginal” association between the sacred and the sexual is denied by religions, which ban questions on their relations with eroticism (Larmes, 95). At bottom, Christianity’s historical opposition to eroticism has con­ cealed their mutual reinforcement—an emblematic case, says Bataille, of “ la profonde complicité de la loi et de la violation de la loi” (L ’Erotisme, 43). In a Bataillean perspective, this complicity creates particular contra­ dictions for sexual discourses. Invariably, such discourses denounce the religious law that forbids certain practices, even though its sacred rules are the condition sine qua non for the transgressions that define the erotic and the excitement that its discursive (re)presentation is designed to arouse. If sexual pleasure cannot be catalyzed “ sans le sentiment de l’interdit” (L ’Erotisme, 119), indeed, is proportionate to the obstacles that surround the taboo, then it stands to reason, argues Bataille, citing Sade, that “ la vraie façon d ’étendre et de multiplier ses désirs est de vouloir lui imposer des bornes” (55), while nonetheless condemning those strictures. However, the simultaneous defiling and upholding of the law (or other networks of power) in sexual discourses creates sympto-

Research paper thumbnail of Professional Notes and Comment

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Working through the Crises: A Plan for Action

Profession, Dec 1, 2004

... assuming responsibility for addressing and overcoming some aspect of the problembecause we be... more ... assuming responsibility for addressing and overcoming some aspect of the problembecause we believe in the importance of our work as educators, as colleagues,and as humanistic scholars. To quote Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life," "Let us, then, be up and doing." Page 9. ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Female autograph

Research paper thumbnail of In Search of Authenticity

The Women's review of books, Sep 1, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of Imaging American Women: Idea and Ideals in Cultural History

Tulsa studies in women's literature, 1990

Research paper thumbnail of International Notes

Research paper thumbnail of Found in Translation

The Women's Review of Books, 1987

Research paper thumbnail of Autoginografía: ¿un tema diferente, otro sujeto?

Research paper thumbnail of Editor's Column

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 1994

Research paper thumbnail of Scène

Research paper thumbnail of Top Down, Bottom Up, Horizontally: Resignifying the Universal in Human Rights Discourse

Research paper thumbnail of The Female autograph : theory and practice of autobiography from the tenth to the twentieth century

University of Chicago Press eBooks, 1987

... written after A Room of One's Own, I review recent femin... more ... written after A Room of One's Own, I review recent feminist and nonfeminist autobiographic criticism in an attempt to deline-ate one of ... The two letters to Felix that Citron translates in "Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Musician in Her Brother's Shadow" expose the growing frustration ...

Research paper thumbnail of On Linguistic Human Rights and the United States “Foreign” Language Crisis

ADFL bulletin, 2005

... Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson, to create a universal declaration of linguistic rights... more ... Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson, to create a universal declaration of linguistic rights; the European community's recognition of the rights of minorities; and the opposition to globalization ... Linguistic Rights and Law)and ratified in Barcelona in 199612?derives its ...

Research paper thumbnail of Toward a Contextual Literary History: French Studies in the U.S

Contemporary French civilization, Oct 1, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of A New Universal for Human Rights?

Routledge eBooks, Feb 5, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of A Woman Who Defends All the Persons of Her Sex

Research paper thumbnail of The Dynamics of Gender in Early Modern France

Research paper thumbnail of Editor's Column: The Publishability of PMLA Submissions: Policy and Practice

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Mar 1, 1995

N MY FIRST Editor's Column (108 [1993]: 9-13), I wrote that it was not imperative to change yet a... more N MY FIRST Editor's Column (108 [1993]: 9-13), I wrote that it was not imperative to change yet again the description of the "ideal PMLA essay" set forth in the statement of editorial policy, which has been in effect since 1981. "[O]f interest to those concerned with the study of language and literature," such an essay, according to the statement, "exemplifies the best of its kind, whatever the kind; addresses a significant problem; draws out clearly the implications of its findings; and engages the attention of its audi ence through a concise, readable presentation." As I argued, "what is judged to be 'of interest,' 'engaging,' and 'readable,' 'a significant problem,' and, of course, 'the best of its kind' has undergone and will continue to undergo changes in relation to the complex shifts of contextual forces" (10-11). Although I continue to espouse that view, each of my columns in 1994 grappled with, or at least referred to, aspects of PMLA'& editorial policy. In retrospect, this preoccupation is surely related to the experience of reading submissions to PMLA, for they inevitably raise the question, What makes a publishable essay? Those who perform such readings for the journal-the more than five hundred specialists who evaluate submissions in their fields every year; the thirty-two members of the Advisory Committee, who serve as second and more general readers; and the seven members of the Edito rial Board, who reach the collective decisions to reject essays, send them back for revision and resubmission, or publish them-judge not only whether an essay is outstanding but also whether it is the right kind of essay for PMLA. And yet the statement of editorial policy, despite its em phasis on receptiveness to a variety of topics, scholarly methods, and theo retical perspectives, does not provide a properly nuanced understanding of publishability. The existence of such a contractual understanding is critical if referees and submitters-two groups that overlap substantially in the pro duction of MLA publications-are to play their parts. Thus, in the belief that self-consciousness produces more-astute acts of critical reading, not

Research paper thumbnail of Papiers collés II

Research paper thumbnail of Sexual Pleasure and Sacred Law: Transgression and Complicity in Vénus dans le cloître

L'Esprit Créateur, 1995

L E DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L’ÉROTISME n’est en rien extérieur au domaine de la religion,” Bataille writ... more L E DÉVELOPPEMENT DE L’ÉROTISME n’est en rien extérieur au domaine de la religion,” Bataille writes in L ’Erotisme, 1 as he examines the internal connections and structural parallels be­ tween the erotic and the sacred and their mutual definition through pro­ hibitions. If the sacred represents “ ce qui est l’objet d’un interdit” (76), human sexuality is limited by the taboos created by religion, and the erotic is constituted by the transgression of those taboos (283). As the interdependent elements of a structure, transgression and prohibition are not antithetical in Bataille’s analysis; in more dialectical terms, transgres­ sion “ dépasse [l’interdit] et le complète” (72). More radically, “ l’interdit est là pour être violé” (72), he insists; it is empowered and can be en­ forced only if it is violated. And in Les Larmes d ’Eros, Bataille observes that “ l’interdit donne sa valeur propre à ce qu’il frappe . . . un sens qu’en elle-même, l’action interdite, n’avait pas.” 2 However, this intimate, “ aboriginal” association between the sacred and the sexual is denied by religions, which ban questions on their relations with eroticism (Larmes, 95). At bottom, Christianity’s historical opposition to eroticism has con­ cealed their mutual reinforcement—an emblematic case, says Bataille, of “ la profonde complicité de la loi et de la violation de la loi” (L ’Erotisme, 43). In a Bataillean perspective, this complicity creates particular contra­ dictions for sexual discourses. Invariably, such discourses denounce the religious law that forbids certain practices, even though its sacred rules are the condition sine qua non for the transgressions that define the erotic and the excitement that its discursive (re)presentation is designed to arouse. If sexual pleasure cannot be catalyzed “ sans le sentiment de l’interdit” (L ’Erotisme, 119), indeed, is proportionate to the obstacles that surround the taboo, then it stands to reason, argues Bataille, citing Sade, that “ la vraie façon d ’étendre et de multiplier ses désirs est de vouloir lui imposer des bornes” (55), while nonetheless condemning those strictures. However, the simultaneous defiling and upholding of the law (or other networks of power) in sexual discourses creates sympto-

Research paper thumbnail of Professional Notes and Comment

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Working through the Crises: A Plan for Action

Profession, Dec 1, 2004

... assuming responsibility for addressing and overcoming some aspect of the problembecause we be... more ... assuming responsibility for addressing and overcoming some aspect of the problembecause we believe in the importance of our work as educators, as colleagues,and as humanistic scholars. To quote Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life," "Let us, then, be up and doing." Page 9. ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Female autograph

Research paper thumbnail of In Search of Authenticity

The Women's review of books, Sep 1, 1985

Research paper thumbnail of Imaging American Women: Idea and Ideals in Cultural History

Tulsa studies in women's literature, 1990

Research paper thumbnail of International Notes

Research paper thumbnail of Found in Translation

The Women's Review of Books, 1987

Research paper thumbnail of Autoginografía: ¿un tema diferente, otro sujeto?

Research paper thumbnail of Editor's Column

Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 1994

Research paper thumbnail of Scène