Epistemic Responsibility and the Literary Journalist

<p>The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of epistemic responsibility in the practice of book-length literary journalism. Literary journalism offers a powerful alternative to mainstream journalism. Its narrative mode and storytelling techniques open possibilities of representation often closed by traditional reporting practices. Subsequently, literary journalists have attracted criticism for unorthodox modes of representation and attendant “truth claims” in many texts. In this thesis I draw on the work of epistemologist Lorraine Code to highlight the tension between the branches of ethics and epistemology, and argue that holding them apart for the purposes of explication yields important insights into the practice of literary journalism. I argue that criticism of literary journalism has at times conflated ethical and epistemic concerns, resulting in censure of the practitioner on primarily moral grounds. While such a critique is often valid, I propose that it can mislabel problematic cognitive processes as moral deficiencies. A re-examination of significant controversies raised by literary journalism shows disputed areas stemming from epistemic “blind spots”. These “blind spots” are often characterised as ethical lapses, but I argue that framing criticism in this way inhibits progress in sound practice. Recurring controversies over works by practitioners such as Janet Malcolm and Australia’s Helen Garner bear this out. I also offer close readings of three works of contemporary US literary journalism through their paratextual frames. The limits of transparency are demonstrated here, including the fact that disclosure can hide more than it illuminates. Code’s “epistemic responsibilist” approach is subsequently presented as an important addition to literary journalism scholarship, as it offers a sound foundation for reflexive practice—for both writers and critics. Using this approach, I offer critical readings of the “truth claims” in three contemporary US texts: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family (2003), Dave Cullen’s Columbine (2009) and Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010). A secondary aim of this thesis is to characterise contemporary Australian book-length literary journalism. Using Code’s concept of an “epistemic community”, I propose that the nature of national discourse influences the voice of the Australian literary journalist, as revealed by anxiety over representation in the texts under analysis. These texts highlight the pressures of subjectivity on truth, which results in a destabilisation of “truth claims”. In comparison with the US practitioners analysed, their three Australian counterparts analysed place less emphasis on disclosure transparency, and rely more heavily upon self-presentation as seekers, rather than discoverers, of knowledge and truth. I further maintain that these three texts represent a dominant national function of book-length literary journalism. Issues of national identity are bound up in the relationship between the land and its people, and are evident in the work of Margaret Simons, Chloe Hooper and Anna Krien, three of Australia’s most notable literary journalists. Through the lens of a civic dispute, each of these practitioners join one of the most pressing cultural issues in contemporary national discourse, that is, to explore what it means to be “Australian”.</p>

Epistemic Responsibility and the Literary Journalist

<p>The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of epistemic responsibility in the practice of book-length literary journalism. Literary journalism offers a powerful alternative to mainstream journalism. Its narrative mode and storytelling techniques open possibilities of representation often closed by traditional reporting practices. Subsequently, literary journalists have attracted criticism for unorthodox modes of representation and attendant “truth claims” in many texts. In this thesis I draw on the work of epistemologist Lorraine Code to highlight the tension between the branches of ethics and epistemology, and argue that holding them apart for the purposes of explication yields important insights into the practice of literary journalism. I argue that criticism of literary journalism has at times conflated ethical and epistemic concerns, resulting in censure of the practitioner on primarily moral grounds. While such a critique is often valid, I propose that it can mislabel problematic cognitive processes as moral deficiencies. A re-examination of significant controversies raised by literary journalism shows disputed areas stemming from epistemic “blind spots”. These “blind spots” are often characterised as ethical lapses, but I argue that framing criticism in this way inhibits progress in sound practice. Recurring controversies over works by practitioners such as Janet Malcolm and Australia’s Helen Garner bear this out. I also offer close readings of three works of contemporary US literary journalism through their paratextual frames. The limits of transparency are demonstrated here, including the fact that disclosure can hide more than it illuminates. Code’s “epistemic responsibilist” approach is subsequently presented as an important addition to literary journalism scholarship, as it offers a sound foundation for reflexive practice—for both writers and critics. Using this approach, I offer critical readings of the “truth claims” in three contemporary US texts: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family (2003), Dave Cullen’s Columbine (2009) and Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010). A secondary aim of this thesis is to characterise contemporary Australian book-length literary journalism. Using Code’s concept of an “epistemic community”, I propose that the nature of national discourse influences the voice of the Australian literary journalist, as revealed by anxiety over representation in the texts under analysis. These texts highlight the pressures of subjectivity on truth, which results in a destabilisation of “truth claims”. In comparison with the US practitioners analysed, their three Australian counterparts analysed place less emphasis on disclosure transparency, and rely more heavily upon self-presentation as seekers, rather than discoverers, of knowledge and truth. I further maintain that these three texts represent a dominant national function of book-length literary journalism. Issues of national identity are bound up in the relationship between the land and its people, and are evident in the work of Margaret Simons, Chloe Hooper and Anna Krien, three of Australia’s most notable literary journalists. Through the lens of a civic dispute, each of these practitioners join one of the most pressing cultural issues in contemporary national discourse, that is, to explore what it means to be “Australian”.</p>

Kajian dan penulisan kearifan budaya Melayu Jambi dengan pendekatan jurnalisme sastra, berbasis penelitian budaya lokal

In the context of cultural wisdom, it is no longer seen as hereditary heritage but cultural wisdom is the strength of the creative industry based on cultural wisdom. Students of the language and literature study program who have writing and literary skills are able to study and write cultural wisdom. With the ability to study and write local wisdom allows students as; entrepreneurship, creator, humanist, writer based on the strategy of cultural wisdom values. The research focus is the study and writing of Jambi Malay cultural wisdom with a literary journalism approach. Literary journalism is a feature-oriented creative writing skill based on facts in the field. To achieve this, the study and discussion refers to the practice of improving learning; Research and development; Classroom Action Research, and Project-Based Learning. The results of research on student abilities; write the title of 'good' level, write the intro at 'good' level, the type of intro written; storytelling, descriptive, and questions, writing the atmosphere of the story as a result of observation at the 'medium' level, writing the dialogue of the results of the investigation and reporting at the 'medium' level, (5) closing the story containing the message at the 'good' level, the type of message written; view of life, sincerity, and a call to action. Overall the ability to write knowledge of Malay culture is based on the 'good' range. Based on this the suggestions put forward; feature as a creative essay, very easy to develop by students as novice writers, so that they are interested in composing the potentials of local wisdom; data features on the basis of the results of field research through the process of observation, interviews, investigations and reporting. Based on the suggestions put forward, the literary journalism approach can be developed well in learning creative writing.

HYBRID GENDER IN METAMORPHOSIS: analysis of literary journalism characteristics in online editions of the UOL TAB platform (2014–2018)

ABSTRACT – In the current scenario where long-form journalism is now an online narrative form, this work sought to understand if and how the characteristics of literary journalism (LJ), as defined by authors Kramer (1995), Wolfe (2005), Lima (2009) and Pena (2017), are integrated into the multimedia content of webjournalism. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to perform this, and the content analysis methodology was applied to a final sample of four reports from the UOL TAB platform. We found that LJ in digital writing uses multimedia features to enhance readers’ experiences and, even though the written text remains a key element to the narrative, the multimedia resources attached to it make the genre original, and thus provide for a more immersive reading experience.RESUMO – Em um cenário em que o jornalismo longform já faz parte das narrativas na web, este trabalho buscou compreender se e como as características do jornalismo literário (JL), definidas pelos autores Kramer (1995), Wolfe (2005), Lima (2009) e Pena (2017), são integradas ao conteúdo multimídia do webjornalismo. Para isso, foram utilizadas as abordagens quantitativa e qualitativa e aplicou-se a metodologia análise de conteúdo em uma amostra final de quatro reportagens da plataforma UOL TAB. Verificou-se que o JL na escrita digital se apropria dos elementos multimídia com a intencionalidade de potencializar a experiência do leitor; e, embora o texto escrito continue como elemento central da narrativa, são os recursos multimídia acoplados a ele, que inovam o gênero, tornando a experiência do leitor mais imersiva.RESUMEN – En un escenario donde el periodismo de larga duración ya forma parte de las narrativas en la web, el trabajo buscó comprender si y cómo las características del periodismo literario (JL), definidas por los autores Kramer (1995), Wolfe (2005), Lima (2009) y Pena (2017), se integran en el contenido multimedia del periodismo web. Para ello, se utilizaron los enfoques cuantitativos y cualitativos y se aplicó la metodología de análisis de contenido a una muestra final de cuatro reportajes periodísticos de la plataforma UOL TAB. Se encontró que la JL en escritura digital se apropia de los elementos multimedia con la intención de mejorar la experiencia del lector; y, aunque el texto escrito sigue siendo un elemento central de la narrativa, son los recursos multimedia adjuntos que innovan el género, haciendo que la experiencia del lector sea más inmersiva.

Mature Works II (1928–1932)

This chapter engages Woolf’s writings from the prolific years 1928–1932, with particular focus on her hybrid novels Orlando: A Biography (1928) and The Waves (1931) as well as her feminist essay A Room of One’s Own (1929) and 1927 manifesto ‘Poetry, Fiction and the Future’. Woolf’s literary journalism during this period evinces a persistent concern with the poetic and prosaic impulses of fiction, and frequently privileges poetic detachment from prosaic, socio-political causes. While recent scholarship has demonstrated how her aesthetic experiments undermine such distinctions between poetic and committed writing, we have yet to fully appreciate how the lyricism and formal-generic hybridity that lie at the heart of Woolf’s work in these years become the very site for her socio-political commitments. Taking this premise as its starting point, the present chapter illuminates connections between her fictional and non-fictional writings in this extraordinarily creative period.

FUNCTION OF INFORMATIONAL PUBLICIISTICS AND IMAGE (INFORMATION)

It is well known that journalism is a unique way of covering social life and is widely used in the press. Journalism is divided into a number of types to cover all aspects of public life. These include socio-political journalism, economic-industrial journalism, journalism reflecting the cultural and spiritual life (there are a number of subtypes, such as scientific journalism, literary journalism, sports journalism, art journalism). There is also a peculiar way of social life, albeit from a socio-political point of view - comic journalism, which illuminates it in a humorous way. In terms of its structure, journalism is divided into informational, analytical and artistic journalism, which depends on how it covers life.

The International Dimension of “The Death of the Lion”

This essay reconsiders some critically established ‘germs’ for Henry James’s “The Death of the Lion” (1894), traced back to the 1893 demise of Guy de Maupassant and to the latter’s only visit to England in the summer of 1886. On that occasion, Maupassant was ‘chaperoned’ by his American friend Blanche Roosevelt, a well-known literary journalist in the London and Paris circles. The unexplored connection with Roosevelt invites a new reading which gives prominence to the American woman character in the tale (Fanny Hurter) and unveils an international subtheme within it. In light of such a reading, as well as of authoritative studies which have analyzed “The Death of the Lion” against the rise of modern literary journalism, I will also re-examine the role of the first-person narrator, an unnamed ‘repented’ literary journalist, in thwarting the possible relation between Neil Paraday and his American admirer.

El periodismo literario del conflicto en Colombia: Olga Behar, El clan de los doce apóstoles y María T. Ronderos, Guerras recicladas

The armed conflict in Colombia has generated a flow of journalistic and literary corpus that aimed to understand and reflect upon the violence that permeates the country. Telling the facts has become a duty, and analyzing them in the light of the truth, a responsibility. This essay analyzes two representative works of literary journalism that have had an impact on public opinion and, furthermore, have revealed important issues about recent national events: El clan de los doce apóstoles (The Twelve Apostles Club) by Olga Behar (Icono, 2011) and Guerras recicladas: una historia periodística del paramilitarismo en Colombia (Recycled Wars: A Journalistic History of Paramilitarism in Colombia) by María Teresa Ronderos (Aguilar, 2014). The objective is to explore the authors narrative techniques to create critical awareness about one movement that generated the major impact on Colombia’s armed conflict: the paramilitarism. I analyze the narrative techniques building upon the concepts studium and punctumproposed by Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida, as discursive strategies for transmitting powerful messages about Colombian realities.