Intertextuality and the Discourse Community

Intertextuality and the Discourse Community Author(s): James E. Porter Reviewed work(s): Source: Rhetoric Review, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 34-47 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: . Accessed: 29/08/2012 09:01 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. .

Taylor & Francis, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Rhetoric Review.



JAMESE. PORTER IndianaUniversity-PurdUuneiversitayt FortWayne

Intertextualitaynd theDiscourseCommunity

AttheconclusionofEco's TheNameoftheRose,themonkAdsoofMelk returntsotheburnedabbeyw, herehefindisntheruinscrapsofparchmentth, e onlyremnantfsromoneofthegreatlibrarieisnall ChristendomH.e spendsa daycollectingthecharredfragmenths,opingtodiscoversomemeaninginthe scatteredpieces of books. He assembleshis own "lesserlibrary. . . of fragmentsq,uotationsu, nfinishesdentences,amputatedstumpsof books" (500). To Adso,theserandomshardsare"an immenseacrosticthatsaysand repeatsnothing("501). Yettheyaresignificanttohimas an attempttoorder

experience. We mightwellderiveourownorderfromthisscene.We mightsee Adsoas

representinthgewritera,ndhisdesperataectivityattheburnedabbeyas a model forthewritinpgrocessT. hewriteirnthisimageisa collectoorffragmentasn, archaeologisctreatingan orderb, uildinga frameworkf,romremnantosfthe past.Insofaras thecollectedfragmenthselpAdsorecallotherl,osttexts,his experiencaeffirmasprinciplhee learnedfromhismasterW, illiamofBaskerville:"Notinfrequentblyooksspeakofbooks"(286). Notinfrequentlayn,d perhapseverandalways,textsrefertoothertextsandinfactrelyon themfor theirmeaningA. lltextsareinterdependenWte: understanadtextonlyinsofar as we understanidtsprecursors.

Thisis theprinciplwe eknowas intertextualitthye,principltehatallwriting andspeech-indeed,all signs-arisefroma singlenetworkw: hatVygotsky called "theweb of meaning"w; hatpoststructuralilsatbsel Textor Writing (Barthese,criture)a;ndwhata moredistanatgeperhapks newas logos.Examiningtexts"intertextuallmy"eanslookingfor"traces,"thebitsandpiecesof Textwhichwriterosr speakersborrowand sew togethetro createnewdiscourse'.Themostmundanme anifestatiofnintertextualisteyxplicitcitation, butintertextualaintyimateaslldiscourseandgoesbeyondmerecitationF.orthe intertextucarliticsI,ntertexistText-a greatseamlesstextuafl abricA. nd,as theyliketo intonesolemnlyn,o textescapesintertext.

Intertextualpitryovidershetoriwcithanimportanpterspectivoe,necurrently neglectedI,believe.Theprevailincgompositiopnedagogiesbyandlargecultivatetheromantiicmageofwriteras free,uninhibitesdpirita,s independent, creativegenius.By identifyinagnd stressingtheintertextunalatureof discourse,howeverw, e shiftourattentioanwayfromthewritears individuaalnd

34

RhetoricReview,Vol.5, No. 1, Fall 1986

Intertextualiatnyd theDiscourseCommunity

35

focusmoreonthesourcesandsocialcontextfsromwhichthewriterd'siscourse arises.Accordingtothisview,authoriailntentioins lesssignificantht ansocial contextt;hewriteirssimplya partofa discoursetraditiona,membeorfa team, anda participanitn a communitoyfdiscoursethatcreatesitsowncollective meaningT. hustheintertexctonstrainswriting.

Myaimhereis todemonstratehesignificancoefthistheorytorhetoricb,y explainingintertextualiittysc,onnectiontothenotionof"discoursecommunity,"and itspedagogicalimplicationfsorcomposition.

The PresenceofIntertext

Intertextualihtays been associatedwithbothstructuralisamndpoststructuralismw, iththeoristlsikeRolandBarthesJ, uliaKristevaJ, acquesDerrida, HaydenWhite,HaroldBloom,MichelFoucault,andMichaelRiffaterr(eO.f course,thetheoryis mostoftenappliedin literaryanalysis.)The centraalssumptioonfthesecriticshasbeendescribedbyVincentLeitch:"Thetextis not an autonomouosr unifiedobject,buta setof relationswithothertexts.Its systemof language,itsgrammari,tslexicon,dragalongnumeroubsitsand pieces-traces--ofhistoryso thatthetextresembleas CulturaSlalvationArmy Outletwithunaccountablceollectionsof incompatibliedeas, beliefs,and sources"(59). It is these"unaccountablceollections"thatintertextucarlitics focuson,notthetextas autonomouesntityIn. fact,thesecritichs averedefined thenotionof"text"T: extis intertexotr,simplyText.Thetraditionnalotionof thetextas thesingleworkofa givenauthora,ndeventheverynotionosfauthor andreadera,reregardedas simplyconvenienftictionfsordomesticatindgiscourse.The old bordersthatwe usedto ropeoffdiscourse,proclaimthese critics,areno longeruseful.

We can distinguishbetweentwo typesof intertextualititye:rabilitaynd presuppositionI.terabilityrefersto the "repeatabilityo"f certaintextual fragmenttso,citationinitsbroadesstensetoincludenotonlyexplicitallusions, referencesa,ndquotationws ithina discourseb, utalso unannouncesdources andinfluencesc,liches,phrasesintheair,andtraditionTs.hatis tosay,every discourseis composedof"traces,"piecesofothertextsthathelpconstitutites meaning(.I willdiscussthisaspectofintertextualiintymyanalysisoftheDeclarationof Independence.P)resuppositiornefertso assumptionastextmakes aboutitsreferenitt,sreadersa,nditscontext-toportionosfthetextwhichare read,butwhichare notexplicitly"there."Forexample,as JonathaCnuller discusses,thephrase"JohnmarrieFdred'ssister"is anassertionthatlogically presupposetshatJohnexists,thatFredexists,andthatFredhasa sister".Open thedoor"containsa practicapl resuppositionas,sumingthepresenceofa decoderwhoiscapableofbeingaddressedandwhoisbettearbletoopenthedoor

36

RhetoriRc eview

thantheencoder".Onceupona time"isa tracerichinrhetoricpalresupposition, signalingtoeventheyoungesrteadertheopeningofa fictionanlarrativTe.exts notonlyreferto butin factcontainothertexts.2

An examinationof threesampletextswillillustrattehevariousfacetsof intertextualiTthye. firstt,heDeclarationofIndependenceis,popularlyviewed as theworkofThomasJeffersoYne.tifweexamintehetextcloselyinitsrhetorical milieu,weseethatJeffersownasauthoronlyintheveryloosestofsenses.A numbeorfhistorianasndatleasttwocompositiornesearcher(Ks inneavyT,heory393-49;MaimonR, eadings6-32)haveanalyzedtheDeclarationw, ithinterestingresultsT. heirworksuggeststhatJeffersownas byno meansan originalframeorra creativgeenius,as someliketosuppose.Jeffersownasa skilled writert,obe sure,butchieflybecausehewasaneffectivbeorroweorftraces.

To producehisoriginadl raftoftheDeclarationJ, effersosneemsto have borrowede,itherconsciouslyorunconsciouslyfr, omhisculture'Tsext.Much has been made of Jeffersonr'selianceon Locke's social contractheory (Becker).Locke'stheoryinfluencecdolonialpoliticapl hilosophyem, erginign variouspamphletasndnewspapearrticleosfthetimes,andservedas thefoundationfortheopeningsectionof theDeclarationT. he Declarationcontains manytracesthatcanbefoundinothere,arlierdocumentsT.herearetracesfrom a FirstContinentCalongressresolutiona,MassachusettCsouncildeclaration, GeorgeMason's"DeclarationofRightsforVirginia,a" politicapl amphleotf JamesOtis,anda varietyofothersources,includinagcolonialplay.TheoverallformoftheDeclaration(theoreticaarl gumenftollowedbylistofgrievances) stronglyresemblesi,ronicallyt,heEnglishBill ofRightsof 1689,in which ParliamenltiststheabusesofJamesII anddeclaresnewpowersforitselfS. everaloftheabusesin theDeclarationseemto havebeentaken,moreor less verbatimf,roma PennsylvaniEaveningPostarticleA. ndthemostmemorable phrasesintheDeclarationseemtobeleastJefferson"'Ts:hatallmenarecreated equal"isa sentimenftromEuripidews hichJeffersocnopiedinhisliterarcyommonplacebookas a boy;"Life,Libertya,ndthepursuiotfHappiness"was a clicheofthetimes,appearinginnumeroupsoliticadl ocument(sDumbauld).

ThoughJeffersond'rsafotftheDeclarationcanhardlybe considerehdisin anyexclusivesenseofauthorshitph, edocumenutnderwenstillmoreexpropriationatthehandsofCongressw, homadeeighty-sicxhanges(KinneavyT,heory438). Theycutthedrafftrom211linesto147.Theydidconsiderableediting to temperwhat theysaw as Jeffersone'smotionalstyle:For example, Jeffersonp'hs rase"sacred& undeniablew" aschangedtothemorerestrained "self-evidentC."ongressexcisedcontroversipalassages,suchas Jefferson's condemnatioonfslaveryT. hus,we shouldfinditinstructitvoenote,Jefferson's fewattemptast originael xpressionwerethoseleastacceptableto Congress.

Intertextualiatnyd theDiscourseCommunity

37

IfJeffersosnubmittetdheDeclarationfora collegewritincglassas hisown writingh,e mightwellbe chargedwithplagiarism.T3he ideaofJeffersoans authoris butconveniensthorthandA.ctuallyt,heDeclarationaroseoutofa culturaalndrhetoricaml ilieu,was composedoftraces andwas, ineffect, teamwrittenJ. effersodneservescreditforbringindgisparatetracestogether, forhelpingto moldand articulattehemilieu,forcreatingtheall-important draftJ. effersonsk'sillas a writewr ashisabilitytoborrowtraceseffectivealynd to find appropriatecontextsfor them. As Michael Halliday says, "[C]reativenesdsoesnotconsistinproducinngewsentencesT. henewnessofa sentenceis a quiteunimportantandunascertainablepropertaynd'creativity'inlanguageliesinthespeaker'asbilitytocreatenewmeaningst:orealizethe potentialitoyflanguagefortheindefinietxe tensionofitsresourcetsonewcontextsof situation.. . . Our most'creative'acts maybe preciselyamongthose thatarerealizedthroughighlyrepetitivfeormsofbehaviour("Explorations 42). The creativewriteris thecreativeborrowerin, otherwords.

Intertextualictaynbe seenworkingsimilarlyincontemporarfyorumsR. ecall thisscenefroma recentPepsicommercialA: youngboyinjeansjacket, accompaniedbydog,standsinsomedesolateplainscrossroadns exttoa gas stationn, exttowhichis a softdrinkmachineA. nalienspacecraftr,esembling theoneinSpielberg'sClose EncountersoftheThirdKind, appearsoverhead. To theboy'sjoyfulamazementt,hespaceshiphoversoverthevendingmachine andbeginssuckingPepsicansintotheship.IttakesonlyPepsi's,theneventuallytakestheentirme achineT. headcloseswitha graphic":Pepsi.TheChoiceof a New Generation."

Clearlyt, hecommerciaplresupposefsamiliaritwyithSpielberg'smovieor, at least,withhispacificvisionofalienspacecraftW. e see severalAmerican cliches,well-wornsignsfromtheDepressionera:thedesolateplains,thegeneral store,thepop machine,thecountryboy withdog. Thesedistinctively Americantracesarejuxtaposedagainstimagesfromsciencefictionand the sixtiescatchphras"enewgenerationi"nthecoda. Inthisarrayofsigns,wehave traditioanndcounter-tradithioanrmonizedP.epsisqueezesitselfinthemiddle, andthusbecomesthegreatAmericanconciliatorT.he ad's use ofironymay serveto distracvt iewersmomentarilfyromnoticinghowPepsiachievesits purposebyassigningitselfan exaltedrolethroughuse oftheintertext.

Wefindan interestinegxampleofpracticapl resuppositioinJohnKifner's New YorkTimesheadlinearticlereportinogntheKentStateincidenotf 1970:

Fourstudentast KentStateUniversityt,woof themwomen, wereshotto deaththisafternoobnya volleyofNationalGuard gunfireA. t least8 otherstudentws erewounded.

38

RhetoriRc eview

Theburstofgunfirceameabout20 minuteasftertheguardsmen brokeupa noonrallyontheCommonsa, grassycampusgathering spot,bylobbingteargasata crowdofabout1,000youngpeople.

Fromoneperspectivet,hephrase"twoofthemwomen"isa simplestatement of fact;howeveri,tpresupposeas certainattitude-thatheevent,horrible enoughas itwas, is moresignificanbtecausetwoofthepersonskilledwere women.It mightbe goingtoofarto saythatthephrasepresupposeas sexist attitud(e"womenaren'tsupposedtobe killedinbattles")b, utcanwe imagine thephrase"twoof themmen"in thiscontext?Thoughequallyfactual,this wordingwouldhavebeenconsidereodddin 1970(andprobablytodayas well) becauseitpresupposeas culturaml indseatlienfromtheonedominanattthe time."Twoofthemwomen"is shocking(andhenceitwasreportedb)ecauseit upsetsthesenseoforderofthereaders,in thiscase theAmericanpublic.

Additionall(yandmorethana littleironicallyt),hetextcontainas numbeorf traceswhichhavetheeffecotfbluntintgheshockoftheevent.Noticethatthe studentws erenotshotbyNationalGuardsmenb,utwereshot"bya volleyof . . . gunfire";theteargas was "lobbed"; and theeventoccurredat a "grassy campusgatherinsgpot.""Volley"and"lobbed"aremilitarytermsb, utwith connectiontsosportas well;"grassycampusgatherinsgpot"suggestas picnic; "burst"canrecallthegloriousightofbombs"burstingi"n"TheStar-Spangled Banner."Thispasticheofsignscaststhetextintoa certaincontextm, akingit distinctivelAymericanW. e mightsaythattheturbulenmt ilieuofthesixties provideda distinctivaerrayof signsfromwhichJohnKifnerborrowedto producehis article.

Each ofthethreetextsexaminedcontainsphrasesorimagesfamiliatroits audienceorpresupposecsertainaudienceattitudesT.hustheintertexextertsits influencpeartlyintheformofaudienceexpectationW. emighthensaythathe audienceofeachofthesetextsisas responsiblfeoritsproductioans thewriter. That,in essence,readers,notwritersc,reatediscourse.

The PowerofDiscourseCommunity

And,indeed,thisis whatsomepoststructuralcirsitticsuggestt,hosewho prefear broaderconceptionofintertexotrwholookbeyondtheintertextotthe socialframeworrkegulatintgextuapl roductiont:owhatMichelFoucaultcalls "thediscursivfeormationw,"hatStanleyFishcalls"theinterpreticvoemmunity,"andwhatPatriciaBizzell calls "thediscoursecommunity."

A "discoursecommunityi"s a groupof individualbs oundby a common intereswt hocommunicattehrougahpprovedchannelsandwhosediscourseis

Intertextualiatnyd theDiscourseCommunity

39

regulatedA. nindividuaml aybelongtoseveralprofessionapl,ublic,orpersonal discoursecommunitiesE. xamples would include the communityof engineerws hoseresearchareais fluidmechanicsa;lumnioftheUniversitoyf Michigan;Magnavoxemployees;the membersof the Porterfamily;and memberosftheIndianaTeachersofWritingT. he approvedchannelswe can call "forums.E"achforumhasa distinchtistoryandrulesgoverninagppropriatenesstowhichmemberasreobligedtoadhere.Theserulesmaybe moreor lessapparentm, oreorlessinstitutionalizemd,oreorlessspecifictoeachcommunityE.xamplesof forumsincludeprofessionaplublicationlsikeRhetoric Review,EnglishJournal,and Creative Computing;public media like NewsweekandRunner'sWorldp; rofessionaclonference(tsheannualmeeting offluidpowerengineerst,he4C's); companyboardmeetingsf;amilydinner tables;andthemonthlymeetingof theIndianachapterof theIzaak Walton League.

A discoursecommunitsyharesassumptionasboutwhatobjectsareappropriateforexaminatioannddiscussionw, hatoperatinfgunctionasreperformeodn thoseobjects,whatconstitut"eesvidence"and"validity,a"ndwhatformaclonventionsarefollowed.A discoursecommunitmy ayhavea well-established ethos;oritmayhavecompetinfgactionasndindefinibteoundariesI.tmaybe in a "pre-paradigmst"ate(Kuhn),thatis,havinganill-definerdegulatinsgystem andno clearleadershipS.omediscoursecommunitieasrefirmleystablished, suchas thescientificcommunityth, emedicalprofessiona,ndthejusticesystem,to citea fewfromFoucault'slist.In thesediscoursecommunitiesa,s Leitchsays,"a speakermustbe 'qualifiedt'otalk;hehastobelongtoa communityofscholarshipa;ndheis requiredtopossessa prescribebdodyofknowledge (doctrine).. . . [This system]operatesto constraindiscourse;it establishelsimitsandregularitie.s.. . whomayspeak,whatmaybe spoken, andhowitistobesaid;inaddition[rulesp] rescribwe hatistrueandfalse,what is reasonableandwhatfoolisha,ndwhatis meantandwhatnot.Finallyt,hey workto denythemateriaelxistenceof discourseitself'(145).

A textis"acceptable"withina forumonlyinsofaars itreflecttshecommunityepisteme(touse Foucault'sterm)O. n a simplelevel,thismeansthatfora manuscripttobe acceptedforpublicatioinntheJournaolfAppliedPsychology, itmustfollowcertainformattincognventionIst:musthavetheexpectedsocial sciencesections(i.e., reviewofliteraturme,ethodsr,esultsd,iscussion)a,ndit mustusethejournal'sversionofAPAdocumentatioHno. wevert,heseareonly superficiafleatureosftheforumO. n a moreessentialevel,themanuscript mustrevealcertaincharacteristichsa,ve an ethos(in thebroadestpossible sense)conformintgothestandardosfthediscoursceommunityIt:mustdemonstrate(oratleastclaim)thatitcontributkesnowledgteothefield,itmustdem-

40

RhetoricReview

onstratfeamiliaritwyiththeworkofpreviousresearcherisnthefield,itmust usea scientifmic ethodinanalyzingitsresult(sshowingacceptancoefthetruthvalueofstatisticadlemonstrationit),mustmeetstandardfsortestdesignand analysisofresultsi,tmustadheretostandarddseterminindgegreeofaccuracy. Theexpectationcso, nventionasn, dattitudeosfthisdiscoursceommunity-the readersw, ritersa,ndpublisherosfJournaolfAppliedPsychology-wililnfluenceaspiringpsychologryesearcherssh, apingnotonlyhowtheywritebutalso theircharactewr ithinthatdiscoursecommunity.

Thepoststructuravliisetwchallengetsheclassicalassumptiotnhatwritinigs a simplelinearo, ne-waymovementT:hewritecrreatesa textwhichproduces somechangeinan audience.A poststructurarlihstetoriecxamineshowaudience(intheformofcommuniteyxpectationasndstandardsin) fluencetsextual productionand,in so doing,guidesthedevelopmenotfthewriter.

Thisviewis ofcourseopentocriticismforitsapparendteterminismfo,r devaluingthecontributionfindividuawl riterasndmakingthemappearmerelytoolsofthediscoursecommunit(ychargeswhichFoucaultanswersin"DiscourseonLanguage").Iftheseregulatinsgystemasresoconstraininhgo,wcan an individuaml erge?Whathappenstotheideaoftheloneinspiredwritearnd thesacredautonomoutsext?

Bothnotiontsakea pretthyardknock.Genuineoriginalitiysdifficuwltithin theconfineosfa well-regulatesdystemG. eniusispossible,butitmaybeconstrainedF. oucaultcitestheexampleof GregorMendel,whoseworkin the nineteentchenturywas excludedfromtheprevailincgommunitoyfbiologists becausehe "spokeofobjects,employedmethodasndplacedhimselfwithina

theoreticalperspectivetotallyalien to the biology of his time. . . . Mendel spokethetruthb,uthe was notdans le vrai(withinthetrue)"(224). Frank Lentricchicaitesa similarexamplefromtheliterarcyommunityR:obertFrost "achievedmagazinepublicatioonnlyfivetimesbetween1895and1912,a periodduringwhichhewrotea numbeorfpoemslateracclaimed. . . [because]in ordertowritewithinthedominanstenseofthepoeticintheUnitedStatesinthe lastdecadeofthenineteentchenturayndthefirsdtecadeofthetwentiethon, e had to employa diction,syntaxa,ndprosodyheavilyfavoringShelleyand TennysonO. ne also had to assumea certainstance,a certainworld-weary idealismwhichtookcarenottorefertooconcreteltyotheworldofwhichone was weary"(197, 199).

Bothexamplespointto theexclusionarpyowerofdiscoursecommunities andraiseseriousquestionsaboutthefreedomofthewriterc:hieflyd,oes the writehraveany?Is anywritedroomedtoplagiarismC?ananytextbesaidtobe new?Arecreativitayndgeniusactuallypossible?WasJeffersoancreativgeenius or a blatantplagiarist?

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download