3 Stumbling Blocks To Fully Using Memory

The following is an interesting article about the three reasons, or "three stumbling blocks," that prevent most people from fully exercising their memory in order to memorize a massive amount of info. This article is, once again, making me think about the difference between memorizing and remembering, as well as the difference between artificial and natural memory. Check it out: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Kasibhatla1.html






This week, I read Cheryl Glen's book "Unspoken," which makes the claim that silence is a rhetorical art which has rich and deep meaning with regard to human communication. Glen emphasizes that a significant rhetorical meaning should be placed on silence, which doesn't always connote passitivity nor submission. Instead, silence can have a variety of meanings such as resistance, meditation, emptiness, respect, loyalty and a devotion to thinking before speaking.

After reading the book, I closely observed how much memory plays an important role in much of what she examines with regard to silence as resistance. For instance, silence as resistance functions within the context of a rhetoric of "forgetting" when and where significant and critical information is said to be forgotten by a subject in order for him/her to keep silent. It's almost as if saying that without memory, the person cannot fully communicate within a given situation. Therefore, "forgetting" reinforces silence. I keep thinking that there is a complete communication breakdown when the essence of forgetting appears in a given situation.

Also, Glen's book was useful to me in terms of emphasizing how memories shape the narratives that counter this "grand master narrative" that allows a subaltern to unsilence herself/himself from a racist and colonial past, especially with regard to Native Americans.

So, given this observation, I could envision an article where I examine how Native American writers such as Leslie Marmon Silko, Simon Ortiz, Sherman Alexie, Linda Hogan, and Joy Harjo use memory to shape their narratives. This would be a wonderful addition to my dissertation proposal.

This weekend should be enjoyed watching "The Forgotten" with the ever-so talented Julianne Moore. Also, stay tuned for more of my discussion about Frances Yates and "The Art of Memory"