Here is a little picture I found of the (in)famous tower of the University of Texas in Austin (set against a rather lovely sunset, I think). This iconic structure stands only yards from Calhoun Hall, the home of UT's graduate English department-- that is, MY department starting this fall. For some reason, I can't seem to get away from academic institutions that are primarily symbolized by towers (I can't wait for Andy's Lacanian reading). There is a difference, though, because while Wheaton's tower is iconographically synonymous with marriage, UT's tower is a reminder of August 1966 when Charles Whitman shot 45 people in downtown Austin (killing 14) until his 96 minute reign of terror ended with his own death. Not quite so romantic and pastoral, is it? Although some would see both as incidents of male agression, in which case the tower is an all too fitting symbol.
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I believe the symbolism associated with Coye's affinity for tall, phallic structures is fairly clear, and needs no commentary from me (Lacanian or otherwise), despite his effort to goad me into such a frivilous spilling of words. That being said, one could make something of the curious trianglation among knowledge, marriage and violence that emerges from his description--a trinity of masculinized power, one might say (though hopefully we are seeking ways to recoperate the marriage end of this triange as Christians--sorry, discrete units of belief in an amalgam of shifting concepts that are together known as Christianity--I would not like to set anyone up as a representative for anything/one else (half-ironic tip o' the hat to Frederick)).
Clearly, the sy
Ignore that last bit... cutting and pasting is tougher than it looks...
Hm. Only the marriage end, Andy? I'm hoping that we're also working to recover knowledge and masculinity from the play of violence and power (especially since re-envisioning the latter seems to be a necessary preparation for a marriage free from the violence of power).
Of course, of course... I got too caught up in defining how, in your proposed framework one could speak in any way... and by the time I played that little word game, I was out of steam. Actually, this would be an interesting discussion to have for real when I have a little more time, if you'd like (we should start making a list of topics I'm putting off until summer--if only to keep me honest).
So, the question would be, "How do we redeem the ivory tower, the steeple and the phallus from movements of power and domination?" or something like that? I guess that knowledge and marriage aren't exactly psynonymous with the university and the church, but the imagery all ties together so nicely...
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