My Critical Lens Intro

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What’s your lens?
Take a look at the image below.   Describe what you think it is?

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What might determine what you see in the above shape?   Is there a right answer?

This illustrates the concept of CRITICAL LENSES.

A LENS is the perspective we use to interpret and assign meaning to a story or event.   There are many different lenses, but as we read The Odyssey we will be applying the following FOUR lenses:

Literary Lens | In most English classes, stories are interpreted through a LITERARY PERSPECTIVE.   By analyzing literary elements like mood, tone, imagery, etc., we come to understand the author’s purpose for writing.   We also come to understand the universal meaning of the text.   |
Cultural Lens | CULTURE   is one of the primary forces that shapes how we view the world.   The CULTURAL LENS interprets a story by looking at the culture and time period in which the story was written.   It also examines how power is distributed in within cultures.   Elements of culture include religion, values, customs, economics, and forms of communication.   WHAT ELSE CONTRIBUTES TO SOMEONE’S CULTURE? |
Feminist Lens | The FEMINIST LENS focuses on the issues of gender that are depicted or implied and identifies how gender roles or stereotypes are represented or challenged in a text.   It is interested in how gender empowers or constrains characters in a text.   HOW ARE MEN AND WOMEN OFTEN PORTRAYED DIFFERENTLY IN LITERATURE? |
Archetypal Lens | An ARCHETYPE is a type of SYMBOL this is universal.   Some symbols we are taught be our culture. (A cross is symbol for God in Christianity while the Moon and Star are the symbol of the divine for Islamic cultures.) But some symbols are the same regardless of when or where a person lives.   Light and dark are two...