Papers by Carolyn Foerster
An analysis of the death of Horatia at the hands of her brother Horatius in Book I of Livy's Ab U... more An analysis of the death of Horatia at the hands of her brother Horatius in Book I of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita and the subsequent trial that occurs. Horatia is oblita, that is, unmindful of her identity and duties as a daughter and sister, and for her failure to maintain her familial loyalty her brother Horatius kills her. Horatia inappropriately grieves for her slain fiancé, one of the Curiatii, instead of grieving for her two fallen brothers or praising the heroism of Horatius. Horatius too is oblitus, since when he kills Horatia in a fit of rage he demonstrates his unmindfulness of his position as a son, not as pater familias, and oversteps the boundaries of his right to exercise lethal force. His crime is that of perduellio, a violent breach of his filial contract with his father. Both siblings forget themselves, literally, and perform identities they do not properly possess. Ultimately, it falls to their faither Publius Horatius to re-identify his daughter and son in such a manner that Horatia’s death is justified and Horatius is not put to death. Publius secures the unstable identities of his children by appealing to the judges to remember selectively. Once their proper roles have been restored in the gens Horatii and in Rome at large, there can be peace.
The First Presbyterian Church of Portland, Oregon, presents an ideal case study for the analysis ... more The First Presbyterian Church of Portland, Oregon, presents an ideal case study for the analysis of the composition and evolution of a church. A church contains both bodies and buildings, and the development of First Presbyterian in first decades of Portland's existence illuminates the way in which dramatic shifts in membership and location alter the identity of the congregation.
An analysis of the discursive strategies of Alain Resnais' short documentary "Nuit et Brouillard"... more An analysis of the discursive strategies of Alain Resnais' short documentary "Nuit et Brouillard" as Resnais attempts to represented the unrepresentable horrors of Nazi concentration camps.
Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, created a microcosm of his home city of New Orleans by a... more Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, created a microcosm of his home city of New Orleans by appropriating and recreating the identity of Dr. John, “the last of the best gris-gris men”, whom he first brought to being on the 1968 record Gris-Gris. As Dr. John, Rebennack manufactured a imaginary version of New Orleans that he populated, enchanted, and vivified according to his personal desire to bring New Orleans to the masses. Over eight tracks spanning around 36 minutes, he effectively built a second city aurally through explicit narratives and assertions in his lyrics, as well as through largely instrumental tracks that give a voice to the city even if that voice does not speak. Yet his creation was not born into a vacuum, nor was its conception immaculate by any means: the album and the city it produced joined both with narratives and behaviors associated with minstrelsy and the demonization of voodoo and ultimately with the literary tradition of guidebooks.
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Papers by Carolyn Foerster