Teaching Nervous Conditions
Captioning Nervous Conditions
The goal of this assignment is to disassemble Nervous Conditions and supplement it with your own intertexts. You will cull these intertexts from Flickr, an online photosharing gallery of millions of images. You’ll select several images that resonate with you and then "read" these images against specific passages from Dangarembga's book.
For each image, you will provide a caption. This is not a caption you will write. Rather, it is a caption that you will extract from Nervous Conditions . In other words, you will use words and phrases from Dangarembga to serve as captions for the photos you find.
The assignment culminates with a 1,000-word response in which you submit four images (or links to four images) found online, a caption for each image, and a write-up concerning your choices.
1. Search through http://www.flickr.com/ and select four images that connect in some way to the people, places, or themes of Nervous Conditions . Use the search feature in order to find these photographs. Some obvious search keywords are "Rhodesia," "Zimbabwe," "Africa mission school" and similar words. But try searching for other, less obvious words, maybe keywords or phrases that match up with the sights, sounds, smells, and foods that Tambu encounters in the novel. Be creative with your searches. The "Most interesting" feature of Flickr may help you discover other compelling images. Also, be on the lookout for images that can be read ironically.
2. Note the URL (web address) for each image. You’ll need to paste this into your final analysis. You can easily find the URL at the top of your web browser (the address will begin with http://www.flickr.com/...). If you are comfortable with the technology, you can incorporate the image itself into you document (being sure to credit the photographer and cite the URL).
3. For each image, select a phrase or a sentence or two from Nervous Conditions to serve as a caption. The tricky part is that you'll be looking for four different kinds of captions, one for each of the four images:
- One photograph should be paired with dialogue or other quoted material from the book. The caption should appropriately describe or apply to the image somehow.
- One photograph should be paired with quoted dialogue, but the caption should be ironic. That is, there should be some ironic dissonance between the image and the text.
- One photograph should be paired with Tambu's own words, thoughts, or descriptions. The caption should “fit” the image.
- One photograph should be paired with Tambu's own words, thoughts, or descriptions, but it should be an ironic juxtaposition.
4. For each image, briefly analyze your choices. First, describe the photograph in a sentence. Then explain the reasoning behind your image and caption choices. Why did you select the image you did? Why did you choose the caption you did? What makes the ironic caption ironic?
5. Finally, synthesizeyour thoughts and make some generalizations about your findings. Consider some of these questions: How does a photograph influence the meaning of the caption (and by extension, Nervous Conditions )? Even if a photo and caption match, how does one element influence how we read or see the other element? How does a caption frame and contain a photograph? How does a caption direct our attention, highlighting some things in the photograph and obscuring others? What happens when Nervous Conditions is quoted "out of context"? In what ways does this process lead to a deeper understanding of the context of the novel or the photographs? Refer to specific examples from your assignment in order to answer these questions.
6. The assignment is due next week. The assignment will not be considered complete unless you submit four images from Flickr, a caption for each, a description and explanation of each caption, and your synthesis remarks. Of course, in addition to being thoughtful and creative, the assignment must be well-written and engaging.
