Rather than focus specifically on the work itself, I’d
prefer to respond to the overall idea that the written word itself is powerful
and useful for our lives. Plato’s Phaedrus
suggests that there is power in the ability to write. It conveys history,
laws, intention, and human communication. It can communicate directions or
teach as well as provide a physical manifestation of faith.
I’ve read
many different articles about the human experience in studying communication
studies at Clemson. I remember one article in particular that we studied my
sophomore year in a qualitative research methods course. It was an ethnographic
study of a male strip club called “The White Swallow.” It stuck with me because
it was a written account of the experiences of the men who worked or regularly
visited this club. It was studied by a straight man seeking to be a participant
observer for a period of five months. I think this is applicable to the Phaedrus reading because it is a written
documentation of the experiences of real people who work or visit this establishment
and allows someone who would probably never have known what it was like to go
to a gay strip club to know what it is like to be in that place, similar to the
way Phaedrus tells his stories in the reading.
There’s
major value in studying human experience through the human word, especially if
you’re involved in a social science. Often the best way to learn something is
to read a first-hand account, which is probably why I can remember my experience
with the strip club article two years later, even though I usually can’t
remember such specific details a week later when I read a chapter of a
textbook.
