The Power of the Written Word

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.