Editing, Writing, and Media

2/22/15
Volume 1, Issue 1

EWM Weekly
New To The World Of Editing, Writing, and
Media?
Welcome to the English major designed for the 21 st century. Youre
embarking on an interdisciplinary track that will expose you to
various forms and analyses of texts. Youre vocabulary is going to
explode soon with EWM specific jargon. In this weeks newsletter
were going to introduce you to a term youre going to be hearing
a lot of and is going to be a part of every discussion you have,
whether acknowledged or not: intertextuality.

Resources for EWM

Majors:

English Advisors in
Williams, for more
information visit:
http://
www.english.fsu.edu/
undergraduate/
handbook.htm

The Digital Studio in

Williams and Johnston

Check out the majors

webpage for
curriculum,
requirements, and
courses: http://
english.fsu.edu/ewm/

What Is Intertextuality?
It is the concept that states that all texts we encounter relate to
past texts and often reference or rely on context from the previous
works. You know when youre reading a text and you pick up that
the authors alluding to some other work you are familiar with?
Well this is the term to explain that, because all texts weave
together, and sometimes its not explicit. The audience must have
knowledge on other texts to fully understand the author (Oxford).
The existence of tropes, references, clichs, and so on are all
products of intertextuality (Porter). Its argued that most texts
cannot be considered original as the author is mostly a composer
of previous concepts, building off the foundation of past authors.
The author shapes his or her work to fit into the social context of
the texts audience, so intertextuality implies that an authors
genius may not be in his or her original thought but how he or she
is able to composes concepts of old into a new context (Porter).

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How is Intertextuality in Your Life?

A prime example of intertextuality at work, presented by James
Porter, is the Declaration of Independence. Its a document that
uses the concepts of past thinkers like John Locke, and presents
those ideas in a document that is framed for the social context
and audience of Jeffersons time. This borrowing of materials
is an intricate system, such as how with the Declaration, while
Jefferson pulled from the thoughts of Locke, Locke had worked
off of the works of ancient philosophers, such as Epicurus.
Once you know about intertextuality its not hard to miss. Its
presence is unmistakable in multiple works, prominently in
literature, but also it can be subtly in any of our day to day
interactions. From the Buzzfeed articles you peruse to the article
you have to read for History of Text Technologies, you are being
exposed to the influence of intertextuality.

Once you know about intertextuality its not hard to miss

Thanks for this weeks

edition goes to:
Allen, Graham. Intertextuality. N.p.:
Routledge, 2000. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
Harcup, Tony. A Dictionary of
Charles, Bazerman. Intertexuality:
How Texts Rely on Other Texts'. N.p.:
Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2008.
Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
Journalism. N.p.: Oxford University
Press, 2014. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
Porter, James E. "Intertextuality and
the Discourse Community." Rhetoric
Review 5.1 (1986): 34-47. JSTOR.
Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
Photo Credit:

cfa.fsu.edu

www.logojee.com

www.librarything.com

What Critiques Exist?

Intertextuality is undeniably present in text, and useful to know
when studying or writing texts, but the interpretation of
intertextuality varies, depending on the era and school of
thought. Some, such as those in poststructuralism, believe it is a
liberating way of viewing a text, as readers get to interpret the
text and its influences. While structuralism uses intertextuality
to interpret the texts as firm standing works with a direct intent
by the author (Allen).
As a writer, knowing about the existence of intertextuality can
help you develop your own writing style. You know youre
building off past texts, and are able to keep that in mind when
framing your thoughts and interpretations into your current
social context. You want to use intertextuality to your advantage
to appeal to the current audience.

by Jordan Bolan
2