[KB] "Burke Week"

[Edward C Appel]

Burkophiles,


          Surfingthe net via Google, I somehow came across an article entitled, “’HowDelightfully Awful’: Reflections on Kenneth Burke’s ‘Linguistic Approach toProblems of Education,’” by Andrew Hartman of, as I recall, Belmont University.It’s a really good piece. Hartman summarizes well Burke’s chapter in that 1955book on philosophy and education, and applies Burke’s insights to a 1950critique of Huckleberry Finn byLionel Trilling. Hartman was blogging on a site, S-USIH.com, owned by theSociety for United States Intellectual History.  I had never heard of this group before. Postingon 6/3/15, Hartman alluded to a then-recent conference the society had had inIndianapolis, in which discussion of Burke was a part. Most intriguing, Hartmanmade reference to a “Burke Week” on the blog held shortly thereafter. He gave alink to one of the papers, or blog posts, in that series.


          Thatlink brought up the introductory post to “Burke Week,” early November, 2014:“Blogging Kenneth Burke’s AttitudesToward History: The Introductory Post,” by Ben Alpers, 11/10/14, anotherwell-taken probe. Alluding to all the brilliant passages in the tome he’d nothave time or space to quote, Alpers basically takes issue only with the titleof ATH. Alpers suggests threealternatives:


          “AttitudesToward the Incessant Intermingling of Conservatism and Progress.”


          “Statementsof Policy on Problems of Organizational Behavior.”


          “Manualof Terms for a Public Relations Council with Heart.”


          Alperspraises the way Burke ties things all together in the six-page conclusion,quirky arrangement of the book, or not.


          In apost of reaction to that introductory blog, Paul Kern says look at Attitudes as a manual or introductoryguide to life, as indeed, “Equipment for Living.” Kern adds this warning asaddendum to the title: “REMEMBER: READ THE WHOLE MANUAL BEFORE USING THISPRODUCT. All the parts and pieces tend to overlap and inter-join,” culminatingwith Burke’s bottom line, “By proper discounting, everything becomes usable.”


          Thefour follow-up posts for “Burke Week” were:


          “KennethBurke’s Frames of Acceptance.” By Andrew Hartman, 11/12/14.


          “IdentifyingBurke,” by Bill Fine, 11/13/14.


          “KennethBurke and Self-Help,” by Andy Seal, 11/14/14.


          “WWBD!The Cash Value of Kenneth Burke as Historical Theorist,” by Tim Lacy, 11/15/14.Indeed,“What Would Burke Do?” We’ve all asked that question a time or two.
          Twoother posts I came across on the S-USIH site that touch on Burke:


          “ASpecter Is Haunting American Studies,” by Andrew Hartman, 4/8/14.


          “TheGoing Concern: Marx and Burke on Human History,” by Andy Seal, 10/17/16.


          Burkeseems to be alive and well even in places some of us didn’t know about.



 
          Ed

          

          

          

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