Dictee

Religious and spiritual concepts are especially evident in the first chapter “Diseuse,” the quotations from St. Therese of Lisieux, and in the representation of Eastern spirituality in the final chapter. Explore Cha’s understanding of religion and spirituality and its relationship to power.

Language is presented as broken, split, and destabilizing, especially in the first half of Dictee. How does Cha use language to explore separation, alienation, and colonialism? How is language a force of oppression, and how can it serve as a force of resistance?

How does Cha explore her identity as both a Korean person and an American person? How does this duality create parallels between Cha and other figures that she represents in this book?

Cha uses mythology to structure her explorations of identity, feminism, and language. How does Cha use Greek mythology to serve her own project? How does she alter and reshape these mythologies to suit her perspective?

Korean history is especially important for the first half of Dictee. How does Cha explore the relationship between history, memory, and trauma? What forms does Cha use to explore Korea’s history, and how does she use these forms in transgressive and unexpected ways?

The lives of the women in Dictee are marked by loss, betrayal, and suffering. What hope does Cha offer by telling these tragic stories? Does Cha move beyond merely retelling these traumatic histories and offer a path forward?

Cha interweaves photography and film throughout Dictee. Why would Cha include various mediums in the form of a book? How does Cha break genre boundaries, and how does this formal experimentation reflect the context in which Cha was working and the content within the book?

Several of the women discussed in Dictee are martyrs for various causes. How does Cha critique this concept? How does Cha bring various perspectives into conversation with one another?