| Generative metaphor is a theory that can be traced from Classical rhetoric to the postmodern concepts of rhetoricality and conceptual metaphor. It is based in an embodied experience that both creates and is created by linguistic structures that exist in the mind. Because generative metaphor exists as a linguistic structure---and linguistic structures are governed by communal memory and hegemonies---it can change and yet limit textual subjectivities. Through generative metaphor, the trope of memory can be rammed. If a person understands the constraints of language and textual subjectivities, he or she can imagine or create new subjectivities.;Ideas about agency have changed from era to era, and during the shift from the modern to postmodern era, theorists drew large distinctions between the modern subject and postmodern subjectivities/intersubjectivities. While the modern, stable subject is limited in its transgressive potential, the postmodern, flexible subjectivity allows for change related to the constraint and freedom of language, an understanding of the communal expectations of subjectivities, and possibilities of representation through a variety of technologies.;Teachers of English who are engaged in cross-disciplinary dialog and research occupy a particularly influential space in terms of sharing the theory of generative metaphor with their students. Not only can generative metaphor be an analytical tool that students can use to understand texts written, digital, etc.---but it can be used to contribute to textual changes in public spheres. It also can teach students to value the complexity in maintaining a peaceful community experience while encouraging discourse that is respectful rather than dismissive of the differences. |
