Discerning Secrecy

Gretchen Woertendyke: I begin with two claims: first, that secrecy, while often conflated with privacy, is something apart; and second, that secrecy involves a process of discernment, drawing boundaries, sifting categories. As... [ view full abstract ]

Gretchen Woertendyke: I begin with two claims: first, that secrecy, while often conflated with privacy, is something apart; and second, that secrecy involves a process of discernment, drawing boundaries, sifting categories. As such, secrecy is foundational to origins – how, then, does secrecy help the nineteenth-century U.S. grapple with the nation’s orgins? What forms of concealment and revelation emerge and how does the literary participate in the protocols of secrecy? Sacredness, intimacy, privacy, silence, prohibition, deception – all converge and conflict in secrecy, granting depth and gravity beyond the particulars of any one secret. The power of secrecy to protect and to destroy inspires a range of emotions, like fear, desire, awe, and shame. In my time, I will look at nineteenth century sensational, confessional, and coded narrative to think through secrecy and its impact on tales the nation tells of itself.