The Books/Reading Thread

[unknown]

In my experience, my freshman comp students love the ideas and messages behind Foucault's "Panopiticism." They get it. They just can't get through the text, which I warn them ahead of time. If we have time, we usually pair it with a viewing of "The Lives of Others" and discussions about the NSA. Makes them all nice and paranoid

 

[Dak]

All Cameras are police cameras

Foucault knows.

 

[Einherjar86]

I had my students read the "Panopticism" sections after watching The Matrix, which I think worked really well. Beyond what's happening in the context of the narrative, that film is also great to criticize as a text that unconsciously reflects a lot of our own ideology back at us. For instance, Foucault would probably say about the film that it constructs an imaginary enemy (the machine overlords) in order to make sense of universal systematic surveillance; a tendency that we all feel compelled, as a society, to make. Althusser's writings on ideology work really well with it too.

I gave (what I think was) a good lecture on the famous goof in the film in which the camera appears visible in its reflection in a metal doorknob. I argued that it was an unintentional and unwitting example of the film's internal contradictions bubbling to the surface. In other words, The Matrix constructs an artificial dichotomy between inside (the simulation) and outside (the "real"); but this division is fictional and paradoxical, because neither inside nor outside makes sense without their proposed opposite (and this isn't just relative, but constitutive).

The reflection of the camera betrays the ubiquity, or total penetration, of the observing apparatus. There is no escape from surveillance. The camera reflected in the doorknob, which appears directed outside the screen, gazes at the audience itself.

 

[unknown]

yeah. It just lends itself to so many other branches. "Synecdoche, New York" is another great example and also easily ties in with the simulacrum. Good stuff

 

[Einherjar86]

Oh man, that's an awesome suggestion! Thanks.

 

[Einherjar86]

I picked up my usual haul of books this holiday season, several from various parties - parents, wife, in-laws, friends. I came home with a substantial amount of reading material. I'm not going to track down the images for all of them, so I'll just list the names, authors, and subjects.

The Parasite by Michel Serres (philosophy)

How We Think: Digitial Media and Contemporary Technogenesis by N. Katherine Hayles (Literary Theory/Media Studies)

Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City by Bradley L. Garrett (Travel/Adventure)

Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!! A Paul Scheerbart Reader (Art/Architecture/Literature)

The Mattering of Matter: Documents from the Archive of the International Necronautical Society by Tom McCarthy, Simon Critchley, et al. (who the fuck knows; theory? philosophy? fiction? probably all of the above)

The Night-Watches of Bonaventura by Bonaventura, pseudonym (fiction)

Screened Out by Jean Baudrillard (Philosophy/Cultural Theory)

A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History by Manuel DeLanda (Philosophy)

Without Criteria: Kant, Whitehead, Deleuze, and Aesthetics by Steven Shaviro (New Media Philosophy)

Why Homer Matters by Adam Nicholson (History/Journalism)

The Antinomies of Realism by Fredric Jameson (Literary Theory/Criticism)

 

[Zephyrus]

I started this from a recommendation by my professor. I read the intro. That's enough for now. Back to dumb fantasy.

Fantasy literature is the modern version of classical epic poetry. You better be taking good notes on that.

And I'm serious. I'm finally reading the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy (yeah, I'm 25 and it's only now) and every page tells me that Tolkien had a full classical education, and that this is a continuation of the epic tradition all the way from Homer, Vergil and Milton till now.

 

[unknown]

The Mattering of Matter: Documents from the Archive of the International Necronautical Society by Tom McCarthy, Simon Critchley, et al. (who the fuck knows; theory? philosophy? fiction? probably all of the above)

This sounded so ridiculous that I had to look it up and put it in Amazon wishlist

 

[Einherjar86]

This sounded so ridiculous that I had to look it up and put it in Amazon wishlist

It is totally ridiculous - and intriguing, and compelling, and hilarious, and amusing, and haunting, and confusing.

Formally, it's an anthology, organized by an anonymous group of editors (think Danielewski's House of Leaves), of documents from the INS archive, the INS being a mysterious semi-fictional secret society created by Tom McCarthy.

To be honest, I think that some of the artistic and philosophical claims are made in all seriousness, since they reflect a lot of McCarthy's fiction. But I find it difficult to take the entire thing seriously; at times it's quite funny and self-deprecating, making it difficult to really pin the thing down.

But beyond all that, it's really entertaining reading.

Fantasy literature is the modern version of classical epic poetry. You better be taking good notes on that.

And I'm serious. I'm finally reading the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy (yeah, I'm 25 and it's only now) and every page tells me that Tolkien had a full classical education, and that this is a continuation of the epic tradition all the way from Homer, Vergil and Milton till now.

I take issue with this; but it might not be something worth arguing about, and definitely not in this thread. Maybe something to discuss over beers...

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Take issue with it because it's a ridiculous statement. There is no parity whatsoever other than reference. Just because an author is educated in something and incorporates it into his work doesn't mean it follows in the tradition of art.

 

[Zephyrus]

I was a bit rash in making that statement unqualified, but I definitely see classical epic as a direct ancestor, certainly of Tolkien's work. I grant that the form has evolved beyond recognition. And I'm not the first person to argue that Tolkien deserves to be called an epic, a modern prose-epic if you will.

And I'm not talking about references or intertextuality with the classics. Those, if and where they exist, are very subtle. Rather I'd argue influence in thematic elements. I suppose it is a question of how far you'd stretch the formal definitions of the genre, since we are crossing from poetry (and within it a narrow set of meters) to prose, and in which the poetic persona rarely refers to himself (though I've caught at least one instance so far).

As for epic's purpose to supply identity and ideology to a particular culture, that is problematic. But I believe Tolkien satisfies that by creating a new universe in which to implant and experiment with identities and ideologies, which includes the backdrop of a rich mythology in the tradition of which the characters can see themselves working.

I suppose I'd redefine my position in that we have something to gain from considering the continuity of epic with Tolkien and subsequent fantasy literature. That is not to say that the influence and form of other literary genres is less predominant, though. No good author would enslave himself to careful imitation of any genre's formal prerequisites. There's a dialectic, rather.

Looking forward to those beers. James may help bridge the gap between us over this question, which I already in the first place acknowledge as both a yes and no.

 

[Summerian]

Strarted on Stalin's General by Geoffrey Roberts

Anyone read this?

 

[The Ozzman]

Okay, where's a good place to go from where I am with science fiction/fantasy?

I'm currently reading LOTR and The Eye of the World. I haven't really read any of the classics so that might be a good place to start for me.

On deck:

The Once and Future King
Book 2 of ASOIAF
Gardens of the Moon

 

[SentinelSlain]

Does anyone know any good books on immigration and on the US "Southern Culture of Honour"

 

[Einherjar86]

Okay, where's a good place to go from where I am with science fiction/fantasy?

I'm currently reading LOTR and The Eye of the World. I haven't really read any of the classics so that might be a good place to start for me.

On deck:

The Once and Future King
Book 2 of ASOIAF
Gardens of the Moon

So, you're not sticking with the Jordan series? I'm not judging, I would quit as well; I made it through the third book before I realized it wasn't worth it.

The fantasy suggestion I'll make is R. Scott Bakker's series. It's woefully underrated, but incredible.

What SF books have you read recently?

 

[The Ozzman]

Just Ender's Game and some Star Trek stuff.

 

[Einherjar86]

If you liked Ender's Game and are interested in more space opera, then you should check out the first book of Dan Simmons's Hyperion saga (called Hyperion). It's geared more toward adults, and it's a really great story.

 

[tagradh]

Or just get the whole Hyperion Cantos in the two omnibuses and read it all. Because it's almost definitely better than whatever else you may end up reading instead.

 

[unknown]

I just got Hyperion in the mail. Currently reading Rendezvous with Rama and live it. It reads quickly.

 

[The Ozzman]

So, you're not sticking with the Jordan series? I'm not judging, I would quit as well; I made it through the third book before I realized it wasn't worth it.

I'm gonna see how I feel after the first one. Several people tell me to read them all, but I have books I bought several years ago collecting dust and I need to read those before I start with something new in physical form. Books on my Kindle are an exception since I really only get that done while I'm doing cardio.

My goal is to read more this year, but I'm already in the middle of 5 books, so I guess I started late last year haha.