Help me pick my independent study reading list!

[Two Espressos]

An update:

I typed up a preliminary reading list, incorporating both my initial selections as well as this thread's suggestions. The professor overseeing the study said that it looked great; thanks for your help, everyone!

Also, truckbasket, the professor agreed that it would be better if I read selections from Foucault's key works rather than reading Discipline and Punish in its entirety. She also said that she was not familiar with Agamben, but after I explained his significance (based on what you and others have said), she OK'd his inclusion.

[lyonessrampant]

I come to this a bit late and you may know this all already, BUT Agamben was Heidegger's student. This is a critical connection, as Heidegger has a lot to say about technology (ultimately warning against it) and Agamben recuperates this position to some extent. Transhumanism is important here as well, intersecting with Agamben. Check out Ronald Bailey. Also, Virilo and more recently James Der Derien have a lot to say about the incorporation of technology in the human and the colonization of the mind. These are just a few thoughts. Fascinating project! Good luck!

[truckbasket]

Again, with Agamben, I'd familiarize yourself with his argument -- especially if you're dealing with Foucault's work on Biopower -- but don't read the whole text. Homo Sacer is a very challenging book that requires a ton of pre-reqs to really understand it. Much of it is dealing with ancient culture, and Roman law (which is what the Homo Sacer is from), so it'd be the concept that's of value rather than the whole text. In short, it corrects Foucault when he says that the sovereignty shifted from taking life to giving life, but it does so in a long-winded and extremely convoluted way. It has some good stuff on "potentiality" vs. "actuality" -- which is his whole bag, but you'd be hard pressed to just pull that out of it.

It's similar issue to saying you're going to read Foucault -- there's just so much of it (except perhaps Biopower, but he never really finished that thought). The best way to deal with either one is to figure out specifically how they'll play into your project and go from there. This is not the kind of stuff you can just pick up and read holistically. With many of these figures, you're just better off browsing a Norton to see who would be effective for your means, and focusing on more stand-alone, contemporary texts. Lyoness' suggestions sound like better options.

[lyonessrampant]

Also, yes, Agamben and Heidegger and Foucault SUPER prolific. . .and complicated. I'd start with a primer or reader for any of them. I really like the Foucault Reader edited by Paul Rabinow as a reader for him. . .I've been less able at finding good readers for Agamben or Heidegger. . .they exist, though. Good luck!

[truckbasket]

Leland de la Durantaye has a solid Agamben reader. It covers pretty much everything, and does a good job of translating it into readable. Critical Introduction, I believe it's called

[Two Espressos]

Again, with Agamben, I'd familiarize yourself with his argument -- especially if you're dealing with Foucault's work on Biopower -- but don't read the whole text. Homo Sacer is a very challenging book that requires a ton of pre-reqs to really understand it. Much of it is dealing with ancient culture, and Roman law (which is what the Homo Sacer is from), so it'd be the concept that's of value rather than the whole text. In short, it corrects Foucault when he says that the sovereignty shifted from taking life to giving life, but it does so in a long-winded and extremely convoluted way. It has some good stuff on "potentiality" vs. "actuality" -- which is his whole bag, but you'd be hard pressed to just pull that out of it.

It's similar issue to saying you're going to read Foucault -- there's just so much of it (except perhaps Biopower, but he never really finished that thought). The best way to deal with either one is to figure out specifically how they'll play into your project and go from there. This is not the kind of stuff you can just pick up and read holistically. With many of these figures, you're just better off browsing a Norton to see who would be effective for your means, and focusing on more stand-alone, contemporary texts. Lyoness' suggestions sound like better options.

Are you suggesting that I ditch Foucault for others? Or would reading selections from the Pantheon Foucault Reader you mentioned earlier be OK?

[Two Espressos]

I come to this a bit late and you may know this all already, BUT Agamben was Heidegger's student. This is a critical connection, as Heidegger has a lot to say about technology (ultimately warning against it) and Agamben recuperates this position to some extent. Transhumanism is important here as well, intersecting with Agamben. Check out Ronald Bailey. Also, Virilo and more recently James Der Derien have a lot to say about the incorporation of technology in the human and the colonization of the mind. These are just a few thoughts. Fascinating project! Good luck!

So would you recommend something by Heidegger? I thought about incorporating him in some way, but as you and others have said, his work is vast and challenging. I believe the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2nd ed. has a selection of his on language; would that be worth a look?

[truckbasket]

Are you suggesting that I ditch Foucault for others? Or would reading selections from the Pantheon Foucault Reader you mentioned earlier be OK?

It all depends on the thrust of your project. The way to work with somebody like Foucault is to specify the details of your topic, and then figure out if he would be best suited to provide the kind of readings you're working with. I mean you could just pick up Foucault and start reading, but I doubt it'd be fruitful. Think of Foucault as the hammer that you can use to build your new sandbox. Just playing around with the hammer would be dull in light of the hours of fun the sandbox could bring. (Okay, shitty analogy, but you get the point).

If you just want to get an idea of what Foucault is up to, get a reader. Any reader, really. In fact, the thinner and most reductive the better. That should give you the opportunity to get a general overview of his work, then you can go after specifics from there. Norton has stuff like that in its head notes, but I've heard from several profs that Norton head notes are notoriously dodgy.

One way to figure out who to consult is to search articles on similar topics to the one you're working on and take a look at who they use and how. In order to do that, you need to know (or at least have a good idea about) what problem you're looking to solve.

Edited November 16, 2011 by truckbasket

[Two Espressos]

It all depends on the thrust of your project. The way to work with somebody like Foucault is to specify the details of your topic, and then figure out if he would be best suited to provide the kind of readings you're working with. I mean you could just pick up Foucault and start reading, but I doubt it'd be fruitful. Think of Foucault as the hammer that you can use to build your new sandbox. Just playing around with the hammer would be dull in light of the hours of fun the sandbox could bring. (Okay, shitty analogy, but you get the point).

If you just want to get an idea of what Foucault is up to, get a reader. Any reader, really. In fact, the thinner and most reductive the better. That should give you the opportunity to get a general overview of his work, then you can go after specifics from there. Norton has stuff like that in its head notes, but I've heard from several profs that Norton head notes are notoriously dodgy.

One way to figure out who to consult is to search articles on similar topics to the one you're working on and take a look at who they use and how. In order to do that, you need to know (or at least have a good idea about) what problem you're looking to solve.

Okay, thanks. I'm about halfway through Foucault: A Very Short Introduction; I'll pick up the Pantheon reader aforementioned.

[vordhosbntwin]

if you want a Heidegger reader, i think "Basic Writings" is the standard these days. it's what i use, anyway. i haven't seen it recommended yet, but adorno and horkheimer's dialectic of enlightenment is a classic critique of technologization in modernity. adorno's anti-heidegger, so it may be good counterpoint to the existentialist critique of technology you're likely to find in heidegger's work. if you want something a bit more overtly political, michael hardt and antonio negri's empire trilogy is quite good and accessible. they discuss the positive and negative aspects of the proliferation of technology in globalization, or what they call empire. they're both readers of agamben.

[Two Espressos]

if you want a Heidegger reader, i think "Basic Writings" is the standard these days. it's what i use, anyway. i haven't seen it recommended yet, but adorno and horkheimer's dialectic of enlightenment is a classic critique of technologization in modernity. adorno's anti-heidegger, so it may be good counterpoint to the existentialist critique of technology you're likely to find in heidegger's work. if you want something a bit more overtly political, michael hardt and antonio negri's empire trilogy is quite good and accessible. they discuss the positive and negative aspects of the proliferation of technology in globalization, or what they call empire. they're both readers of agamben.

Would it be possible to use portions of the Adorno/Horkheimer and Hardt/Negri texts, or would that not be a good idea? I don't think I can add any more book-length texts to this study, lol.

[ComeBackZinc]

Meeting the Universe Halfway by Karen Barad

[vordhosbntwin]

i think it's pretty common to just read 'culture industry' from DOE, so you could do that. but concept of enlightenment and the excursus on the odyssey are also good chapters.

[lyonessrampant]

So would you recommend something by Heidegger? I thought about incorporating him in some way, but as you and others have said, his work is vast and challenging. I believe the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2nd ed. has a selection of his on language; would that be worth a look?

His writing on language and poetry won't get you exactly what you might be looking for on technology. Check out "The Question Concerning Technology" for a start. It's short too!

[Two Espressos]

i think it's pretty common to just read 'culture industry' from DOE, so you could do that. but concept of enlightenment and the excursus on the odyssey are also good chapters.

Thanks!

[Two Espressos]

His writing on language and poetry won't get you exactly what you might be looking for on technology. Check out "The Question Concerning Technology" for a start. It's short too!

Thanks for the info; I'll look into it!