Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with criticaltheory

New theories of Mimesis (in digital/hypertextual/hypermedial cultures)

0bvious — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:09:48 -0800

I am looking for writings on mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures. I am following the redefinition of mimesis. From Plato's disregard of oral culture, through his mimesis of Socrates' dialogues in writing. Following Plato, Aristotle's theory was always a written mimesis, thus the order and processes of representation and mimicry were fundamentally written.

In essence, I am interested in how the artefacts of oral culture differed in their mimesis to written culture, and thus, how our modern move from a written to a digital/hypertextual culture will similarly impact on mimetic embodiment.

(I am also concerned with the terms 'digital' and 'hypertextual' - perhaps they are too narrow. Oral, written cultures and then XXXXX? The terms 'Cybertext' and 'Ergodic' do not seem to cover the ground wide enough.)

I have been reading Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man and Gunter Gebauer's and Christoph Wulf's Mimesis: Culture--Art--Society. I am looking for writings on digital, hypertextual mimesis, and how it differs, how it has altered, the theoretical embodiment of representation in thought, artefacts, language and culture.

Your help, ideas and advice are much appreciated, as always

Help me get access to a journal article...

knapah — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:10:13 -0800

Can anyone help me out with getting a pdf copy of Robert Cox's 1981 article - "Social Forces, States, and World Orders"? I'm in pretty dire need of that article but my university's online subscription to the relevant journal (Millennium : journal of international studies) only goes back to 1997.

It would be difficult for me to get to the university library - where they have the hard copies - so I was hoping someone with access via ATHENS or some sort of subscription would be able to help me out.

It's in Millennium, 10:2 (1981) pp. 126-155 if anyone wants to be of assistance.

Looking for detractors of Literary Darwinism

0bvious — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:45:07 -0800

Literary Darwinism: A relatively new field of evolutionary psychology / literary theory. What has recently been written in argument against it? I have read through some of the works of:

Joseph Carroll
Ellen Dissanayake
Jonathan Gottschall
Robert Storey
Michelle Scalise Sugiyama

...and a few others, yet I am having a hard time finding critical work designed to bring down the arguments of Darwinian Literary Studies. It appears that the field of Poststructuralism is one of the main targets of Literary Darwinism's (Lit-Dar) proponents.

Has anyone attempted to re-address the balance?

I have found little in Lit-Dar writings about specifically text and textuality, something the Postmodernists very much conern themselves with. Surely there is some work on the subject that addresses its absence from Lit-Dar writings?

(I am not interested in the critique of Evolutionary Psychology - of which there is plenty - unless it specifically addresses the Literary and Textual concerns of Darwinian Literary Studies.)

Thanks a lot

Art Theory and Modern Criticism Sites?

stagewhisper — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:22:57 -0800

Can anyone recommend an excellent art theory and modern criticism site? I'm looking for (as is often stated) the metafilter equivalent of a community or two whose primary focus is art- specifically art history, cultural theory, and art criticism. Ideally I'm hoping to find a community full of lively art related discussions, and one that assumes some degree of prior familiarity with art history and social/political/cultural movements.

In other words, I am not looking for a "how to" site or a site that is primarily for sharing, promoting, and and critiquing one's own artwork. For example, I really enjoy the Painters NYC blog but am hoping to discover additional sites that are less local and updated more frequently.

A quick search of Askme and did not pull up a similar question, although that doesn't mean there isn't one here already. If so, I apologize and would appreciate a link to the previous answers.

New York Creative Writing/Critical Theory PHD

0bvious — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:48:51 -0800

New York Creative Writing/Critical Theory PHD: I am currently undertaking an MA in Creative Writing and Critical Theory in London, and plan to go on to PHD after I finish. I would ideally like to go to an East coast USA/New York university to do this (for several reasons). I'd like some help with finding a good list of possible institutions... I am interested in Narrative form, from a Creative/Critical theory perspective. I also want the ability to utilise other areas of any university I take a PHD in to broaden the scope of my thesis, thus:

- I am interested in the Evolutionary origins and purpose of narrative (a university established in Evolutionary Psychology perhaps).

- I am also interested in the neuro-psychology of narrative form, (i.e. Which came first: the narrative or the human mind? How does each relate to/influence the other?)

- My studies will necessarily follow a semiological/semiotics path...

A New York based university with departments and/or specialists in these fields and a firm PHD basis in Creative and Critical Theory is what I am looking for.

Does such an institution exist?

What is Deleuze and Guattari's "abstract machine"?

Joseph Gurl — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:00:56 -0800

Explain Deleuze & Guattari's "abstract machine" in a way I can understand? I've discussed it, I've read Massumi & other commentaries, I love the Capitalism & Schizophrenia books, but for the life of me I don't seem to be able to wrap my head around this term.

It's not the only one, of course, but it's very central to some parts of _Mille Plateaux_.

What is affect?

jrb223 — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 09:34:35 -0800

What is affect? I am taking a class that claims to look at the "Affective turn in post-structuralist thought/theory..." but naturally no one can give me a really good definition of what is meant by 'Affect' in this context, and ever day someone uses it differently. The wikipedia definition lacks the depth I want to really understand this concept, so i put it to the hive mind: what are all the possible definitions or uses of the term Affect in philosophy, critical theory, and academia more generally, and what constitutes the affective turn in post-structuralist theory?

Tips for tackling dense reading assignments

mikelly — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:28:31 -0800

Metatextualityfilter: When it comes to reading philosophy, critical theory, and other forms of argumentative writing, what sort of active-reading methods or practices have you found successful? The goals I have in mind are (1) comprehending the overall structure of the author's argument and the role each paragraph serves in that argument, (2) wrapping my head around the way-abstract ideas at the core of the text, and (3) identifying and deciphering idiosyncratic use of words or phrases. While these are all goals that any decent argumentative piece strives to make transparent, I often find them to be a huge challenge in most theory-laden texts. Additionally, meta bonus points awarded to whoever can also offer succinct advice on (4) making sense of textual self-reflexivity, without usurping or imploding the entire thread.

If this question comes off too broad, let me clarify that all I am essentially looking for are some helpful tips anyone may have for performing a rigorous reading of a dense text. Multiple passes? Alternate pacing? Note taking? Different methods for shorter versus longer texts? Help conceptualizing the abstract, seeing the whole text, recognizing unique word usage, etc. You know, those sorts of things.