Halloween is a scary time (for those outside the dominant ideology, for those on the unfortunate side of power dynamics). I (We? No, too many variants in that we. Only common in our antagonist …and even I am only implicated indirectly) spend the days leading up to the 31st much the way my cousin taught Read More
It has been a challenge for me to imagine how I might put the concepts we’ve encountered in this class together with the project I’m working on, which is currently focused on Thomas De Quincey’s autobiographical project. I’ve found myself repeatedly linking the readings with the titular piece of technology in De Quincey’s final major Read More
The photos above are connected, not by geographical location or photographer, but rather by hashtag: #liveauthentic. A quick Google search will yield endless images tagged as such, most of them highly-curated and (ironically) inauthentic in their likenesses. The spare, wholesome, outdoorsy aesthetic seen in these photos has had an influence on numerous aspects of commodity culture Read More
In Lawrence Grossberg’s interview regarding articulation, Stewart Hall says: “Let me come to the question of social forces. This ideology, which transforms a people’s consciousness and awareness of themselves and their historical situation, although it explodes culturally, does not constitute itself directly as a social and political force. It has its limits, as all religious Read More
Distant Reading Probe. Presenting on Oct 10th. When I tell people in North America that I research Chinese shadow puppetry, 99.5% of the time I get one of three reactions: 60% of them say, “You mean like the Jim Henson’s, the Muppets? 27.5% of them say, “You mean like Being John Malkovich?” 12% Read More