12/4

Next week we’re reading some of Kafka’s (very) short stories:

  • Poseidon (478)
  • The Bridge (449)
  • The Problem of Our Laws (482)
  • Fellowship (480)
  • The Helmsman (490)
  • On Parables (506)

From the postscript of the linked collection:

Albert Camus once said that “the whole of Kafka’s art consists in compelling
the reader to re-read him.” Since the interpretations of Kafka are many and the search
for the meaning of his stories seemingly endless, the reader will return to the story
itself in the hope of finding guidance from within. Thus a second reading will —
hopefully — become a commentary on the first, and subsequent readings will — again
hopefully — shed light on the preceding ones.

This reading could be very quick, or very long, depending on how many times you choose to re-read.

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/olli/class-materials/Franz_Kafka.pdf

Reading for 11/27

Tomorrow we’re beginning the second part of The Unique and Its Property, starting at section 2.1 and stopping at 2.2.1 (“My Power”, pg. 198 in the UE edition). This second part is the real meat of the book and comprises more than half the text, so with the holidays imminent, we’ll probably also discuss our plan for finishing this reading over the next month or two. Apologies for the late update this week, hope to see you tomorrow.

Against self-management, for ownness!

11/20

This Tuesday we’re going on a dérive, starting on foot from the Long Haul. We’ll leave at 8:15.

In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is a less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a dérive point of view cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or exit from certain zones.

If you have a few minutes, read the rest of Theory of the Dérive by Guy Debord. It’s a quick read.