Reading for 4/30

This week we’re going to read a few short things….about wrestling??? And then watch a video:

First, three pages from Jean Baudrilliard, called The Precession of Simulacra.

Second, six pages from Roland Barthes The World of Wrestling.

Third, six more pages from Jean Baudrilliard on The Strategy of the Real.

Next, a 13 minute long video on Kayfabe.

Also for extra credit I suggest reading this not particularly interesting article called Is Everything Wrestling?

Reading for 4/16

Last week we were indecisive in selecting a reading and I agreed to pick something for us after some thought. And so it was that, while browsing @news for ideas, I stumbled upon a post by market fetishist and our occasional interlocutor — Willy Gillis! Reading this pablum got me thinking about the utterly illusory nature of the ‘science’ of economics and the totalizing patterns of thought and behavior that it imposes on our lives, alongside what it means to reject and extirpate these sacred irons.

 

To that effect, here are two readings against economism (and one hopelessly mired in it) for next week: Gilly’s piece, “Money and Logos” from Il Diavolo in Corpo, and a short piece from Massimo Passamani called “The Price of an Entire World”. If you don’t have the time or inclination to read all of the above, don’t worry about it — just bring some thoughts on what being at daggers with the economic order means to YOU!

Camp Concentration by Thomas Disch pages 1-40 (or up to the journal entry for June 8th)

Read here:

Disch: Camp Concentration

For this upcoming Tuesday April 9th we begin the short journey of reading one of the most underrated and unknown novels written by a self identifying anarchist.  Thomas Disch’s truly beautiful and thought provoking novel deals with consciousness, war, the self, education, and what it means to be a person.  The novel asks questions that we likely don’t have answers to, but the discussion of these questions cuts to the heart of what I imagine an anarchist study group exists for.  /

 

We will read this book in 4 separate readings every other week starting this upcoming Tuesday.  For This Tuesday we will read from the beginning to Page 40 ending on the journal entry for June 8th.  There might be different copies and page numbers so read up to the June 8th journal entry.   Enjoy! – cosmo

Reading for April 2nd 2019, Get Stoked Mother Fuckers!

We are doing two selections of Sam Delany

There first is the Cage of Brass which is presented here as a very short audio play:
https://archive.org/details/cageofbrass

The second is a short story called Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones and is here:

http://classes.dma.ucla.edu/Fall10/157A/wp-content/uploads/timeDelany_01.pdf?

Now go read and come Tuesday with some hot takes