I'm actually in Florence for the semester so I'd have to head over to a bookstore that sells english books and see if they have it. That is to say, I have read none. But I'd gladly check!

Seems like this discussion went dead a while ago, but I read a portion of Nietzsche's the Gay Science and I'd like to read more Nietzsche. Maybe Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, or more of The Gay Science. If you'd like to read any of that with me I'd like to have someone to discuss it with

Great post regarding the differences between historicism and historical materialism

The acceptance of historical events as progress towards some better future, as well as being a mythology that reinforces dominational rationality, obscures the suffering of the victims of those historical events as being necessary for progress. The historical materialist, on the other hand, when confronted by the fruits of so-called progress, remains detached and sees them stripped of their aura. “For without exception, the cultural treasures he surveys have an origin which he cannot contemplate without horror. They owe their existence not only to the efforts of the great minds and talents who have created them, but also to the anonymous toil of their contemporaries.” (Benjamin, 256) This conception of history highlights the suffering of the oppressed, and calls for the redemption of injustices of the past.

I agree that the connection is not an intuitive one, which is why I was intrigued by the centrality of the argument for their being linked in 'Theses on the Philosophy of History'. Benjamin seems to be saying that it is this desire for redemption of the past and recognition of moments in history that might have been opportunities for 'messianic cessations of happening' which are the driving forces behind historical materialism. Benjamin uses the word "theology" to describe the hidden mechanism of historical materialism, and he obviously means to draw upon the connotations associated with a loaded word, but I think after examining the essay that this harkening to religion is really only the closest approximation to the force he's trying to describe. Benjamin's argument, secularized, may read so: 'historical materialism claims an objectivity that, in reality, stems from a hidden philosophical structure.'

You've made my dinky little blog post into an academically reviewed essay, and for that I am grateful. Poor attempts at humor aside, I think the antagonism between philosophers and architects is genuinely funny, and really speaks to the notion that the intended meaning of the specialist is hardly the meaning that will be construed by a layperson-- even one who specializes in something equally intellectually rigorous. "philosophers charge architects with mishandling texts and architects charge philosophers with mishandling buildings." Hilarious! those buildings aren't toys, you philosophers...

Cool post, Andrea. When considering why Americans are reading less, I think its also important to look at our role models and what effect they have on our values. We wade through a marsh of reality TV stars who show us through their actions and the environments they interact with that contemplation takes a back seat to action. The cooking competitions on Food Network depict frantic competitions among bug-eyed chefs who have one hour to create four-star, three-course meals. Any reality TV show on MTV2 or any number of garbage-TV networks will focus on supermodel-shaped Barbie and Ken dolls thrust into fast-paced, nerve-racking, goal-oriented struggle. The why of the struggle is unimportant, and quickly forgotten in the pace of the action and the flickering speed of the sequence of events. Commercials for The Amazing Race come to mind, in which contestants are seen heaving a stick at stacked objects one second, racing in and out of taxis another, and then parachuting the next. “Who is winning?” seems to take precedence over “what are these people doing, and why?” It’s hard to imagine these heroic ‘actors’ sitting back and reading a book after spending all day engaging in the mental equivalent of treading water. Our cultural heroes are too exhausted to spare the mental energy on reflection—maybe that’s what makes them so relatable to the American working class. I realize that I used the term 'role models' pretty loosely, but as a model that is pounded into the brain of the television audience innumerable times a day, it may garner the distinguished title

----------Wow, what an article. A pretty convincing argument for the dangers of postmodernist ethical relativism. While on the topic of cultural differences and prejudice, I always found it eerie when watching the World Cup soccer matches that there are signs that say "say no to racism". Not that there aren't some spectators of American Football who don't use racial slurs, even at the game, or let racism act as a lens through which they experience the sport, but there are some serious differences as far as spectator culture and expectation goes. Here's an example of the disturbing trend:
---------- "In Spain on Nov. 17, during a friendly match between Spain and England, two black players for the English team were subjected to monkey noises and racist slogans chanted by thousands of fans in the 55,000-seat stadium. England protested, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was "very disappointed." Spanish officials waited a full day before condemning the incident and Spanish newspapers played it down, saying the British press had exaggerated it " <a href="http://(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59919-2004Dec12.html)" target="_blank">(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59919-2004Dec12.html)
----------------The heterogeneous nature of the United States population means that such outright racist behavior toward a substantially represented group in a public arena is unfathomable when placed in the context of American Football. That being said, American Football culture does not come away from a racial discussion unscathed. The Washington Redskins of the National Football League have been sued numerous times by various Native American groups for their highly offensive, derogatory name. A legal challenge filed in 2006 claimed "The term 'redskin' was and is a pejorative, derogatory, denigrating, offensive, scandalous, contemptuous, disreputable, disparaging and racist designation for a Native American person". <a href="http://(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081101045.html)" target="_blank">(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081101045.html) I guess in the case of sporting contests the major difference between open American racism and open European racism is what minority group gets demonized.

Apparently, Intense Debate won't let me indent my paragraphs. Sorry for the jumble

Wow, extensive post(s)-- I like how these posts deal mostly with what Adorno's text does, as I think of all the readings we've done, his is the most creatively structured--possibly in an effort to work through some kind of critical clarity. He also seems to be the philosopher most concerned content-wise with method and structure (spiraling conversations and spider-web clarity) and how they can be used to express more fully the subject matter. I like the connection to literature that you make, because Minima Moralia does have an artful quality and to me it read like a dystopian science fiction novel. Good stuff, Damola!

The picture quality didn't turn out so great, but feel free to visit me in class and I'll show you the doodle in my notebook. The quality will still be questionable, but that's another matter...Wouldn't it be better to see the original, in all its auratic glory, than to see a digitally duplicated piece anyway?

I like the application of repression-surplus repression to the NFL. Especially Marcuse's notion of self-repression that would make a (relatively) non-repressive society possible. These guys who, thanks to modern science and steroids, are close to 300 pounds, are hurling themselves at each other with maximum force with no regard for safety. At some point the player needs to take it on himself to say "even though the rules are ambiguous, I need to take some off this hit for the good of everyone." that's that glimpse of the infinite, or understanding of the greater good that Dr. Long talks about with his example of stopping at traffic lights. Its Marcuse's faith that humans may have a deeper understanding of right and wrong that I think some of the class rejects, but its that very sentiment that conditions for the possibility of a non-repressive society