postmodernism

This is partly in response to Bumpkins' initial post, but it warrants an autonomous blog entry insofar as many thinkers we will be reading this semester deal in Marxian (or Marxian informed) terminology.

I am not sure if I read this correctly, but it seems that Derrida ended his work by identifying that there are only two systems of thought--the centered/total structure and the irrational/play structure.

What confuses me is the passage as a whole is about deconstructing ideas of totality and binaries. By saying that there are only two structures, that implies that there is no play and everything is fixed. He seems to be contradicting himself. How can all other systems be flexible except for these particular systems?

I felt extremely challenged by today's reading, in part because I wasn't aware we had to do it until last night. That said, I found the concepts explored to be fascinating stuff, and I am glad I at least tried to make sense of it all before class. What is most compelling to me right now is the connections between the ideas proposed in each work; I am in part seeking to make a coherent whole, to decipher a "school", to isolate a discourse that could be called postmodern. But from the very beginning of my attempt to make meaning out of these works I encounter a challenge from Derrida.

Bumpkins,

As I read your comment about how you felt Adorno and Horkeimer's essay was "dated," I felt compelled to fill in a bit of background info on these two authors (if you're a Media Studies major, you probably already know this, but if you're not, you'd have no reason to know this.) You're right though, about how they seem to be incredibly cynical about mass-prodeuced cultural forms and the enjoyment of them, like going to a movie simply for the sake of being entertained.

Let me throw out a disclaimer: This post is long and I would be very impressed if anyone besides KF decides to read the whole thing. That being said, I like the last paragraph the best and the one on Benjamin. So if you decide to even read any farther down my post, thats what I recommend.

Hi, all. Welcome to our course blog. The syllabus is available here (always up top), and I'll be posting other course information here as it comes up. You'll also be posting here regularly, both in response to the readings and in whatever other ways you desire. I'll look forward to reading (and writing) more here soon.