(8:58 AM) | Adam Kotsko:

Tomorrow Comes Today

I don't want to detract from the ongoing discussion of Benjamin's "Critique of Violence" below (those of you who have not yet weighed in, rest assured that I have e-mail notification for all new comments, so at least I will be continually checking back and responding to you), but perhaps it's time to assess our project and think about moving forward. I think the general format, as it came together, worked out fairly well; if anyone disagrees, feel free to comment. Now it might be a good time to consider texts for future sessions. I have a couple suggestions (some of these I remember from a Gauche's post initiating this project, but that post has apparently been "bloggered"):

1. "Force of Law" by Jacques Derrida -- in which he responds to "Critique of Violence" and decides that justice is undeconstructible (reportedly). Since this is "later" Derrida, it might be easier to understand than some of his earlier, more classic essays.
   
2. "The Origin of the Work of Art" by Martin Heidegger
   
3. Beyond the Pleasure Principle by Sigmund Freud -- Mike Hancock requested this originally and got shot down.
   
4. "The Mirror Stage" by Jacques Lacan
   
5. The New Imperialism by David Harvey -- a roughly 200-page book, which is only available in hardcover -- this might represent too much commitment.
   
6. "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges -- or anything by Borges.
   
7. Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant -- already available as an e-text through Project Guttenberg, I believe.

That is not an exhaustive list; if anyone wants to suggest other texts, feel free. Once a concensus emerges, I'll announce the text, we can arrange to make it publicly available (or give everyone time to purchase it if need be), and then perhaps plan to do begin another round of discussion the first Monday of April.

Until then, feel free to keep discussing Benjamin.

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