Lilia Kilburn, Katie Arthur
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
The aim of this course is to provide an opportunity to explore (and a community with which to do so) the longstanding dialogue in the humanities commonly known as "theory," using inroads offered by certain modifiers (queer theory, feminist theory, media theory, critical race theory, affect theory and so forth). "Theory" is a word to which some people express an allergic reaction, but we posit that the transformative potential of many of these theoretical writings, and the power of the critiques they render, make them worth the occasional difficulty.
Everyone is welcome, with or without any background or experience in theory or literature! We will provide short readings for each session, and we recommend that you commit to the full program, however, you may also attend individual sessions.
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Lilia Kilburn, liliak@mit.edu
| Jan/19 | Tue | 03:00PM-06:00PM | 14N-112 |
Beginning with Freud and with Deleuze and Guattari's 'Anti-Oedipus,' continuing through Hocquenghem and Butler, and resting on some contemporary feminist and trans writings, this session will offer a primer on queer theory and the recent history of theorizing desire.
| Jan/21 | Thu | 05:00PM-08:00PM | 14N-112 |
Beginning with an examination of Foucault's famous analysis of Bentham's Panopticon, one which will use Jeremy Bentham's letters to foreground that which tends to fall out of contemporary accounts of the Panopticon, this session will then shift to Foucault's Archaeology of Knowledge and to recent selections in media archaeology.
| Jan/29 | Fri | 05:30PM-08:30PM | E15 3rd floor screen |
To cap off IAP, come watch Vertigo! We'll be gathering around the big screen on the third floor of the Media Lab to watch Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece. We'll distribute a primer of ways to read the film, and those interested can stick around for a short discussion.