David Mancuso, born October 1944, threw the first Loft party “Love Saves the Day” on Valentine’s Day 1970. It practically established what we now know as DJ / club culture through its reinvention of dance culture. My project aims to apply elements of the conceptual machinery developed by Deleuze and Guattari, in their collaborative project of ‘Capitalism and Schizophrenia’, to the history of The Loft and to dance / club culture in general. The possibilities within Capitalism (but also the limitations) outlined by Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy will be explored within this context. The main areas of investigation are the political status, in Deleuze and Guattari’s schemata, of The Loft (its visitors and David Mancuso included) and the actual individual experience of nightclubbing and dancing, as it might be understood in terms of the model of thought which they develop. The compatibility of David Mancuso’s intentions (“Love is the message”) with this theory will also be explored.
Month: January 2007
How is nature represented and how is this important to our attitudes towards it? My project aims to explore this question in the hope that one reading it will be able to assess each representation and its implications and in turn assess the way nature is represented today. It is clear that attitudes have a long way to go even in our current climate but why and how are they to change? This project will look at different representations to assess this. From the Romantics with Kant and Coleridge’s notion of nature as the sublime, to the postmodern viewpoint of Heidegger and his theory of technology, to the current attitude we find ourselves today with contemporary philosophers such as Michele Serres. Hopefully attitudes will change to ensure a secure future for nature and this project aims to assess what this attitude may be.
How has surrealism changed the way we can look at “art” and how has art changed since its “rebirth” in the 16th century Italian Renaissance? Kant’s notion of art posed against the Surrealist Philosophy using the object of Un Chien Andalou. Critically comparing this form of art against the notions of the Renaissance period assessing the emergence of the fascination with the Sublime in Surrealism from the typical Beauty in Renaissance. Philosophers and Artists: I shall be involving the philosophers Kant and Breton in discussing the merit of art and surrealism, as well as the Artists Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and various Renaissance artists. I shall also involve insights from the work of Sigmund Freud.
The basic aim of my project is to explore the fundamental themes of both aesthetic and ethical lives. What does drive us to make decisions and what should drive us to make decisions; in other words what sort of a life should we live? Through the exploration into my territory “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde, I identified the key concept of aestheticism and observed the character’s downfall due to his choice of life. This led me to explore the life of the aesthete in comparison with the ethical in the context of existentialism. The existentialists believed that it is the choices that we make as individuals on how we live our lives that provides the central sense of meaning to our existence. In particular I chose to look at Kierkegaard and more specifically at his work “Either/Or.” Kierkegaard closely explores the relationship between the aesthetic life; where the individual is consumed by beauty and the fulfilment of the senses, and the ethical; where the individual bases decisions on commitment and rational thought. He shows that the aesthete is ultimately doomed to a life of despair due to the limited nature of such a life. Those that live within the ethical stage of life will on the other hand achieve happiness in balancing aesthetical values with ethical conduct and responsibility. The final thought on my project brings these values of aesthetics and ethics into modern society in order to observe the concepts in relation to today’s generation. It seems that the majority of today’s youth are being consumed by the media and having aesthetical values forced upon them. Magazines are primarily concerned with looks and bombard the senses with images telling the reader how to think of themselves and others. Little is done to promote ethical values in this modern age and as this worsens future generations could suffer.
Territory‐ Football, the supporters, the industry and its change in relation to society. Questions and Objectives‐ Explore why we wish to be part of a group, Is identity simply an external concept? To show the social importance of sport, football in particular and how it integrates but also divides us in society. It is a Working‐class game; does the team give males another source of pride in their identity? rather than in work for example. Is it more important to be a valuable part of society and ‘fit in’ or should you aim to be an individual? Ideas involving freedom, does it exist? Key sources: Sartre, Being and Nothingness; Freud, on individualism, psychoanalysis, Massenpsychologie und Ich‐Analyse; Nietzsche, various texts on individualism and socialism; Durkheim, Sociology, Institutional Analysis; Hargreaves, Sport, Power and Culture.
Territory – Relationships, marriage and the family unit. Empirical Research – Government stats, art and literature. Philosophers – Kant, Hegel, Giddens. Concepts – Kant saw marriage a sexual contract, Hegel as an amalgamation of love and law, Giddens as unnecessary in the postmodern. My argument – Many see the emancipation of women and the sexual liberation of the sixties as causing chaos and the breakdown of the family. I will argue that harking back to nostalgic phantasms is a poor reflection of true reality and that one must ride with the times and embrace the pure relationship based on choice, freedom and intimacy.
I will be investigating the anti-globalisation movement in America known as the Patriots, looking more specifically at their aggressive militia groups. These libertarians seek to build communities that are not governed by the ‘corrupt Federal Government’, communities which promote the Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms so that one day they may fight the “Jewish gangsters’ New World Order” and it’s United Nations’ police force. In response to this I will be look at Derrida’s idea of ‘Community’, of ‘Hospitality’ and ‘Democracy’. Idea’s which revolve around a respect for the ‘Other,’ not aggression and hate. In addition to this I will look towards Žižek’s notion of racism as fantasy, as a respect for the ‘Other.’ For Žižek the state is the only buffer between a conflict of fantasies and must be in place to stop an all out war from happening between different ‘ethnic others.’
Territory: Women and their representation within society over the last 100 years. Object: Within Territory looking at women in relation to Identity, Self-Image and Social Determination. Philosophical Concepts: Sartre – Existence preceding essence. Debord – Society of the Spectacle, Donna Haraway – Cyborg and a sexless society. Over the last 100 years, the representation of women within society has completely turned around. With advancements in liberation and law, women now enjoy an equal status in UK society. I was initially inspired by fashion, and how women have used fashion as a vehicle of expression. However I realised the way women dressed and expressed themselves, merely mirrored the social and cultural changes of the time. I looked at each decade over the last 100 years in the UK, studying the major changes of each decade which have impacted women’s liberation. How women’s identity has changed from a second class citizen, to the role of a strong maternal figure, to enjoying equal status. Key historical moments like WWI/WWII and women getting the vote have helped. Women’s self-image has changed, as women enjoy relaxed rules about dress, sex, marriage and children. This has allowed women to liberate the way they are seen and how they feel about themselves. Fashion movements like the mini skirt along with movie stars like Marilyn Monroe encouraged women to view and express themselves differently. Women’s social determination has moved to a point where first and second wave feminism are contradicting each other and influences from the media mean women are confused about their true role and representation within society. From Thatcher to Madonna, how are women now supposed to fit into society?
Aim: Explore how the issue of abortion has relation to free will and how in turn, society relates to this ethical issue. I want to analyse how an ethical situation can affect the relations between families and society with relation to the novel, ‘The Abortionist’s Daughter’. Territory: The compelling novel, ‘The Abortionist’s Daughter.’ Within which the ethical position of abortion is key. Philosophy: Freud- Unfreedom and unhappiness within society. I will see how people can feel like their freedom as an individual is corrupted through society and its rules and regulation and set values and morals. Mill- Utilitarian view of abortion with relation to the effect on the individual within society. Hobbes- Murder and the social contract will be included to understand how society and the women within it could be restrained by this view. Christian philosophy Augustine- This will highlight how there has been a change in attitude since the time of Augustine and this may be through the fact that religion is now not as paramount to people’s lives within Christianity therefore people may not have such a strong belief on abortion either way. Key Concepts • Freedom/ freewill • Society and its rule over your choice • The nature of personhood/ right to life • The question of religion and ethical questions • Moral and legal policy
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an inspiring novel by Kevin Kesey which brought to attention the shocking treatment of the mentally ill in the old gothic asylums of the early Twentieth Century. My aim for this project is to… • Learn how the mentally ill have been treated through history. • See how things have changed and see whether this change has been positive or negative. • Use literature like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Human Traces (by Sebastian Faulks) to analyse the changes. • Pinpoint which treatments work and do not work in modern day times. • Try and see different ways we can move forward in helping the mentally ill to be more accepted in society.
Territory: Beer advertisements. Object: Carlsberg advertisements. Aim: The aim of my personal project is to show the changing attitudes and social values of the early 20th century society as opposed to our contemporary society. I have decided to show this using the marketing of beer. I also intend to point out how these represent the introduction of “Lad Culture” which became apparent in British society during the 1990’s along with ‘lads’ magazines such as maxim, FHM and Loaded as well as TV shows such as ‘men behaving badly’. It also shows a distinct change in attitude towards the consumption of alcohol in general; the development of the binge drinking culture that is so prevalent in today’s youthful society. I also believe these adverts show a distinct decline in the strong family values that we saw in the first half of the 20th century. I will thus talk about Hegel’s view of family values and compare them to that of a lesser known modern philosopher, David Cooper’s, works called ‘The death of Family’.
My objective within this project from the outset has been to use the inspiration I got whilst doing volunteer work in Africa to look at how the West deals with AIDS and to what extent global charities have really made a difference in tackling it. I decided therefore that Kenya will be my territory and that I will need an in-depth understanding of the cultural, political and economic aspects of Kenya to form a basis for my project. I will also consider how Kenya has changed over the past century with a consideration of pre-colonial times and its subsequent struggle for independence. My object within my project will be the issue of AIDS itself. I will focus upon the raw statistics of AIDS and how it affects people in Kenya; I will also use my own experiences to give a wider understanding to the lives people with AIDS lead. I will then consider AIDS within the West and whether events in the media such as ‘Live 8’ and ‘Project (RED)’ have done little more than to globalise the issue, and the resulting consequences of this. • The main concept of my project will focus on cultural differences. • The philosophical side of my project will focus upon cultural relativism juxtaposed with cultural realism. I will use the works of Quine in his discussion on language to try and reconcile Western attitudes to AIDS with that of African attitudes. I will look at the work of Trigg in regards to realism to understand the different perceptions of AIDS from the global media to the Third World. I will also consider the work of Adorno to support the idea of the globalisation of AIDS through his ideas regarding media as a social phenomenon. His ideas on human suffering will also be useful in explaining the reality of AIDS in Kenya. • I will conclude my project with an understanding as to whether the West can really help stop AIDS through globalisation in the media, and whether this is more effective than direct government intervention.
Aims: The main aim of this project is to explore the changes in the way in which religion has been viewed from the early 1800’s (from Nietzsche to Foucault) to the present day, and the way in which these ideas of Christianity have affected people’s perception of sexuality and the repercussions this has on society. Questions which need addressing: • Does religion affect your concept of understanding sexuality? • Are there boundaries as to what is acceptable when expressing sexuality? • Has the steady decline of Christianity among modern society affected our perceptions on sexual desires and sexuality in general? Key Sources: ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ – F. Nietzsche
Objectives: The main objectives for this project are to address the nature of children’s rights and whether anyone has rights over children. This shall be done by looking at different types of family structures, particularly those involving adoption and in-vitro fertilisation. The initial territory for this project is the Novel My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (picture to the left). In which the main character Anna was genetically created in order to keep her sister, whom has leukaemia, alive. It follows the ongoing struggle Anna has with her parents and her conscience as she files for medical emancipation from her sister, which will allow her to be free of ever having to donate to her sister again. Concepts: I shall be looking at the ethical implications of adoption and IVF for children, the notion of children as property which extends to the exchange of children as commodities and finally whether children can or do actually belong to anyone. Sources: • Jones, P. (1994) Rights THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD. • Locke, J. (1976) The Second Treatise of Government. Fletcher & Son Ltd. • Knox (1952) Hegel’s Philosophy Of Right. Oxford University Press. • Winston, R. (2006) A Child Against All Odds. Transworld Publishers.
Chomsky maintains that children acquire language due to the principle of Universal Grammar. The child responds to the evidence in his or her environment and creates a core grammar. Children are open to acquiring any human language but ends up acquiring one in particular. Chomsky’s Projection Principle, Binding and Government principles are innate structures within the language faculty in the child’s mind. These principles are reinforced with what the child hears in his or her environment and are present from the beginning of their life. Rather than the child going through a learning process to possess these principles, it is more the case that they are applied; the child’s grammatical competence automatically incorporates them. By contrast, Foucault maintains that discourse is a regulated set of statements and refers to a set of unwritten laws and practices. Foucault distinguishes between discourse and reality—’discourse’ is a system through which we perceive reality; the term can by no means be substituted for the term ‘language.’ I have divided my project loosely into the following chapters: Background, aims and evaluation of the National Literacy Strategy — has the NLS changed in the period 1996-2006? Has it achieved its aims? How is the NLS implemented at Key Stage 1? Is it effective for children with S.E.N? Chomsky’s language acquisition and his idea of Universal Grammar, versus theories that language is acquired through social interaction — which is more convincing? Are Chomsky’s ideas of Universal Grammar relevant today? What would he say about the NLS as it is used today? Is Foucault’s discourse consistent with Chomsky’s ideas? Is Foucault useful when dis- Some primary literature I have used: Chomsky, N. Reflections on Language (1976) Pantheon Books: Great Britain; Chomsky, N. and Foucault, M. The Chomsky-Foucault Debate on Human Nature (2006) The New Press: New York; Chomsky, N. (Ed. N. Anshen) Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin and Use (1986) Praeger Publishers: New York; DfEE The Implementation of the National Literacy Strategy (1997) Government Publishing; DfEE National Literacy Strategy: Review of Research and other Related Evidence; Hardman, F., Smith, F., and Wall K. An Investigation into the Impact of the National Literacy Strategy on the Literacy Learning of Pupils with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Primary Schools University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
Fight club a bizarre fantasy about the “repressed self”. The main character, (who throughout the film is not named and in the credits referred only to as narrator) a depressed business man, had a vision. He doesn’t like his work and gets no satisfaction from it so he tries different ways of passing time. He creates the perfect apartment but still he is not fulfilled. He has trouble sleeping and he feels in no way part of the surrounding world, he has become so desperate to fit in and to relate to others that he has started attending therapy sessions for people with terminal diseases and pretends that he is ill to just so he can have someone to talk to. One day on a plane he meets the man that he wishes he was the one who he has envisioned. He envisioned he was the street-wise hard man who loved to fight and who wasn’t afraid of anything and who was respected by all. And then the streetwise tough guy became real, at least he did in the mind of the business man. Hence the creation of Tyler. Tyler holds the materialistic world in contempt and he believes people learn everything they need to know through pain, misfortune and chaos. Tyler challenges the narrator to a fight and our narrator finds his much sought after release in the brawl. The two create a group named fight club and as more men join it one rule becomes apparent. ‘Do not talk about fight club.’ The philosophy I intend to explore is automatism and drifting. The whole thing with Freud where we all have subconscious desires and it is thought that if we continue to talk to non- stop after a while they come out and we actually say what we think deep down. Breton said we should do that with writing stuff down, just write anything and not think about it, free association, that’s automatism. And doing it when you’re walking around was what he called drifting. Also Sartre because he believed that men cannot rely on society to control them. Mankind is radically free and responsible. In every moment we choose ourselves, with no assurance that we have a continuing identity or power. We set up determinisms to ease our minds, but in the face of the finality of death, only through our present consciousness do we establish our own authentic existence.
RKCR/Y&R (territory) has placed itself as the leading strategy within advertisement and marketing. TV commercials give maximum consumer response by using techniques that have been developed over the past sixty years. But how does the advertiser compel it’s target market to buy/ support a product? By means of market research a creative team can generate ideas from on statistics based on consumer needs. A transition from scientific method to artistic creativity takes place, from idea to screen attention to detail allows a campaign to become the centre of a product launch. If a idea is successful the return can be impressive. The M&S food campaign (object) is a perfect example of the results that can be achieved when a campaign is successful. The way an individual processes the information from screen and associates this with a product is the importance of this study, how can the creative department develop a campaign that will mentally intrigue its audience? Can psychology or philosophical ideas give an insight into the thought processes behind advertisement? Kantian thought can help us understand how the advertiser connects to the consumer. Free play for Kant allows the categories of the mind to be influenced by outside concepts; Kant speaks of music and art. Just as a piece of fine art can spark the imagination, this is how in Kantian theory the advertiser reaches the consumer. The advertiser essentially uses imagination as a tool to ‘communicate’ the product to the consumer. Kant’s work influences the ideas and philosophical concepts that this project discusses concerning the mental faculties of the consumer. This project uses Hume’s work connects the consumer and the creative thinker within advertisement. Hume speaks of how ideas are copied from impressions, in short Hume argues that the human imagination, idea’s, cognitive attributes are all part of our physical being. Hume highly supports this project’s research on ’the creative idea’. This project is concerned with how the human mind perceives external influences, and also how the mind has the ability to use the imagination as a means to an end. This study has centred M&S food as its example rather than interest. What is most important is the research into human understanding and the different faculties that are involved between the consumer and a product. TV commercials have many different levels, messages, objectives and specifications, the importance is the TV COMMERCIALS ABILITY TO USE THE HUMAN MIND AS A MARKETING TOOL.
Aim: To analyse whether or not the internet can be said to form a functional rhizomatic system and from this analysis to discuss what this implies for the future management or control of the structures that exist therein. Sources: Deleuze and Guattari – A Thousand Plateaus and Anti-Oedipus, Manuel Castells – The Internet Galaxy
Objectives. It is my intention to demonstrate in my essay that colonialism still takes place across the world today, and that it finds its foundations entrenched firmly within the same prejudices which were used to justify the type of colonialism typical of 19th century Europe. For this purpose I will concentrate my investigation upon the most notorious and long-running of available examples; namely, the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the Palestinian people. As well as showing Israel to be a Western colony of the oldest and most classical type, Israel can be seen as a colony not just for its own sake, but as part of a wider Western “project” and belief system. Concepts. All of the above investigations will be conducted after an introduction to Foucault’s conceptions of Discourse and Power, which will themselves be applied to the investigation, as I believe they aptly provide an explanation for everything that has taken place regarding Palestine since the 19th century. I will also be depicting this narrative as part of a larger, even global Discourse. Sources. I will use Edward Said’s book Orientalism to explain how, in Foucaultian terms, a contrasting image of the East as opposed to the enlightened West was created over centuries until it has reached its current form which allows the West to justify the colonization of the Arab world, several books by Foucault, including Madness and Civilization and Discipline and Punish. This will be accompanied by a scrapbook containing translated Israeli newspaper articles which will be referenced in the main body of work in order to support my claims regarding the workings of Israeli media discourse in perpetuating the above beliefs. Articles will refer not only to political events reflecting the reality of Israeli society’s perception of itself and its Arab population; they will also be used to illustrate the way in which the media in Israel contributes to Israeli colonialism through its irresponsible (and at time perhaps deliberate) use of everyday words and concepts.