Objective: · To investigate the philosophical concepts that determined the notion of ‘womanhood’ in society. · To establish if these philosophical concepts underpin the norms that determine the notion of womanhood in Victorian and Modern society. · To determine to what extent these norms have changed from the Victorian period, through to the Modern period. Part 1: This section focuses on dualism. Dualism exists due to a denied dependency on an inferior other and it is through this, that a domination/subordination relationship is formed. Through looking at dualism’s such as: public/private, human/nature, rationality/irrationality, one can see that all those on the left, superior side relate to masculinity and reason and all those on the right, inferior side relate to femininity and nature. In order to ascertain why women are perceived as inferior and subordinate to men, and furthermore why they are associated with nature, one will examine the key dichotomous relationships: human/nature, rationality/irrationality and public/private. The purpose of examining philosophical concepts is to understand the norms that determined the notion of ‘womanhood’ and to then analyse to what extent these norms have changed from the Victorian to the Modern period. Sources: L McDowell and K Pringle, Defining Women: Social Institution and Gender Divisions. Morwenna Griffiths and Margaret Whitford, Feminist Perspectives in Philosophy. Val Plumwood, Feminism and The Mastery of Nature. Part 2: This section focuses on the norms that determine the notion of ‘womanhood’ in Victorian society. It analyses to what extent the philosophical concepts mentioned in the first section are apparent in the Victorian period. Women’s association with nature is a prominent theme, suggesting that women were in more in tune with their bodies, hence, more emotional and irrational. Women’s relation to the home was a fundamental feature of the nineteenth century. Women were placed in the private sphere due to their association with nature and irrationality, whereas men’s association with intellect and reason placed them in the material world, in the public sphere. An example of a Victorian woman is provided. Florence Nightingale is discussed, showing how she can be seen as reacting against the norms that determined the notion of ‘womanhood’ in Victorian society. Sources: Duncan Crow, The Victorian Women. Ema Olatson Hellerstein, Leslie Parker Hume and Karen M Offen, Victorian Women. Gordon Marsden, Victorian Values, Personalities and Perspectives in Nineteenth Century Society. Cecil Woodham Smith, Florence Nightingale 1820-1910. Julia Swindells, Victorian Writing and Working Women. Part 3: This section concentrates on the Modern period. Along with the Modern period came feminism. This ideology could be seen as replacing the ‘woman movement’ of the Victorian period. A change is evident in the Modern period regarding the dualism’s which are present in the Victorian period. During the twentieth century women were becoming more independent and could be seen to be turning their back on the domestic sphere, hence women’s place in the private sphere was not so rigid. Also, through sexual expression women wanted to make themselves equal to the male. In order to highlight the norms that determine the notion of ‘womanhood’ in Modern society, one focuses on an example of a Modern Woman, Hannah Arendt. Sources: Nancy F Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism. Elzbieta Ettinger, Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. Elizabeth Gross, Knowing Women, Feminism and Knowledge. Part 4: This section establishes the changes that occur from the Victorian through to the Modern period. It concentrates on the key dichotomous relationships, public/private, rationality/irrationality, human/nature. It focuses on women’s association with nature, irrationality and the private sphere which characterise the Victorian period, and examines to what extent these philosophical concepts have changed by the twentieth century. Sources: Nancy F Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism. Morwenna Griffiths and Margaret Whitford, Feminist Perspectives in Philosophy. R Minsky, Knowing Women: Feminism and Knowledge. Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature.
Category: 2003
In this project I will analyse some of the conflicts of contemporary society encapsulated within its imagery; simulacra of efficiency embedded in a reality of waste, of quiescent order embedded in chaos. Globalisation and the fracturing of the concept of working subject brought about by issues of gender, race and sexuality have created a social environment torn between a politics of body and globe. This project, in its two constituent parts, will therefore focus on the inter-relation between the two and how transformations in each area have come to affect the discourse of resistance. Objectives 1) To examine how transformations in the organisation of the Western worlds socio-economic constitution have elicited a change in the relationship between the working subject and the world 2) To analyse the transitions in production which, at their highest level, move increasingly from the production of goods (factory labour) to the production of social life itself 3) To describe the ever changing composition of the subject itself under capital 4) To examine the impact of ‘high-technologies’ in communications industries on both the individual and the collective organisation of our society Sources Hardt + Negri- Empire, Harvey- Spaces of Hope, Marx + Engles- Collected Writings, Dyer-Whiteford- Cyber-Marx
CONCEPTS/KEY WORDS: Thinking Machines: Philosophical implications of artificial intelligence, machines emulating human behaviour, Turing Test, notions of behaviourism, dualism and materialism, free will and determinism, strong and weak AI and intelligence. Mechanical Thinkers Affect of rise of technology on human behaviour. Dehumanising effect of treating people as machines in the work place. Modern emphasis on productivity, efficiency, and systematisation. Leisure time. Importance of play, playing at work, modern day work practices. OBJECTIVES 1. To investigate the philosophical implications of Artificial Intelligence, looking at factors that are taken into consideration outside the mathematical workings of a thinking machine such as notions of intelligence, behaviourism and free will. 2. To understand the philosopher Martin Heidegger’s opinion of the effect of technology on the world and on humans as a whole in his essay The Question Concerning Technology. 3. To look at a more modern interpretation of the effects of technology by way of Donald Norman, an expert on the human-side of technology, and his book The Invisible Computer. 4. To look at ways to combat the feeling of dehumanisation in using technology, particularly in the workplace, by investigating modern day work practices that incorporate work and play. SOURCES: Gottfried Leibniz, Alan Turing, Rene Descartes, Aaron Sloman, Donald Norman, Martin Heidegger, Herbert Marcuse, Institute for Play. PROJECT TERRITORY/FIELD OF EXPLORATION: I will use two companies that have adopted unconventional work practices in order to preserve the well being of their employees, producing a healthier environment which promotes quality of work rather than quantity. I will use an advertising agency called St. Lukes in London and a number of companies in the US who have adopted ingenious ways of improving their working environments. CHANGE The changes I will show are through the developments in the idea of a thinking machine, the change in the rise of technology and the way in which it affects our lives today. The difference in thought between Martin Heidegger and Donald Norman. THE GAP BETWEEN HUMANS AND THINGS Obvious separation of mind and matter is involved, the implications of modelling a machine on the brain, the difficulty for humans to work with machines that do not function as humans do, the separation between the individual and society when progress, and society with it, no longer facilitate individuality. My project tries to bridge the gap between humans and computers by trying to establish a healthier attitude towards them, especially in the workplace.
KEY CONCEPTS/ WORDS Enlightenment, Modernity, Rationalizing, Technology, Efficiency, Town Planning, Functionalist. Post modernity, Inspiration, Progression, Shift in systems, Design, Fragmentation, Pastiche, Eclecticism, Existentialism. OBJECTIVES 1. To study the different styles and progressions of architecture in Newcastle. 2. To look at the political and economic forces that have affected the changing of the cities landscape. 3. To analyse social forces that have initiated the architectural changes. 4. To examine prominent architects and philosophers that have altered the direction of modern and postmodern thinking. SOURCES Books borrowed from Newcastle Upon Tyne University Library. Photos taken in the center of Newcastle, visual media gathered from books, internet sites, magazines, leaflets and newspaper articles. FIELD OF EXPLORATION I am going to look at how the fabric of Newcastle’s architecture has evolved over the past one hundred years. By using photographic data gathered in Newcastle I will be able to draw upon examples which can be analyzed with reference to famous architects of the era. The modern and postmodern architecture of Newcastle lends itself to philosophical and sociological interpretation. CHANGE My project will be looking at the progressions that have forced the architectural changes upon Newcastle. I am hoping to illustrate the shift from modern architecture to postmodern architecture and the philosophical themes that have brought them about. THE GAP BETWEEN HUMANS AND THINGS My aim here is to highlight how man has become disenchanted with the Enlightenment project and scientific progress. Disunity of knowledge in the postmodern era has led to a more confusing, pastiche and fragmented way of interpreting society. This incredulity has in some ways widened the gap between humans and things.
CONCEPTS Modernity, Postmodernity, Globalisation and McDonaldization. OBJECTIVES 1. To define as clearly as possible the concepts above. 2. To investigate and explain as clearly as possible the change from modernity to postmodernity. 3. To demonstrate how postmodernity manifest itself in the familiar concepts of globalisation and McDonaldization, as something which may be considered distinct from, and yet also an extension of, modernity. 4. To show how we can identify this in our locality, by looking at the fast food industry on Northumberland Street. SOURCES Spaces of Hope – David Harvey The post-modern & the post-industrial – Margaret Rose After Liberalism – Immanuel Wallerstein Postmodern Culture – Hal Foster (Ed.) Consumer Culture and Modernity – Jim McGuigan Jean Baudrillard Selected Writings – Mark Poster (Ed.) The Consumer Society – Jean Baudrillard Fast Food Nation – Eric Schlosser The McDonaldization of Society – George Ritzer Globalization – Malcolm Walters PROJECT TERRITORY/FIELD OF EXPLORATION I am attempting to trace the change in society from the modernity established during the enlightenment period to the postmodernity of today. To show that we are truly in a period of postmodernity I shall investigate the familiar concepts of globalisation and McDonaldization. Here I hope to demonstrate how postmodernity exists as an extension or acceleration of modernity, before investigating the presence of postmodernity in the fast food industry of Northumberland Street.
The investigation is based on Peter Shaffer’s screenplay Amadeus, an elaborate story of the relationship between the legendary musician Wolfgang Mozart and his contemporary counterpart Antonio Salieri. Critics have interpreted the film in various ways, however its philosophical content had been left untouched. The project’s first concern is the identification of two philosophical trends within the characters of the play – Mozart being aligned to the baroque and Salieri portraying notions of traditional philosophy. The interaction of the characters in the plot in this context raises new philosophical issues such as creativity, genius, autonomy and the concept of God and also displays the philosophical influence over mans interaction with his surroundings. This discussion takes place alongside Walter Benjamin’s similar interpretation of Trauerspiel, The Origin of German Tragic Drama. The project’s second concern lies not in the content of the film but in its creation and subsequent afterlife. Shaffer constructed the play on fragments of truth regarding the real Mozart, which he then exaggerated and developed into a fictional story. This process of destruction and reconstruction is investigated in relation to Walter Benjamin’s theory of the mortification of art in which art is constantly reinterpreted to produce new meaning. Benjamin argues that through the creation of new meaning the original object is redeemed. It is the final concern of the project to investigate this theory and explore to what extent Mozart has been redeemed by Amadeus. The result is a project that not only investigates the baroque concepts of afterlife, mortification and redemption but also illustrates these notions in its method of exploration.
CONCEPTS o Original Florentine thought. o Literature, philosophies, culture, art through the ages in Florence. o The above point in comparison to non Florentine, modern day Philosophers. o Evidence of the influence of philosophy in the city/ and its architecture. o Relevance of the modern day writings/ coverage on Florence OBJECTIVES o To portray the many aspects and influences that such a diverse city such as Florence has. Noting that it is thought to been host to the movement of the Renaissance, in turn creating the artistic reawakening of the Fifteenth century, right up to the modern Twenty First Century. o Study the literature, philosophy, art and culture in general that is to have stemmed from Florence. Study of the significant the Florentines themselves and Florence how it was in comparison to the modern day coverage and focus upon Florence of the media today. o By using contemporary use of the media and the works of modern philosophers to compare the issues and fundamental thought of the Florentines years ago in light of the world today to see if there is any comparison and if it is evident in Florence today. The evidence of this will be looked at in the culture, buildings architecture and art and so on. o To look at how the original philosophy of Florence and the fact of it being written in Florence has created modern day contemporary interest and influence. SOURCES o The Florentine thought will be looked at using the writings of -Dante -Machiavelli o On the same issues the contrasting modern philosophers used will be -Martin Heidegger -Friedrich Nietzsche -Emmanuel Levinas o Contemporary newspaper articles, films, tourism information and the visual aspect of photographs will also be used, including articles about aesthetics by likes and contemporaries -Foucault -Bartes -Barns. PROJECT TERRITORY o Bridging a gap between the history and stance of thought and thinkers over time within Florence and how as a reaction it has an impact worldwide stirring people on to writing about a visiting this Tuscan area. o Show how as a city Florence can provide a visual type of inspiration, freedom, morality and written about by Florentine thinkers. Show the change of thought on these issues has altered over time, whether it be artistic, culturally or involved in the tourism trade. o The change in philosophical thought in Florence is respect to the modern day, contemporary way that we now know Florence through articles, photographs and the like today.