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.
Category: 2007
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.
Modern art is generally understood to be any art created between the late 19th century and the 1970s. Following the emergence of photography, art was no longer needed as direct representation so artists turned to abstraction and experimentation. Modern art is a blanket term for all artistic movements in this period, as well as the avant-garde. Postmodern art is generally believed to be in some way opposed to an aspect of modern art, experimenting with genres, cultures and mediums not previously considered. It is art following modern art, and some areas of contemporary art. It accepts past styles and traditions, unlike modern art, as well as embracing new media. Lyotard did not distinguish modern art and postmodern art in the traditional way described above, he believed that postmodern art was always at work within modern art; it is the avant-garde in all its forms, it is whatever is new and progressive about modern art, forcing it into new territory. He therefore said that something must be postmodern (new and disruptive) before it can become modern (acceptable). Although the postmodern eventually becomes the modern, it never entirely loses its ability to shock and disturb. He believed that modern art showed us that the unpresentable exists, while postmodern art attempted to present it. This paradoxical task leaves in the viewer a mixture of pleasure and pain, known as Kantian sublime. Lyotard thought the ultimate task of art to be presenting the unpresentable, which is fulfilled by the avant-garde, in which matters of taste and public opinion simply aren’t important. The sublime is the feeling when the imagination is pushed to the limit, causing pain as the individual is faced with something beyond them, which they have no control over and are faced with their true position in the world. Pleasure follows this as our reason reasserts itself and we become aware of the superiority of human reason over perception. The mathematical sublime is when we are confronted with an object unbelievably large, so we cannot see and comprehend it as a whole. The dynamical sublime refers to our confrontation with something far more powerful than us, in which case we are aware of our own mortality and insignificance. Having looked at Lyotard’s postmodernism and postmodern art in detail, with both Lyotard’s examples and my own, I will conclude with a brief examination of the works of Anderson and Jameson, as they provide arguments both for and against Lyotard’s work, taking their own examples to illustrate points made.
Territory: The territory of my choice is Newcastle University. In the perspective in which I will be looking at University, it will be easy to consider all universities the same, as the aim of this project it to illustrate the dramatic change that has happened in the educational body of this country. Therefore, though I will be dwelling on the change that Newcastle has undergone, it will be representative of University as a whole in the United Kingdom. My aim: My aim in this project is to illustrate the change in university, both in its purpose and how it has become run. In this project is to show that University has changed from a place of excellence in learning, to a place that prepares one for the world of work. Therefore the emphasis on money making is not only in the minds of the applicant but also of the University. It will be important for me to draw upon the ideas of Marx and Lucaks for the idea of the ‘commodification of education’ which will be corroborated with several other sources from modern writers.
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.
Outline: The project will analyse extensively the philosophical theory of French philosopher, Michel Foucault and will demonstrate how his theories can be applied to performance in sport. Aim: To argue that philosophy, and in particular that of Michel Foucault, plays a significant role in performance in sport. Method: The following aspects of both Michel Foucault’s philosophy and the role they play within sport will be used to support my argument: – Discipline: Disciplinary power is spawned from and spawns in turn a whole series of techniques and knowledges of the body. Discipline, both of the self and with respect to hierarchy, is crucial in sport – Knowledge: Elements formed in a regular manner by discursive practice and which are indispensable to the constitution of a science can be called ‘knowledge’; vital in the world of sport – Power: Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a particular society. Like discipline, respect must be paid to this concept for success to be achieved – The Self: Interaction between the self and others, the technologies of individual domination and technologies of the self. Understanding the self and other individuals will heighten performance in sport – Discourse: Essentially referring to statements, the rules by which they are governed and their subsequent circulation and exclusion – ‘Mind Games’: How the words a coach uses can influence the performance of not only his own team, but also other coaches, players and sporting authorities; strongly linked to Foucault’s notion of Discourse – Performance: How all the above themes ultimately influence sporting performance. Sources include: Foucault, Sport and Exercise – Pirkko Markula & Richard Pringle, Michel Foucault – Sara Mills and Discipline and Punish – Michel Foucault. Information collated from the internet, magazines, newspapers and television will also be used to illustrate my project
Territory: My initial study took place in Saint Walburga’s Catholic Primary School, in Saltaire, West Yorkshire. I spent time within the school and particular classrooms collating information and observing the interactions between students and teachers. Aims: I aim to consider the relationships between students and teachers within the education system. I will look at the notion of dependency within this relationship and consider whether the teacher and/or student are dependent on the other. Also key to my study is the question of freedom in education and whether either student or teacher holds the most freedom. I will look to the paradox of teaching and learning and how this need not prevent teaching or learning, provided that both teacher and student willingly risk a power relationship of mastery and dependence. Philosophers and Sources: The majority of my study uses Hegel’s lord and bondsman dialectic, as found within in his Phenomenology of Spirit. However I wish to undertake an exploration of the master/slave relation beyond the Phenomenology of Spirit through the ideas of Educational Theorist Nigel Tubbs.
TERRITORY: The history of popular music in the 20th century. Looking at: growth in access, development of technology, social and cultural changes through the decades. OBJECTS: Arnold Schoenberg & The Rolling Stones. I will be using each as a case study, pre and post war, to show changes in ideologies in the music, change in their status as musicians, how has the music industry changed them. SOCIAL CHANGE: Exploring the social political and cultural changes that have directly influenced music culture, music industry, music ideologies. Also looking the influence of the media through the decades with the development in T.V. radio and internet. What role has capitalism played in music culture? CONCEPTS: Primarily Artistic Value using Theodor Adorno and Simon Frith as my core texts. Also more briefly looking at Hegel on aesthetics and Marx on capitalism and the role they play in popular music.
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
In my project I will be examining how the Bush Administration has been influenced by the work of Leo Strauss and how this has affected their rule, both in relation to the use of civil religion in America and their foreign policy. Following the War on Terror, many scholars and journalists have been quick to announce that the Bush Administration has been infiltrated by ‘Straussians’ who are using Straus’s work to support their use of Noble Lies. However, it is necessary to assess whether these politicians are distorting the meaning of Straus’s work in order to support their own agendas. To support the main arguments in my project, I will be looking at a variety of works by Strauss and the documentary “The Power of Nightmares” by Adam Curtis. Some of the concepts being explored include; Civil religion, War, and Myths/Noble Lies.
How has the representation of women in art changed since modern times? In what ways is Lucas’ art demonstrative of wider changes regarding the role of gender in identity and the position of women in society? – the shift from ‘natural’ to prescribed gender roles – Lucas subverting traditional roles / images of women – comparison with Goya’s ‘Maja’ paintings (from early modernity) – Beck’s theory of self identity in the postmodern age – Gidden’s writings on gender identity in late modernity – Harvey’s description of postmodern art (is art the best medium in which to initiate change in attitudes or is it merely reflective of this?)
Topic: In this project I am going to be looking at what triggers people to get to the stage where they feel the only way out is to put an end to their life. Aims: The aim of this project is to get a balanced view of how and why people reach the point where they believe that the only way forward is to bring about their own death. I shall attempt to do this by looking a very diverse set of sources in order to show that there can never be a reason that can be applied to all cases. I have chosen to look at the work of Peter Singer, Jonathon Glover and the Christian perspective on the value of life in order to discuss whether it can ever be morally acceptable to bring about your own death. I am also going to look at a range of plays mostly Greek tragedy in order to see how this topic is dealt with. Questions I shall address: Can putting an end to your own life ever be morally acceptable? Are there situations where this could be regarded as acceptable and situations where it certainly could not? Do we have an obligation to preserve life? How do people continue with their life after a failed suicide attempt? Will you always be affected by the decision you made to try and take your life? Key Sources: Peter Singer ‘Practical Ethics’, David. H.Rosen ‘A follow up study of persons who survived jumping from the Golden Gate and San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridges’, Sophocles ‘Oedipus’ ‘Antigone’, Euripides ‘Electra’, Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘Football Season is over’ (Suicide Note), Henrik Ibsen ‘Hedda Gabler’
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.
Aims. The main aim of this project is to look at the topic of capital punishment and determine if it is a viable form of punishment or if it is simply inhumane. I will look at and consider the methods used and look at religion and determine if a society is responsible for allowing or not allowing capital punishment as a method of punishment. I will also look at how society has changed over the years and determine how this has influenced the perception of capital punishment. Concepts. Primarily I will look at the topic of capital punishment and I will consider the work of Durkheim and his views on society. I will also use Nietzsche as my secondary philosopher and I will consider his works on ethics. Although ethics will not be the main focus of this project I feel that I am unable to discuss capital punishment without using ethics in some part. I may also use some Enlightenment work to justify or oppose the use of capital punishment. Sources. I intend to use a wide variety of sources for this project including both primary and secondary texts. I will use both Durkheim’s, ‘The Division of Labour in Society’ and Nietzsche’s ‘On the Genealogy of Morals’ and ‘Beyond Good and Evil’. I will also use some journals and also look at works by Rousseau, Rawls, Lyotard along with Roger Hood’s book, ‘The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective’. The internet will also provide invaluable when researching capital punishment.
The philosophical basis of this project will be focused predominantly on the works of Bataille and Sade including Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom and Bataille’s Eroticism. This project aims to investigate eroticism and taboo in terms of the sexually grotesque in order to explore the place of erotic transgression in past and present society. I will do this by elaborating on key themes such as death, sexual perversion and cruelty. Chuck Palahniuk’s Guts represents a modern comparison to Sade’s text, using Bataille’s reflections from Eroticism I will conclude by assessing the significance and purpose of taboos within our society today.
My Aims: • To research the advertising sector in relation to its effects upon the public and their perception of themselves. • To study and investigate certain philosophical concepts, both obvious and obscure, which can be connected with such research. • To contact individual advertising companies, both profit and not-for-profit, in order to ascertain any differences in their agendas. • To briefly survey the public as to their thoughts on the subject, a questionnaire was circulated among different groups of society. • Through study of philosophical concepts I hope to be able to develop my argument. • To briefly investigate whether we do indeed live in a culture of consumerism and its connections with advertising. • I hope to be able to conclude that advertising and the new consumerism leaves the individual in a state of confusion and identity uncertainty, with a particular focus on youth. Sources: I shall be focusing on one key thinker; Charles Taylor and his work: “Philosophical Arguments and Papers”. However, I shall also be focusing in a more general sense upon other individual works; • David Wiggins; “Sameness and Substance”. • Richard Sennett; “The Culture of the New Capitalism” and “The Corrosion of Character”. • Anthony Giddens; “Modernity and Self-Identity”. I shall also be using internet resources, research data, and contact with advertising companies and questionnaires to aid my project conclusion.
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
Detournement provides a creative outlet that is free from commodification. A subversion of form as a negation of the Bourgeois values they originally represented. The only historically justified response tactic to the propaganda of state is innovation. The situationists disbanded following the riots and occupation of Paris in May 1968.
I have chosen the subject for several reasons. Apart from being able to investigate the journey of the development of democratic ideas in Europe, I had a chance to review the history of my own country and therefore present its difficult and passionate strife for the things that the Western part of Europe has taken for granted for so long. The picture below represents the unity and devotion that were the main accelerators in achieving what are now 3 proud independent democratic countries. It is a picture of the events of 1989 August, when people of all 3 Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) gathered together and joined hands across the 3 nations ( 650 km, more than 400 miles) in order to demonstrate their opposition to Soviet rule. Somewhere in that live fence stood myself, a five year old, expressing my right to be free. Philosophical Concept: I investigate the ways freedom can be manifested in a society. My main sources are Mill’s “On Liberty” and Rousseau’s “Social Contract” that represent the discussion between collectiveness and individuality that is crucial in defining the principles of any form of government, especially democratic.
Since the beginning of man, the question of what happens to us when we die has been one of the fundamental questions of ‘life’. It seems to be up to the individual as to what one believes the answer to the question is, and these beliefs vary widely. From those who believe in a definite happening after we die, to those who believe nothing happens, from those who believe we can’t possibly know, to those who believe we could find out before we get there. In this project I will look at different beliefs in the afterlife, whether religious, atheistic, or agnostic and try to see how possible it is to know what happens to us when we die, and whether people’s beliefs are based on fact, fantasy or faith. I will discuss a number of different views of the afterlife, outlining the fundamental attributes of each belief, and evidence for holding such beliefs. I will also discuss the ritual surrounding people’s death and how important these are to the loved ones of the deceased and how they vary depending on what one believes happens after death. I will also examine why people hold these views of the afterlife and how strong these views are and how they affect the lives and deaths of the believers.