Brief Overview of The Catcher in the Rye
The novel is narrated Holden Caulfield, who reveals that he is undergoing treatment for a mental breakdown. He has been informed that he is to be expelled from school at the end of the current semester. Following a distressing evening, Holden decides to return to Manhattan a few days early but instead of going home he chooses rather to book into a hotel. The novel is comprised of the events that take place in the few days between booking into the hotel and his return home. Holden narrates his encounters with various people, both strangers and acquaintances.
Alienation as proof of the presence of the ‘other’
Holden describes himself as trapped on “the other side” of life but it soon becomes clear that his alienation is, at least in part, self-inflicted and that he deliberately employs it as a means of protection. He is continually overwhelmed by his interactions with other people. He is constantly confronted by that which is unfamiliar and ‘other’ to himself. Though his alienation acts as a guard against that which he sees as ‘other’ it is also that which is the source of his pain and anxiety.
Holden’s inautheticity
Throughout the novel Holden expresses his unwillingness to accept change. He is constantly overwhelmed by complexity and wants everything to be eternally fixed. He does not understand everything about his surroundings which is a source of anxiety for him yet he refuses to acknowledge this anxiety. For Heidegger it is through anxiety that we are able to become authentic, however, Holden refuses to acknowledge his anxiety and as such remains in a state of inauthenticity. The apparent “phoniness” of the adult world comes to represent inauthentic living in Holden’s mind, adults seem to be driven by what one ought to do in a particular situation. In Heidegger’s words, the actions of adults are determined by what the anonymous ‘they’ consider to be appropriate. Childhood on the other hand, for Holden, represents an authentic living. As a result Holden is reluctant to enter in adulthood himself. He mistakenly believes that eccentricity is authentic and as such strives to assert his socalled uniqueness, this is represented in the red hunting hat. However, it is clear that he is not entirely comfortable with wearing it. As such it becomes a symbol of his inauthenticity rather than his authenticity.
Death
Two instances of death in the novel, the first is the metaphorical death of innocence. The novel is concerned with what seems to be an ongoing dying of innocence which represents that which Holden cannot quite grasp about the adult world. It is a constant opening up of his relationship with the other. Holden’s breakdown too symbolises the struggle of the ego to remain itself over time, his illness, becomes that which separates him from himself. The second instance of death is the death of his brother, Allie, which serves as a reminder of the impossibility of possibility (Blanchot).
Category: Stage 3
Territory- My territory is Western Society moving from the time of Ancient Greek philosophers through to postmodernist philosophers. Objectives- I asked myself a series of questions, these were as follows 1 “What is the golden rule of ethics and why is it so important?” 2 “Where does our ideas of morality and the idea of reciprocity come from?” 3 “Does the golden rule still apply?” 4 “Is there really a moral framework of ethical conduct prevalent within our society?” 5 “With the changes that can be seen within our society, can a moral framework based upon an ancient idea of reciprocity continue to work?” My aim in answering these questions was to use the works of Aristotle, Kant and Lyotard to chart a change in the ideas of ethics through time.
Territory: Branding (the world’s largest include Coca-cola, Microsoft, IBM and Nokia) Philosophy: Existentialism, notably that of Jean-Paul Sartre(1905-80), (right). The aim of my project is to explore the world of branding and assess the relevant applications of existentialism. I shall examine how an investigation into existential freedom can reveal new and intriguing insights into the world of brands. I consider the significance of branding to my own existential freedom, (and issues including brand loyalty), asking such questions as: In what way does branding affect my freedom? Is my freedom diminished by brand loyalty? Is brand loyalty merely a symptom of existential freedom; perhaps an inevitable outcome in light of the vast choice offered? Is it a safe option, to avoid anguish and anxiety over my freedom, to choose the big brand? Through investigating our everyday existence, I hope to explore, the relationship between ourselves, our freedom, and branding. I aim to develop these ideas through the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, and existential philosophy, which itself has undergone considerable change, from its birth to its present-day form. However the most important element of change, that I discuss in my project, is the movement from my own existential freedom in relation to brands, to the existential freedom of the brand itself –an existential brand/’brand existentialism’.
An examination of minor literature: the deterritorialization of language and how the use of language relates to the notion of différance in terms of identity. Aims: I aim to demonstrate within my investigation, how deterritorialization, as a central concept to minor literature, is affluent in the writings of the authors within my territory. I wish to further argue that within minor literature, Derrida’s concept of différance helps us to understand the position that identity has to play for the author. Territory: Works from Franz Kafka and Hunter.S.Thompson will be central within my territory of authors of minor literature and their works will be related to the philosophical concepts of Deleuze and Derrida. Philosophical concepts and thinkers: Deleuze: deterritorialization and the process of ‘becoming minor’ and Derrida: deconstruction and the concept of différance.
Food goes along with sleep, water and recreation to formulate the fundamental necessaries we as humans need to survive. In most developed countries we have cultivated mechanisms and technologies that greatly improve the provision of food and this has given rise to experimentation with flavours and recipes that has produced a variety of tastes and delights. Within these countries eating has lost its association with need and has developed a new connotation with pleasure. Restaurants are just one of the industries that have been born of that pleasure, as we enter the beginnings of a still very young millennium, the changes and growth of the restaurant industry provides a vessel in which to explore the drive for consumption, the importance of the meal and society in its relation to culture. All this is amidst a backdrop of those country’s which still encounter the struggle for food and in many ways reflect the same picture of life from the beginning of the last millennium. Part One – Analysis of three restaurants in Leeds:- Anthony’s – Fine Dining; The Outside In – Family Restaurant / Nouvelle Cuisine; McDonald’s – Fast Food. Part Two – History of The Restaurant, Parisian Phenomena, Move to England and USA, Last 50 years – diet revolution. Part Three – McDonaldization of Society, Max Weber – Rationalisation, Mass Culture / Consumerism. Part Four – Food Technology, Martin Heidegger and Albert Borgmann – Technology, Healthier Attitudes – Slow Food. Key Texts – Heidegger – Question Concerning Technology, Eric Schlosser – Fast Food Nation, George Ritzer – The McDonaldization of Society, Rebecca Sprang – History of the Restaurant, Peter Davison – The Cultural Debate, Theodore Adorno – The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture, Albert Borgmann – Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, Alan Warde – Consumption, Food and Taste.
Territory. I used the corporate world as my territory and looked at it through the role and nature of the individual within this world. Areas of Investigation • I explored the relationship between the corporate world and the individual by looking at the evolution of the corporate structure and its rise to prominence within society. • I also investigated the ethics involved within a corporate structure and the relationships between individuals in this environment. • I looked at the relationship between the individual and the idea of power relations within society. • I also explored what the future of the corporate world could be and the role of the individual within this, with an emphasis on the rise of the postmodern and its impact on this world. Philosophical Ideas. I use the philosophical ideas on the nature of power and the individual from Foucault, and the rise of the corporation as an institution to replace the factory from Deleuze’s thought. When I explore the ethics within a corporate structure I look at the work of Robert Solomon and Robert Jackall on management ethics and their theory on ‘embededness’. In the relation to the future of the corporate world I have looked at the postmodern thought of Gianni Vattimo and Jean-Francois Lyotard to consider the idea that the over-arching structure of the universal narrative is disintegrating to be replaced by a multitude of individual voices. Conclusions. Throughout my project I seek to explore the relationship between the individual and the corporate world and to explain how this has changed as different aspects of the world have developed and the way in which we are propelled towards the postmodern individual
In my project this year I have decided to investigate the area of youth culture in Twenty-First Century Britain. What are the factors which make our younger generation feel so misunderstood by their elders? Using various media sources I have drawn upon examples of contemporary British culture where the younger generation seem to be veering off any track of recognised social development. These areas include crime, identity, media, artistic expression, drug use, gangs and many more. In my final project I hope to find some links between the changes in youth culture as we know it and some philosophical concepts which I have studied during my degree. The first section of my project will concentrate on the growing gap between the attitudes and characteristics of the older generation and the younger generation. I hope to use Nietzsche’s work on the master and slave morality to explain the reversal of the attitudes towards the elderly from a stance of respect for experience and wisdom to one of burden and frustration. It seems we now value the progress, originality and vitality present in the youth of today as far more important than anything the older generation can offer unlike fifty years ago when children were taught to respect their elders. It seems this has resulted in a loss of communication and understanding between the two groups, where the older group was once seen as dominant and the younger group as passive, we now encourage the youth of today and the elderly are either forgotten about by the state, or at least take a secondary role in society. The next section will address the growing need for our youth to differentiate themselves into identity groups depending on their fashion, music, consumer or social tastes. Whether it is choosing a particular group of friends or enjoying a special past-time the younger generation seem intent on defining every individual into a certain group or trend. Such examples as “Goths”, “Chavs”, “Hippies” or “Ras” are common in most school playgrounds. I will also look at internet sites such as “Myspace.com” and other blog sites and using the work of Vattimo and his “Transparent Society” text I hope to gain a better understanding of the growing need for personal narratives in the Twenty-First Century and why our younger generation require these categories to “fit in” with society. The final section of my project will deal with the growing concern towards the anti-social behaviour displayed by the youth of today. This will include all aspects of daily life from truancy, graffiti, theft, drug use, to more serious crimes such as assault and rape. Why is it we feel the youngsters of Britain these days have a lack of respect for authority? Could it be linked with some changing social dynamics put forward by thinkers such as Beck and Giddens, or the increased pressure put on our children to follow a globally fast paced, informational, consumer driven society? In my final project I hope to address these issues and find some answers to some of the most pressing issues concerning Twenty-First Century Britain.
Territory: All Saints Church, Hannington; a small country church, in the village of Hannington in Hampshire. Situated in the centre of the village, it is both physically, and spiritually the core of the village. As well as Sunday Worship the church is used for Women’s Institute meetings and play groups and holds lots of village history, for example the millennium tapestry, and engraved windows of Rose Hodgson and William Whistler. Major Concepts: The main aim of my project is to prove that the loss of strict dogma in society from a universal law or code of practice is problematic, as it has caused the decline in morality that we witness in society today. * My main focus is on the Ten Commandments from Exodus Chapter 20. It is evident that numbers 5-10 are still important in society to both believers and non-believers. Whilst before the importance lay upon the Christian doctrine, now society enforces Laws. * There is a difference now in which crimes are punishable, as the rise in science has made all things measurable. We can empirically verify if for example a rape has happened through DNA testing, whereas in the past it was one person’s word against another’s. This dependence on scientific fact extracts from the importance of faith and resembles a reason for the decline in religious belief: people do not believe what they cannot see, and therefore do not trust in a metaphysical God. Philosophers: My main focus will be upon Kant, using his Moral Law and Categorical Imperative which states, “Act only on a maxim, which has the possibility of becoming a universal law”. Whilst Kant only infers that God ought to be true rather than is true, a good Kantian is a good Christian as he infers that one must be moral to everyone at all times. * I will also study Foucault, particularly relating to his ideas on madness in Madness and Civilisation, in which he asserts to us that the rise in science has amounted to a change in society, for people who were considered mad were let out of the mental institutions in the 1980’s as they passed a scientific test. Clearly here, society is being measured, in the same way that proof in the law is measured, meaning one’s relation to oneself is measured and laws are no longer a priori moral truths. I hope to prove that whilst in a dogmatic society individuals strive to be unique, in the free society we live in, citizens strive to be like everyone else but also place themselves way above everyone else, causing a lack of community feel and a rise in immoral behaviour.
Object, Place, Event. The Internet and the World Wide Web of Interactive Global Networking. A Mechanism of Change. A new medium is claiming to absorb almost all older forms of media and literature which is very different from previous mediums. The Internet is a super integrative medium which moves one step further and claims to leave behind the physical ground of older media, transforming these into non-corporeal electronic data that can be stored and accessed beyond the constraints of space, thus making time the decisive criterion by which we should judge the new media age and the future of language and literature. This current media change is negating not only the physical nature of prose, but the individual as we know him or her, be it the author or the political individual rooted in a local community. This claims to change the self into a non corporeal being and thus can be considered in many ways to end 2,500 years of Western Metaphysics. The interactive global is not primarily a storage device, but rather a communication tool that attempts to build a free intellectual and emotional virtual community. In order to participate in this virtual community, one is forced to necessarily negate the physical conditions of human existence and to invent a virtual personality with an easily changeable identity. The Negation of the ‘Natural’. Has the internet destroyed the singular work of literature, of art, in such a way as to engender not only a loss of its aura or its affect, but its former context as transposed by the bourgeoisie to a secular ritual of the work of literature or art?
Introduction. The Rhizome and the arborescent model. The powerful tree trunk, here representing a hierarchy of opinion against the horizontal, discontinuous and free flight of the rhizome. The trunk is filiation. The rhizome on the other hand represents multiplicities. It has no beginning or end, just a middle (a milieu). It is a subterranean shoot, it spreads horizontally, and at certain junctures plateaus arise. A rhizome is about connectivity. It does not run opposed to the arborescent (or state) but it is a line of escape/flight, a different way. No one language in a rhizome, multiplicity. Arborescent might seek a universal language. Nomad thought verses state space. The overall aim is to investigate the music press and the changes that have occurred due to advances in communication and technology and to look at the potential future of the music press plus industry and the implication for the consumer, artist and the record labels. Plateaus. What are the new plateaus that have arisen due to advances in technology and communication? New web sites, the advent of file sharing. The consumer ideally jumps from one to another (metacritic.com) and makes informed decisions on what to listen to or buy. The eventuality of the rhizome might be becoming ‘a self facilitating media node,’ (Nathan Barley, Channel 4). What about those who can’t reach these plateaus? Is the arborescent structure still in existence? The event. ‘The best of all worlds is not the one that reproduces the eternal, but the one in which new creations are produced, the one endowed with a capacity for innovation or creativity: a teleological conversion of philosophy,’ (p79, The Fold, Deleuze). Deleuze’s theory of the event and the growing sense that music is becoming more about the event. The live sphere is the only one that doesn’t represent an absence. Can the press ever influence us more than the first hand experience? Examples, Polyphonic Spree, Arctic Monkeys. War Machines. The war machine is a kind of movement which is separate to the state, and it causes concern to, or somehow disturbs the sedentary cultures within the state. For the purpose of this discussion the arborescent root within the music industry could be equated with the state. Independent labels and bands as war machines. They try to mix the state apparatus up. Runs away from as well as struggle against the state. Eventually become recoded by capital, example Creation records. Reterritorialization and deterritorialization, capitalism and the attempt by the state to limit desires. Do the new plateaus mean a creation of desires. Hell is For Heroes and Captains of industry case studies Interview with an independent label and band. The band have been signed to a major, and independent, and a have released an album on their own label. Captains of Industry is run as a collective, skills which can be used are used. There is no management structure and yet they have been relatively successful. How much can a small label and a rock band do? The culmination of war machines to strangle the arborescent root. Bands that have been directly affected by the changes in technology- Arctic Monkeys, Wilco etc. Are there pitfalls to file sharing? Conclusion. Is the music mainstream music press losing its influence? How much did it have in the first place? Is there a cycle going on- the arborescent, the struggle to topple it then the creation of another? If we are bored of trees, why do we keep planting them?
Central Questions: ▫ How and why do we want to capture our memories in media such as photographs, film and literature? ▫ What can we learn from this need to preserve our experiences? In particular this will relate to Robert Antelme’s The Human Race. ▫ How does our need to preserve memory relate to our struggle with the other? Exploration of the Territory and Central Concepts: ▫ Look at current ways of memory capture such as web archiving, and see how these relate to a need to capture experience as comprehensively as possible. ▫ Look closely at The Human Race and more generally at the ways in which we strive to preserve the memory of the holocaust. I also intend to separate individual and collective memory. ▫ Look at Heidegger’s work on the other in Being and Time. ▫ Look at Derrida’s notion of the other in relation to identity. I want to link identity to memory and see how we assert our individual and group identities through memory capture.
Aims: I aim to find in this project the changes in our beliefs on freedom over the past 50 years. I will do this by examining a number of different areas; Politics, sociology and philosophy. I will investigate how far we are free and how far we, as individuals, are able to have an input in global decisions. I will also use Aldous Huxley’s masterpiece Brave New World. With this I will compare the negative utopia Huxley created with our world today. How far are we conditioned with the use of television and mass media and can you compare these two modern creations with Huxley’s invented Soma? In terms of politics, this is the domain where are where are freedoms are formed. Politics sets forth the rules that both protect us and inhibit us. However how far has and can our voice been heard? How far can we influence governments? With one million people protesting in London alone over the war in Iraq, the British government still sent troops to a war which was both illegal and unethical. On a sociological level I will be examining freedom in terms of racism and minority groups. Have minority groups gained equal footing a predominantly white western world? With the philosophy world I will use Derrida and most of all Michel Foucault. He aimed to show that we are in actual fact freer that we actually think. He confronts all types of political thought. He aimed to find links between global politics and the individual. Sources: As I have said the major philosopher I will use in Michel Foucault and his works Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexulaity. I will also look at philosophers such as Nietzsche and Derrida. The major piece of literature I will use is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Which will supply both an early twentieth century view on freedom and a piece with which I can compare our world today.
AIM: Explore the complexity that arises with respect to our understanding of the word mother(hood) in non-genetic gestational (full) surrogacy. METHODOLOGY: • Consider the recent achievements of reproductive biology • Analysis of the word mother(hood) and what is “natural” mother(hood) • Consider the influence of the gestational mother (being-in-the-womb + genotype-phenotype distinction) • Consider the “supplementarity” of the gestational mother. CONCLUSION: Both genetic mother and gestational mother are of equal importance for the child’s existence. KEY CONCEPTS: • Being-in-the-world • Thrownness • Genotype-Phenotype distinction • Supplement
My Territory is the broad subject of education. To be more precise I shall be documenting the way education has developed itself to thrive in a knowledge economy. I shall be looking at the way it had affected and been affected by the economy, the government and the public since the 1950s. My Philosophy shall be Daniel Bell’s work on the ‘Post-Industrial Society,’ which I shall be using in comparison with Manuel Castells’ ‘Post-Information Society.’ My Aim is to understand why education has become the cornerstone of today’s society; it has become the locus for equal opportunities; it had become essential if one is to be successful; and it has become the foundation of our economy. With reference to Bell and Castells I wish to discover why education is now so important for the individual, the politics, and for the economy; and how it got to this stage. My Method shall be to first examine Bell’s forecast on the post-industrial society, by looking at ‘The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society,’ which he wrote in 1973. Then progress onto a thorough examination of my territory which shall be split into three; (i) Economy and education: I shall be looking at how globalization is affected by/ affects education by looking at Colin Leys’ ‘Market Driven Politics,’ and Alison Wolf’s ‘Does Education Matter.’ (ii) Politics and Education: I shall be researching every political Act that has been passed since the 1950s and discussing its importance. (iii) Attitudes of the Individual: understanding why there has been such an increase in higher and adult education as well as understanding the lengths parents will go to in order to ensure their child gets a top quality education. I shall then go on to revisit Bell so I can examine whether his forecast can be reinforced by my findings, and compare his work with that of Castells.
● It has become apparent that a huge increase in those taking part in extreme sports has occurred over the last 40 years. There are currently, across the globe, 168 million participants in activities such as sky-diving, SCUBA diving and snowboarding. It is my contention that this growth is due to more than greater accessibility to facilities for such sports. ● Jean-François Lyotard: maintenance of the death of grand-narratives meaning that we lose our ability to create an identity for ourselves. New methods for self validation must be found in the postmodern society. Text: The Postmodern Condition [2005] ● Friedrich Nietzsche: we must go above and beyond ourselves if we are to escape this mentality. We must adhere to masterly behavior and act as we please. Text: Beyond Good and Evil [1998] ● GWF Hegel: only in pushing to the limits of death do we experience freedom. In risking life we affirm life. Text: The Phenomenology of Spirit [1977] ● By looking at the possible relationships between extreme sports and the three philosophers cited above it should become apparent that whilst the postmodern society encourages individuals to seek new methods of self-identification, of which extreme sports is one, partakers in extreme sports maintain a Hegelian notion of death, in seeking it to affirm life, whilst not going beyond it as Nietzsche would request. In this respect, extreme sports offer a positive method of self-validation in the postmodern climate which pushes but does not exceed boundaries.
Outline: I will be exploring the different factors that contribute to the formation of identity in a Postmodern society and the idea that too many choices/influences have induced a new desire for singular, primary identities i.e. those based around fundamental religious beliefs/ rooted in a particular locality etc. Aims: • To investigate what ‘identity’ means in the Postmodern age. • To explore how the influence of social institutions such as the Church, state, patriarchal family etc has been eroded by factors such as globalisation and contrast this with the ways in which people were influenced by these things in the past. • To examine the ways we try to construct identity on a daily basis i.e. through consumer culture and provide an exposition of the range of choices available to us. • To show that Postmodernism and the ‘Network Society’ in the ‘Information Age’ may leave the individual feeling detached from any kind of immediate society/community meaning that the chaos and pastiche of postmodernity has led to a need for direction and this is leading to a ‘regrouping’ around primary identities. • To provide an exposition of different types of primary identity such as the American Militia and religious fundamentalist groups. Sources: My key thinker will be Manuel Castells and I will be using his book: ‘The Power of Identity’. Further sources will include:- • David Harvey: The Condition of Postmodernity • Craig Calhoun: Social Theory & The Politics of Identity • Anthony Giddens: Modernity & Self Identity • Charles Lasch: The culture of Narcissism
Territory: Southlands Special Secondary School in Tynemouth, Newcastle. By basing my research here, I have gained valuable primary information through interviews, observations and conversations on Special Education. Abstract: Education as a whole has seen a mass amount of change since the age of Plato and Socrates, however in this project it is a sub form of education that I am exploring, Special Education. Unlike mainstream education, special education has had to deal with different criticisms to achieve the place in acceptable society that it has now, as it suffered from a lot of discrimination, as did the children that were labelled as ‘special’. Now they have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Act to protect them, so I aim to see if these adjustments have substantially improved how they are perceived in the education system and also if they are taught fairly and correctly in conjunction with their learning difficulty. Topical issues that are raised: – What is Education? From the viewpoint of famous thinkers. (Rousseau) – What are the myths surrounding Special Education? Why do they exist? – ADHD (Learning Difficulties-behavioural/emotional)– An example of one of the medical diagnoses given to a child who attends a Special school. – Reference to educational psychologists: Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky and how they think children should be taught. – Teaching styles – particularly in creative (art/music) classes and science classes. Differences in techniques with each other, and with general teaching styles in mainstream education. Do they improve learning? – Could a philosophical based approach to teaching for Learning Difficulties be more beneficial? Or a philosophy class? – Is Special Education still discriminated against today?
– “We will promote the security, prosperity and freedom of action of the United States and its partners by securing access to key regions, lines of communication, and the global commons.” – “We will expand the community of nations that share principles and interests with us, and we will help partners increase their capacity to defend themselves and collectively meet challenges to our common interests.” – “We will create conditions conducive to a favourable international system by honouring our security commitments and working with others to bring about a common appreciation of threats; the steps required to protect against these threats; and a broad, secure, and lasting peace.” National Security Strategy of The United States, March 2005
Themes: • In this project I look at how advertising, marketing and consumerism rule our culture, and the effects of this on the individuals existing within this society. The effects on the individual’s life such as freedom, happiness and identity. • The majority of most of our lives is spent working in order to make money, to purchase consumables. Consumables have become the indicators of status, rather than leisure time, or rank at work. For example what car you drive and labels you wear has become of incredible importance. • We now build up our identities through what we consume, and find a sense of freedom in the consumer arena. We feel that we are free to buy what we want and make personal choices, when in fact we are brainwashed and seduced by advertising and the mass media. • Is the world in which we are living a reality? Have we become so obsessed with objects and image that we do not know our real desires or what real fulfilment is? Consumer fulfilment is just postponing the emptiness of our lives, which is why we continue to consume, to constantly fill this void. Sources: I shall focus on three main thinkers, two sociologists Bunting and Bauman and the philosopher Debord. I shall also be comparing these thinkers to other philosophers throughout. • Bunting: I shall look at her book Willing Slaves, How the Overwork Culture is Ruining our Lives. She examines how we as a culture work exhaustive hours in order to consume, this desire to consume is installed in us through the media, advertising and marketing. • Bauman: I shall mainly be looking as his book Identity, and how our society saturated with the media and advertising has a huge effect on our identities. • Debord: I shall be looking at his book Society of the Spectacle, in which he critiques our culture. I shall be investigating what he means by the spectacle, and how he suggests that the society in which we live is not real due to advertising and the media. Our society is fake in a sense, and we have lost contact with our true desires and selves.
STAGE ONE. The primary stage of my project entailed research into the Baltic Art Factory and the Tate Modern Gallery. Comprising of multiple visits and enquiry into the intentions of the creators of both spaces. As well as research into the basic of museum and gallery theory. Bibliography includes: Smith, J. Alan, Baltic: The Art Factory. Gateshead: Baltic, 2002; Blazwick, Iwona and Wilson, Simon, Towards the Tate Modern. London: Tate Gallery Publishing, 2000 ;Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean, Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge. London; Routledge, 1992; Serota, Nicholas, Walter Neurath Memorial Lecture 1996: Experience or Interpretation: the Dilemma of Museums of Modern Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996. STAGE TWO. The secondary stage evolved from my findings in the first and led to research into personal experience when one encounters and reflects upon a sole work of modern art (that of Rothko). I also investigated the possibility of change in that experience from modern to postmodern society and the bearing of social and educational background on the experience of visual art. Including the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, David Harvey and Arthur C. Danto.