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What exactly is it we want from dogs today? This is a little book
about the oldest relationship we humans have cultivated with
another large animal—in something like the original interspecies
space, as old or older than any other practice that might be called
human. But it’s also about the role of this relationship in the
attrition of life—especially social life—in late capitalism. As
we become more and more obsessed with imagining ourselves as
benevolent rescuers of dogs, it is increasingly clear that it is
dogs who are rescuing us. But from what? And toward what? Exploring
adoption, work, food, and training, this book considers the social
as fundamentally more-than-human and argues that the future belongs
to dogs—and the humans they are pulling along.
Now that pornography is on the Internet, its political and social
functions have changed. So contends Margret Grebowicz in this
imperative philosophical analysis of Internet porn. The production
and consumption of Internet porn, in her account, are a symptom of
the obsession with self-exposure in today's social networking
media, which is, in turn, a symptom of the modern democratic
construction of the governable subject as both transparent and
communicative. In this first feminist critique to privilege the
effects of pornography's Internet distribution rather than what it
depicts, Grebowicz examines porn-sharing communities (such as the
bestiality niche market) and the politics of putting women's sexual
pleasure on display (the "squirting" market) as part of the larger
democratic project. Arguing against this project, she shows that
sexual pleasure is not a human right. Unlikely convergences between
thinkers like Catherine MacKinnon, Jean Baudrillard, Judith Butler,
and Jean-Francois Lyotard allow her to formulate a theory of the
relationships between sex, speech, and power that stands as an
alternative to such cyber-libertarian mottos as "freedom of speech"
and "sexual freedom."
Historians of wilderness have shown that nature reserves are used
ideologically in the construction of American national identity.
But the contemporary problem of wilderness demands examination of
how profoundly nature-in-reserve influences something more
fundamental, namely what counts as being well, having a life, and
having a future. What is wellness for the citizens to whom the
parks are said to democratically belong? And how does the presence
of foreigners threaten this wellness? Recent critiques of the
Wilderness Act focus exclusively on its ecological effects,
ignoring the extent to which wilderness policy affects our
contemporary collective experience and political imagination.
Tracing the challenges that migration and indigenousness currently
pose to the national park system and the Wilderness Act, Grebowicz
foregrounds concerns with social justice against the ecological and
aesthetic ones that have created and continue to shape these
environments. With photographs by Jacqueline Schlossman.
Feminist theorist and philosopher Donna Haraway has substantially
impacted thought on science, cyberculture, the environment,
animals, and social relations. This long-overdue volume explores
her influence on feminist theory and philosophy, paying particular
attention to her more recent work on companion species, rather than
her "Manifesto for Cyborgs." Margret Grebowicz and Helen Merrick
argue that the ongoing fascination with, and re-production of, the
cyborg has overshadowed Haraway's extensive body of work in ways
that run counter to her own transdisciplinary practices. Sparked by
their own personal "adventures" with Haraway's work, the authors
offer readings of her texts framed by a series of theoretical and
political perspectives: feminist materialism, standpoint
epistemology, radical democratic theory, queer theory, and even
science fiction. They situate Haraway's critical storytelling and
"risky reading" practices as forms of feminist methodology and
recognize her passionate engagement with "naturecultures" as the
theoretical core driving her work. Chapters situate Haraway as
critic, theorist, biologist, feminist, historian, and humorist,
exploring the full range of her identities and reflecting her
commitment to embodying all of these modes simultaneously.
In 1923, a reporter asked George Mallory why he wanted to summit
Mount Everest. "Because it's there". Today the question "why do
this?" is included in nearly every mountaineering story or
interview. Meanwhile, interest in climbing is steadily on the rise,
from commercial mountaineering and climbing walls in university
gyms and corporate workplaces to the flood of spectacular climbing
imagery in advertising, cinema, and social media. Climbing has
become the theater for imagining limits-of the human body and of
the planet- and the nature of desire, motivation, and #goals.
Covering the degradation of Everest, the banning of climbing on
Australia's Uluru, UNESCO's decision to name alpinism an Intangible
Cultural Heritage, the sudden death of Ueli Steck, and the
commercial and critical success of Free Solo, Mountains and Desire
chases after what remains of this pursuit - marred by its colonial
history, coopted by nationalistic chauvinism, ableism, and the
capitalist compulsion to unlimited growth - for both climbers and
their fans.
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Whale Song (Paperback)
Margret Grebowicz
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R354
R253
Discovery Miles 2 530
Save R101 (29%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books
about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The sapiens of the sea,
whales are the other intelligent, social, and loquacious animal.
But they seem to swim away the more people chase after them in an
effort to communicate and connect. Why does the meaning of their
mesmerizing songs continue to elude us? In times of unprecedented
environmental and social loss, Whale Song ponders the problems
facing ocean ecosystems and offers lessons from those depths for
human social life and intimacy. Object Lessons is published in
partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) was one of the previous
century’s most provocative thinkers. Can his work help us address
the crisis currently facing the humanities? The dominant economic
discourse sees the humanities as “low-value,” an irritation at
best. Lyotard helps us to think against this pervasive dismissal of
creative activity, not by defending the honor of the humanities,
but by inviting critical practices which aggravate this irritation.
Critical practices trouble what counts as critique, embrace
incertitude, and listen for silenced voices. Twelve essays by
artists and researchers take up Lyotard's invitation and begin to
develop the idea of critical practice in the contemporary context.
Three sections titled “What resists thinking;” “Long views
and distances” and “Why art practice?” address contemporary
concerns like affectivity, aesthetics, economic imperatives,
militarism, pedagogy, posthumanism, and the closure of what in
Lyotard's time was called "the West." Four short pieces by Lyotard
intervene in and buttress the discussion: “Apathy in Theory”
and “Interview with Art Présent,” here published in English
for the first time, and “Affect-phrase” and “The Other’s
Rights” republished here to highlight his prescient concern for
that which cannot be articulated.
Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998) was one of the previous century's
most provocative thinkers. Can his work help us address the crisis
currently facing the humanities? The dominant economic discourse
sees the humanities as "low-value," an irritation at best. Lyotard
helps us to think against this pervasive dismissal of creative
activity, not by defending the honor of the humanities, but by
inviting critical practices which aggravate this irritation.
Critical practices trouble what counts as critique, embrace
incertitude, and listen for silenced voices. Twelve essays by
artists and researchers take up Lyotard's invitation and begin to
develop the idea of critical practice in the contemporary context.
Three sections titled "What resists thinking;" "Long views and
distances" and "Why art practice?" address contemporary concerns
like affectivity, aesthetics, economic imperatives, militarism,
pedagogy, posthumanism, and the closure of what in Lyotard's time
was called "the West." Four short pieces by Lyotard intervene in
and buttress the discussion: "Apathy in Theory" and "Interview with
Art Present," here published in English for the first time, and
"Affect-phrase" and "The Other's Rights" republished here to
highlight his prescient concern for that which cannot be
articulated.
Feminist theorist and philosopher Donna Haraway has substantially
impacted thought on science, cyberculture, the environment,
animals, and social relations. This long-overdue volume explores
her influence on feminist theory and philosophy, paying particular
attention to her more recent work on companion species, rather than
her "Manifesto for Cyborgs." Margret Grebowicz and Helen Merrick
argue that the ongoing fascination with, and re-production of, the
cyborg has overshadowed Haraway's extensive body of work in ways
that run counter to her own transdisciplinary practices. Sparked by
their own personal "adventures" with Haraway's work, the authors
offer readings of her texts framed by a series of theoretical and
political perspectives: feminist materialism, standpoint
epistemology, radical democratic theory, queer theory, and even
science fiction. They situate Haraway's critical storytelling and
"risky reading" practices as forms of feminist methodology and
recognize her passionate engagement with "naturecultures" as the
theoretical core driving her work. Chapters situate Haraway as
critic, theorist, biologist, feminist, historian, and humorist,
exploring the full range of her identities and reflecting her
commitment to embodying all of these modes simultaneously.
From her activism to her passionate writings, June Jordan (1936 -
2002) is one of the most revered American poets of our time.
Jordan's writing simultaneously provokes delight and energy while
urging reflection on American society and its injustices. In Still
Seeking an Attitude, the first reflection on her legacy, Jordan's
life and works are explored in depth and detail, focusing on
subjects ranging from her use of language and linguistics to her
political activism and role in children's literature. These
critical examinations elucidate the power and poetry of Jordan's
words, serving as an exciting supplement for those already familiar
with Jordan and an excellent guide for anyone discovering her works
for the first time.
The revolutionary French thinker Jean-Francois Lyotard indicates in
many of his writings that one of the most significant philosophical
problems is the problem of gender. This volume attempts to situate
the central concerns of contemporary feminist theory-aesthetics,
embodiment, performance, sexual difference, ethics,
testimony-within Lyotard's writings, to show that these concerns
have always been there. Contributors discuss film theory, body
modification, feminist critiques of science, postholocaust art, the
feminine sublime, and theater. As a whole, the book serves as a
robust meditation on the nature of the political as understood by
Lyotard, and demonstrates the many different ways in which feminist
concerns are taken up in discussions regarding the nature of the
political in contemporary continental thought. An afterword by
James Williams-one of the world's leading Lyotard commentators-is
included."
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