What we’re about
CURRENT READING LIST: Google Spreadsheet
Welcome! As the name suggests, this group aims to explore the history of ideas through some of the most influential texts in science, philosophy and literature. Each month we will choose a text or topic to read/research and discuss. The group is open to everyone and is intended as an informal way of engaging with some of the key ideas that have shaped our societies and cultures down through the centuries. No prior understanding of any of the texts or ideas is required and newcomers are always welcome!
It is not a requirement to have read the assigned text to join in the discussion. For those with less time, I will post links to abridged versions, as well as short videos and podcasts providing a general overview of the topic.
Members are welcome to suggest texts/topics and share links to resources such as study guides, podcasts, documentaries, etc.
Upcoming events
1
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler discussion
Costigan's Pub, 11 Washington Street West, Cork, CO, IEOne of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past fifty years, Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, 'essential' notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category 'woman' and continues in this vein with examinations of 'the masculine' and 'the feminine'. Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality. Thrilling and provocative, few other academic works have roused passions to the same extent.
Text…
- Gender Trouble (PDF): https://selforganizedseminar.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/butler-gender_trouble.pdf
- Gender Trouble (Audio): https://youtu.be/OuwnZvA_uW0?si=plZeYEWkVorgbb0M
For a shorter read, here is an early article by Butler touching on similar topics...
- Performative Acts and Gender Constitution (PDF): https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/media/1650/butler_performative_acts.pdf
Video…
- Big Think: Judith Butler - Berkeley professor explains gender theory https://youtu.be/UD9IOllUR4k?si=BqMynm01yqUaTLTu
Podcasts…
- Partially Examined Life: Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble” (Part One) https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/02/03/ep235-1-butler-gender-trouble/
- Partially Examined Life: Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble” (Part Two) https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/02/10/ep-235-2-butler-gender-trouble/
- Interview, The: Judith Butler: Gender and Identity https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct4p4g
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