Rough Theory

Theory In The Rough

Monthly Archives: April 2008

Conversations on Textual Strategy

1 Comment Posted by N Pepperell on April 28, 2008

I am absolutely buried at the moment, but I thought I would belatedly post a pointer to an energetic discussion still unfolding over at Larval Subjects on the question of the necessity of “difficult writing” in certain kinds of philosophical texts. From the original post: Hopefully I have enough “cred” to inveigh against “difficult books” [...]

Conversations, Professional Life, Reading, Writing

Articulating Positions (Updated)

Leave a Comment Posted by N Pepperell on April 26, 2008

In the throes of writing over the weekend, but I wanted to put up a quick pointer to a post from Carl at Dead Voles, who is reflecting on the conversation Daniel and I had here, over the meaning of some of the terms I used when trying to contrast Lukács and Marx. I’ve been [...]

Analytic/Continental, Conversations, Metatheory, Writing

Capital, Volume 1, Chapter 1: A Close Reading of the Naming of the Fetish

10 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on April 24, 2008

The entire long series on the first chapter of Capital, volume 1, was written as an exercise in unpacking Marx’s argument about commodity fetishism. En route, the series has done much more than that – but it has also done a bit less. Among other things, I’ve never gotten around to detailed textual analysis of [...]

Abstraction, Critical Theory, Empiricism, Fetish, Political Economy, Reification, Religion

Things to Do, Places to Be (Australian Edition)

Leave a Comment Posted by N Pepperell on April 22, 2008

So in my ongoing quest to turn this blog into a very clumsy calendar of events, I just wanted to archive a couple of things that will be happening once I’m back from Europe. I will be presenting at two events in July: 11-13 July: Analytic vs. Continental Mini-Conference, Melbourne – a sort of… after-shock [...]

Events

The Reality of Abstraction

10 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on April 20, 2008

I’ve been glancing through some of the secondary literature on Derrida’s Specters of Marx, trying to piece together an abstract. I paused over the following comment, from Jameson’s “Marx’s Purloined Letter”, in Ghostly Demarcations (2008), p. 36: As for materialism, it ought to be the place in which theory, deconstruction and Marxism meet: a privileged [...]

Abstraction, Critique, Negations, Political Economy, Transformation

Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat, pt. 3

9 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on April 16, 2008

Just like as in a nest of boxes round, Degrees of sizes in each box are found: So, in this world, may many others be Thinner and less, and less still by degree: Although they are not subject to our sense, [...] ~ Margaret Cavendish “Of Many Worlds in This World” Fragments on Lukács’ essay, [...]

Abstraction, Critical Theory, Empiricism, Fetish, Marxes, Materialism, Philosophy of History, Political Economy, Reification

Marx of the Day

Leave a Comment Posted by N Pepperell on April 13, 2008

I feel like I ought to have had this quote handy a few weeks ago, when I was writing about Derrida’s selective edits to Capital. In any event, this quotation hits on some of the themes in the various conversations that have been underway in recent weeks with Praxis on the relationship between philosophy and [...]

Conversations, Materialism, Metatheory

Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat, pt. 2

4 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on April 13, 2008

Whatever the elements (it’s urban/it’s pastoral, it’s empty/it’s open), the theory says it could always be worse. Until it is. Then theory fails, [...] ~ Mary Jo Bang @2004 “Catastrophe Theory II” At the opening of the “Reification” essay, Lukács puts forward the bold claim that: It is no accident that Marx should have begun [...]

Fetish, Marxes, Philosophy of History, Political Economy, Reification

Seeing What Was Already There

8 Comments Posted by N Pepperell on April 12, 2008

I’m in that stage in the writing process where the work of figuring things out is going on elsewhere, inaccessible to me – whatever part of me works out complex problems, has holed itself up, toiling away, and the rest of me is left waiting, a bit drained of energy, able to sense that intense [...]

Critique, Marxes, Metatheory, Political Economy, Reification, Writing

Things to Do, Places to Be

1 Comment Posted by N Pepperell on April 11, 2008

Feeling generally disorganised at the moment, so apologies if I use the blog to remind myself where and when I will need to be, in a month’s time… ;-P It’s looking for the moment as though I’ll be in Europe from 20 May through some time in mid-June, attending at least the following events. 21-23 [...]

Events

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