We’ll read some more Walter Benjamin this week: “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (pp. 217-252). Good stuff.

Next time, we’ll discuss two of James Baldwin’s interventions: “On Being White… and Other Lies” and his conversation with Margaret Mead, “A Rap on Race”, which exists as an audio recording on Youtube. See you soon.

I thought Pierre Clastres might have particular resonance after our last discussion. From his book of the same name, we’ll look at the concluding essay “Society Against the State” (pp. 189-218). See you soon.

Returning to an old favorite, never to be exhausted. Walter Benjamin’s “Theses on the Philosophy of History” (pp. 253-264) gets the business.

Next time, we’ll crack into some of the Fred Moten/Stefano Harney material. From The Undercommons, we’ll discuss chapter 6: “Fantasy in the Hold” (pp. 87-99), and from All Incomplete, chapter 1: “The Theft of Assembly” (pp. 13-20).

This week, a few selections from Jean Baudrillard’s The Transparency of Evil. We’ll read “The Hell of the Same”, “The Melodrama of Difference”, “Irreconcilability” (pp. 113-145), “The Declination of Wills”, and “The Object as Strange Attractor” (pp. 164-174). See you soon.

Finishing The Myth of Sisyphus tomorrow. Read from ‘The Absurd Man’ (p. 66) to the end. See ya there.

Ripping into a fun one this week: Tuesday will see us discuss the first half of Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, stopping at “The Absurd Man” (p. 66). Remember to scroll down to ‘Download Options’ for the PDF. Adieu.

Tuesday we’ll look at an essay from Alan Watts’ Does it Matter?: “Murder in the Kitchen” (pp. 25-56). Remember to scroll down at hit ‘PDF’ under ‘Download Options’; even if the preview on the archive page says ‘page not found’, the file link below should work.

Next week, two readings from the hills: Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, The Scrivener” paired with Édouard Glissant’s “For Opacity”. Hope you’ll join us — yes, YOU.

Also, we may do a little study group outing to Tamarack (1501 Harrison St in downtown Oakland) next Thursday, 5/9, from 7-10pm, when a discussion will be taking place reflecting on the Occupy days and the lessons of the Oakland Commune. Seems like in these days still largely defined by constitutive revolts, protests, collective enunciations, there might be an interesting conversation to have with those present about opaque, incomprehensible ruptures, the conquest and holding of space, the destitution of Society, and a We without predicates or principles; a We arising out of purely immanent presence. That’s some of what I want to say, at least — we hope less obnoxiously than the words just strung together. Join us if you like.