IMPORTANT: starting this week, August 10th, we will no longer be using Jitsi to allow for online participation in our Tuesday night study group. These conversations will henceforth revert to taking place in person, at the usual time and place: every Tuesday from 7:30-9:30pm at The Long Haul Infoshop [3124 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley, CA]. We originally incorporated Jitsi into the group as a means of allowing us to continue convening during the height of social distancing, but with things beginning to return to normal and the downsides of this technological mediation being felt more and more prominently as time has gone on, we have decided to return to a face-to-face format. There will be another group continuing to meet digitally on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30pm at http://meet.jit.si in room name ‘bastardanarchy’. However, to avoid confusion, this site will only be updated with readings for the in-person, Tuesday night Berkeley anarchist study group. Once a new page for posting the weekly readings for the online group is created, a link will be posted here.

Next Tuesday we’re going to look at a few readings from Shawn Wilbur’s ongoing project “Constructing Anarchisms”. We’ll discuss:

Constructing an Anarchism: Approaching An-archy

Constructing an Anarchism: An-Archy

Anarchy and Anarchism – Insides and Outsides

All together it’s a bit longer than our new self-imposed limit of approximately 15 pages, but not by too much, and worth the read I think. See you Tuesday to discuss!

For a general overview of Shawn’s extensive project, you can click HERE.

We will read and discuss John Zerzan’s The Catastrophe of Postmodernism.

This essay can also be found in the book “Future Primitive Revisited”, available as PDF or mobi format. (See: Part 1, section 4.)

We will read and discuss the Shamanism chapter of Cannibal Metaphysics, which is about 8 pages long.  It is Chapter 9 on page 151.

Study group meets from 7:30-9:30.

Optionally, come 10 minutes early for social connection and stay 10 minutes late for metadiscussion.

We will read the controversial article Exiting the Vampire Castle.

Study group meets 7:30-9:30 California time. All are welcome to log in ten minutes early for pre-meeting social interaction and/or stay ten minutes later for meta-discussion.

We will focus on The Proverbs of Hell, within the larger text The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, by William Blake, which has illustrations by Blake.

Text only (easier to read), or find epub/pdf versions.

Illustrations in color here and also here in black and white with text alongside

We will read and discuss Kill the Couple in Your Head, at ungratefulhyenas.noblogs.org, available in both screen reading pdf and imposed pdf (for printing a pamphlet).

Alternatively, you can listen to the full text on Immediatism podcast.  Part 1.  Part 2.

Reading discussion is from 7:30-9:30 California time.  Feel free to come a few minutes early for hellos and stay a few minutes later for metadiscussion, if you like.

We will read Toward the Creative Nothing, by Novatore. The text is available here at TheAnarchistLibrary.org and here at Immediatism.com in podcast form.

Notice that discussion questioning prompts have been added above, in the tab “questions to consider while reading.”  Utilize these to the extent they are helpful or inspire you!

Feel free to come 10 minutes early to check in with a friendly hello if you choose to, and also to stay after the meeting for a meta-discussion if you like.

Next week, we’ll be discussing the nihilistic pessimism of Emil Cioran as presented in his book The Trouble With Being Born. We’ll take a look at Chapters 5, 2, and 3. That totals about sixty pages, but given it’s an aphoristic text, many of which are decidedly brief, all three chapters shouldn’t take more than an hour or so to complete (depending on how you ruminate, I suppose). But if for whatever reason you’re unable or disinclined to read all three chapters, it is suggested that you tackle them in the above order. See you soon! ~N