New classes at the Public School!

Hello all:

I'm organizing two reading groups at the Public School this spring if you're interested: "Heidegger for Mystics" and a monthly meeting on Agamben's Homo Sacer cycle. Info below; hope to see you there!

Heidegger for Mystics
2nd and 4th Thursdays starting January 8th from 7-9 pm

This reading group will investigate Heidegger's esoteric and "poetic" writings about language and the event, texts composed approximately between 1936-1942. With the new translation of The Contributions to Philosophy (of the Event), a forthcoming set of new lectures on Holderlin, and the recent translation of his "personal notebook" The Event, it seems timely to dig into this very strange, beautiful and often problematic writing. A possible reading list might include the following primary texts:

Martin Heidegger, Contributions to Philosophy (of the Event)
Martin Heidegger, Mindfulness
Martin Heidegger, The Event
Martin Heidegger, Elucidations of Holderlin's Poetry
Martin Heidegger, Holderlin's Hymn "The Ister"
Martin Heidegger, Holderlin's Hymns "Germania" and "The Rhine"

Secondary texts might include:

Jeffrey Powell (ed.), Heidegger and Language
Daniela Vallega-Neu, Heidegger's Contributions to Philosophy, An Introduction
Richard Polt, The Emergency of Being
Krzysztof Ziarek, Language After Heidegger

I'm open to moving as fast or slow as folks would like (we can meet once or twice a month, depending on schedules and interest). One strategy would be to read The Contributions in this new translation, tackle the Holderlin lectures, and then take on Mindfulness and The Event. At our first meeting in January we can work together to devise a proper reading list and schedule.


Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer Cycle
3rd Thursday of the month starting January 15th from 7-9 pm

I was thinking about rereading Homo Sacer and State of Exception in anticipation of digging into the later Agamben texts like The Kingdom and the Glory and Opus Dei, and as a result, it seemed like a good idea to read the Homo Sacer cycle from start to finish, especially since the missing volume, The Use of Bodies, is scheduled for publication in the summer of 2015. Here's the lineup:

1.1 Homo Sacer
2.1 State of Exception
2.2 The Kingdom and The Glory
2.3 The Sacrament of Language
2.4 The Use of Bodies (I think)
2.5 Opus Dei
3.1 Remnants of Auschwitz
4.1 The Highest Poverty

I plan to read one text a month, with a single meeting for conversation, though this is totally open for debate if there's interest.

I hope to see some of you there!