Class 2, Does Memory Matter? Why Are Universities Studying Slavery and Their Pasts? by David Blight for [[YaleCourses]]

big Jewish community is the focus of his travel, he doesnt notice other things, rest is fictious

appreciates its literary purposes

for - article - Why Human (Contributive) Labor remains the creative principle of human society - Michael Bauwens - PhD thesis - From Modes of Production to the Resurrection of the Body: A Labor Theory of Revolutionary Subjectivity & Religious Ideas (2016) - Benjamin Suriano - to - P2P Foundation - more detailed presentation of Benjamin Suriano's PhD paper

Summary - This is a review and high recommendation of the PhD dissertation of Benjamin Suriano by Michael Bauwens - The subject is the historical analysis of labour in medieval times, and - how Christian monasticism provided a third perspective on labour that was an important alternative to the false dichotomy of - cleric - warrior - that was inclusive of the alienated within class majority - a proposal for revival the spirit of this spiritual view of labour - as a means to mitigate modernity's meaning crisis as it relates to the lack of purpose usually associated with work in contemporary society

to - P2P Foundation - more detailed presentation of Benjamin Suriano's PhD paper - https://hyp.is/7PeMMIxtEe-NOmuU08T3jg/wiki.p2pfoundation.net/From_Modes_of_Production_to_the_Resurrection_of_the_Body

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Man%27s_Burden

for - false dichotomy - throughout history - clerics and warriors - excluded majority of the working class - inclusive third way - reviving works as spiritual activity - Benjamin Suriano

for - false dichotomy - common throughout history - clerics and warriors - alienated masses of the ordinary workers - Benjamin Suriano

for - quote - reviving the view of labour as a spiritual activity - to counter the meaning crisis of modernity - Benjamin Suriano - question - how do we find the eternal in labour? quote - reviving the view of labour as a spiritual activity - to counter the meaning crisis of modernity - Benjamin Suriano - (see below) - What is needed, - and what I attempt to think through within this dissertation, - is then a return to labor as a self-transcending activity. - This is nothing short of resurrecting a revolutionary sense of labor as itself an act of resurrection, - a fundamentally social and creative activity - whose final cause is to raise humanity into a new historical body - beyond any reduction to the merely mortal flesh prescribed by the present. - Thus, the laboring body qua labor - always already harbors all the seeds for its immortality, - for producing the perfection of life for itself, - which is the qualitative perfection of eternal life. - The task, then, - is not to eliminate its religious consciousness, - but to develop it from the true rationalization of labor - according to its own ratio of perfection, - i.e. to therein find its corresponding religious forms of thought - that illuminate and reinvest in its capacities - for the infinite and eternal."

for - cliche - the more things change, the more they remain the same - quote - labour - transforming - to - spiritual - sacred - meaningful - Benjamin Suriano - adjacency - meaninglessness of labour in modernity - sacred - spiritual - reviving spirit of monastics Benjamin Suriano - meaning crisis - John Vervaeke

adjacency - between - the meaninglessness of labour in modernity - Benjamin Suriano - the proposal for revival of labour as spiritual activity -- mitigating the meaning crisis - John Vervaeke - adjacency relationship - In his PhD dissertation, Benjamin Suriano argues that reviving the spirit of Christian monastics of the medieval era could mitigate modernity's meaning crisis.

quote - labour - transforming - to - spiritual - sacred - meaningful - Benjamin Suriano - (see below) - Because the substantial surplus expropriated by the few - allowed them to invest their time into developing a state, military, and cultural apparatus that reproduced their exploitative position of privilege, - the collective consciousness ruling this sociopolitical body tended to comprehend its free citizenship abstractly, - as if a natural given, - with little consciousness of the contribution of the laboring body

for - adjacency - labor - religion - system change - Benjamin Suriano - Deep Humanity - quote - labor - religion - system change - Benjamin Suriano

quote - labor - religion - system change - Benjamin Suriano - (see below) - The failure to think through and cultivate labor, - as the material capacity for socially creating radical change, - leaves the religious, - as the cultural expression of real desires and intentions for radical change, - to its most repressively - alienating and -distorting forms. - If the disappearance of the standpoint of labor - has coincided with the return of the religious in the form of radical fundamentalisms, - might the return of the standpoint of labor, - in a new more holistic way, - coincide, - not with the disappearance of the religious, - but its return to a more rational form?

adjacency - between - labor - religion - system change - Benjamin Suriano - Deep Humanity - adjacency relationship - It is a well.known fact that most people do not like their jobs - If that is the case that - 5 days of inhabiting a unjoyful space is the price we pay for 2 days of inhabiting a joyful space - we should strive to invert this situation - If we spend - 33% of our life sleeping and - 50% working, - then half our life is spent in an emotionally lacking space and this is harmful - The big question is this: - How do we transform business so we that we make work - more meaning-full and - less meaning-less? - Another way to phrase the question is: - How did we rekindle the Deep Humanity found in each of us? - How did we rekindle the sacred in every moment, including at our place of work?

for - PhD thesis - Benjamin Suriano - From Modes of Production to the Resurrection of the Body: A Labor Theory of Revolutionary Subjectivity & Religious Ideas" (2016).

are there parallels/antecedents to be drawn between the sirname Silliman and the early definitions of the word silly as "religious or holy"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Silliman

Eine aufwändige Expedition erforscht, ob die Sedimente in den unteren Zonen eines großen grönländischen Gletschers Barrieren gegen warmes Meerwasser bilden, die den Prozess des Abschmelzens verlangsamen und sich vielleicht sogar verstärken lassen. Hauptziel ist, den unaufhaltsamen Anstieg des Meeresspiegels besser modellieren zu können. Ausführliche Reportage im Guardian

https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000231472/great-barrier-reef-zeigt-ein-grossteil-der-korallen-der-welt-ist-verloren

Das Climate Change Center Austria (CCCA) hat eine Liste mit 600 schnell umsetzbaren Vorschlägen erstellt, die in den Nationalen Klima- und Energieplan Österreichs aufgenommen werden können, um das Erreichen der EU-Klimaziele sicherzustellen. Dazu gehören strengere Tempolimits. In dem Bericht des CCCA werden Vorschläge bewertet, die im Rahmen einer Konsultationsprozesses beim Umweltministerium eingereicht wurden. https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000209427/kein-gratisparken-tempo-100-was-dem-klima-laut-experten-am-meisten-hilft

CCCA-Bewertung: https://ccca.ac.at/fileadmin/00_DokumenteHauptmenue/02_Klimawissen/RefNEKP/Bericht/NEKP_Wissenschaftliche_Bewertung_der_Massnahmen_der_Stellungnahmen_Februar2024.pdf

correctly and the notes could easily be spotted as counterfeit, but that only went so far.

https://azorion.tripod.com/whorf.htm<br /> The (Hopi) World According to Whorf -- a Brief Note<br /> by Gary A. David, 2004

Choosing an external system for knowledge keeping and production forces the learner into a deliberate practice and confronts them with their lack of understanding. This is a large part of the underlying value not only of the zettelkasten, but of the use of a commonplace book which Benjamin Franklin was getting at when recommending that one "read with a pen in your hand". The external system also creates a modality shift from reading to writing by way of thinking which further underlines the value.

What other building blocks are present in addition to: - modality shift - deliberate practice - confrontation of lack of understanding

Are there other systems that do all of these as well as others simultaneously?

link to Franklin quote: https://hypothes.is/a/HZeDKI3YEeyj9GcNWKX4iA

original source?

it's Benjamin Franklin letter to Miss Stevenson, Wanstead. Craven-street, May 16, 1760.<br /> see: https://hyp.is/HZeDKI3YEeyj9GcNWKX4iA/www.gutenberg.org/files/40236/40236-h/40236-h.htm

• for: quote - James Hansen, quote Benjamin Franklin, climate crisis - leverage point - political revolution

• quote

  • If we don't solve the problem in the United States, I don't see us solving the global problem
• author: James Hansen

• date: Dec 2023

• comment

  • Tipping Point network

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Edited by Frank Woodworth Pine. 1922 ed. 1791. Reprint, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1916. via Project Gutenberg 20203. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm.

• for: Deep Humanity, DH, Jessica Denson, David Rothkopf, ethno-nationalism
• summary
  • good interview with writer David RothKopf exploring the ethno-nationalist parallels between ethno-nationalist authoritarian leaders, in particular Trump and Netenyahu and the continuous attempt to subvert democracy. The discussion also explores the dangers of attempts to inject religion into government and the historical background and reason why the founders of the United States explicitly separated church from state.
  • it's important to understand all perspectives, and how people define "right" and "good" from their perspective
  • EVERYONE wants a good life, but these definitions may vary greatly. We need to map out the nuances
  • adjacency between
    • Trump
    • Israel-Hamas conflict and Benjamin Netenyahu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WcIK_8f7oQ

Benjamín Labatut also falls into this genre.

Als Folgen der globalen Erhitzung und des beginnenden El Nińo werden in Südostasien gravierende Probleme bei der Nahrungsmittelversorgung befürchtet. Indien hat den Export fast alle Reissorten bereits untersagt. Die Regenfälle in Indien und Thailand waren in diesem Jahr deutlich zu schwach. Die Reiserträge sinken schon bei relativ kleinen Änderien der Temperaturen. Ausführliche Reportage im Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/sep/07/major-disruptor-el-nino-threatens-the-worlds-rice-supplies

The Snowflake Method is more specific, but broadly similar to those who build out plot using index cards.

As examples, see Dustin Lance Black and Benjamin Rowland.

Link to - https://hypothes.is/a/043JIlv5Ee2_eMf1TTV7ig - https://hypothes.is/a/ibFMareUEe2bqSdWdE046g

Steiner, Benjamin. “Aby Warburgs Zettelkasten Nr. 2 ‘Geschichtsauffassung.’” In Zettelkästen. Maschinen der Phantasie, edited by Heike Gfrereis and Ellen Strittmatter, 154–61. Marbacher Kataloge 66. Marbach am Neckar, 2013. https://www.academia.edu/8637204/Aby_Warburgs_Zettelkasten_Nr_2_Geschichtsauffassung_.

machine translation:

Anyone who follows Warburg's list of notes is following his train of thought; from the banking system in Florence, medieval commercial society, the development of individuality, the restless professional work of the Calvinists and the reformed form of asceticism to Warburg's own origins in an old Jewish banking family. 378 The Zettelkasten is Warburg's Ariadne thread through his labyrinthine library and his labyrinthine thinking: from werewolf to history. A thought, an idea or a new concept does not emerge in a linear progression, but in a process of moving idea units and cross-references back and forth, which lasts until new interfaces and nodes have formed.

• Title
  • The landscape of biomedical research
• Authors
  • Rita González-Márquez,
  • Luca Schmidt,
  • Benjamin M. Schmidt,
  • Philipp Berens
  • Dmitry Kobak
• Date
  • April 11, 2023
• Source
  • https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.10.536208v1.full
• Abstract
  • The number of publications in biomedicine and life sciences
  • has rapidly grown over the last decades,
  • with over 1.5 million papers now published every year.
  • This makes it difficult to
    • keep track of new scientific works and
    • to have an overview of the evolution of the field as a whole.
  • Here we
    • present a 2D atlas of the entire corpus of biomedical literature, and
    • argue that it provides
      • a unique and
      • useful overview
    • of the life sciences research.
  • We base our atlas on the abstract texts of
  • 21 million English articles from the PubMed database.
  • To embed the abstracts into 2D, we use
    • a large language model PubMedBERT, combined with
    • t-SNE tailored to handle samples of our size.
  • We use our atlas to study
    • the emergence of the Covid-19 literature,
    • the evolution of the neuroscience discipline,
    • the uptake of machine learning, and
    • the distribution of gender imbalance in academic authorship.
  • Furthermore, we present an interactive web version of our atlas that
    • allows easy exploration and
    • will enable further insights and facilitate future research.

Some authors who have written about translations.

Benjamin Bloom was the originator (and the taxonomy was named after him)

Benjamin Franklin letter to Miss Stevenson, Wanstead. Craven-street, May 16, 1760.

Franklin doesn't use the word commonplace book here, but is actively recommending the creation and use of one. He's also encouraging the practice of annotation, though in commonplace form rather than within the book itself.

The misattribution of this quote often seen in educational settings likely stems from Richards & Rodgers from 1986.

See also: - https://hypothes.is/a/cKMkaAZQEe6dq0fkeyNabA - https://hypothes.is/a/YWrJKgZPEe6dy2sJU5KcSw

The frequent educational quote "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.", often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin, is most attributable to 3rd century Confucian philosopher Kunzi (Xun Kuang or 荀子) who wrote:

Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops . . .

The translation of which appears in Xunzi: The Complete Text, Translated by Eric L. Hutton, Chapter 8: The Achievements of the Ru, Quote Page 64, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 2014.

Variations of the sentiment and attributions have appeared frequently thereafter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU73rMJ1vpg

The ever-growing army of coordinators for Title IX — the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination — is one manifestation of the bureaucratic bloat, which since the 1990s has helped propel tuition costs far ahead of inflation.

Benjamin Ginsberg has documented bureaucratic bloat since the 1970's and only the tiniest fraction is down to Title IX, which is a political red herring here. A much larger amount of bloat can be attributed to professionalization of running the university allowing professors more time for teaching and research and less administrative work. Commercial specialization of this sort has increased because of increased competition within the capitalistic system which has grown there. A sizeable portion also goes into development efforts as educational funding has shrunk (due primarily to conservative efforts) as well as administrative functions to run fringe benefits like athletic centers, activities, lazy rivers, climbing walls, etc. which are used to recruit students into a much more selective number of universities.

Paris on the Amazon?: Postcolonial Interrogations of Benjamin’s European Modernism (pp. 216-245) Willi Bolle From: A Companion to the Works of Walter Benjamin, Camden House (2009) Edition: NED - New edition https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt14brv7g

...and complete but constitutes an open repertoire, always in movement, expressing and stimulating the spirit of experimentation and invention. Let us remember that Benjamin, in his early work Einbahnstraße (One-Way Street, 1923/28), argued in favor of direct communication between the “ Zettelkasten ” (card box...

communication between?! though it is 2009 and after Luhmann's reference to communication with slip boxes....

Wonderful conversation between Sheila Heti, her brother, and three of their friends, about the Annie Hall 'I need the eggs' joke that ends the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwKjuBvNi40

Ben Rowland uses index cards to outline the plot of his screenplays. This is a common practice among screenwriters. Interestingly he only uses it for plot outlining and not for actual writing the way other writers like Vladimir Nabokov may have. Both Benjamin Rowland and Duston Lance Black use cards for outlining but not at the actual writing stage.

Niklas Luhmann's Zettelkasten<br /> http://fremdlesen.de/?p=297

Zettelkasten: Niklas hol' mir 'n Bier!<br /> Niklas Luhmann: Hatte ich doch bloss nie diessen ver-fluchten zettelkasten erfunden!

translation:

Niklas get me a beer!<br /> If only I had never invented that damn note box!

Link to: Effort of maintaining a zettelkasten: https://hypothes.is/a/ahU8YqmoEe2tL79vZF9PvQ

Even the greats copied or loosely plagiarized the "masters" to learn how to write.The key is to continually work at it until you get to the point where it's yours and it is no longer plagiarism.

This was also the general premise behind the plotline of the movie Finding Forrester.

!- comment : progress trap - Benjamin understands the logic of the progress trap

!- quotable : Walter Benjamin - commentary on Paul Klee's Angelus Novus painting

Benjamin Richler, A Guide to Hebrew Manuscript Collections (Jerusalem, 1994), 2nd rev. ed. (Jerusalem, 2014). For an entry on the Geniza, see ibid., 79–81. See also entries for specific libraries and collections.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BZWJDHN/

Example of a modern day waste book for keeping track of one's accounting.

dimensions 3.5 x 5"

This writing advice from Rex Murphy sounds like the beginning portions of Benjamin Franklin's advice on writing and slowly rewriting one's way into better prose styles.

Link to Franklin's quote

https://www.civicsoftechnology.org/events

reference for this quote? date?

Walter Benjamin's fantastic re-definition of a book presaged the invention of the internet, though his instantiation was as a paper based machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FipKTzkTD4

A lot of this sounds similar to some of Benjamin Franklin's old planning system and values...

I've not looked directly at Wittgenstein's note collection before, but it could be an interesting historical example.

Might be worth collecting examples of what has happened to note collections after author's lives. Some obviously have been influential in scholarship, but generally they're subsumed by the broader category of a person's "papers" which are often archived at libraries, museums, and other institutions.

Examples: - Vincentius Placcius' collection used by his students - Niklas Luhmann's zettelkasten which is being heavily studied by Johannes F.K. Schmidt - Mortimer J. Adler - was his kept? where is it stored?

Posthumously published note card collections - Ludwig Wittgenstein - Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project - Ronald Reagan's collection at his presidential library, though it is more of an commonplace book collection of quotes which was later published - Roland Barthes' Mourning Diary - Vladimir Nabokov's The Original of Laura - others...

Just as note collections serve an autobiographical function, perhaps they may also serve as an intellectual autobiographical function? Wittgenstein never managed to complete his 'big book', but in some sense, doesn't his collection of note cards serve this function for those willing to explore it all?

I'd previously suggested that Scott P. Scheper publish not only his book on note taking, but to actually publish his note cards as a stand-alone zettelkasten example to go with them. What if this sort of publishing practice were more commonplace? The modern day equivalent is more likely a person's blog or their wiki. Not enough people are publicly publishing their notes to see what this practice might look like for future generations.

1. Walter Benjamin, Einbahnstra ß e, in Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 4 (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1928/1981), 98 – 140, at 103.

Does Walter Benjamin prefigure the idea of card indexes conversing with themselves in a communicative method similar to that of Vannevar Bush's Memex?

This definitely sounds like the sort of digital garden inter-communication afforded by the Anagora as suggested by @Flancian.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/05/16/ben-franklin-abortion-math-textbook/

some good references at the bottom

Benjamin Franklin manufactured the first recorded abortion debate in America to help sell his newspapers and to crush a rival.

Copies of The American Instructor:

• 1770, Philadelphia : Printed and sold by John Dunlap, at the newest printing-office, in Market-Street https://archive.org/details/americaninstruct00fish/page/n11/mode/2up
• 1770, New-York : Printed and sold by H. Gaine, at the Bible and Crown, in Hanover-Square, 14th Edition https://archive.org/details/2554018R.nlm.nih.gov/page/n9/mode/2up
• 1806, London : J. Johnson [etc.], 29th Edition https://archive.org/details/b28741109/page/n7/mode/2up

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/05/ben-franklin-american-instructor-textbook-abortion-recipe.html

Evidence for Benjamin Franklin encouraging the education of women in mathematics.

Virginia physician John Tennet's pamphlet The Poor Planter's Physician first appeared in 1734, and included details for effecting abortions. Benjamin Franklin found it to be so valuable that he copied it into his book The Instructor (1748).

Surely the pamphlet had appeared previous to 1734 as there's a copy labeled as the third edition which Benjamin Franklin had reprinted in 1734, which lists him as the publisher.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has written in a leaked draft opinion of Dobs v. Jackson Women's Health that "The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation's history and traditions."

However, historians have shown that in fact it was so deeply rooted in in early America that Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the country actively inserted medical advice about abortion into a widely read and popular primer on math and reading.

much as poflible in the open Air. YOU muft feed upon a warm and cordial Diet, enrich’d with a great deal of Muflard, Nutmeg, Horfe-radijh and Garden, l Crejfes ;'at the lame Time avoiding every''"j thing that is aftringent, flegmatick, and 1 windy. And let your Drink be Beer, M brew’d with Sorrel-Leaves , or elfe Ground 1 Ivy-Tea . • 1 T O prevent this Complaint, young Women muft Ihake off Sloth, and make Ufe of their Legs, as well as their Hands* - They Ihou’d be cautious of taking Opiates j too often, or Jefuits-Bark , except in Cafes of great Neceffity; nor muft they long foie pretty Fellows, or any other Trajb whatfoe- ver.

https://archive.org/details/2574010R.nlm.nih.gov/page/n47/mode/2up?q=misfortune

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcades_Project

It's worth look looking into the structure of Walter Benjamin's Arcade Project as the numbering system that he used on his zettels is very similar to that of both Niklas Luhmann's zettelkasten as well as the street numbers of 1770 Vienna.

link to - https://hypothes.is/a/4jtT0FqsEeyXFzP-AuDIAA - https://hypothes.is/a/lvGHJlNHEeyZnV-8psRNrA

The compositional approaches mentioned here are those of Wittgenstein and Walter Benjamin.

What was Burrough's cut-up-fold-in technique?

Walter Benjamin used a zettelkasten like note taking technique.

WALTER BENJAMIN

On the importance of imitation...

I'm reminded of Benjamin Franklin imitating what he thought were good writers to make his own writing more robust.

See: https://via.hypothes.is/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm

Maybe the aphorism: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," should really be "Imitation is the sincerest form of learning."

I'm reminded here of a portion of Benjamin Franklin's passage in his Autobiography where he describes his writing process and work to improve.

Also the main plotline of the movie Finding Forrester.

curious to read more about how Walter Benjamin created the idea of the flâneur!

The credo of the writer Walter Benjamin speaks for this:

And today, as the current scientific method of production teaches, the book is an outdated mediation between two different card index systems. Because everything essential is to be found in the slip box of the researcher who wrote it, and the scholar who studies it assimilates it in his own card index.

Here's an early instantiation of thoughts being put down into data which can be copied from one card to the next as a means of creation.

A similar idea was held in the commonplace book tradition, in general, but this feels much more specific in the lead up to the idea of the Memex.

I'm reminded here of a portion of Benjamin Franklin's passage in his Autobiography where he describes his writing process and work to improve:

About this time I met with an odd volume of the Spectator.[18] It was the third. I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try'd to compleat the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in recollecting and using them, which I thought I should have acquired before that time if I had gone on making verses; since the continual occasion for words of the same import, but of different length, to suit the measure, or of different sound for the rhyme, would have laid me under a constant necessity of searching for variety, and also have tended to fix that variety in my mind, and make me master of it. Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled my collections of hints into confusion, and after some weeks endeavored to reduce them into the best order, before I began to form the full sentences and compleat the paper. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of thoughts. By comparing my work afterwards with the original, I discovered many faults and amended them; but I sometimes had the pleasure of fancying that, in certain particulars of small import, I had been lucky enough to improve the method of the language, and this encouraged me to think I might possibly in time come to be a tolerable English writer, of which I was extremely ambitious. My time for these exercises and for reading was at night, after work or before it began in the morning, or on Sundays, when I contrived to be in the printing-house alone, evading as much as I could the common attendance on public worship which my father used to exact of me when I was under his care, and which indeed I still thought a duty, thought I could not, as it seemed to me, afford time to practise it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_Mechanical_Reproduction

https://archive.org/details/benjamin.elautorcomoproductor

This is generally fantastic advice! It's also the general underpinning behind the idea of Luhmann's zettelkasten method.

I'll also mention that it's not too dissimilar to Benjamin Franklin's writing advice about taking what others have written and working with that yourself, though there he doesn't take it as far as others have since.

Interesting to see notes about small outbreaks like this while seeing similar racist ideas and policies hundreds of years later during the COVID-19 outbreaks.

I think it has not been since middle school that I've seen a reference to Banneker...

La historia la cuentan los vencedores.

Copyediting vs grammar knowledge. Or, and grammar knowledge.

I believe that the main reason why Benjamin Dreyer's Dreyer's English: an Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style is so well-read, is that he's funny.

The humor is dry as a paper board, for example:

The NSA may be reading your emails and texts, but I’m not. If you prefer “Hi John” to “Hi, John,” you go right ahead.

and:

For the sake of clarity, we use hyphens to helpfully link up a pair or passel of words preceding and modifying a noun, as in: first-rate movie fifth-floor apartment middle-class morality nasty-looking restaurant all-you-can-eat buffet However, convention (a.k.a. tradition, a.k.a. consensus, a.k.a. it’s simply how it’s done, so don’t argue with it) allows for exceptions in some cases in which a misreading is unlikely, as in, say: real estate agent high school students And though you may, now that you’re staring at these constructions, wonder worryingly about the reality of that estate agent or the sobriety of those school students, I’d urge you to stop staring and move on. (Staring at words is always a bad idea. Stare at the word “the” for more than ten seconds and reality begins to recede.)

Another thing, Dreyer is both funny and witty. Here's a bonus example of this:

As a lexicographer friend once confided over sushi, the dictionary takes its cues from use: If writers don’t change things, the dictionary doesn’t change things. If you want your best-seller to be a bestseller, you have to help make that happen. If you want to play videogames rather than video games, go for it. I hope that makes you feel powerful. It should.

I'm reminded here of Walter Benjamin's note on the "Angelus Novus" illustration: "His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees on single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurts it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the peril of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress" (Theses on the Philosophy of History).

Belief and Desire

עוד עיסוק במקור. מעניין להשוות לחוסר סיבתיות של בנימין וכל זה

היסטוריה והעבודה של ההיסטוריון

כלים, זכור לי שדיברנו על משהו שקשור לכלים ובנימין. נראה לי בהקשר של גתה...

Becoming and disappearance בנימין מת על זה לא?

שוב מדבר על קצב

קצב ותדירות, זכור לי שגם בנימין מדגיש את זה (משהו על המוזיקה שהיא הכי נעלה או משהו כזה בגלל הקטע של הקצב...)

מערבולת, כמו הדימוי של בנימין. גם טארד משתמש בזה כשהוא מדבר על המקור.

מקור, origin

התגבשות, כמו שבנימין מתייחס לזיכרון בפתיחה של ילדות בברלין 1900 - מעניין להתייחס לזה

מודרניות

היסטוריה

Although Ponce City Market is the best modern representation of the arcades, this description is reminiscent of Atlantic Station. Stratified from the clamor of downtown, Atlantic Station is a residential area that can be self-functioning. In addition to the shopping center of nice stores and restaurants, there is a Target and Publix that supply the basic necessities of residents. The culture and architecture of Atlantic Station almost discourage unity with the downtown of Georgia State, and the Station operates in its own affluent bubble.

The utility of built environments arise from the needs of the people; Benjamin's argument for built environments is that they adapt to the various interactions of their tenants, supporting the idea that our interaction with an area serve to shape our built environments.

There is no connection between the various shops in the arcades; rather, the arcades were an assemblage of stores that provided various necessities for tenants. This characterizes the evolution of a built environment here described by Benjamin, first from a place of necessities to a place of art.

Arcades, resemble the bazaars of the Middle East, which according to the New World Encyclopedia, appeared in the Middle East around the fourth century. Bazaars were a street of shops where goods and services were exchanged or sold, and preceded the modern-day supermarket. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Bazaar

The article “Pokémon Go Has Created a New Kind of Flaneur” by Laura Bliss equates contemporary Pokémon Go players to the wanderers of the nineteenth century. Charles Baudelaire in 1863 coined the idea of a flaneur, a French term for those who “stroll the city streets” merely to collect observations of their environment. The contemporary app encourages players to explore urban areas and collect Pokémon at historic, cultural, and forgotten spaces of their city.

While the game encourages electronic exploration of the city, “le traineur” is not grounded in reality. Bliss admits that most players rarely look up from their phones to observe the areas they wander, which discredits their association with the flaneur. The consumers characterized by Benjamin were intentional in their exploration of arcades. French arcades supplied the needs of tenants, who perused the stalls and walkways with purpose. Benjamin even describes the role of facial expressions as a form of advertisement employed by vendors in the arcades, and the joy of consumers at these expressions. While I think the article presents a relevant comparison to our preceding flaneur, I believe the similarities are exaggerated; contemporary players are more absorbed in an electronic arcade than their actual built environments.

Here we note the impact of the arcades on the separation of public and private spaces. Arcades became an amalgamation of the two spaces, and garnered the intimacy of personal activities like smoking while making these public and communal affairs.

This observation connects to my highlight on page eleven. Arcades impacted the early evolution of advertisement; as characterized by the highlighted section above, storefronts were arranged to encourage quick and expansive recognition of goods and deals in a store. The design of the arcades was meant to slow the consumer and encourage exploration, a form of forced advertisement.

This observation reveals the extent to which built environments are shaped by convenience. This idea is prevalent in new additions to the city to improve walkability in a heavily trafficked city; the emergence of Beltline and the recent introduction of streetcars are meant to relieve the stress of driving. Spaces like the Beltline even encourage alternate forms of transportation, like biking and skating.

The cultural significance of this design must have revolutionized business across the world. A new independence from weather would allow an increase in the openness of the market. It would also encourage specialization, and the introduction of new products as vendors could sell a more diverse array of goods.

Here we note the evolution of the idea of value as something of a social construct, that it is not determined by the actual utility or composition of a good, but by the worth allocated to that good. This foreshadows the dependency of society on brand, and the development of a more materialistic society.

This statement reveals the impact of arcades on gender stereotypes. Generalizations such as the resistance and strength of men made that gender more qualified for employment as salesmen.

This characterizes the idea of attraction in the market, as advertising became the exotic nature of a storefront. Brand and class were at this time determined by appearance of a street salon.

Empress Josephine of France adorned these shawls, shipped to France from her son in Egypt. Napolean and his officers brought them from their campaigns abroad. Josephine was a trend-setter in French fashion, and despite her initial distaste for the garments, she would devote much of her wealth to these shawls in her lifetime. https://historiquecouture.wordpress.com/2007/04/07/the-cashmere-shawls-of-empress-josephine/

The streets of Paris in the 1870s are a bit reminiscent of Atlanta, though not for exactly the same reasons. Parts of Atlanta, like Paris at this time, are not very accommodating to pedestrians because of the introduction of vehicles. The arcades introduced a safer and easier way for pedestrians to reach the opera while also benefiting businesses, and I can't help but think that this could be a possible solution for Atlanta's lack of pedestrian access/desirability.

This description of the arcades is drastically different from those we came across before. Throughout the article, the arcades have been described as teeming with business, commerce, life, and diversity, with a multitude of shops, consumers, and flaneurs. In stark contrast, this description characterizes the closed-in alleyways as "sad" and "gloomy." I can only assume that lithographers' studios and binders' shops are equally as gloomy and dull, since, according to the author of this particular quote, are doomed to populate the arcades. What, I wonder, happened to the useful, lively arcades Benjamin described in the beginning of the excerpt?

According to Benjamin, there are two components of the streets, but the arcades are notably lacking in one, which differentiates them. While there is abundant trade, the flaneurs managed to "sabatoge traffic" by their nature. Their purpose is not to simply get from place to place--they have purpose. They simply observe, and that's what make them merchandise--they add character to the arcades and are, as the Citylab article describes, amazed with their findings.

Bliss, Laura. "Pokémon Go Has Created a New Kind of Flâneur." CityLab. The Atlantic Magazine, 12 July 2016. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

This map shows the location of a number of the remaining arcades in relation to each other.

(http://www.lahistoriaconmapas.com/atlas/city-map/covered-passages-paris-map.htm)

Arcades Map. Digital image. The Telltale Blog, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. http://telltaleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/secret-passages-of-paris-map.jpg.

The Passages of Paris and Benjamin's Mind by Herbert Muschamp details the rich history surrounding Benjamin's "Arcades Project" and the influence it had on the city of Paris. Though left incomplete on Benjamin's death in 1940, "The Arcades Project" nevertheless remains one of the most important urban analyses of the time. Benjamin was born to a Jewish art dealer in Berlin. He was educated there, but the Paris Arcade Project began in 1927 as a newspaper article. The manuscript was recovered by essayist George Batailles and was later taken to the Bibliotheque National in Paris. In the many sections of his analysis, Benjamin included both his own reflections and a vast amount of research material, which includes passages from other historical and architectural sources. Benjamin considered this type of building the most important during his time period because they signaled the end of an age production and the beginning of an era of consumption.

The article describes the arcade as a building type that predated Haussmann's grand boulevards. Essentially, the arcades were pedestrian passages between buildings--alleyways with iron and glass roofs over top of them. They were typically lined with shops and small restaurants, or tea rooms. The other even goes so far to describe the arcades as "the embryo of the suburban mall." Surprisingly, the arcades had been left behind, for the most part, when Benjamin was in Paris, Haussmann Boulevards having ripped through Paris to make room for new urban fantasies. Benjamin, however, was still a bit stuck on the old ones. He remains fixed on the "phantasmagoria" that exists in the arcades, and his criticism aims to bring awareness to his readers and "release them from the hold of manufactured states of mind," which are oftne proliferated by the architects of this age.

Muschamp, Herbert. "The Passages of Paris And of Benjamin's Mind." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2000. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

(http://parisadele.com/portfolio/passage-du-caire/)

Passage du Caire. Digital image. Paris Adele, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. http://parisadele.com/wp-content/uploads/strikingr/images/2920_Passage-du-Caire-facade-644x428.jpg.

The "physiognomy" or outward appearance of the arcades, as described by Beaudelaire, is unsuspecting and easily overlooked, much like the hidden places described in the NPR article about Atlas Obscura. Like the Time Square Hum, the arcades, a marvel of architecture and Parisian culture, blend in seamlessly with the environment. It serves as a reminder that, in the middle of the busy streets, "is this kind of little gem waiting for you if you're willing to sort of slow down, look around, listen and kind of start asking questions" as Thuras says in the article. This is much like the flaneurs that Beaudelaire himself described.

Shapiro, Ari. "'Atlas Obscura' Tour Of Manhattan Finds Hidden Wonders In A Well-Trodden Place." NPR. NPR, 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

(http://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/100264/Passage-des-Panoramas)

From the image and description of the Passage de Panoramas, it is clear that these arcades were, in "the embryo of suburban shopping malls," offering a wide variety attractions, and even restaurants.

Passage de Panorama. Digital image. Paris Tourist Office, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. http://en.parisinfo.com/var/otcp/sites/images/media/1.-photos/80.-photos-sugar/lieux-de-loisirs-et-de-culture/passage-des-panoramas-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-otcp-marc-bertrand/10653601-1-fre-FR/Passage-des-Panoramas-%7C-630x405-%7C-%C2%A9-OTCP-Marc-Bertrand.jpg.

Muschamp, Herbert. "The Passages of Paris And of Benjamin's Mind." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2000. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

This is a good example of the use of public for the benefit of all, and it is the exact opposite of the the Yale Law Journal article we read. Instead of discriminating against a certain class of people by altering the physical environment, shop owners and even law enforcers allow their presence and gladly share the space. This exemplifies the diversity of the city and the overall accessibility of the arcades.

In his essay on Atlas Obscura (Joshua Foer et al.), Ali Shapiro reminds us that the world is filled with 'astounding stuff' still waiting to be discovered. Atlas Obscura is a "guide tot eh worlds' hidden wonders" (Shapiro) that details those wonders of the world that people tend to overlook. One of the book's writers, Dylan Thuras, took Shapiro on a tour of Manhattan to find some of these hidden gems in his own backyard. Projects like Atlas Obscura and the Arcades Project serve a crucial purpose in a world where day to day life has become far to monotonous. Especially in the 21st century, where we live and die by our routines, we often miss the amazing environments and creations around us. It's important to go out and find these places, as they provide a much needed escape from the daily grind. These places are all around us, all we need to do is look for them.

Shapiro, Ali. “‘Atlas Obscura’ Tour Of Manhattan Finds Hidden Wonders In A Well-Trodden Place.” NPR.org. Accessed October 2, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2016/09/20/494733654/atlas-obscura-tour-of-manhattan-finds-hidden-wonders-in-a-well-trodden-place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6-weVtivNE

You can tell that the arcades were important to people because they put in great effort to keep them functional and comfortable year round.

I find it interesting the different circumstances that lead people to discover new places. For Deverient, the weather led him to discover the novelty of the arcades. Whether or not we go out in search of new places, we seem to find them eventually. This discovery only happens in cities like Paris and Atlanta, where walkability allows for more flexible routes.

This passage reminded me of a topic we discussed in our Mapping class. We talked extensively of how in the 1950s and 1960s, a lot of buildings were demolished for being multipurpose establishments, much like the ones discussed here. A lot of the buildings were occupied for retail purposes on the bottom floor and housing purposes on the top floors. This was deemed and unfit living condition due to the fact that people in the mid-1900s believed that it was bad for one's mental health to live in such an establishment. It is interesting to see how similiar multipurpose buildings began to spring up in the late 1800s and were subsequently demolished, in the US at least, just 50-odd years later. Ironically enough, more and more of the same building models are beginning to resurface today. Atlanta is growing at such a rapid pace that developers are having to contiually expand upward.

It seems like the arcades were a sort of escape from constricting societal norms. The arcades were a place where people felt leniency.

This note of Benjamin's highlights the equalizing power that arcades held. While the Royal family may have certain commodities that others don't, it is very likely that when visiting the markets, they will become wet and muddy just like all the commoners. The arcades show no bias to its visitors. The Royal family is just as succeptable to all the gross, dampness of the arcades on a rainy day as anyone else would be. This note is particularly important because it emphasizes how diverse the arcades are in regards to their customers. Because of such diversity, the markets create a sense of community between the rich and the poor, withering away at the extremely classist nature of French society.

Arcades are large buildings that house a plethora of small shops and merchants, selling to the general public. The stores offer a wide variety of goods, ranging from clothing to food and drink. A parallel in society today would be Atlanta's city markets, such as the Ponce City and Krog Street Markets.

One main argument being presented in this article is that the cityscape in a certain time period can be credited for altering certain aspects of that time's culture as well. Here, the author is arguing that theater had an effect on women's clothing choices. Heavier fabrics were exchanged for lighter ones, even in winter. This shows how the built environment contributes to the culture of the region of the area, similarly to how these arcades were indicative of behavioral patterns in French society.

French poets and playwrights of this time seem to surround a large amount of their writings around the arcades. Arcades could be the beginning of the cutural importance modern society puts on shopping. It brings many people to a crowded place, increasing potential for socializing or even romance.

Pierre Francois Lacenaire was a notorious French murderer and poet. He did a lot of his writing while in prison, awaiting trial. After his death, there were many poems, plays, and other literature written about him. It was within an arcade, located at 271 Rue Saint-Martin in Paris that he committed a double murder.

As stated by Muschamp in the article from the New York Times, Benjamin was a strong advocate for arcades. He believed "the Paris arcade was the most important building type of the 19th century." If that is true, then why does he compare the Parisian arcade to a tumor? He implies that the arcades block the ebb and flow of the city, much like a tumor disrupts normal functions within the human body. It is a very intriguing point for him to add to his novel, making me wonder what it's purpose is within his collection.

Muschamp, Herbert. "ART/ARCHITECTURE: The Passage of Paris And of Benjamin's Mind." New York Times 16 Jan. 2000: n. pag. New York Times. Web.

As mentioned in my last annotation, arcades were extremely diverse establishments. However, they provide variety not only in the array of stores available, but also in the kinds of people that frequented them. Socially, arcades were progressive in nature, accepting certain customs, such as public smoking, that weren't necesssarily accepted elsewhere. These places were more than simply shopping plazas; they were imperative to the identity of French society at the time. Arcades were facilitators of both commerce and community.

Here, Benjamin is trying to convey the lasting importance of arcades. He notes how these mini markets are the beginning of a culture centered on consumerism. One of the main components of consumerism are large-scale department stores, holding a wide variety of goods and services under the same roof. The arcades offered a more primitive version of similar large stores that we see today, such as Macy's and Target to name a few.

"The stores are felt to this animation, cafes remain open all night; everything is noise, laughter, gaiety, until the first light of dawn had replaced the expiring fires gas. "

• Leo Lespes and Charles Bertrand, Paris-Album on the Passage de l'Opera

The Arcades served as a catalyst for the spreading of art and knowledge. It could be said that the built environment was crucial for the flourishing of culture.

I think Phillipe may have been subtly adverstising his shops here. He relates his shops to God himself. Today, we see similar forms of advertising in which the product is compared to something people think they need.

Herbert Muschamp's analysis of "The Arcades Project" offered an incredible amount of insight in to the structure of and ideas surrounding this work of literature. Muschamp first gives a background of author Walter Benjamin's life and ultimate tragic death in 1940. Benjamin's work was described as a series of notes and quotes he gathered in preparation to write an incredible novel about the life and culture of the French arcades. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish it, but from his notes alone, scholars were able to piece together his thoughts and identify his inspirations. Benjamin's inspiration were loosley gathered from Marxism, Surrealism, and the Enlightenment schools of thought. Much like the Surrealists, Benjamin wanted to rebel against conventional literature and art, and his collection is referred to by Muschamp as the "ultimate anti-book". Benjamin attempts to clear the air of the fog of romanticism and unveil the issues surrounding the Parisian markets beloved by so many. He addresses these areas with heavy skepticism in an effort to see the ugly side, consisting of debauchery, gambling, and prostitiution. In doing so, Benjamin created a very artistic collection of thoughts and notes, making a very paradoxical piece of literature many scholars regard very highly to this day.

This article made this passage easier to comprehend. The scattered nature of the reading is extremely off-putting initially, but the article offered a lot of clarification. It is very easy to see how Benjamin's background and various ideologies play a part in his writings. A lot of the points he makes are very obviously from the Surrealistic school of thought. The way in which Benjamin sees these arcades is one of admiration, but at the same time, he is still wary of their effect on French society. He does not put them on a pedestal; instead he analyzes the arcades to the nth degree in order to truly understand these things he finds so fascinating. Many of the notes he gathered include the darker side of Parisian arcades, including prostitution and gambling. It almost seems as if he finds these arcades to be a kind of necessary evil in the evolution of French society at the time.

Muschamp, Herbert. "ART/ARCHITECTURE: The Passage of Paris And of Benjamin's Mind." New York Times 16 Jan. 2000: n. pag. New York Times. Web.

"Once the center of making straw hats who side with workshops printing and lithography, the passage of Cairo is now the heart of the industry and trade of tailoring. An exotic way, cluttered with various objects that also deserves to be restored ..." (Monique Joly, retired Paris teacher)

This quote is very intriguing to me because the whole idea behind the cultural changes in the 18th-19th centuries was equality. Like Cuvillier noted, the architecture promotes inequality. The way society is structured, and the way things are built, it indirectly segregates people based on class and status.

This quote shows how important the arcades were to culture and art. As Bouchot says, even the greatest Renaissance artists could not have saved the art works. It was the commoners and the shopkeepers that were vital to its survival.

The arcade is the site for many cultural revolutions to take place. In this case, it was the way shopkeepers keep their shops. We see these practices still used to this day that were originally started in the arcades.

I find it very interesting that they were to do this. I also don’t think the location was a coincidence too. The arcades represent and show the culture of France in the present and past. So to go along with the signboards, any one who would have came across ruins of the arcades could also learn about the French culture.

This is an example of how the architecture has changed the culture and way of life for the people. Before, when it was raining or storming, it was very difficult to go out and shop for what you need. Now, with the glass panels, people can go out with ease and not have to worry about the weather.

This an image of the Passage du Caire which was built in the heart of the French Revolution. The architecture reflects this time period. The citizens are France had to choose between the two paths that were a head of them, monarchy or democracy. This building represents that choice.

Capitalism was and still is a huge part of cultures all around the world, including France. The arcades are a direct result of capitalism

This is an example of what Shapiro writes about in her article. Julius Rosenberg found himself a hidden gem in the arcades. He didn’t find it because it was the most ornate store or the most prestigious. He found it because he was in awe of the atmosphere and culture of the store. He loved it because of its simplicity in design but extraordinary experience created by the arcades.

This quote directly relates to Shapiro’s article. Benjamin describes the Passage Vivienne as being “solid,” which he means it is the true arcade, what the arcade is really about. He also compares it to being the side chapels to the nave of a church, showing how it is not the main attraction in the arcades.