Reading Mumbo Jumbo

In the clip from the end of Videodrome that we watched in class today, Max says exhaustedly to the television screen from which Nicki speaks to him, "I don't know where I am now. I'm having trouble...finding my way around." It seems like several of the texts we have looked at this semester have a way of willfully disorienting us, so that like Max, we don't know where we are and have trouble finding our way around.

Mumbo Jumbo might also seem like one of these texts, because of its sudden shifts in language and context, and its refusal to settle into a straightforward narrative. Think about what this text does to you and your process of reading. What does it mean to read "mumbo jumbo"--texts like "The Cyborg Manifesto," Videodrome and Mumbo Jumbo--that seem to deliberately defy logical comprehension, yet (I hope) still stimulate and fascinate? The American Heritage Dictionary defines the phrase "mumbo jumbo" as follows:

1. Unintelligible or incomprehensible language; gibberish.
2. Language or ritualistic activity intended to confuse.
3. A complicated or obscure ritual.
4. An object believed to have supernatural powers; a fetish.

Pose a discussion question or two (similar to the ones that you provide in your discussion facilitation) about the novel Mumbo Jumbo that you think is worth pursuing. It doesn't have to be a direct response to what I wrote, but should be something that you think is fruitful to ask about the text.

Also be sure to go back and read other people's comments about passages picked from Cyborg Manifesto--this great material for your final essay.

Cyborg Manifesto

Pick one sentence from Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto that you find particularly confusing, provocative, or striking. Quote it (include the page number), and tell us exactly why. Identify unfamiliar phrases, words, or concepts if necessary.

Here's one that I find striking:
"It is not just that science and technology are possible means of great human satisfaction, as well as a matrix of complex dominations. Cyborg imagery can suggest a way out of the maze of dualisms in which we have explained our bodies and our tools to ourselves." (181)

I find this passage interesting because she tells us that it's not enough to just simplistically say, "technology can be both liberate and enslave us" or "technology can both enhance and diminish our lives" because even this maintains a binary view of technology as good and/or bad. In other words, she not only refuses to take sides on the embrace-or-fear technology debate, she also refuses to accept the terms of the debate, which assumes from the outset that there are two opposing sides (what she calls a dualism). Even to call a compromise between condemning or celebrating technology still assumes that there are two sides rather than a heteregenous network of possible positions.

Short Essay #2 thesis statement

To prepare for your short essay #2 assignment, and building on the brainstorming workshops we are doing in class this Wednesday and Friday, formulate a working thesis statement that takes up a position on the reading and film that you will be analyzing for your paper. This thesis statement is a starting point that is subject to total revision, so don't worry about making it perfect. Most importantly, let us know why you chose this particular combination of reading and film and why your topic is significant or compelling to you.

Note that a thesis statement does not need to be one sentence. It might be complex or multi-faceted enough to warrant a couple sentences.

Also, remember that your thesis statement should be about the texts themselves, NOT an independent argument that uses the texts as evidence. For example:

• "It is impossible and ultimately fruitless to delineate a clear boundary between humans and machines" and "Memories, whether directly experienced or mediated by technology, are foundational to personal identity" do NOT make a claim that is specific to the texts.
  
  
• "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner both provocatively blur the boundary between humans and machines" and "In Family Viewing, the only access that the characters have to their personal memories is through the technology of video" are better starts that DO make a claim that is specifically about the texts.
  

Response to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Write a response in essay form (~300 words) to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Again, see the document What is a Response Essay? for guidelines.

If memories are central to our identity and humanity, how can know that our memories and experiences are "real" rather than altered or implanted? So what if they are? What are some of the distinctions between human/android that are delineated and then challenged in the book?

Also, take a moment to read other student comments posted last week in response to Family Viewing. They were really conceptually rich and might serve as a bounce-off point for your response to Do Androids Dream.

Purchase Required Texts

Purchase required texts for the course ASAP, as the Cal Student Store starts sending books back to the publishers after midterm. Consult your course syllabus for what those texts are and for what dates we will be discussing them in class.