Lecture Notes

Directions to Town

• Take a right at the site of the new shopping mall.
• Go straight past the future freeway.
• Turn left at the upcoming sports center.
• Continue until reaching the proposed driving bank site.

Saul Bellow's "Herzog"

• Explores the pressures of modern life:
  • What it means to be a man in a city during a time of transition.
  • The impact of mechanization and organized power on personal identity.
  • The devaluation of the individual in a society dominated by numbers.

Contradictory Nature of Modern Society

• Discussion by Leon Golov:
  • Society is becoming more totalized and massive.
  • At the same time, communication and technology are atomizing society.
  • Living in a world that is both huge and fragmented.

Emergence of Post-Industrial Society

• Presented by Frederick Jameson:
  • Post-World War II changes in society:
    • Characteristics of post-industrial society:
      • Multinational capitalism.
      • Consumer society with planned obsolescence.
      • Rapid changes in fashion and media saturation.
      • Shift from urban-rural tensions to suburban standardization.
      • Growth of superhighways and automobile culture.
• Importance of recognizing gradual historical changes rather than abrupt shifts.

Impact of Technology

• Significant changes due to:
  • Microchip technology.
  • Nuclear weaponry.
  • Increased surveillance and control.
• The instability of multinational capitalism despite its homogeneous influence.

Postmodern Condition

• Discussed by Jean Francois:
  • Acknowledgement of a modern era originating from the Enlightenment.
  • This era proposed progress in knowledge, arts, and human freedom but hasn't fulfilled its promises.
  • Growing sense of ignorance and lack of freedom.
• Observations about societal change:
  • Many desire change but see little progress.
  • The existing order becomes more entrenched.

Susan Sontag on Cameras and Reality

• Cameras shape reality in two primary ways:
  • As spectacles for the masses.
  • As surveillance tools for authorities.
• Emphasis on image consumption equating to freedom.

Mary on Postmodern Practices

• Positive aspects of the postmodern condition:
  • Elimination of hierarchical practices and dogmatism.
• Challenges of commitment in a pluralistic society:
  • Importance of identifying aspects to challenge and attempt to change.