Sick of theory? Get sicker dudes!

JAC is the Journal of Advanced Composition and I thought I'd forward
their call for submissions below...in part because we here in the
bowl practice "network theory," in part because I know this type of
jargon will turn many off but actually supports some of the
anti-theory or anti-criticism thinking on this list, and in part
because I like the thinking below as a way to re-think my experiences
as a writing teacher. will

>
>General Call for Proposals
>--------------------------------
>For a proposed special issue of JAC on Mark C. Taylor and Emerging
>Network Culture, edited by David Blakesley and Thomas Rickert
>
>Mark C. Taylor's latest book The Moment of Complexity: Emerging Network
>Culture (2001, University of Chicago Press) puts in play a number of
>issues relevant to contemporary rhetorical and critical theory, cultural
>studies, advanced composition, and the corporate university. Taylor's
>claims concerning emergent network culture challenge current postmodern
>and cultural theories, while opening new fault-lines in the established
>narratives of the humanities in general. Taylor's arguments are
>substantial and groundbreaking, making his book a landmark that requires
>sustained critical examination.
>
>Essays are sought that present a sustained engagement with Taylor's work
>and the trajectory of his arguments. Among the most challenging of
>Taylor's claims, and therefore the most in need of careful
>consideration, is his stage-setting argument that our extant critical
>theories are in fact exhausted. Specifically, Taylor argues that the
>critical cultural theory of the past 30 years, as stemming from
>Foucault, Derrida, Baudrillard, and others, has become predictable and
>routinized. In the face of the exhaustion of contemporary cultural
>theory, Taylor argues for the usefulness of ongoing work on systems,
>networks, and complexity. Condensing large amounts of research in a
>variety of fields, Taylor proposes a general complexity theory hinging
>on the concept of the network. From this perspective, subject and
>objects, people and world, are caught in networks of relations that are
>themselves structured by intricate, co-evolving interrelations. The
>subject is no longer a "self" but rather a node; the brain is itself a
>global network, immersed in complex webs of informational, affective,
>and personal relations. We ask: Is such an orientation inherently
>rhetorical? As communication, persuasion, subjectivity, and
>interpersonal and -cultural relations are key loci of discussion for
>rhetorical and cultural theory, we are interested in the ways Taylor's
>arguments may be seen to challenge or reconfigure these theoretical
>commonplaces.
>
>Such work has consequences for the inter-animating arguments of
>humanists and scientists, which all too often reach an impasse at
>culture/nature reductionism. Humanists typically reduce nature to
>culture; scientists typically reduce culture to nature. It is a critical
>impasse, Taylor believes, because it forestalls continued cooperation
>and competition across the divide. Perhaps the most contentious of
>Taylor's positions is his argument on behalf of educational praxis-the
>fusion of theory and practice at the moment of complex educational
>systems, which are now precariously teetering between traditional
>educational and business cultures. However, his proposed solution, the
>for-profit Global Education Network (GEN), is provocative in part
>because it enacts theoretical principles at odds with current postmodern
>and cultural theory, both of which, he contends, rely on an outdated,
>Kantian model of higher education and only preserve traditional
>structures under the guise of resistance.
>
>What to Submit
>-------------------
>We are seeking original scholarly work that engages these issues and
>others that emerge from Taylor's work. We are especially interested in
>interdisciplinary work that has bearing on issues in contemporary
>rhetorical theory and advanced composition. Proposals are due November
>22, 2002, preferably sent by email as attachments in Word, RTF, or PDF
>format. They should include a 250-word description of your topic, a
>sample bibliography, and a one-paragraph author's biography. Proposals
>will be reviewed promptly, and authors selected for inclusion will be
>encouraged to submit completed essays by January 15, 2003, for
>subsequent review
>
>Send proposals to:
>
>David Blakesley
>Department of English
>Purdue University
>500 Oval Drive
>West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038
>Phone: 765.494.3772
>Email: blakesle@purdue.edu

-- 
	Will Hochman
Associate Professor of English
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515
203 392 5024
http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH