If you're feeling a little overwhelmed right about now -- that's understandable. (We've only been trying to understand two of the most important thinkers in contemporary economics, one of the slipperiest phenomena in contemporary American politics and culture, and some of the most difficult and debated political ideologies in modern history!)
Not to worry. We'll re-visit all of this again in the second half of the course, after we have a lot more history and philosophy under our belts -- and you'll be amazed how much more you understand. For now, if you have a basic idea of what Hayek and Rand are arguing for (i.e., [B]'s position in the Facebook debate I sent you), and what they're arguing against ([A]'s position), and some idea of what a declension narrative is, and what the words "liberalism," "socialism," and "fascism" might refer to (in a circulating way), you're doing fine. And if you're fuzzy on some of this, again not to worry: just come talk with me, and we'll get it cleared up.
I'm tempted to say, "Now for something completely different." And in some ways, it is: DeLillo's White Noise is a novel, not a piece of political ideology or philosophy or historiography. And it's about (somewhat) ordinary people living (somewhat) ordinary lives. Nonetheless, it's not completely different. We'll be talking about a lot of the same stuff, from a very different perspective. I think you'll see the connections -- and Hitler Studies is just the beginning.
Your assignment is simple. (Perhaps deceptively simple.)
1) Read Part One ("Waves and Radiation") of Don DeLillo's White Noise. Read closely. Annotate. Keep notes. Watch, especially, the way the book deals with history -- the stuff that happens, both "big" and "small" -- and with historiography -- the way the stuff that happens is remembered, recorded, and put into narrative form.
2) Choose three moments from the text, which you think are particularly important for understanding how DeLillo is dealing with history. (As in the Hegel post, a "moment" is a quote that's longer than a word and shorter than a paragraph.) At least one, but no more than two, of your moments must include the word "history." At least one, but no more than two, of your moments must include the word "Hitler." In addition, try to keep your moments varied -- they should show different sides to what DeLillo is doing -- and spread out throughout Part One (if they're all from the first 30 pages, I'm gonna get a little suspicious...). And as much as possible, don't use the same moments as people who posted before you.
3) Write a post, at least 300 words long, in which you suggest an answer to the question: How does Jack Gladney, the narrator of White Noise, understand history (and historiography) -- and, how does he try to argue the reader into understanding history (and historiography)? In answering this question, you must draw all of your evidence from your three moments -- and no others. (Of course, feel free to give context for these three moments as needed. Just focus on those three moments. You'll have plenty to work with.) And feel welcome, and encouraged, to (a) make connections to other things we've read and discussed, and (b) read the posts before yours and write your own post in dialogue with the points that other people make. As Hillary Clinton said (rather disingenuously) at the beginning of her presidential campaign, "Let the conversation begin."
Have fun with this. I think you will. It's easier than Hayek. I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can find in this book. It's intrigued me for many years, and I'm interested to see if you will feel the same.
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