◉ Newsletter v.4.10 | End of a Semester
Hello from the American Midwest,
I'm going into the last week of a semester/academic year. This means I have very little time, and the newsletter will be short.
Podcasts:
I recorded an episode of InForm with Jason & Chris from the Regrettable Century, where we talked about chapter two in Psychoanalytic Politics by Sherry Turkle. I'll try to get this episode mixed and edited soonish.
Making these episodes about the intersection of psychoanalysis and politics has been fun. I find I learn things during the conversation. I also have to think about how to present psychoanalytic ideas to people who are not working clinically, and that helps me make sure that I'm not getting too deep into jargon-speak.
The first episode in this series is here, and the second is here. I wrote this short post on [S][J][P] shortly after finishing the recording of this episode.
Seminar & Other Teaching:
I'm going into the last two sessions of the reading seminar I've been facilitating.
- There will be a session on 5/5 where Thomas Svolos will talk about the sixth paradigm of jouissance.
- Then on 5/19, Todd McGowan will do a wrap-up, where he gives his take on the six paradigms.
Next up: I need to figure out the next text the reading seminar will take on.
I'm also going to start putting together the introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalytic Praxis summer class I plan to teach this summer. If you're interested in taking this class, let me know.
Listening:
I listened to one of Craig Mod's Office Hours Podcasts (available to members of his Special Projects Membership program), where he did a Q&A about a project he had completed. Mod walked people through lots of the elements of his creative process that had him writing a tremendous amount of text each day and then sending it out as email newsletters.
Someone asked Mod if he felt pressure to produce content when he started taking questions. Mod's answer was (I'm paraphrasing), "Nope, I like doing this kind of work. I have things I want to say, so I figure out how to put them into writing. I do some revision, but I don't get too caught up in that. If I have something I want to share with others, it's not hard to produce the writing."
I thought that was great! It speaks to how it is not challenging to write if the desire to say something is there. However, if there is a demand to "produce content" but the desire is not there, that will not be easy.
Listening to this also served as a good warning sign to me: It would be good to make sure that posting on [S][J][P], writing newsletters, and making podcasts, are all things I'm doing because I have the desire to do them.
If I feel like I have to do these or have to keep up with a schedule, I risk getting sucked into making stuff because of demand. I don't want to do that.
Damn the demand! Save the desire!
Writing:
The next bit of text for what I've been working on is in brought draft format, but I'll share it with you:
The Challenger disaster represents a moment in my life where I experienced a loss of faith. In my case it was not a faith in a Devine entity, it was a loss of faith in something else. The child version of me had faith (i.e., believed with 100% certainty) that there was something that would make sure that a space shuttle blowing up could never happen. When it became clear that the Challenger had blown up, the grip I had on this faith in something slipped away from me. I believe there is something in this experience of losing faith in something that keeps people safe that everyone can relate to.
There are some term from Lacanian psychoanalysis I can use to understand the loss of faith I'm describing. Those terms are, the subject supposed to know, and transference.
What this will show you is how the text is going to take a turn towards psychoanalytic concepts. I plan to mix autobiography/memory with theory. I hope the result is something people will find interesting and useful.
Supporting this work:
Making this stuff costs me some money (and lots of time). You can support the production of my podcasts, newsletter, open notebooks, and other things by becoming a SUPPORTING Member of [S][J][P].
Fin:
Again, sorry this one was so short. I'll try to write a better newsletter next week.
Till then, please, make glorious mistakes.