On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 9:13 AM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Rudy: "In short, its quite easy to ask for clarification, for an
> explanation,
> without this snarky tone."
>
> [WS:] My intention was to make a sarcastic remark, not to ask for a
> clarification. I am an old coot and I know academic pissing contests
> in and out - it is not about explanation but about personality.
>
> PS. Sarcasm was not aimed at Chuck (whose postings I enjoy,) but the
> genre in general.
>
> Wojtek
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Alan Rudy <alan.rudy at gmail.com> wrote:
> > WS, Chuck took notes at a lecture and shared them, notes are incomplete,
> > cursory skeletal outlines, they do not represent a comprehensive
> > representation of the content or artfulness of a talk... well, mine never
> > are, perhaps yours are "essentially" different. He even said that some
> of
> > the talk put him to sleep...
> > Rather than slap at Chuck, Harvey and the folks at the presentation,
> isn't
> > it possible to imagine that the lived experience of the lecture wasn't
> > obscure?
> > In short, its quite easy to ask for clarification, for an explanation,
> > without this snarky tone. I'm sure Chuck'd try to oblige, he's a pretty
> > nice guy in my estimation. The faux ;) and BS self-attribution of
> > "essentialism" are simple assertions of some kind of
> > rolling-your-eyes-at-the-obscure-intellectuals superiority... why would
> > anyone want to respond to questions posed in that manner?
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 7:09 AM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> [WS:] Sorry for not being able to discern artfulness in this form of
> >> talk - that is what years of working in data mining do to you :) - but
> >> what exactly does all this mean? That is, other than showing
> >> erudition of the speaker and maybe the audience? In my narrow-minded
> >> "essentialist" world, the role of theory is to explain i.e. turn
> >> obscure into obvious, not the other way around. Can anyone explain
> >> what is the purpose of this generalized four-section wide intellectual
> >> edifice?
> >>
> >> Wojtek
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 2:54 AM, Chuck Grimes <c123grimes at att.net>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Harvey presented, under a description of his approach four sections.
> The
> >> > first was the axiomatic level where Production was the top generalized
> >> > level, then below Distribution, and Exchange---which are fed back into
> >> the
> >> > top level. He considered this something of fixed form, an abstract
> >> > architecture.
> >> >
> >> > The next area he considered not in terms of a fixed architectonic, but
> a
> >> > flow in the sense of thermodynamics. The central form was the flow of
> >> money,
> >> > composed of labor value, rents... I lost him here, almost nodding out.
> He
> >> > wrote out a relational equation of balance that essentially said, if
> any
> >> of
> >> > these factors is stopped it stops the flow, and shit breaks down.
> >> >
> >> > His third category was the dynamic of interlocking systems which
> included
> >> > technology, social relations, conditions of daily life, relation to
> >> nature,
> >> > an ideological system and its discontents, and others. The basic idea
> was
> >> > the presentation of the categories of potential change that animate
> the
> >> > system and which Capital mobilizes. The condition was that if these
> >> > interdependent factors are not simultaneously addressed, change on our
> >> side
> >> > fails.
> >> >
> >> > The fourth section was on Geography, the wide field of application,
> which
> >> > for Harvey the urban environment was central. The city was center
> place
> >> in
> >> > its dialectic with nature, as landscape was the locus of
> >> change-revolution.
> >> >
> >> > The latter was really interesting and I definitely woke up for this
> part,
> >> > since my ex-wife was a city planner, worked for Berkeley city
> government,
> >> > and we had talked endlessly about this dialectic between city and
> >> country,
> >> > Berkeley and Yosemite, the take over of local business by national
> >> > franchise, the nastiness of the Chamber of Commerce and its feudal
> land
> >> > system...
> >> >
> >> > The crowd were all graduate students, old timers something like me,
> and
> >> the
> >> > young professional turks. This was a fine view of actual, living,
> >> breathing
> >> > left. Very glad I got off my hermit(internet) ass. It was really nice
> to
> >> be
> >> > around smart people. These folk have no idea how lonely it gets in the
> >> > bullshit that passes for life in the US. I want to debate
> >> Darwin---fucking
> >> > kiss my ass.
> >> >
> >> > The questions were interesting. The first was about the role of
> >> > proletariat---standard issue Marxism.. Havery redirected the
> >> understanding
> >> > of who the prols were, in caspule, the makers of cities. He used
> several
> >> > other examples like the obvious disaffect intellectuals...
> >> >
> >> > The DOE library is under current occupation---who knew? The guy
> sitting
> >> next
> >> > to me was an archaeologist on staff in Geography whose period, place
> was
> >> > ancient Peru. We chatted about the Peruvian collection below the
> Hearst
> >> > women's gym and swimming pool, a Julia Morgan building, which worries
> the
> >> > archivialists---as it fucking should below many tons of water.
> >> >
> >> > Patrick Bond turned me on to this lecture, but he was very distracted.
> We
> >> > only exchanged a few words of greeting. I have to say, the most
> beautiful
> >> > thing geography does is maps, fabulous maps that track the
> rotten-right
> >> > through its Mason-Dixon territories. If you notice these traces follow
> >> the
> >> > central river systems of the US, the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri.
> >> What
> >> > does that mean?
> >> >
> >> > Then there are the scatter diagrams of blacks and minorities in major
> >> urban
> >> > centers, or the crop intensity plots of the California landscape. The
> >> > landscape creates the gigantic wealth of California because it has
> >> virtually
> >> > every productive eco-system from SEA rice paddies to grasslands for
> live
> >> > stock to valleys of custom Tuscan grapes for wine, cheese, and wheat
> >> plains
> >> > for bread. It has three giant natural ports in SF, LA, and San Diego.
> The
> >> > idiots that run this state have never seen it. The river systems that
> >> flow
> >> > into the Sacramento Delta create something compariable to the ancient
> >> deltas
> >> > of yore. Well that's the conceptual level of the geography of
> California;
> >> >
> >> > I have gone on about this because there is a lot of intellectual life
> in
> >> > Berkeley, but it is incrediably difficult to keep track of. You have
> to
> >> > evolve a system of some social sort I never mastered to follow all the
> >> > goings on. The Berkeley Planet sure ain't the New Yorker or the NYT.
> >> >
> >> > For those around the bay area here is the link to David Harvey's big
> >> public
> >> > lecture:
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> http://events.berkeley.edu/?event_ID=32976&date=2010-10-08&tab=all_events
> >> >
> >> > Summary. Wurster Hall 112, 4pm. Parking. Go to the concrete parking
> >> > structure on Bancroft a block below College in front of Kroeber Hall
> and
> >> > cheat anyway you can. It is a short walk from this parking structure
> to
> >> the
> >> > Architecture and Design building of Wurster---a souless Le Courbusier
> >> > modular structure. I assume this lecture will be a book lecture on The
> >> > Engima of Capital. Of course it is popular because art and
> architecture
> >> > students are too stupid to grasp the abstract concepts. I hate the
> idea,
> >> but
> >> > that is about right.
> >> >
> >> > CG
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > ___________________________________
> >> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >> >
> >>
> >> ___________________________________
> >> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > *********************************************************
> > Alan P. Rudy
> > Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
> > Central Michigan University
> > 124 Anspach Hall
> > Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
> > 517-881-6319
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
-- ********************************************************* Alan P. Rudy Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Central Michigan University 124 Anspach Hall Mt Pleasant, MI 48858 517-881-6319