the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
EVERLASTING THEORIES
Revival of Deleuze New philosophy group to bring speakers to campus By CARLINA DUAN Daily Arts Writer
“The shame of being a man — is there any better reason to write?” These were the words of Gilles Deleuze, a renowned philosopher and writer whose ideas and theories have influenced multiple disciplines across centuries, including music, literature, film, architecture and fine art. Deleuze’s work, spanning from the 1960s until his death in 1995, is often taught in University classes. The Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop — titled the Deleuze Interest Group — has created a forum space and “Material Encounters” lecture series, centered around untangling Deleuzian principles and extending academic conversation. The Deleuze Interest Group will bring several guest speakers onto campus throughout the year, as a way to invite the campus and broader community to think critically about Deleuzian philosophy. “(His ideas) are fresh,” said American Culture Ph.D. student and Deleuze Interest Group cocoordinator Stephen Molldrem. “They’re new readings of works that a lot of people are familiar with.” Deleuze and French philosopher Félix Guattari often partnered together to create a new landscape in the field. “What they tried to do was make a radical break from some of the defining features in philosophy,” Molldrem said. “They’re (inviting) you to think with them. That’s actually quite joyful and does a lot for you if you’re working
with them.” The Deleuze Interest Group, sponsored by the Rackham Graduate School Interdisciplinary Workshop program, began in winter 2012, after several students had taken an English literary theory seminar during the fall. After several discussions in and outside of class, students came together and proposed the idea of a workshop centered around Deleuze. LSA junior and co-coordinator of the Deleuze Interest Group Nate Gallant noted that the class was an effective gateway course to further dissecting philosophy and theory. “That class was a really great place where a lot of people who were interested in continental philosophy and literature could come together,” Gallant said. “There aren’t a terrible amount of classes that could offer a (focus) on just one theorist or philosopher.” After the class ended, the conversation continued in Deleuze Interest Group meetings, which served as forum spaces where the group would discuss readings. This year, the Deleuze Interest Group established a speaker series to introduce Deleuze’s philosophy, as well as the multi-dimensional feature of Deleuzian work in other fields. University of Wisconsin-Madison Geography Prof. Dr. Keith Woodward gave a Deleuze Interest Group talk on Nov. 1, titled, “Affect, State Theory, and the Politics of Confusion.” Woodward applies Deleuzian concepts in his study of political consequence and social theory, and centered his talk around an example of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Regarding occupations and social movements, Woodward noted the applicability of Deleuzian thought.
“He subverts the ‘normal’ reading of the history of philosophy, and he also subverts the canon in philosophy,” Woodward said. “So his project in part was to read the minor thinkers rather than the major thinkers.” This interdisciplinary philosophy has generated further conversation among scholars and students alike. “You can have Deleuze be reframed through this other subject matter too,” said co-coordinator and LSA senior Taylor Portela, “There’s that possibility to have multiple viewpoints be in flux with each other.” However, the group emphasized that the Deleuze Interest Group does not center on Deleuze himself, but rather the discussions that derive from Deleuzian ideas. “It’s the conversation that we can have because of Deleuze, not necessarily Deleuze’s work itself,” Gallant said. “He offers up the philosophical space for interdisciplinary conversations that we’re hoping to have in these forums.” Furthermore, group members, who come from a diverse background of different fields, years and majors across the University, stress that their studies on Deleuze allow them to both further enhance their own projects in their individual areas of study, as well as find common ground to engage in philosophical conversations with one another. “This is such a great opportunity that Rackham and the University of Michigan give us, so even just to have the chance to bring in these speakers and to partner with other departments — it just really speaks so highly of the amazing community that we have here at the University,” Molldrem said. “It’s about what (Deleuze) lets all of us come together and do.”
Thursday, November 21, 2013 — 3B
GOSSIP COLUMN
Jay Z stands for fashion and justice
I
t’s easy to look like a boss when everything is going your way — when you have one of the biggest music empires on the planet, one of the most adorable babies in the world and your wife is freaking Beyoncé. But it’s when the going get LENA tough that you FINKEL really have to prove what you’re made of. And in this case, Jay Z passes with flying colors. It’s no secret that the superglamorous Barneys New York recently came under fire for racial profiling. Two separate Black customers filed complaints against the store when police questioned them after making lavish purchases. One individual was even accused of credit card fraud. This wouldn’t be the first time that a top-line store was accused of such actions — surprise, surprise. Just last month, actor Rob Brown also claimed police detained him for possible “credit card fraud” after shopping at Macy’s. But this time, the racist charges affected more than just the store in question. Because this time, the accusations were filed just before Jay Z intended to bring his exclusive BNY SCC clothing collection to Barneys. Oops! Of course, the mobs took to Twitter, demanding that Jay Z cut ties with Barneys. But after a lot of consideration, and (probably) a ton of negotiations with Barneys,
THE D’ART BOARD
Jay announced that he’s not backing down. Mr. Carter took to his website to proclaim: “I have agreed to move forward with the launch of BNY SCC collection under the condition that I have a leadership role and seat on a council specifically convened to deal with the issue of racial profiling. I am in a unique position to use my voice to affect change to this disturbing issue.” From a public relations stand point, this is genius. It makes him look like the hero, like he’s going to use all his power and influence to end racial stereotyping in luxury stores like Barneys.
Hip-hop mogul knows power comes with responsibility. But if Jay Z is going to genuinely take on this cause — which I honestly can’t speak to (He already has his music label, several business ventures including a new sports management group, his Shawn Carter charitable foundation and a growing family to look after.) — then he really is the role model he claims to be. In an online statement, he wrote, “The easy position would have been to walk away and leave policy-making to others hoping that someone addresses the problem.”
And he’s completely right. Bowing out of the project would have been the “easy” route. He already had millions of fans and supporters demanding that he end the project. It would have been simple for him to walk away — it’s always easiest to do what everyone expects you to do, what everyone is telling you is right. And if the roles were reversed, and Jay Z had caused such a controversy, Barneys New York certainly wouldn’t have hesitated to walk away — remember how quickly Nike dumped Tiger Woods amid his troubles? But Jay is bigger than that. This isn’t to say that walking away from the project would have necessarily been “wrong.” If Jay Z had decided to take his business elsewhere, he still would have sent the message that he doesn’t stand for this kind of behavior. But his actions would have been passive, and wouldn’t have actually dealt with the problem at hand. In times when so many celebrities are claiming to use their influence for good, Jay Z is actually showing them how it’s done. I admire him for stepping up to the plate and facing this very serious problem of racial profiling. Jay posted: “I will not leave the outcome to others. I will take this into my own hands with full power to recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward. I am choosing to take this head on.” More eloquent words were never written. Finkel is shopping at Barneys. To tag along, e-mail ljfinkel@umich.edu
The Secret Agent Diaries
Each week we take shots at the biggest developments in the entertainment world. Here’s what hit (and missed) this week.
The CW is developing a new spy thriller, which the network describes as a cross between “Alias” and “Homeland.”
Unconditionally bizarre Katy Perry releases “abstract” (read: nonsensical) music video.
The opposite of awesomeness
Great Lake
CBS orders “HIMYM” spinoff, “How I Met Your Dad.”
Lake Bell to star in Ben Palmer-directed rom-com.
It’s a sequel business An “It’s A Wonderful Life” followup is inexplicably in the works. Design by Nick Cruz
SINGLE REVIEW Armed with little more than a piano and vocals, Majical Cloudz has produced “Savage,” a very perB+ sonal and pain-stricken Savage track that Majical Cloudz the Canadian duo has been Matador performing during their live sets over the past year. Upon its release, Devon Welsh wrote a brief note detailing the vague circumstances which led to the song’s conception. While the explanation reveals little, as Welsh believes “what the song is ‘about’ is less important than how and why it is meaningful for you when you listen to it,” he does divulge that it centers around a friendship affected by drugs. The track’s raw approach
heightens the emotional intensity of Welsh’s voice as he sings “I love you / But I have to let go, let go.” Sadness and distress plague the song in its entirety through his vocals, lyrics and somber melody. While overtly personal, the song lacks the specificity to
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
MATADOR
detach the listener’s reliability to it. Welsh’s own experience may pertain to a friendship tormented by drugs, but as he admits “Shame on me for it / Shame on me for you,” it’s impossible not to find empathize with his heartache. —ERIKA HARWOOD
It’s hard to deny that Kanye West is a visionary artist, an expert innovator and quite possibly the most sigC nificant pop icon of our Bound 2 time. But for Kanye West a man who Def Jam wields such enormous cultural influence, Kanye sure has a track record of making puzzling decisions. Go ahead and add the recently released “Bound 2” music video to that list of headscratching Yeezy creations. The recently wed couple pulsates sensually as stock footage of an expansive prairie and sunset-topped canyon plays on the green screen backdrop. It’s impossible to explain what prompted the multimillionaire to create something so dully unimaginative and fake looking. Maybe it’s a critique
on love in the time of hypervigilant surveillance, the reality TV starlet’s nude silhouette an effigy for the loss of personal privacy? Or perhaps the meaning lies in Ye’s blank expression, his hands never leaving the motorcycle as Kim looks longingly into the camera — a commentary on the rapper’s shaky relationship with the public? Or else it’s something else entirely,
DEF JAM
some elusive meaning that — as the video is damn near unwatchable — will remain unplumbed in this review. The video for Yeezus closer “Bound 2” is not only baffling: It’s downright boring, failing to engage the viewer in any meaningful or challenging way. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a bad music video is just a bad music video. —JAKE OFFENHARTZ