March 21st: Nietzsche's
Use and Abuse of History

Leading Class Discussion

Let's have our third "Leading Class Discussion" participant come up and see what to make of all this.

I'm horrible...Savannah was too much fun, so here's a consolation:
How did the Hipster burn his mouth?
--He ate pizza before it was cool.

Nietzsche's Use and Abuse of History

Well, it's officially Spring, so stay cool out there. Drink lots of fluids.

I have a few things to say about Nietzsche in general, and I also want to mention how he has been "explained" to me over the years. When I first got to UNCC, I was in a Nietzsche reading group. They talked mostly from a philosophical point of view. I like to consider Nietzsche from a cultural studies stand point and, of course, what he has to offer in terms of rhetoric.

Nietzsche on God

Nietzsche said "God is dead...," but was he an atheist? Does it matter? Probably not, but the famous quote is often taken out of context. Let's look closer.

But wait! There's more! Nietzsche on Buddha.

What about what Trent Reznor says in Heresy?

Language: A Social Practice

Seeing how CCCC was last weekm and we weren't there, let's do a good rhet/comp thing and get into groups. Consider the following questions and be ready to discuss as a larger class.

• What is living according to Nietzsche?
  
• What is it about a people's history that he finds, well, in excess and causes them to be dead culturally?
  
• What might he say about this "education" platform from the Texas GOP?
  Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
  (Republican Party of Texas, Report of Platform Committee, 2012, p. 12)
  • Another definition on "values clarification"
• How would he get along with St. Augustine and Descartes?

Now, what can we say about the selection from Writings from the Late Notebooks?

• A purpose-driven life (pp. 3-4)
  
• What one owes the church...(p. 7)

Modernism and the Avant-Garde

Nietzsche is considered a prophet of the historical avant-garde. His idea of (although not rejecting 100%) throwing off the chains of history is echoed in F. T. Marinetti's work. Not to be confused with Mari and Netti.

Next Week's Reading

Next week (3/29) we jump into postmodernity and Jacques Derrida's Positions. Derrida is considered one of the most imminent philosophers of the last 40 years. He's an easy read, too. Just kidding! He's quite difficult. Good luck!

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