We have discussed Marxism in a cursory manner on this discussion board. We have also noted that D&G are not your typical Marxists, as in subscribing to rigid standards of what a Marxist should be. They break many precious rules handed down by those claiming to be Marxists. However, as we have mentioned before they have had a huge admiration for ( Read more... )

Came across this link through wikipedia, and thought it might elucidate our conversations a bit ( Read more... )

As we read through AO closely, I've become a bit of a completist, yearning to read as much by Felix Guattari as possible. So I've been closely scouring the Anti-Oedipus Papers. There is an interesting chapter entitled, "What is Psychoanalysis?" Which reveals a deep criticism, perhaps hatred that Guattari harbored toward Lacan and Freud. p.89 " ( Read more... )

Last time we talked a bit about the idea that "all is machines". First and foremost I think its important to remember that Felix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze were concerned activists, who were deeply effected by the Paris Student Uprisings of 1968. They saw this as an opportunity, or an event if you will, that carried with it the possibility of ( Read more... )

"It is at work everywhere"... all is machines. Working in fits and starts, functioning smoothly at times. Even the breast and the mouth are machines. Notice they do not say, "like" machines, they do not say that there is a metaphorical affinity to a machine, but that they actually ARE machines. Thereby again blurring the distinction between a ( Read more... )

Since nobody returned by post about going in a linear fashion through AO, or in a mish-mash non-linear fashion haphazardly, I decided I'll kick things off in a linear fashion. It will make things easier... if that's possible with a book like Anti-Oedipus ( Read more... )

Before we start AO, I thought it would be worth asking... do you folks believe D&G are "compatibalists"? That is that the concept of free will and determinism can both make logical sense, both sides have an element of truth in their arguments that does not necessarily negate the other side... you can argue for free will and determinism with equal ( Read more... )

About reading AO closely. I definitely want to do this over the summer, and gauging by your response you all want to do this as well. So Im busy until the Monday after next, grading papers and various miscellaneous "work". After that Im definitely game, but we should have a game plan. I know that D&G advocated opening to random pages and pulling ( Read more... )

I was reading a GREAT book entitled "Postmodern Theory" by Stephen Best and Douglas Kellner. Very clear, concise, and accessible. They tackle Deleuze and Guattari in one chapter. They say that D&G meant to differentiate between the Schizophrenic process (that is the de-centering of subjectivity that is a way to alleviate paranoid and fascistic ( Read more... )

Here's an interesting link that shows Michael Hardt's lecture notes for Anti-Oedipus and Thousand Plateaus. Surprisingly they are quite easy to digest. Perhaps these will be of use for our close reading over the summer. Enjoy!http://www.duke.edu/~hardt/Deleuze&Guattari.html