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[KPaffenroth]

Call for submissions!

Call for Chapters for The Prisoner & Philosophy: It Takes a Village (Open Court)
Ed. Jason Lee and Kim Paffenroth
This edited collection examines the new series of The Prisoner (2009) and the original. Both instantiations of the story raise important philosophical issues, and act as touchstones in current debates. We therefore seek work from scholars who work in many fields, including, but not exclusively, Philosophy, English, Theology, Political Science, Psychology, and Film and Television Studies. Rachel Ray writing in The Telegraph claims the new series is better than the original, and asks the fundamental question "Are you part of the solution, or the problem?" Regardless of the relative merits or values of the two versions, the new one is clearly working on building a "thicker" mythos, as well as most likely reaching a much larger audience. Comparison between old and new will therefore be especially relevant.


Send your 250 word abstract and 50 word bio-note to both editors
Jason Lee j.lee@derby.ac.uk and Kim Paffenroth kimpaffenroth@msn.com

Proposals due MARCH 1, 2010

I'll be building a blog for it at http://theprisonerandphilosophy.blogspot.com/

[Permuted Press]

This book should be interesting!   

[KPaffenroth]

should've included a link to Open Court's site so you could see what they've been up to:

http://www.opencourtbooks.com/categories/pcp.htm

[frank]

Seems like this could be another chance for the return of the "Public Intellectual"

Commentators who, among other things, share important insights through an appreciation of popular culture.  What works as entertainment cannot be far from what shapes us as people, and thus should offer a window on that "Examined Life" thing for people not yet in touch with their own powers.  (We may be ignorant, and untrained, but the average person isn't stupid).

[KPaffenroth]

I've always tried to do most all my academic work with that model in mind, Frank. There are some bright points - for example, the book I did on Augustine's Confessions sold quite well and I hope it helped lots of "regular" people to understand such an important work (and one that is not particularly exotic or hard to fathom, I don't think). However, I must be honest: most of my attempts were pretty dismal failures, sales-wise, which is a big part of why I went into fiction writing: the ability to engage people in some of the debates and questions I'm interested in, but in a way that would reach more of them

[frank]

You know, I did wonder how an academic person ended up venturing into one of the less "respected" corners of the narrative text universe.

Sort of like Jesus sitting down to dine with the tax collectors and speaking to prostitutes.  (If I may push an analogy over the edge).  That got him noticed...

I admire that, Kim.

Did you get much shit for noticing the other side, and going native, as it were?

carry on

[Permuted Press]

should've included a link to Open Court's site so you could see what they've been up to:

http://www.opencourtbooks.com/categories/pcp.htm

I actually read (or parts anyway) at least a couple of those years ago (The Matrix and Philosophy and The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy).  That's cool you're going to be part of that series, I see those books around all the time!

[KPaffenroth]

so far most people are pretty cool with it Frank, I'm glad to report. I mean, that I know of. It was years ago some fundie gave me some grief for my old website, which was pretty tame, and on which I just said I liked Xena and Judas Priest. I told him to cool it and he said yeah, the ad hominem attacks weren't helping.

[KPaffenroth]

As I think about it more, I think the colleagues' I've noticed who are the most supportive tend to be older people - I think they remember the tradition of the "public intellectual" that you mention, and they want to get back to it. I mean, it really hasn't been around for years and years, so much so that my younger colleagues I don't think know what it'd mean for a professor to write fiction, or even for him/her to write essays aimed at a popular audience - they just don't have any examples to draw on of that kind of behavior.

[frank]

Now, I've got myself thinking about the problem of sharing an appreciation of the more mature and deeper aspects of our culture and the nature of things (and not-things).

E. O. Wilson  (ants, diversity of life, evolutionary psychology) is a great example of someone making life science accessible to non-specialists.

I'm sure there is no shortage of voices, actually.  But how to capture the ears?

Especially when so much that is mature at some point asks for the putting away of childish things.  (Those delightful toys!)

I'd be tempted to say, why bother?  Then I look around and see how right Emerson was.  The people do perish for want of vision, consumed by their own frustrated souls, pulling each other (and everyone else) down in the process.

[KPaffenroth]

Very true. One doesn't wish to pander (well, I don't) but one shouldn't talk in such rarefied terms that no one listens or understands. I believe in meeting people on their terms, but trying to challenge them in some way(s)