Recording of lecture on Hacking posted
Here is the recording and a link to the presentation for the lecture by Jill Fellows on Ian Hacking, Rewriting the Soul: https://artsone-open.arts.ubc.ca/ian-hacking-rewriting-the-soul/. It has been added to the same page as the 2014 lecture.
Ian Hacking, Rewriting the Soul
In Arts One this term we are reading Ian Hacking’s book, Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory (Princeton University Press, 1995). Here is a link to the Prezi used by our lecturer for this book, Jill Fellows. In our seminar class on Wed. Jan. 21 I asked students to write down […]
Hacking vs. Freud (sort of)
I really enjoyed the ideas relating to action under description, especially as they relate to understandings of memory and potential revisiting of memory. One thing that I disagreed with in Freud’s text, and which bothered and confused me, was his analogy of memory and the mind being like an ancient Roman city (p. 31-33). I found it frustrating simply because he assumed “it is rather the rule than the exception for the past to be preserved in mental life” (Freud 35). When he introduced the analogy, I actually thought that…read more
Rewriting the Soul
One of the things I found most interesting in the discussion of multiples throughout Rewriting the Soul and in lecture was how the disorder in reality is most commonly found in women, whereas in fiction men tend to be the ones who have alternate personalities. The examples mentioned were Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Smeagol/Gollum. I found this interesting […]
Hacking blog post
I thought Rewriting The Soul was an incredibly insightful, informative read, although perhaps one that was at times staggeringly thorough. Initially i assumed that it’s ultimate goal was to study the disorder of multiplicity- determine its causes and symptoms, etc. I was thus puzzled by the seemingly philosophical questions it posed early on regarding the […]
Rewriting the Soul–Ian Hacking
I must admit that at this very moment I have not yet finished the text, but what I have read and the lecture yesterday (which was enormously helpful) leave me with more than enough to think about. My reaction to Rewriting the Soul thus far is similar to Silencing the Past by Trouillot–I am extremely disturbed. Reading […]
A bit disturbed…
I found it rather amusing that Hacking wrote about multiple personality and stylistically, his writing reflected that. It seemed to jump around, moving back and forth between ideas, much like multiplicity. I just thought I’d put that out there. However, after listening to Jill’s lecture today, I was extremely disturbed by the fact that until […]
A Man-Made Illness?
I have many pressing questions regarding multiple personalities as they are addressed in Hacking’s Rewriting the Soul. One of my greatest curiosities is why there has been such an exponential increase in cases of this “disorder” over the past fifty years. Hacking attributes this extreme increase to something he calls “the human loop.” He claims that patients […] Continue reading →
Hacking My Brain Off
I’m still on shaky grounds with this book, but couldn’t Rewriting the Soul’s main themes of1. Many supposed ‘facts’ only being being contingently true and2. ‘making up’ people through descriptionsbe also representative of some of the key elements …
Things Fall Apart, Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now
I know it doesn’t matter whether or not I write any more blogs posts since yesterday was the last lecture and Arts One is for the most part, over. However, I’ll take it upon myself that I admit writing these blogs have been a (bit – not entirely) a chore. However, I find a certain […] Continue reading →