Joyce for Anarchists

mrG — Sun, 12 Sep 2004 06:26:33 -0400

Eric McLuhan uncovered a new course being offered this fall at Toronto's Anarchist University where Catherine Stinson is going to attempt a nightschool minicourse on Reading Finnegans Wake

Because the book is such a difficult, riddle-riddled, uncategorizable freak, Reading Finnegans Wake will be as much about learning how to read the book as about actually reading the book. The course will be (un)structured like a reading group, where bits of the text are read aloud and participants share their interpretations and analyze difficult passages. We will also spend a fair bit of time looking at secondary sources (plenty of which are available on-line) and related topics like postmodern theory, Irish politics, music, mythology, Vico's philosophy, the Bible, and anything else that might help unravel Finnegans Wake's mysteries. It is hoped that each participant will bring a different approach, set of experiences and body of knowledge to the table; by joining many minds together, we might have a hope of taming this beast.

Difficult? Freak? Ok, bit-packed perhaps ... The notes suggest participants have Ulysses already under their belt or be close personal friends of the Joyce estate. Bootleg reprints will be provided where participants may be lacking, but if you ask me, they'll have better luck if they call for everyone to pack a priest and bottle of Jamieson's and stop for a pint of Guiness enroute to class, with a subscript that brawling will not be tolerated.

For those of you into self-study, I'm sure you can locate the appropriate pub fare and companions, but if you're in need of the text, there's hear here, their there and where we're.

For you Torontosaurusrexians looking for a good time, Catherine's course will run Monday nights at 196 Manning Ave (W of Bathurst, S of Dundas) from 8pm to ten, ie with plenty of hours to catch the post-class last-call.

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Joyce for Anarchists