CasP reading group?

[jmc]

A long time ago, we had a small reading group on this site. Recent contributions on this site will often involve reading recommendations. Why don’t we try to organize a reading group?

Reading groups grow and die from busy schedules, so we can set forum discussion deadlines together. We can also use the forum for discussion, which allows people to decide if they want to join in the future or suggest better ways to manage the reading group.

I think it would be useful to set two readings with generous timelines. Readings could be randomly drawn or we can nominate people to recommend the next reading. Readings should be accessible, affordable or shareable (via email). I’m certain that we can produce free copies of a reading or book.

I also am excited by what people are recommending on here. Perhaps we can explore fields such as philosophy and economic history.

Thoughts? Suggestions of how to proceed?

 

Topic

[Pieter de Beer]

Hi James,

I would be very happy to join in on a reading group. With careful structuring and planning, they can be a great success. It also takes a level of dedication by participants.

I have recently been part of 3 different failed reading groups that tried to make things too complicated. So I think it would be best to keep it simple.

I dont know how reading groups on the forum functioned, but am keen to learn more

[Pieter de Beer]

Some books on my current “To Be Read” List

1. Beyond State, Power, and Violence – by Abdullah Ocalan
2. Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival – by Richard Heinberg
3. Change the World Without Taking Power The Meaning of Revolution Today – by John Holloway
4. Political Philosophy Fact, Fiction, and Vision – by Mario Bunge

[CM]

I would be also be happy to join.

I think one thing that would help is to start out with shorter readings/books. The one reading group I was part of rotated who got to choose the reading, but I think another good alternative would be to start with a short list of texts people are interested in reading and then pick randomly from the list.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by CM.

[Blair Fix]

I’m game.

David Graeber and David Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything is on the top of my list.

[jmc]

OK, we have something here! We have some advantages and disadvantages of working through a forum. Thank you for expressing interest and suggesting ways of operating. Here is my suggestion for version 1 of the reading group:

1. I create a post for reading group admin. The post can be to solicit readings and talk about difficulties of getting readings. I’ll create pinned posts in the community forum with information for all.

2. The upcoming reading group post will be made and have the first post explain tentative schedule, especially if a bigger reader needs to be paced. Our flexibility to read lots of pages will certainly vary. Let’s make it relatively easy going — something like 100 pages a month?*

3. The post will be locked for 1 month. The post will sit there to (a) give everyone time to get the reading and (b) remind everyone of an upcoming discussion. Once opened people can start posting, with the general assumption that people are following the suggested pace. Thus, if you finish a huge book in 1 month, still check the suggested reading schedule and focus your posts on the chapters or sections that would likely be covered by that point in time. Example: first 100 pages by month 1, first 150 pages by week 6, 200 pages by month 2, … If we read an article or chapter from an edited collection, we can just start posting with no restraint.

*The pace might seem slow to some, but posts on capitalaspower can be dense in a good way. We are not trying to finish these readings as fast as we can, so thoughtful reviewing is encouraged. CM’s recent post on the connections between Badiou and CasP is a great example of what we can do together.

4. Let’s get this going sooner than later. I know I’m creating a structure to the group on my own, but we can revisit the organization.

 

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