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The Order of Memes |
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Welcome, r/FellowKids, to a strange and ambitious website, seeking to translate pseudo-ancient texts into the New Languages of the digital age.
Prototype 1: Michel Foucault's "The Order of Things". Originally published 1966 in French, and 1970 in English, this book lays out his "project" the most clearly of all of his written works- the rest you have to grok from snippets in interviews and essays.
Perhaps because he spoke so directly of his plans here, Foucault backpedaled significantly on some of the specific details later in his career. That being said, this definitely serves as a meta-work to interpret his other genealogical projects through. Thus, I was really disappointed to see the dearth of references to, and coverage of, "The Order of Things" in contemporary scholarship.
As I cracked this 400-page book back open, I began to realize- my attention span's getting rusty for extended books. His words at times are purely poetic, but at other points, he is literally describing a painting for twenty pages straight. I agonized: could this be a barrier to deep fried academics of the next generation falling in love with this book like I did?
So I've created this meme-forward digital object, in the hopes of enticing folks of all ages and backgrounds to the sometimes brilliant, sometimes enfuriating elusive, but always fascinating words and works of Michel Foucault.