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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
Language is needlessly complex. Can be said more simply to be less of a barrier.
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
“Make kin not babies:” a poetic expansion of interdependence in the post-anthropocene world after impending global catastrophes, to rethink our ways of thinking, and redefine the definitions by which we define all other things. A feminist epistemology of interspecies cognition — Another gift by the biologist-become-critical-theorist who brought us the feminist theory of cyborgs and chimera, and who, acting like a prism, revealed a spectrum of personhood from apes to androids to dogs as companionate species. This book is a natural extension of Haraway’s body of ideas, to a “tentacular” way of knowing that weaves though existences in a “string”- like way, like mathematical fabric art and the carrier pigeons that race through our city, itself rich with companionate species — ones that may or may not be journeying into this next epoch of Earth, with us or without us.
challenging
slow-paced
Main gripe is that this was in large part needlessly dense. Haraway at one point praises another academic by saying she, "theorizes--makes cogently available." That encapsulates what I love about reading theory, but I don't think Haraway's own work always accomplishes that. Many spots where it gets in its own way/obscures meaning by just throwing a dictionary/inside baseball jargon at the problem.
The parts that worked really worked for me, though. Loved the explorations of tentacular ways of being in the world; pushback against the idea that "only if things work do they matter"; forwarding "partial recuperation and getting on together" over reconciliation or restoration; ideas of living with consequences; composting; passing a relay; grieving with and for; refusing to look away; living with ghosts; remembering collectively; memorable readings of Arendt and Le Guin; the details of our complicities mattering; nets and bags as the origin story; going visiting/being a polite inquirer.
Also struggled with some of the stark stances against futurism/optimism. Was more nuanced throughout her thinking than the initial statements implied, but idk... I certainly align with stepping away from exclusive reliance on "for the children" mentalities, but it's also hard to conceive of how we sustain energy in these movements if a feeling of hope and optimism is absent. The motivating force behind thinking about a tree that is 2,500 years old and wanting to nourish conditions that allow that being to live another 1,000 years? Pretty powerful stuff.
The parts that worked really worked for me, though. Loved the explorations of tentacular ways of being in the world; pushback against the idea that "only if things work do they matter"; forwarding "partial recuperation and getting on together" over reconciliation or restoration; ideas of living with consequences; composting; passing a relay; grieving with and for; refusing to look away; living with ghosts; remembering collectively; memorable readings of Arendt and Le Guin; the details of our complicities mattering; nets and bags as the origin story; going visiting/being a polite inquirer.
Also struggled with some of the stark stances against futurism/optimism. Was more nuanced throughout her thinking than the initial statements implied, but idk... I certainly align with stepping away from exclusive reliance on "for the children" mentalities, but it's also hard to conceive of how we sustain energy in these movements if a feeling of hope and optimism is absent. The motivating force behind thinking about a tree that is 2,500 years old and wanting to nourish conditions that allow that being to live another 1,000 years? Pretty powerful stuff.
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
I think much of this book probably went over my head but I think it provides some interesting areas for further though.
Most importantly the message, "it matters what stories tell stories" is a useful way to approach the social world. The stories we have absorbed that form how we tell other stories cannot be forgotten about if we want to ensure understanding.
I'm not sure how successful Haraway was in divorce cthulhu from Cthulhu, particularly when using the metaphor of tentacles and I'm unclear of what purpose that serves.
Most importantly the message, "it matters what stories tell stories" is a useful way to approach the social world. The stories we have absorbed that form how we tell other stories cannot be forgotten about if we want to ensure understanding.
I'm not sure how successful Haraway was in divorce cthulhu from Cthulhu, particularly when using the metaphor of tentacles and I'm unclear of what purpose that serves.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Brave and brilliant. Exquisite example of attention to language as activism.
This one will stay with me a long time. Just the title alone speaks volumes.