The following is simply a hodge-podge of links meant to provide some
further background on where art and literature stand today and to demonstrate
the grotesque trends and absurd fads that dominate within "elite" literary,
artistic, and academic circles. Also included are sites that hearken back
to similar moments in literary/art history when a prevailing trend was successfully
(or unsuccessfully) challenged. One caveat: several sites are listed here
in the spirit of "know your enemy" and such listing in no way constitutes
an endorsement of the individuals, publications, or works in question.
If you know of other similar sites that you think should be added to this
list, feel free to email
us.
The Postmodern Generator
A fantastic web site that generates unique articles made up completely
of meaningless postmodern gibberish, complete with footnotes and references.
Any of these phony articles could conceivably find a home in the myriad
of critical theory, cultural studies, or literary criticism publications
currently on the market.
Alan Sokal's Web Page
A physicist at NYU, Professor Sokal is best know for his parody article,
"Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum
Gravity." Though "liberally salted with nonsense," this article was accepted
and published by the academic journal
Social Text
[Duke University Press] as a serious paper.
The Poems of Catullus
Offers a look at the poems of the bawdy 1st century Roman who was considered,
at the time, one of the New Poets. Catullus ridiculed the old classical epic
poets. His own poetry was emotional and laden with lewd comments -- strikingly
similar to what we hear in modern pop/rap music. And much like modern pop
stars, Catullus was something of a sexual degenerate.
