Text: One-Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse

Date: Monday, June 16th at 7pm

Location: Central Park with Jahony & Connor

Critical theorist Herbert Marcuse's critique of Western capitalism and Soviet-bloc communism identified advanced industrial society as the source of novel forms of oppression. Specifically, he observed how these societies (particularly their media and advertising systems) forced people into inhumane patterns of consumption and production.

We'll consider Marcuse's critique as it applies to the age of human fracking. How has the industrialization of our attention warped our view of the world (and of each other)? How have we surrendered our humanity to the conventions of brand identity? And what kinds of attention can we use to push back against this consumerist pressure?