Friday Florilegium: Money, Secularism, Religion, Anonymity

So, in my ever-renewed efforts to update this blog more frequently, here are few new interesting links I've come across.

• Day 3 of the ongoing discussion of Goodchild's Theology of Money

• The Immanent Frame, a collective blog offering a forum for interdisciplinary exchanges among leading humanities and social sciences scholars around the issues of secularism, religion, and the public sphere, previously posted the audio files from its October symposium at SUNY Stony Brook on "Rethinking Secularism." The event featured talks by notables Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, Judith Butler, and Cornell West, with closing remarks by Craig Calhoun. See here for an open thread on the event. As a supplement to these aforementioned links, which were all posted in early November, now see here for the full text of the ensuing exchange between Butler and West as moderated by Eduardo Mendieta.

• Kvond offers an especially elegant rejoinder to the most recent in a series of attacks on anonymous blogging. I won't enter the fray of such "prejudicial hilarity" here, except to note that what I find so elegant about this rejoinder is Kvond's Spinozistico-Deleuzian meditation on the benefits and possibilities of "anto-nymy" as continuing the "long history of pseudonymous writings" within the "virtual world’s new potentiality for micro-climates of interpersonal subjectivity." Offered there is a truly graceful reminder about the powers and effectivities of blogging as an activity of pure immanence as contained/enacted in the "name." Kvond's rejoinder here to the equally always thought-provoking Larval Subjects continues earlier conversations, on which see here and here.

Also, I'll be posting more original content over the next few days, including (with permission) an interesting email exchange I've had with a friend and colleague regarding President Obama's speech this week and his "decision" to surge the troop levels in Afghanistan. Two other forthcoming posts will concern the observance of earlier this week of "World AIDS Day," and another on my now less than recent thoughts about the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Montreal at the beginning of November, including the very positive reception of my paper on Jean Gerson, the discernment of spirits, and masturbation. But more on that shortly.

Taking Note: Reading Goodchild, Heading CFPs

Please continue to take note of the extremely interesting and productive book discussion of Philip Goodchild's Theology of Money. For the basics, see my earlier post here.

Tom Striphas over at Differences & Repetitions has helpfully posted two recent CFPs that have been making there around the interwebs.

• "Beneath the University, the Commons," to be held at the University of Minnesota, April 8-11, 2010. The deadline for abstracts and/or other forms of participation is January 1, 2010. This event continues the important work of two previous gatherings on "Re-Thinking" and "Re-Working" the university, on which see www.reworkingtheu.org. To echo Striphas, this looks amazing! Please check it out. Perhaps there might be some collective interest for participation among BABEL members?
  

• "Gilbert Simondon: Transduction, Translation, Transformation," to be held at the American University of Paris, May 27-28, 2010 (Paris, France). The deadline for abstracts is January 30, 2010.

Theology of Money: A Book Discussion/Event

Beginning today and continuing for the next twelve days, the theological/philosophical bloggers over at An und für sich will be offering the latest in their series of in-depth book discussions. The volume under review is Philip Goodchild's very exciting and recent offering, Theology of Money. For those unfamiliar with the Goodchild's work in philosophical theology, the following interview might prove helpful. The book was originally published by SCM Press in the U.K., and so there is also a new preface accompanying the U.S. edition, released by Duke Press as part of their new and exciting "New Slant: Religion, Politics, and Ontology" series. Those, like myself, who are especially interested in Deleuzian treatments of contemporary culture, will be particularly interested in this book discussion, since Goodchild has made repeated and constructive use of Deleuze's thought.