Social Theory of Displacement: Adventures in the Everyday

What is happening when we mistake one thing for another? Disorientations and double takes are a key part of the lived experience of modern capitalism. But the corollary of this is an existential anxiety which motivates a perpetual search for reassurances of our individual and collective identities.How do we escape self-estrangement and alienation on any level of existence? The experiential gaps in formal bureaucratic and marketised ‘life’ present us with absolute boundaries or difference, and hence binary forms of identity. The search for identity is then accompanied by an inability to deal with the hybridity and cognitive dissonance of everyday life.The fragmentations of institutional life nevertheless produce something that passes for a world of reciprocal recognition (we are all colleagues, part of a ‘team’ and so on). In fact, at the same time this pulls the rug out from beneath a sense of mutuality with fellow incumbents of such formal, contractualised settings. The dominance of formal institutions in modern life promotes the idea that we can ‘find ourselves’ within these settings and it does so by insinuating within itself the experiential world that it lacks.Here, informal social worlds appear in chimerical and caricature form. Modern capitalism feeds off and mimics the spontaneity, contingency, and collegiality of the lived world in order to present itself as the genuine article. Social Theory of Displacement: Adventures in the Everyday attempts to unravel the conundrums posed by living in these parallel worlds of reciprocity and contractualism.

Notes on Tennyson's In Memoriam

This book provides an in-depth analysis of Tennyson’s renowned elegy, In Memoriam, exploring its themes, symbolism, and literary techniques.

Key features:

– Comprehensive commentary on each canto.

– Examination of Tennyson’s religious faith and doubts.

– Discussion of the poem’s exploration of grief and consolation.

– Appreciation of Tennyson’s poetic imagery and language.

This book is perfect for those looking to understand Tennyson’s work on a deeper level or for anyone interested in the way poetry can capture human emotions. With Barton’s insightful notes, this classic elegy becomes accessible and relevant to anyone who has faced moments of sorrow and reflection.