Skip to main content
Medusa's Ear

Medusa's Ear

By McCance, Dawne

Published by State University of New York Press

English 181 pages 2012
Estimated reading time: 3 h 19 min
PDF

About this book

Reads modern philosophy (and the university) as rooted in an audiocentric fantasy. In traditional mythology and iconography, Medusa's killing powers are attributed to visual means: the monster is slain for her looks and her effect is to kill men for looking at her. Challenging the familiar account of the modern era as ocularcentric, this book reads the Medusa-effect on the philosophy of the modern research university as rooted in an audiocentric fantasy. Author Dawne McCance links phonocentrism to an aural imaginary by tracking the trope-and terror-of the deaf ear and mute mouth in the discourse on the university that was inaugurated by Kant and that extends through Hegel and Heidegger to the present. She shows how, repeatedly, in founding texts on the modern research university, the philosopher's fearful recoil from an animal-female figure that he defines as deaf and dumb has the effect-the Medusa-effect-of cutting off his own, and therefore the institution's, ear and tongue. McCance also considers some recent efforts to shake the modern institution out of its Medusa-effect petrification.

Availability

Medusa's Ear is available as PDF at 9 online bookshops. Bookshops carrying it include Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam, Bookshop Uruguay.

Language
English
Share

Frequently asked questions

In what formats is Medusa's Ear available?
Medusa's Ear is available as PDF at 9 online bookshops.
Where can I buy Medusa's Ear?
You can buy Medusa's Ear at Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam, Bookshop Uruguay. Compare every option in the list on this page.
How long does it take to read Medusa's Ear?
At an average reading pace, Medusa's Ear takes about 3 h 19 min to read (181 pages).

Ratings & reviews

No ratings yet. Be the first to review this book.

Sign in to rate and review this book.

Comments

Sign in to join the conversation.

No comments yet.