Althusser Reading Prompts

I really enjoyed our discussion of Walter Benjamin's essay and I hope that we can carry forth that level of analysis and some of the questions raised into our discussion of the upcoming Louis Althusser reading. Though you might find Althusser a bit more direct in his approach to his thesis, it's still a very complex essay. I thought I'd raise some points or questions for you to consider, in preparation for our discussion of the essay, on Monday. Feel free to incorporate your thoughts on these into your response papers...

* In discussing Benjamin, we talked about how economic and socio-political systems can beget or inscribe aesthetic systems. How might this idea carry over into Althusser's essay?

* Compare & contrast how Althusser and Benjamin understand history & historicization, in relation to (re)production. In so doing, you might consider the relation of time and space and how they are represented by the authors.

* How does Althusser's use of words like infrastructure, system, and machine relate to the ways we've been using them, in class, thus far?

* Is there a machine metaphor at play in Althusser's characterization of the State and/or is machine culture the product of the State?

* How does Althusser describe the relationship of the individual to the State, the law, authority (intellectual as well as legal), religion, other individuals, the machine, etc? How does this compare to the portrayal of these relations in the films that we've watched, this far?

That's a start. I'd like you to come to some conclusions on your own. This essay had a very deep impact on me when I first read it as an undergrad, and I'd like to hear your initial responses. It's been very influential in contemporary political, philosophical, and art (ie film, lit, semiotic, etc) theory, and is worthy of very close reading.