August 17, 2010
Publishers Weekly on True Blood and Philosophy
Can John Locke’s memory theory explain the nature of vampire identity? Is there a PETA message buried in True Blood’s take on vampire-human relations? These and other biting issues constitute the smart and amusing essays in the latest William Irwin-edited Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series (after Mad Men and Philosophy). Authors invoke the likes of Kant, Sartre, and Freud and approach their topics with the seriousness of a devoted fan balanced with the levity and wit the series is known for.
Read the whole review at Publishers Weekly.
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August 2, 2010
Review: True Blood and Philosophy on readreactreview.com
If you read these volumes with the same expectations you would have for an issue of peer reviewed academic journal, you aren’t being fair. I suppose some critics object to using examples from popular culture to teach philosophy (and by “teach”, I mean both in formal settings like classrooms, and the kind of self-teaching average fans might do when they pick up such books at Borders). That may be because they think popular culture is harmful (we should all be reading Proust instead), or because they don’t think using popular culture to teach philosophy works.
I have no comment on the former, but for the latter I will need to see some argument. What I know, after being in the front of a philosophy classroom for 12 years, is that starting from a place where students feel knowledgeable and comfortable can work very well to introduce them to a subject they have likely never directly encountered, a subject which in the absence of direct knowledge, signifies for many students obsolescence and irrelevance … if it signifies anything at all.
Read the full article at Readreactreview.com.
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July 2, 2010
Dawn Hullender reviews True Blood and Philosophy
While filled with many interesting quotes and thoughts from the HBO hit show, True Blood and Philosophy delves deeper into the supernatural (supe) community by offering some very thought provoking “philosophy.”
In reading this book, you are forced to ask yourself “what if?” “What if” vampires, werewolves and other supes actually exist? Do they deserve they same civic rights as humans? Do they deserve to live their lives unemcumbered by their “abnormal abilities?”
Read the full article at Southern Musings.
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June 12, 2010
Review of True Blood and Philosophy on The Vault
I had the pleasure of reading [True Blood and Philosophy] recently, and I have to say it was quite an intriguing premise. I have seen countless discussions on message boards and blogs regarding some of these very subjects, but to have them gathered in one book made the experience just a bit more special.
Read the full article at The Vault.
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June 2, 2010
True Blood and Philosophy on TrueBloodNet.com
TrueBloodNet.com reviewed True Blood and Philosophy:
It’s a great book, and one that I think is something all True Blood fans should add to their bookshelves. True Blood and Philosophy takes many aspects of True Blood and breaks them down into several sections, then takes those sections and breaks them down further into singular arguments that are left open for you to think about.
And, don’t miss their interview with series editor William Irwin about the book, the series, and, of course, True Blood.
What is the book about and what are some of the areas that the book covers?
The book introduces the reader to some major questions and issues in philosophy by using the show and the novels for examples. Topics covered include: the politics of human-vampire relations, the out-of-the-coffin/out-of-the-closet analogy, the ethics of mindreading, and the metaphysics of the undead.
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May 14, 2010
Review of True Blood and Philosophy on True-Blood.net
Philosophy not your strong suit? It’s not mine, either. I took a philosophy class as an undergrad and another literature-based theory class in grad school, but Kant and Nietzsche and Descartes aren’t my BFFs. Fortunately, you don’t need a PhD in philosophy to enjoy these essays and begin considering the deeper themes running through True Blood.
Read the full article at True-Blood.net. Also, enter to win a copy of the book!
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