Philosophy Reinvented for Social Media: First as Tragedy, Then as Tweet

Inspired by the philosophical aphorisms of Nietzsche and Adorno, Eric Jarosinski has reinvented short-form philosophy for a world doomed to distraction on social media. A self-described #FailedIntellectual, Jarosinski is a former professor of German studies and recently left academia to devote himself to his post as founding editor of the hugely popular @NeinQuarterly. The online "Compendium of Utopian Negation" uses Twitter to explore the critical and comic potential of German language, literature, and philosophy. Jarosinski recently published his first book, Nein. A Manifesto. He discusses with great humor and wit the potential and limitations of adapting traditional modes of philosophical thought to a new technology with its own complex language, codes, and conventions. His visit is part of the "Germany Meets the U.S." Campus Weeks at ISU supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Information Center. Part of the Technology, Globalization and Culture Series