Meeting: 8:30pm Thursday, February 23, 2012

Our next meeting will be this Thursday at 8:30pm at a REAP member's apartment. For the address email cuareading@gmail.com. We will be discussing whether or not REAP would like to host the Platypus Affiliated Society for an on-campus event. The suggested background readings are to provide information about Platypus. A criticism of Platypus will also be posted.
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Readings:

A reading to counter the positions of Platypus -

http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/q-what-is-a-platypus-a-an-american-eustonite/

Here are some articles suggested to become familiar with Platypus taken from an email from Greg

"Dear all,

First of all, this is Platypus's mission statement:
http://platypus1917.org/2007/11/01/platypus-review-editorial-statement-of-purpose/

Here are some interviews with anarchists, such as Chomsky or Graeber:
http://platypus1917.org/2010/10/08/history-and-possibility-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky/
http://platypus1917.org/2012/01/31/interview-with-david-graeber/

Here's a recent one with Zizek:
http://platypus1917.org/2011/12/01/occupy-movement-interview-with-slavoj-zizek/

This is an article that was written by a member of Platypus on art and resistance. A very topical, and interesting essay, I think:
http://platypus1917.org/2011/08/31/antinomy-of-art-and-politics/

Finally, (feel free to browse through whatever you're interested in btw, every issue of the PR is online and free) these are a couple of these "controversial" articles that are regarded as pro-imperialist, but, as I believe, are simply critiques of the short-sightedness of contemporary "anti-imperialist" movements:
http://platypus1917.org/2008/10/01/iraq-and-the-election-the-fog-of-anti-war-politics/
http://platypus1917.org/2009/02/03/nothing-left-to-say-a-critique-of-the-guardian%e2%80%99s-coverage-of-the-2008-mumbai-attacks/
http://platypus1917.org/2009/12/06/the-poverty-of-pakistan%e2%80%99s-politics-ppp/

A related article would be the following, which they regard as one of the major impulses that have led to the founding of Platypus. It's written by Prof. Moishe Postone, Cutrone's former mentor, and deals with the political disorientation of the anti-Iraq War movement:
http://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/postonemoishe_historyhelplessness.pdf

Solidarity,
Greg"