World Of Literature
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -World Of Literature is a podcast that takes its listeners to the world of written and explores the ideas that the greatest writers to touch the earth has provided. We explore works of philosophy, economics, psychology, sociology, fiction. We take a dive into the world that great writers and thinkers such as George Orwell, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Sigmund Freud and Beatrice Sparks have illustrated.
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Episodes
Inquiry to Postmodernism #1 – Michel Foucault: Discipline and Punish
January 13, 2023 17:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBMichel Foucault is one the most influential thinkers of the 20th century who studied extensively the relations of power and knowledge structures. In this episode we will take a look at his classic work Discipline and punish to start our inquiry to postmodernism.
Inquiry to Modern Sociology #3 – Bruno Latour: Reassembling the Social
December 28, 2022 00:00 - 35 minutes - 24.8 MBWe take a look at Bruno Latour to end our inquiry to modern sociology. Actor-network theory is best known for its claim that objects should be viewed as having the capacity of being actors. We will dive into this claim and much more. We will take a look at Latours criticism of critical sociology and introduce ourselves to the alternative approach and view of society and social suggested by Latour in this work.
Inquiry to Modern Sociology #2 – Viviana A. Zelizer: The Social Meaning of Money
December 05, 2022 00:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBIn this episode we will take a look at Viviana Zelizers work regarding the social meaning of money. What kind of differentiations do people make between monies and how do people use money to sustain, form, negotiate and redefine social relations. Viviana Zelizer has done a extensive career in the field of economical sociology focusing on the connection of markets and morality. In this work she examines the different ways monies are involved in our interpersonal lives and their social and ...
Inquiry to Modern Sociology #1 – Manuel Castells: The Rise of the Network Society
November 15, 2022 23:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBIn this episode we will take a look at Castells most influential work: The rise of the network society. Castells has been very influential in many fields including sociology. In this work he argues that industrial society has changed into a network society changing society in fundamental ways. Throughout the episode we will examine the characteristics of network society and talk about its consequences. ''Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies"
Inquiry to Modern Sociology #1 – Manuel Castells: The Rise of the Network Society
November 15, 2022 23:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBIn this episode we will take a look at Castells most influential work: The rise of the network society. Castells has been very influential in many fields including sociology. In this work he argues that industrial society has changed into a network society changing society in fundamental ways. Throughout the episode we will examine the characteristics of network society and talk about its consequences. ''Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies" Support the show
Inquiry to Knowledge #1 – Peter Berger & Thomas Luckman: Social Construction of Reality
July 03, 2022 01:00 - 28 minutes - 19.3 MBIn the first episode in our inquiry to knowledge, we will take a look at a classic work by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman: The social construction of reality. This work gave us the concept of social construct which has been one the most influential theoretical approaches ever since. In this episode we will dive into the concept and answer critical questions, such as: what is a social construct and how is it created?
Inquiry to Self #3 – Dan P. McAdams: The Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self
May 14, 2022 22:00 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBDan P. McAdams is a psychologist known for his contribution to the field of narrative psychology, a field of psychology which concerns itself with the psychological value of stories in constructing our existence. In this work, McAdams examines how we construct our identity through a personal story, a narrative, to create a sense of self. We will examine how this story is created and how it might be constructed to close our inquiry to self.
Inquiry to Self #2 – Erving Goffman: The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life
February 06, 2022 19:00 - 30 minutes - 20.9 MBIn the second episode to our inquiry to the concept of self, we will be taking a look at Erving Goffmans classic work, The presentation of self in everyday life. We will examine how Goffman saw that people express and manage their presentations of their self in social interactions, which he examined using dramaturgical analysis. By making an analogy between theater and real life, Goffman opens a window to just how much we resemble actors and performers in our daily interactions with each oth...
Inquiry to Self #1 – George Herbert Mead: Mind, Self & Society
January 06, 2022 23:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBGeorge Herbert Mead was a social psychologists, who's seen as one of the founders of an approach called symbolic interactionism. Mead didn't (unfortunately) publish any books during he's lifetime. However, he's ideas are represented in Mind, Self & Society, which is constructed through various sources, such as notes taken by his students attending he's lectures. Mind, Self & Society has established itself as a essential work of social science. In the work he sketches out his theory of t...
Inquiry to self #1 – George Herbert Mead: Mind, Self & Society
January 06, 2022 23:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBGeorge Herbert Mead was a social psychologists, who's seen as one of the founders of an approach called symbolic interactionism. Mead didn't (unfortunately) publish any books during he's own lifetime. However, he's ideas are represented in Mind, Self & Society, which is constructed through various sources, such as notes taken by his students attending he's lectures. Mind, Self & Society has established itself as a essential work of social science. In the work he sketches out his theory...
Émile Durkheim: On Suicide
December 22, 2021 23:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MBÉmile Durkheim was a french sociologist who's works have left a tremendous mark on how we interpret, approach and analyze society. In this episode, we will take a look at his work, On Suicide, one of the greatest works of sociology. In this episode we will stumble on concepts such as social facts and anomie as we take a look at how Durkheim approached the issue of suicide. Is suicide a produce of the individual, something to be explained as a consequence of internal forces, or is the in...
Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit Of Capitalism
November 14, 2021 23:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBMax Weber belongs to the names that create the foundation of sociology. In this classic work, Weber examines the relation between reformation and the creation of the spirit of capitalism. He sets out an idealistic perspective to examine historical progression of society and broadens the sociological perspective by introducing a way to connect two seemingly distinct societal phenomenons to each other.
Arthur Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation
October 06, 2021 20:00 - 25 minutes - 17.6 MBArthur Schopenhauer belongs to the list of great thinkers that roamed the world in the 19th century. Schopenhauer can be described as the main figure of philosophical pessimism. Why? Well, existence seems to be a glass half-empty, if the glass ever had anything. In this work, Arthur Schopenhauer builds on Immanuel Kants transcendental idealism, as he argues that the noumenal world, which by Kant was deemed impossible to know, is reacheable. What Kant described as thing-in-itself, Schopenha...
Charles Wright Mills: Sociological Imagination
September 08, 2021 14:00 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBC. Wright Mills is one of the best known sociologists of the 20th century. Hes works analyzed power and different structures of society. However, hes idea of sociological imagination has become a core idea of sociology and could be described as sociology 101. In this episode we will examine what sociological imagination as a concept means and how did it differ from other sociological approaches of its time. "‘Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood ...
Sigmund Freud: Civilization and Its Discontents
August 20, 2021 21:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBCivilization and Its Discontents is one of the best known works of Freuds. Its also one of his most comprehensive works as much of his theories were introduced and created before it. Thus it seems that in this work, Freud isnt so much discovering anything new, instead his using his ideas and works to analyze a larger structure. What Freud analyzes in this work is not the mind of an individual but rather the "mind" of the culture. How does it work? How can it exist? Why can we live in such la...
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
July 18, 2021 22:00 - 54 minutes - 37.2 MBRapid development of technology, Russian revolution, World War I, rapid development of psychology and medicine. A lot happened in the early parts of the 20th century, a lot that raised eyebrows towards the future. What does it hold inside for humankind? There were optimistic hope and then there was skepticism. Aldous Huxleys Brave New World probably belongs to the ladder approach. Brave New World is a dystopian social science fiction novel that has developed to be a must read for everyon...
Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex
June 23, 2021 22:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MB"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." This sentence alone has had a deep influence on feminist theory. Who wrote it? Simone de Beauvoir, a french existentialist, a philosopher, the writer of Second Sex, the classic work of feminism. In this classic, Beauvoir seeks to find the answer to how did women gain the role of the other, or in different words, why is there inequality between the sexes? Is there psychological, biological, historical explanations for her conditions? Why ha...
B.F. Skinner: About Behaviorism
June 04, 2021 22:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBWhy do we do what we do? A question asked by many and to which have been responded in different ways. Maybe we are driven by the pleasure principle, by our feelings, by our conscience, or as Skinner suspected, by reinforcements. B. F. Skinner was an american psychologist, a pioneer of the behaviorist position. His output on the field of psychology is unquestioned. His work is teached, read and listened in every corner of the world and for good reason. Following the footsteps of early beha...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality
May 28, 2021 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBJean-Jacques Rousseau, a genevan philosopher, was a great influence on the movement known as Enlightenment. Through his political, educational and economic ideas, he gained a lot of admiration, and nowadays hes works are recognized as essential parts of the western history of philosophy. Before Emile or Social contract, Rousseau wrote his work, Discourse on inequality, or as its also commonly known, the Second discourse, as he entered into the competition held by the Academy of Dijon. T...
Jean Piaget: The Childs Conception of the World
May 18, 2021 22:00 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MBThink of psychology and its foundation. What comes to mind? Probably names such as Freud, Jung, Pavlov, Vygotsky, but this list is by no means valid without the name of Jean Piaget. The swiss psychologist, the creator of the theory of cognitive development, object permanence and schemas, is arguably the greatest psychologist of history. His 1926 work, The Childs Conception Of The World, examines how the child reasons with the world. How does the child actually perceive causality, law and ...
John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism
April 13, 2021 22:00 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBWhat is wrong and what is right? The question philosophers have pondered throughout time has created various amount of ethical theories that argue to hold the answer to that question. One of those theories is Utilitarianism, the greatest happiness principle, which claims that actions are right as they create happiness and wrong as they create the reverse of it. John Stuart Mill was raised by his father to be a believer of this theory. Following the footsteps of Bentham, John Stuart Mill ...
George Orwell: 1984
March 28, 2021 21:00 - 43 minutes - 30 MBGeorge Orwell, one the most influential thinkers and writers of the 20th century is best known for his work 1984 along with Animal Farm. 1984 describes the dystopian world of Oceania where people have been deprived from all liberty by Big Brother, the leader of Oceania. There is no such thing as privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of choice or freedom at all. People are watched all the time, their language is restricted, there is no individuality, instead everybody is ...
Mohsin Hamid: Exit West
March 21, 2021 22:00 - 30 minutes - 20.6 MBExit West, published in 2017, is the fourth novel of British Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid. The critically acclaimed work of Hamid follows two young lovers who escape their home which develops to be a battleground between the rebels and the government. As they migrate throughout the world they face the difficulties of life that come along with the label of refugee. From nationalism to moral dilemmas to existential crises to death, the two have no shortage of problems to face and to solve. Bu...
Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason
March 14, 2021 23:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBImmanuel Kant was a prussian philosopher who's regarded as one the central figures of Englightenment. His output on ethics, metaphysics and epistemology have cemented hes place as one of the greats and for many he truly is the greatest to ever live. His magnum opus, Critique of Pure Reason, takes on the difficult task of trying to discover the answer to the mind boggling question: what can we know? Throughout this journey we will stumble on concepts and ideas such as pure intuitions, a p...
John Stuart Mill: On Liberty
March 07, 2021 23:00 - 28 minutes - 19.3 MBOn liberty by John Stuart Mill is a classic philosophical work of libertarianism and a demand for freedom of thought, conscience, speech, ideas, tastes and pursuits. John Stuart Mill examines and argues why the freedom of the individual is the best recipe for making a functioning and prospering society. He defends the classic harm principle: people should be free to act however they wish unless their actions cause harm to others. He takes a look at what are the proper limitations of liberty ...
Anonymous: Go ask Alice
February 22, 2021 00:00 - 29 minutes - 20.5 MBGo ask Alice, the diary of anonymous writer published in 1971, has developed to be a classic in the field of young adult literature. Theres over 5 million copies sold of it worldwide and its anti-drug message and cautionary tale is as relevant as it has ever been. The diary reveals the story of a teenager who gets introduced to the world of drugs while she battles with normal pains of growing up such as search of identity, search of sexuality, search of independence and the search for a plac...
Friedrich Nietzsche: Thus spoke Zarathustra
February 07, 2021 22:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBThus spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche is a book for all and book for none. Although marketing flop when published in 1883, it has developed to be one of the most essential works of philosophy. Its known for, well, being bit weird but insightful. The book is not only a philosophical work, its also Nietzsches attempt to show what a truly great writer he was. The book is full of allegories, word-plays, metaphors, making the book difficult but also bit ambiguous which might not have been...
Friedrich Nietzsche: Thus spoke Zarathustra
February 07, 2021 22:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBThus spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche is a book for all and book for none. Although marketing flop when published in 1883, it has developed to be one of the most essential works of philosophy. Its known for, well, being bit weird but insightful. The book is not only a philosophical work, its also Nietzsches attempt to show what a truly great writer he was. The book is full of allegories, word-plays, metaphors, making the book difficult but also bit ambiguous which might not have been...
Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams
February 03, 2021 18:00 - 28 minutes - 19.7 MBThink however you want about Sigmund Freud, theres no denial about the importance of he's input on the field of psychology. The interpretation of dreams was published in 1899 and although it didn't gain much attention at first, it eventually took off and is now probably the best known work of psychology. Sigmund Freud takes a dive into the world of dreams which he saw as the window to our unconsciousness, a pathway to get to the hiding part of ourselves. Freud seeks to understand how the un...
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Communist Manifesto
January 06, 2021 00:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBToday we will be taking a look at one the most controversial piece of works ever produced in the history of literature: Communist manifesto. Communist manifesto is a work that still divides opinions among people. Others argue it to be the root of all evil, never to be experimented again after what happened in the Soviet Union and China. Others argue that there has never been a communist state in the history of mankind but just tyrannies shrouded as communist. How did the world, society, cap...
Michel Foucault: History Of Sexuality
December 22, 2020 18:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBA look back at Michel Foucaults work History Of Sexuality, 1976. History Of Sexuality explores and analyzes how sexuality shaped, was studied, was watched, was examined after the industrial revolution and the rise of capitalism. Why did the amount sexual discourses explode? What kind of forces and institutions agitated towards those discourses? Why are we obsessed with sexuality to a point, where it holds the same value that the ancient greek philosophers perceived the soul to have? How is ...