EN2N5/EN3N5: On Nothing
Overview
鈥溾�楴othing鈥� is | the force | That renovates | the World鈥� 鈥� Emily Dickinson
Attention is the new currency, and our minds are being fracked for it. 鈥極n Nothing鈥� proposes a space for building critical and practical resistance to the crowded time of our digitally accelerated and platform saturated learning environment: a seminar for slowing down to recover, together, the lost art of thinking and doing nothing. The ten hours a week this module asks of you (including our time together in seminar) will not be crammed to overflowing with readings, resources, media, links to explore. We鈥檒l read one carefully selected group of texts per week鈥攁 poem, some excerpted critical or theoretical resources, a short work of literary fiction, though on occasion we may look at visual art or listen to music鈥攁nd do lots of thinking (and talking) together. The syllabus won鈥檛 overwhelm you with an agenda for which there never is enough time. We鈥檒l check our instruments of distraction (smartphones and laptops) at the seminar door. Instead, you鈥檒l bring physical books (or a hard copy reading packet) to seminar and a readiness to open your mind. (On occasion, we can use the in-class A/V to watch or listen to something together.) With weekly group (secular) meditation practice, and daily practice on your own, we鈥檒l introduce ourselves to techniques for attention, concentration, and mindfulness, and we鈥檒l cultivate inner resources for disengaging from chains of reaction, for being fully present to one another in openness to dialogue. We鈥檒l introduce ourselves to the mentally challenging concept of 鈥榥othing鈥欌�攚hich, without a disciplined approach, can all too easily encompass everything鈥攖hrough reading (along with some looking and listening) that covers, over nine weeks: meditation techniques, some introduction to philosophies of nothing both Western and Eastern, a glimpse into contemporary particle physics and cosmology, some literature (poetry, fiction, drama, nonfiction) about saying or doing nothing, creative practices that seek to 鈥榙ematerialise鈥� the work of art and the media theory that accompanies these practices, critiques of nothing from (and negative approaches to) feminist, Black studies and Decolonial perspectives, and theories and practices for 鈥榙egrowth鈥� in the face of a capitalist-induced ecological crisis.
Assessment includes a midterm meditation journal (24 x 50-word entries, worth 20% of the final mark), a challenge to 鈥榙o nothing鈥� (documented by a 1000-word report / 500-word for intermediate students and/or a video or audio report at the end of term, worth 20% of the final mark; NB: not doing anything鈥攆or reasons we will explore in the seminar鈥攚on鈥檛 count for much), and an essay or creative project on an aspect of 鈥榥othing鈥� covered on the syllabus (worth 60% of the final mark: essays are 2,500 words / 2,000 words for intermediate students, while creative projects, the format of which is to be determined in consultation with the instructor, must be accompanied by a 1,000-word reflection / 500-word for intermediate students).
Teaching
Module runs in Term 2 in 2025-26
Workshop: 2hrs weekly
Groups meet Tue 11-1 (FAB3.29), 4-6 (FAB2.35), Wed 10-12 (FAB1.13)
Assessment
Intermediate Year students:
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Midterm meditation journal, 24 x 50-word entries (20% of the final mark)
-
Challenge to 鈥榙o nothing鈥�, documented by a 500-word report and/or a video or audio report at the end of term (20% of the final mark)
-
2,000 word essay or creative project on an aspect of 鈥榥othing鈥� covered on the syllabus; creative projects, the format of which is to be determined in consultation with the instructor, must be accompanied by a 500-word reflection (60% of the final mark)
Final Year students:
-
Midterm meditation journal, 24 x 50-word entries (20% of the final mark)
-
Challenge to 鈥榙o nothing鈥�, documented by a 1,000-word report and/or a video or audio report at the end of term (20% of the final mark)
-
2,500 word essay or creative project on an aspect of 鈥榥othing鈥� covered on the syllabus; creative projects, the format of which is to be determined in consultation with the instructor, must be accompanied by a 1,000-word reflection (60% of the final mark)
Outline Syllabus
9 seminars of 2 hrs.
Week 1 鈥楤eginner鈥檚 mind鈥�: techniques for attention, concentration, and mindfulness.
Week 2 鈥極n the being of nothing鈥�: philosophies of nothing.
Week 3 鈥業 have nothing to say and I am saying it鈥�: boredom, saying and doing nothing, or 鈥榙oing life鈥�?
Week 4 鈥楨verything from nothing鈥�: contemporary particle physics and cosmology.
Week 5 鈥楲iterature of the unword鈥�: writing nothing, or 鈥榓t degree zero.鈥�
Reading Week
Week 7 鈥楴o medium鈥�: art of nothing.
Week 8 鈥楳uch ado about nothing鈥�: (un)gendering the void.
Week 9 鈥楾he position of the unthought鈥�: Black and Decolonial negativity.
Week 10 鈥楴othing at all鈥�: the case for degrowth.
Set Texts
You MUST obtain (either purchase or borrow from library) the following four books for weeks 3-5 and 8. The total cost for these books if purchased new (see recommended editions below, easily available online) should be under 拢30 鈥� less if you source used copies. Additionally, a READING PACKET will be provided (free of charge) 鈥� see Full syllabus for details.
Herman Melville, 鈥淏artleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street.鈥� (Bartleby and Benito Cereno, Dover Thrift Editions, 2000)
Frank Close, Nothing: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2009)
Beckett, Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts (Faber & Faber, 2006)
Emily Dickinson, Envelope Poems, Ed. Jen Bervin and Marta Werner (W. W. Norton & Company, 2016)