There are a few updates on ongoing work that I thought I should post as 2015 draws to a close.
1. Zwickau Press work has been on hold since Gerald Ens’ book Boundaries Thick and Permeable came out early in 2015 (available for purchase on Amazon). In January I will begin editing Isaiah Ritzmann’s book More Than Atonement: Anabaptist Mennonite Discipleship Ecclesiology and then Chris Brnjas’ book On Idolatry. After these are ready to go we’re hoping to have a launch event at Conrad Grebel University College sometime later in 2016, with all three books for sale, and some time to talk about the content of each book.
2. After much time and energy, application season has come to a close, leaving me with no significant due dates other than a few reviews (Steiner, Thacker, Lacoste, MBK, Romano; and the Reimer review should be out in the next issue of the Conrad Grebel Review). Preparing applications also allowed me to revisit my MTS thesis and my paper on Marion and hermeneutics, both of which I was able to refine as writing samples for different schools. Looking back on both pieces – each written almost eight months ago – I feel like I can now see their limitations more clearly, but also their strengths (more on the future of these pieces of writing as things unfold).
3. I’ve resumed working on Being & Chiasmus and editing each chapter in such a way that brings out the continuity of the book. Chapter 1 is on identity, Chapter 2 is on division, Chapter 3 is on ontological violence, Chapter 4 is on the Two, Chapter 5 is on dialectics, and Chapter 6 is on chiasmus, and I’m trying to ensure that each chapter builds on the previous one in such a way that holds up the ontology of identity I’m trying to develop. As I wait for Punctum to get back to me about review details, I plan to fill out the manuscript a little more by adding sections on Grace Jantzen and Christian Jambet.
4. In January I still want to revisit Notes on the Compendium and add sections on Blanchot, Foucault, Groys, and Lyotard. After that writing project I’m hoping that I can do some work on Mennonite Metaphysics in the summer, and maybe take an online course at AMBS.
5. Soon I’ll submit my abstract for the next TMTC Mennonite grad student conference, “Power in Perspective(s).” I’m torn between my earlier idea called “The Critique of Power: Epistemological Foundations in Modernity,” and an extension of my talk at McMaster that would compare Lowith and Taubes on the connection between Enlightenment progress and Reformation-era chiliasm.
6. And finally, I’m wrapping up the Advent season at Rainham Mennonite Church and contemplating what my final sermon of the year will look like. I’ve been reading Richard Kearney’s work, and I think his concept of Anatheism might make its way into the Christmas sermon next week.
Thanks everyone keeping an eye on this space!
Max
Dr. Maxwell Kennel 