Abstract

A number of influential criticisms of the practice of meditation have emerged recently, many of which frame the technique as part of a larger neoliberal endeavor meant to privatize emotional well-being. Others have pointed to potential dangers of the practice, identifying cases where, for some people, it may actually trigger some of the dilemmas it is meant to treat, including anxiety, depression, and dissociation. And yet, it is difficult to find a major institution today that does not have some kind of training program or space devoted to various forms of meditation, accompanied by claims that it will help you live longer, enhance your performance at work, stay focused in an age of distraction, heal from trauma, and increase your compassion. Rather than offering yet another take on the presumed effects of meditation, this presentation aims to examine the philosophies of mind informing the practice. Does meditation presume in advance a particular theory of mind or consciousness as a “medium,” and if so, what are the media-theoretical assumptions underpinning that theory? What would it mean to view meditation as an “internalist” technique of contemplation marked by constantly evolving epistemes of media engagement?

Speaker Bio

R. John Williams, PhD, is a Professor of English, and Film and Media Studies at Yale University. He is the author of The Buddha in the Machine: Art, Technology, and the Meeting of East and West, and has published as well on a number of topics including religion, futurology, systems theory, psychoanalysis, and film and television. His forthcoming manuscript, Out of Mind: A Media-Theoretical Critique of Meditation (University of Chicago Press) examines the role of communication technologies in the evolution of contemplative practices during the twentieth century.

Discussant

Dr. Johan Elverskog, Editor, Modern Asian Studies, Dedman Family Distinguished Professor, SMU

Event Schedule

• 5:30 pm Welcoming Remarks & Introduction
  Prof. Eugene Y. Wang
  Dr. Rey Sheng Her
  Associate Director Chenchen Lu
• 5:50 pm Keynote speaker: Prof. R. John Williams
• 6:30 pm Discussant: Prof. Johan Elverskog
• 6:45 pm Q & A
• 7:00 pm CAMLab Cave Social hour

Event Location

Rm 422, 485 Broadway, Harvard University