Books that Exist: The History of Shit
History of Shit - Dominique Laporte
Written in Paris after the heady days of student revolt in May 1968 and before the devastation of the AIDS epidemic, History of Shit is emblematic of a wild and adventurous strain of 1970s’ theoretical writing that attempted to marry theory, politics, sexuality, pleasure, experimentation, and humor. Radically redefining dialectical thought and post-Marxist politics, it takes an important–and irreverent–position alongside the works of such postmodern thinkers as Foucault, Deleuze, Guattari, and Lyotard.
Laporte’s eccentric style and ironic sensibility combine in an inquiry that is provocative, humorous, and intellectually exhilarating. Debunking all humanist mythology about the grandeur of civilization, History of Shit suggests instead that the management of human waste is crucial to our identities as modern individuals–including the organization of the city, the rise of the nation-state, the development of capitalism, and the mandate for clean and proper language. Far from rising above the muck, Laporte argues, we are thoroughly mired in it, particularly when we appear our most clean and hygienic. (MIT Review)
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Well shit. Another book I’ve got to find time to read…
Arm Jerker J.
15 Nov 07 at 12:11 am
so it has less to do with the evolution of the turd and more to do so with waste management and the politics of it? Man, I was so hoping it was going to discuss finding little bones in poop. Dammit.
BTW - dibs on “Evolution of the Turd”!
SEOHack
15 Nov 07 at 12:24 am
Yeah, it totally sets itself up as an anthropological record of feces, itself.
Soylent Ape
15 Nov 07 at 5:57 am
Agreed. Bit misleading of a title. Also, that’s a nauseating shade of brown I’d never allow on my bookshelf.
Hey, B! What should I write about?
Scott
15 Nov 07 at 8:46 am
AJJ: I keep mine in the bathroom.
SEO: You can’t call dibs on RR. Everything here is mine. I’m writing Evolution of the Turd: An Archeological Investigation now.
Scott: Me.
bagel of everything
15 Nov 07 at 10:42 pm
This book seems to infringe on the copyright of Stephen Hawking’s late 1980’s scientific masterpiece, “A Brief History of Shit,” not to mention Barbara Tuchman’s opus “The March of Shit,” Studs Terkel’s “The Good Shit,” Cornelius Ryan’s “A Shit Too Far” and “The Longest Shit,” Herman Wouk’s “The Caine Shit,” Nicolas Monserrat’s “The Cruel Shit,” Germaine Greer’s “The Female Shit,” Zane Gray’s “Riders of the Purple Shit,” Ian Fleming’s “Shitty Shitty Bang Bang,” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Shithouse Five,” Norman Mailer’s “Tough Guys Don’t Shit,” Alice Walker’s “The Color Shit,” Thucydides’ “The Peloponnesian Shits,” Chaucer’s “Canterbury Shits,” Shakespeare’s “King Shit,” and any of Kitty Kelley’s books.
However, if Laporte had titled it “History of France Since the Third Republic,” it would have been quite accurate without any other redaction of the word ’shit’ throughout the book
Frontier Former Editor
19 Nov 07 at 1:45 pm
Well, shit, ffe.
Perhaps you shoulda saved “A Shit Too Far” for last ;b
bagel of everything
19 Nov 07 at 2:30 pm
Kitty Kelley is shit too far
Frontier Former Editor
19 Nov 07 at 2:33 pm
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