Marcus Boon
Professor
Office: Atkinson Building, 722
Phone: (416) 736-2100 Ext: 40675
Email: mboon@yorku.ca
Marcus Boon teaches 20th and 21st century literature and cultural theory in the English Department, and is also cross-appointed to the programs/departments of Social and Political Thought, Visual Arts and Humanities. His research interests include contemporary literature; cultural and critical theory; global/comparative aesthetics; sound, vibration and energy studies; histories of global avant gardes and countercultures; the concept of practice considered philosophically and across disciplines; theories and practices of copying; Buddhism and its relationship to modernity. He is the author of The Road of Excess: A History of Writers on Drugs (Harvard UP, 2002), In Praise of Copying (Harvard UP, 2010) and The Politics of Vibration (Duke UP, 2022). He is the co-author, with Timothy Morton and Eric Cazdyn of Nothing: Three Inquiries in Buddhism (University of Chicago, 2015). He is the co-editor, with Gabriel Levine, of Practice (MIT/Whitechapel: Documents of Contemporary Art series, 2018), and co-editor, with Davis Schneiderman, of The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin (U. Minnesota Press, forthcoming). He also edited America! A Prophecy: The Sparrow Reader (Soft Skull, 2006) and Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno (Soft Skull, 2008). He wrote the introduction to Walter Benjamin's On Hashish (Harvard UP, 2006). He is currently working on a book entitled On Practice: Aesthetics After Art. He writes about sound cultures for The Wire, Boing Boing and others. His website is www.marcusboon.com.
Degrees
Ph.D., New York UniversityM. A., New York University
B. A., University College London
Appointments
Faculty of Fine ArtsCurrent Research Projects
-
Description:
In April 2017, I was awarded a multi-year SSHRC Insight grant for a study of the concept of practice, as it relates to contemporary art, writing, and other disciplines. The project is both historical, surveying important texts, events etc. dating back to 1900, and philosophical, in that I am attempting to understand the way different people think about practice and practicing today. I am also interested in thinking about the ways in which practice may be becoming a category or activity in its own right, beyond art.
The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Edited by Marcus Boon and Davis Schneiderman (U. Minnesota Press, forthcoming).
Practice. Edited with Gabriel Levine (MIT Press/Whitechapel Gallery, Documents of Contemporary Art series, 2018).
Nothing: Three Inquiries in Buddhism w. Timothy Morton and Eric Cazdyn (University of Chicago Press, 2015).
In Praise of Copying (Harvard University Press, 2010).
Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno. Edited by Marcus Boon (New York: Soft Skull Press, 2008).
America: A Prophecy. The Sparrow Reader. Edited by Marcus Boon (New York: Soft Skull Press, 2005).
The Road of Excess: A History of Writers and Drugs (Harvard University Press, 2002).
"Depropriation: The Real Pirate's Dilemma" in Postcolonial Piracy, eds. Lars Eckstein and Anja Schwarz (Bloomsbury Press, 2015).
"Digital Dance Musics and Globalization" in Epiphanies: Life Changing Encounters With Music, ed. Tony Herrington (Strange Attractor Press, 2015).
"Structures of Sharing: Depropriation and Intellectual Property Law", Intellectual Property for the 21st Century: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Intellectual Property Law, ed. Madelaine Saginur, Teresa Scassa and Mistrale Goudreau (Irwin Law, 2014).
“From the Right to Copy to Practices of Copying” in Dynamic Fair Dealing: Creative Canadian Culture Online, eds. Rosemary Coombe and Darren Wershler, (University of Toronto Press, 2013).
“Meditations in an Emergency: On the Apparent Destruction of My MP3 Collection” in Contemporary Collecting: Objects, Practices, and the Fate of Things, ed. David Banash and Kevin Moist (Scarecrow Press, 2013).
"Digital Mana: On the Source of the Infinite Proliferation of Mutant Copies in Contemporary Culture.” in Cutting Across Media: Interventionist Collage and the Politics of Appropriation, ed. Kembrew McLeod and Rudy Kuenzli (Duke UP, 2011).
“Erik’s Trip”, Introduction to Erik Davis’ Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica (Yeti Books, 2010).
“John Giorno’s Buddhist Poetics of Transgression” in The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature ed. John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff (SUNY Press, 2009).
Introduction to Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno, ed. Boon (Soft Skull, 2008)
Introduction to Walter Benjamin’s On Hashish, trans. Howard Eiland (Harvard UP, 2006).
“The Eternal Drone” in Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music ed. Rob Young (20 p., Continuum, 2003)
“Liberation” (for the I Love John Giorno exhibition), Brooklyn Rail (July 2017).
“Moroccan Trance: A Primer”, The Wire, 397, (Mar. 2017).
“The Replication of Ideology: A Conversation Between Adrienne Shaw and Marcus Boon“, Journal of Games Criticism, 2016.
"On the Bowerbird, the Difunta Corea and Some Architectures of Sense: An Interview with Alphonso Lingis." Scapegoat, Eros Issue, spring 2016.
“One Nation Under a Groove? Music, Sonic Borders and the Politics of Vibration“, in Sounding Out!, 2013.
“On Appropriation.” CR: The New Centennial Review issue on deconstruction and music, 7(1), 1-14.
“Sublime Frequencies Ethnopsychedelic Montages.” Electronic Book Review, Musicsoundnoise issue.
“Afrofuturism and Appropriation” in Afrofuturism, ed. Tobias Van der Ween (Wayne State UP, forthcoming).
"A place where the unknown past and the emergent future meet in a vibrating soundless hum: Thoughts on Energy and the Contemporary," in Energy and the Arts, ed. Douglas Kahn (MIT Press, forthcoming).
The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. A new edition, edited with Davis Schneiderman (MIT Press, forthcoming).
“We’re Talking About Practice: Ten Non-Theses,” w. Gabriel Levine (Performance Philosophy, forthcoming).
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | AP/EN4000 3.0 | A | Studies in Lit. Theory:Cultural Studies | SEMR |
| Fall 2024 | GS/EN6998 3.0 | A | Studies in Contemporary Literature | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | ONCA |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | TUTR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | ONCA |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | TUTR |
Marcus Boon teaches 20th and 21st century literature and cultural theory in the English Department, and is also cross-appointed to the programs/departments of Social and Political Thought, Visual Arts and Humanities. His research interests include contemporary literature; cultural and critical theory; global/comparative aesthetics; sound, vibration and energy studies; histories of global avant gardes and countercultures; the concept of practice considered philosophically and across disciplines; theories and practices of copying; Buddhism and its relationship to modernity. He is the author of The Road of Excess: A History of Writers on Drugs (Harvard UP, 2002), In Praise of Copying (Harvard UP, 2010) and The Politics of Vibration (Duke UP, 2022). He is the co-author, with Timothy Morton and Eric Cazdyn of Nothing: Three Inquiries in Buddhism (University of Chicago, 2015). He is the co-editor, with Gabriel Levine, of Practice (MIT/Whitechapel: Documents of Contemporary Art series, 2018), and co-editor, with Davis Schneiderman, of The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin (U. Minnesota Press, forthcoming). He also edited America! A Prophecy: The Sparrow Reader (Soft Skull, 2006) and Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno (Soft Skull, 2008). He wrote the introduction to Walter Benjamin's On Hashish (Harvard UP, 2006). He is currently working on a book entitled On Practice: Aesthetics After Art. He writes about sound cultures for The Wire, Boing Boing and others. His website is www.marcusboon.com.
Degrees
Ph.D., New York UniversityM. A., New York University
B. A., University College London
Appointments
Faculty of Fine ArtsCurrent Research Projects
-
Description:
In April 2017, I was awarded a multi-year SSHRC Insight grant for a study of the concept of practice, as it relates to contemporary art, writing, and other disciplines. The project is both historical, surveying important texts, events etc. dating back to 1900, and philosophical, in that I am attempting to understand the way different people think about practice and practicing today. I am also interested in thinking about the ways in which practice may be becoming a category or activity in its own right, beyond art.
All Publications
"Depropriation: The Real Pirate's Dilemma" in Postcolonial Piracy, eds. Lars Eckstein and Anja Schwarz (Bloomsbury Press, 2015).
"Digital Dance Musics and Globalization" in Epiphanies: Life Changing Encounters With Music, ed. Tony Herrington (Strange Attractor Press, 2015).
"Structures of Sharing: Depropriation and Intellectual Property Law", Intellectual Property for the 21st Century: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Intellectual Property Law, ed. Madelaine Saginur, Teresa Scassa and Mistrale Goudreau (Irwin Law, 2014).
“From the Right to Copy to Practices of Copying” in Dynamic Fair Dealing: Creative Canadian Culture Online, eds. Rosemary Coombe and Darren Wershler, (University of Toronto Press, 2013).
“Meditations in an Emergency: On the Apparent Destruction of My MP3 Collection” in Contemporary Collecting: Objects, Practices, and the Fate of Things, ed. David Banash and Kevin Moist (Scarecrow Press, 2013).
"Digital Mana: On the Source of the Infinite Proliferation of Mutant Copies in Contemporary Culture.” in Cutting Across Media: Interventionist Collage and the Politics of Appropriation, ed. Kembrew McLeod and Rudy Kuenzli (Duke UP, 2011).
“Erik’s Trip”, Introduction to Erik Davis’ Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica (Yeti Books, 2010).
“John Giorno’s Buddhist Poetics of Transgression” in The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature ed. John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff (SUNY Press, 2009).
Introduction to Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno, ed. Boon (Soft Skull, 2008)
Introduction to Walter Benjamin’s On Hashish, trans. Howard Eiland (Harvard UP, 2006).
“The Eternal Drone” in Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music ed. Rob Young (20 p., Continuum, 2003)
The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Edited by Marcus Boon and Davis Schneiderman (U. Minnesota Press, forthcoming).
Practice. Edited with Gabriel Levine (MIT Press/Whitechapel Gallery, Documents of Contemporary Art series, 2018).
Nothing: Three Inquiries in Buddhism w. Timothy Morton and Eric Cazdyn (University of Chicago Press, 2015).
In Praise of Copying (Harvard University Press, 2010).
Subduing Demons in America: The Selected Poems of John Giorno. Edited by Marcus Boon (New York: Soft Skull Press, 2008).
America: A Prophecy. The Sparrow Reader. Edited by Marcus Boon (New York: Soft Skull Press, 2005).
The Road of Excess: A History of Writers and Drugs (Harvard University Press, 2002).
“Liberation” (for the I Love John Giorno exhibition), Brooklyn Rail (July 2017).
“Moroccan Trance: A Primer”, The Wire, 397, (Mar. 2017).
“The Replication of Ideology: A Conversation Between Adrienne Shaw and Marcus Boon“, Journal of Games Criticism, 2016.
"On the Bowerbird, the Difunta Corea and Some Architectures of Sense: An Interview with Alphonso Lingis." Scapegoat, Eros Issue, spring 2016.
“One Nation Under a Groove? Music, Sonic Borders and the Politics of Vibration“, in Sounding Out!, 2013.
“On Appropriation.” CR: The New Centennial Review issue on deconstruction and music, 7(1), 1-14.
“Sublime Frequencies Ethnopsychedelic Montages.” Electronic Book Review, Musicsoundnoise issue.
“Afrofuturism and Appropriation” in Afrofuturism, ed. Tobias Van der Ween (Wayne State UP, forthcoming).
"A place where the unknown past and the emergent future meet in a vibrating soundless hum: Thoughts on Energy and the Contemporary," in Energy and the Arts, ed. Douglas Kahn (MIT Press, forthcoming).
The Book of Methods: Writings on the Cut Up by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. A new edition, edited with Davis Schneiderman (MIT Press, forthcoming).
“We’re Talking About Practice: Ten Non-Theses,” w. Gabriel Levine (Performance Philosophy, forthcoming).
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | AP/EN4000 3.0 | A | Studies in Lit. Theory:Cultural Studies | SEMR |
| Fall 2024 | GS/EN6998 3.0 | A | Studies in Contemporary Literature | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | ONCA |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | TUTR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | ONCA |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/EN3440 6.0 | A | Contemporary Literature | TUTR |
