I am tentatively calling my project for this term Technology Absurdity... Absurdity of Technology. Dwarves that sweat blood. Inflatable devices which utilize the magnetic properties of mysterious alloys to extract loose teeth. 20 seconds of resurrection.
These are the absurdities which Raymond Roussel creates in Locus Solus. But they become believable absurdities. Roussel confronts technology and reality through, seemingly, nonsensical stories. Technology is used to explain or justify his tales - although the technology is just as absurd as the stories. But is it? Every object and consequence depicted throughout the novel is riddled with layers of complex history and Roussel's mythology. But is it? What is real and what is not? What is possible and what is not?
Roussel's construction of language is extremely puzzling at first. It is as if you are reading an extremely bizarre, vivid and rich dream sequence. That is probably the best way I can try to explain it. His method in presenting each story is what I propose to adopt for my method of working for the term. As mentioned, he sets up each story in a manner of which the reader is experiencing it for the first time with no context or history. Roussel then retraces the absurdity and vivisects every layer of history and every consequence within. This makes for a very rich way of construcing a myth.
It would probably help here to have an example of what I am describing. I will scan a few pages and post them up to give you a better idea.
My site for the term will be the Kings Hotel and / or the Fort Douglas building in Point Douglas.
Both sites offer a lot of potential for "myth making". The Kings hotel with its temporary residents and Fort Douglas with its interesting context.
I will post more later to expand on these thoughts.
