Elements of this book, Oblation: Essays, Parables, Paradoxes, defy reason. They do so for good reason. Much of what we do, much of what we think, is oblation: sacrifice, offering, to something or someone. The root of “oblation” is “to draw near” or “to dwell in.” It refers to what is brought unto the altar, literal or proverbial — the profoundest oblation being what binds us together, our very souls, our dearest loves, indistinguishable from ourselves, our Isaacs on our Mount Moriahs.
The natures of our oblations characterize our relationships to objects great and small, e.g., Lords and loved ones, groups and masses of signifiers. Oblative transactions promise meaning, yet we are full of uncertainty. What is it that cries out for oblation? How do we hear its voice? Are we, in fact, called, or do we, on the contrary, offer every bit gratuit? Why, as Albert Camus famously remarked, do “the stage sets collapse” as we offer ourselves to life’s routine?
In Oblation, M.H. Bowker considers these questions in a series of essays touching upon figures such as Franz Kafka, Edgar Allan Poe, Baron van Münchhausen, and Jacques Lacan, unraveling themes of loss, hatred, and the Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Interspersed with brief parables and paradoxes, Bowker’s essays push us to wonder who or what we are offering ourselves and others to — and how we get away with this.
About the Author
Matthew H. Bowker (M.H. Bowker), Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scholar in critical and creative thinking, psychoanalysis, and political theory, with over twenty years of experience in teaching philosophy, politics, and psychology at the university level. Educated at Columbia University and the University of Maryland, College Park, he currently works at SUNY, the University at Buffalo, where he is affiliated with both the Department of Psychology and the Program in Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. He is the author of more than twenty published or forthcoming books as well as dozens of scholarly articles and chapters spanning diverse genres. He founded and co-edits Routledge’s book series, Psychoanalytic Political Theory, is the (North American) editor of the Journal of Psycho-Social Studies, serves as Associate Editor for Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, and sits on several prominent editorial boards. He recently served as a Fulbright (Teaching) Specialist in Singapore and has hosted workshops on critical and creative thinking, group dynamics, and reflective learning. He has been interviewed frequently on NPR/WBFO and in popular publications such as The Atlantic, Elle Magazine, and elsewhere. Some of his recent and forthcoming titles include: Walls; Oblation: Essays, Parables, and Paradoxes; Getting Lost: Reflections on Psychopolitical Isolation and Withdrawal (with Amy Buzby, eds.); The Destroyed World and the Guilty Self: A Psychoanalytic Study of Culture and Politics (with David Levine); and Critical Thinking and The Subject of Inquiry: Capacities, Resilience, and Power.