Erik Davis
Encyclopedia
Erik Davis is a North American writer, social historian
, cultural critic
and lecturer.
He is noted for his study of the history of technology and society and his essays about the fate of the individual in the dawning posthuman era. Although significant aspects of his work include media criticism and technology criticism, his works span across other disciplines to include a larger social history of art, religion, and science, technology, and politics.
He is also a noted Philip K. Dick
scholar. His most recently published research has focused on the history of utopian movements in California. He is known for his lively writing style in a number of genres and on varied subjects.
Davis' book Led Zeppelin IV is an exploration of the popular fourth album
by British rock band Led Zeppelin. The book was released as part of the Continuum Books 33 1/3 series of books, which explores many of the most influential albums.
In 2006, the book The Visionary State: A Journey Through California's Spiritual Landscape was published by Chronicle Books. A collaboration between Davis and photographer Michael Rauner, it explores the peculiar attraction California holds for seekers of all kinds.
Davis' most recent book Nomad Codes, published in 2010 by Yeti/Verse Chorus Press, is a collection of essays published between 1990 and 2010.
Erik Davis' essays have appeared in Wired Magazine, Feed
, The Village Voice
, Mondo 2000
and over half a dozen books. He is a regular participant and speaker at the annual Burning Man
Festival.
Davis recently contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky
.
His early interest in philosophy led him to both study the history of philosophy and the folk contemporary "religions" and spiritual movements of his native state. His first critical and scholarly work of note began as a thesis on Philip K. Dick
which he completed at Yale.
Davis became an independent scholar
, author, lecturer, and freelance intellectual in the 80's and 90's.
His distinctive work continues to focus on the history of both material culture
and the imaginative investment and subjectivity that haunts it.
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
, cultural critic
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
and lecturer.
He is noted for his study of the history of technology and society and his essays about the fate of the individual in the dawning posthuman era. Although significant aspects of his work include media criticism and technology criticism, his works span across other disciplines to include a larger social history of art, religion, and science, technology, and politics.
He is also a noted Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
scholar. His most recently published research has focused on the history of utopian movements in California. He is known for his lively writing style in a number of genres and on varied subjects.
Works
His first book, TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information, was released by Harmony Books in the fall of 1998. It has been translated into five languages.Davis' book Led Zeppelin IV is an exploration of the popular fourth album
Led Zeppelin IV
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
by British rock band Led Zeppelin. The book was released as part of the Continuum Books 33 1/3 series of books, which explores many of the most influential albums.
In 2006, the book The Visionary State: A Journey Through California's Spiritual Landscape was published by Chronicle Books. A collaboration between Davis and photographer Michael Rauner, it explores the peculiar attraction California holds for seekers of all kinds.
Davis' most recent book Nomad Codes, published in 2010 by Yeti/Verse Chorus Press, is a collection of essays published between 1990 and 2010.
Erik Davis' essays have appeared in Wired Magazine, Feed
Feed Magazine
Feed or feedmag.com was one of the earliest e-zines that relied entirely on its original online content. Feed was founded by Stefanie Syman and Steven Johnson in 1995, and soon found a devoted online following. The zine had daily content, and focused on media, pop culture, technology, science and...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Mondo 2000
Mondo 2000
Mondo 2000 was a glossy cyberculture magazine published in California during the 1980s and 1990s. It covered cyberpunk topics such as virtual reality and smart drugs. It was a more anarchic and subversive prototype for the later-founded Wired magazine....
and over half a dozen books. He is a regular participant and speaker at the annual Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
Festival.
Davis recently contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky
DJ Spooky
Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...
.
Bio
Davis grew up in the milieu of Southern California during the heyday and simultaneous decline of the 70's "lifestyle" revolution in North American culture of which his native state was considered the center.His early interest in philosophy led him to both study the history of philosophy and the folk contemporary "religions" and spiritual movements of his native state. His first critical and scholarly work of note began as a thesis on Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
which he completed at Yale.
Davis became an independent scholar
Independent scholar
An independent scholar is anyone who conducts scholarly research outside universities and traditional academia. Independent scholars play an especially important role in areas such as art history and other humanities fields...
, author, lecturer, and freelance intellectual in the 80's and 90's.
His distinctive work continues to focus on the history of both material culture
Material culture
In the social sciences, material culture is a term that refers to the relationship between artifacts and social relations. Studying a culture's relationship to materiality is a lens through which social and cultural attitudes can be discussed...
and the imaginative investment and subjectivity that haunts it.
External links
- Official site
- The Visionary State official site
- Visionary Hollywood bus tour
- Interview on TechGnosis, 1996, in Signum Online
- Interview on TechGnosis, 2000 at The WELL
- 1999 interview in Fortean TimesFortean TimesFortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
#129 - Interview at Burning Man 2006 by the Viking Youth Power HourViking Youth Power HourViking Youth Power Hour is a podcast originating from Chicago, Illinois.As part of the first wave of podcasts to hit the internet, recording their first show shortly after New Years 2004, the Vikings, along with Madge Weinstein's "Yeast Radio" became the Chicago media's focal point illustrating...
- Datachurch's Library of Erik Davis' Media- click on People>Erik Davis
- Is the Internet Good for Writers?
- July 2008 Interview with L.A. RecordL.A. RecordL.A. Record is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In March 2008, it began publishing as a monthly magazine with a...
- Erik Davis' blog on Reality Sandwich