Re: [-empyre-] transgression and Matrix Theory

["James Barrett" <jim.barrett@humlab.umu.se>]

I have been interested in sin since I was an 8 year old undercover
Buddhist at a Lutheran primary school (terrified they knew sometimes), and
it seems that the term is a telling translation from the early Greek
testament. In the Greek it was the word "haramatia", an archery term which
translates as "to miss the mark". To me it seems to be closer to the idea
of karma, missing the interconnectedness (the target board) of all things.
Rather than breaking ("across, over, or beyond") a rule set by some
distant omniscient judge watching the sport. Anyone who has read Sherry
Simon's great book, "Gender in Translation" would understand that even
moving across languages is to negotiate complexities of power and
identity, politics and history in many forms.
Recently here in HUMlab we conducted the latest encounter with The Virtual
Weddings Project (http://www.eng.umu.se/vw/). A special project for third
term Modern Languages/English students around the theme of borders and
boundaries. The students wrote four essays (Literature, Culture,
Linguistic and an overall piece for the project) and created an
environment in ActiveWorlds.
The written part of the project can be viewed here:
http://www.eng.umu.se/borders/
The 3D worlds can be visited in the ActiveWorlds platform (world: EVE).
The experience provided much reflex ion on the nature of borders and
boundaries (not least on the 'virtual' and 'the real'). Much came down to
the arbitrary but rhizomic nature of the imaginary, metaphoric and
material separations that are found everywhere.
I hope the project is of interest.
/Jim


> Christina,
>
> I wanted to use the term 'transgressions' in connection with 'border
> crossing' for this month's discussion because for me, carried within the
> concept of 'transgression' as a human activity, is the idea not just of
> questioning and challenging boundaries - laws, norms, behaviours, values,
> categories, systems, identities - but of actually finding ways of moving
> beyond them.
>
> So, I understand that to transgress boundaries requires an awareness
> (rational, emotional) of that boundary's existence,  and some real,
> tangible
> means of going beyond the limits presented by that boundary.
>
> And having attended a convent school, I too was taught that sin is a
> serious
> and willful transgression of God's law.  But perhaps when human activity
> is
> interpreted within phallo logic systems (e.g. the law or the church) maybe
> those working within those systems are only able to conceptualise
> transgressions in binary terms - inside or outside the law, good or evil,
> with us or against us.
>
> Kate
>
>
>  4/4/05 18:11Christina McPheechristina112@earthlink.net
>
>>
>>
>> Kate:
>>
>>
>> i remember you really wanted to use the term 'transgressions' for the
>> month in connection with 'border crossings'  so this is intriguing to
>> me.
>>
>> Why is the idea of 'transgression' important ?
>>
>> How do you define it in terms of matrix theory?
>>
>> Being brought up in the Church, i was taught that a transgression was a
>> sin.  I thought I'd have a look at the English dictionary and went to
>> the url:
>>
>> <http://www.wordreference.com/definition/transgression>
>>
>>
>> Here's a copy:
>>
>>
>> Adapted From: WordNet 2.0 Copyright 2003 by Princeton University.  All
>> rights reserved.
>>
>>
>> transgression
>>
>> A
>> noun
>>
>> 1 
>> transgression
>>
>>  
>> the action of going beyond or overstepping some boundary or limit
>>
>> Category Tree:
>> act; human_action; human_activity
>> ?action
>> ?transgression
>>
>> 2 
>> transgression, evildoing
>>
>>  
>> the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral
>> principle; "the boy was punished for the transgressions of his father"
>>
>> Category Tree:
>> act; human_action; human_activity
>> ?activity
>> ?wrongdoing; wrongful_conduct; misconduct; actus_reus
>> ?transgression, evildoing
>> ?inside_job
>> ?crime
>> ?crime; law-breaking
>> ?terrorization; terrorisation
>> ?sin; sinning
>> ?vice
>> ?depravity; turpitude
>> ?villainy
>> ?evil; immorality; wickedness; iniquity
>> ?abomination
>>
>> 3 
>> transgression
>>
>>  
>> the spreading of the sea over land as evidenced by the deposition of
>> marine strata over terrestrial strata
>>
>> Category Tree:
>> phenomenon
>> ?natural_phenomenon
>> ?geological_phenomenon
>> ?transgression
>>
>>
>>
>> intrigued......
>>
>> cm
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
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-- 
Doctoral Student, Umeå University
Department of Modern Languages/English
+46 (0)90 786 6584
HUMlab.Umeå University.SE-901 87.Umeå.Sweden
Blog: http://www.soulsphincter.blogspot.com
HUMlab: http://www.humlab.umu.se/