New Philosopher

Distraction rules

Jamie Kreiner is Associate Dean, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the mechanics of culture, especially in the quieter forces that shape ethical systems — forces that were not always purposeful, individual, or human. She is the author of The Wandering Mind , which tracks early Christian monks’ frustrations with distraction, and Legions of Pigs in the Early Medieval West . Her work has been awarded prizes from the Medieval Academy of America, the American Society for Environmental History, the Society for French Historical Studies, the Agricultural History Society, the University of Georgia, and the Whiting Foundation.

Zan Boag: It’s easy to blame technology as the cause of our problems with distraction in the modern world, but your research shows that the problem of distraction is nothing new. While our propensity to be distracted may not by new, is the sheer volume of distraction the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from New Philosopher

New Philosopher4 min read
Contributors
Michael North is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at UCLA. North is the author of many books, including What Is the Present? and Novelty: A History of the New. He has received a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship,
New Philosopher4 min read
Nothing But Change
“If you can in one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily renovation.” These words were reportedly inscribed on the washbasin of Cheng Tang, the first king of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), and the daily reminder em
New Philosopher1 min read
New Philosopher
Editor-in-Chief Zan Boag Artistic Director Antonia Case Cover Design Alvaro Hidalgo Editor-at-large Nigel Warburton Contributors Mariana Alessandri, Marina Benjamin, Antonia Case, Melissa Chandon, Tom Chatfield, André Dao, Daniel Z. Lieberman Michael

Related Books & Audiobooks