Back in June I let you know that Open Court Publishing had put out a call for papers for a Rush and Philosophy book that they were planning to release as part of their popular Culture and Philosophy book series. The table of contents for the book - listing the authors and titles of all the essays it will contain along with section titles - has been posted to co-editor Durrell Bowman's website at this link. The book will be divided into 4 sections containing 16 essays with a complete title of Rush and Philosophy: Always Hopeful, Yet Discontent:

Rush and Philosophy: Always Hopeful, Yet Discontent

Chicago: Open Court, 2010 — edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman

Introduction - Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman

Part I: “The Blacksmith and the Artist”

1. Rush’s Libertarianism Never “Fit the Plan” - Steven Horwitz, Ph.D.; St. Lawrence U.
2. Hardly Rand-y Peart - Deena Weinstein, Ph.D.; DePaul U. and Michael A. Weinstein, Ph.D.; Purdue U.
3. “What Can This Strange Device Be?”: Man and Machine in Rush - Timothy Smolko, M.L.S.; U. of Georgia
4. Barenaked Death Metal Trip-Hopping on Industrial Strings - Durrell Bowman, Ph.D.; Kitchener, Ontario

Part II: “I Want to Look Around Me Now”

1. Myth, Mystery, and Mist?: Secular Humanism and Mystical Language in Rush - Chris McDonald, Ph.D.; Cape Breton U.
2. The Inner and Outer Worlds of Minds and Selves - Todd Suomelo, MLIS; Minnetonka, Minnesota
3. Contre Nous: Musical Otherness in Rush - Nicole Biamonte, Ph.D.; U. of Iowa
4. How is Rush Canadian? - Durrell Bowman, Ph.D.; Kitchener, Ontario

Part III: “To the Margin of Error”

1. “Cruising in Prime Time”: The Drumming of Neil Peart as Distraction - Nicholas P. Greco, Ph.D.; Providence College and Seminary
2. The Groove of Rush’s Complex Rhythms - John J. Sheinbaum, Ph.D.; U. of Denver
3. ‘Nailed It!’: Virtuosity, YouTube Performance, and Rush’s Aesthetics of Replicability - John T. Reuland, Princeton U.
4. From Plato’s Cave to Benjamin’s Language Forest: On Imitating Rush - Andrew Cole, Ph.D.; U. of Georgia

Part IV: “The Ebb and Flow of Tidal Fortune”

1. Training Listeners to Think, Feel, and Act - Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D.; U. at Albany
2. Ghost Riding on the Razor’s Edge: Neil Peart’s Search for Meaning through Tragedy - Jim Berti, North Colonie Schools, U. at Albany
3. Honey on the Rim of “The Larger Bowl” - Melissa L. Beck, Woodstock Academy
4. “Bearing a Gift Beyond Price”: Valuing the Music of Rush - Kayla Kreuger, M.A.; West Virginia U.

The book is expected to release sometime this year but no definitive date has been given.

The Culture and Philosophy book series are collections of essays by academic philosophers exploring the meanings, concepts, and puzzles within television shows, movies, music and other icons of popular culture. Since its inception in 2000 with Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing the series has published over 40 titles including Lord of the Rings and Philosophy, Star Wars and Philosophy, Bob Dylan and Philosophy and Pink Floyd and Philosophy. Other books on Rush and philosophy include 1998's Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush, 2002's A Simple Kind Mirror: The Lyrical Vision of Rush, and the recently released Rush, Rock Music and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown. Thanks to Steven Horwitz (one of the contributing authors to the Rush and Philosophy book) for the heads up.

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