Being enchanted with the quotidian

Also, from The Convivial Society email newsletter, which was sent out this week and I already blogged about here:

In The Enchantment of Modern Life, political theorist Jane Bennett argued that “the contemporary world retains the power to enchant humans and that humans can cultivate themselves so as to experience more of that effect.” “To be enchanted,” she wrote, “is to be struck and shaken by the extraordinary that lives amid the familiar and everyday.”

“Enchantment is something that we encounter, that hits us,” Bennett added, “but it is also a comportment that can be fostered through deliberate strategies.” Among those strategies, Bennett includes “honing sensory receptivity to the marvelous specificity of things.” I think she is exactly right about this. While I wouldn’t ordinarily use the term “enchantment” to describe such a comportment or way of being in the world, it does suggest a useful line of analysis.

Reading this makes me want to check out The Enchantment of Modern Life by Jane Bennett. I’ll add it to my always remains stack of books I’d like to read.