I saw some users on Twitter/X going off on Byung-Chul Han at the beginning of the year after someone mentioned the ‘profound depth’ of his books despite their brevity.
Hi, thanks for your comment! I’d say The Burnout Society is where most readers start with Byung-Chul Han — it's short, insightful, and a great introduction to his ideas. (You’ll also probably find yourself nodding along to it in agreement.) From there, you can read books like Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power, which is another popular one, though personally, I preferred The Transparency Society. If you want to impress at dinner parties, though, go straight for Saving Beauty.
Hi Katherine, sorry to disappoint :( I’ve written more directly about Byung-Chul Han's critiques in a 2024 substack post titled, ⁺‧₊˚Are we a burnout society?‧⁺˖° but that piece doesn’t exactly offer a comprehensive detailing of his ideas either. (He has, I think, over thirty books!) There’s quite a good introductory video on YouTube by Professor Ellie Anderson called ‘Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society’ that I’d recommend. I suppose this piece was more about defending his literary style more than the substance of his critiques.
Ah! Sorry again, I misunderstood your comment. I think I should write a separate piece on the critiques of Byung-Chul Han’s works! The most common critique is that he oversimplifies the complex realities of modern life. This critique tends to come from more intellectually-minded readers, I suspect, who argue that the material struggles of everyday people are more nuanced than Han suggests. While I understand this, I think Han actually hits the nail on the head when it comes to the simplicity of the issues many of us face today, like being overworked and exhausted.
Another frequent criticism is that his books "lack solutions." But anyone who has read Han closely knows that offering solutions isn’t really part of his project. His work is more about rejuvenating the role of negativity in our lives, and that includes stepping away from the constant pressure to "fix" everything. Solutions, for Han, would miss the point entirely.
Synchronicities are out in force with your comment because I recently added The Darkest Timeline to my book budget for March. Eek! Glad to hear you’re also a Byung-Chul Han enjoyer since I think he gets too much hate from peeps deeeep into crittheory for some reason — (maybe because of his low-key Catholicism???) (I dunno.)) Since you commented though you can’t escape my cheekiness (hehe) and maybe I was gunna ask you at some point if you knew when Revol Press were going to take on submissions? I HAVE WRITTEN ANOTHER BOOK. You should read it and blurb it for me if you like it. No pressure. (@__@)
great stuff, but the white on blue text is . . . difficult
Thank you for your comment -- does this look better?
Which of his books might be good for readers with out a strong background in philosophy?
Hi, thanks for your comment! I’d say The Burnout Society is where most readers start with Byung-Chul Han — it's short, insightful, and a great introduction to his ideas. (You’ll also probably find yourself nodding along to it in agreement.) From there, you can read books like Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power, which is another popular one, though personally, I preferred The Transparency Society. If you want to impress at dinner parties, though, go straight for Saving Beauty.
I was hoping to get a better idea from this piece what the substance of the BCH critiques actually are
Hi Katherine, sorry to disappoint :( I’ve written more directly about Byung-Chul Han's critiques in a 2024 substack post titled, ⁺‧₊˚Are we a burnout society?‧⁺˖° but that piece doesn’t exactly offer a comprehensive detailing of his ideas either. (He has, I think, over thirty books!) There’s quite a good introductory video on YouTube by Professor Ellie Anderson called ‘Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society’ that I’d recommend. I suppose this piece was more about defending his literary style more than the substance of his critiques.
Oh I meant about the critiques people are making of his ideas! But thank you, I appreciate it :)
Ah! Sorry again, I misunderstood your comment. I think I should write a separate piece on the critiques of Byung-Chul Han’s works! The most common critique is that he oversimplifies the complex realities of modern life. This critique tends to come from more intellectually-minded readers, I suspect, who argue that the material struggles of everyday people are more nuanced than Han suggests. While I understand this, I think Han actually hits the nail on the head when it comes to the simplicity of the issues many of us face today, like being overworked and exhausted.
Another frequent criticism is that his books "lack solutions." But anyone who has read Han closely knows that offering solutions isn’t really part of his project. His work is more about rejuvenating the role of negativity in our lives, and that includes stepping away from the constant pressure to "fix" everything. Solutions, for Han, would miss the point entirely.
Great observation on the relationship between style and substance. I feel the same about Byung Chul-Han
Hi Talia, thank you for your comment! :D Glad I’m not to only one out there who appreciates the connection between his ideas and literary style.
Absolutely loved this piece. The style of critics theory is very much my thing! Big BCH enjoyer.
Synchronicities are out in force with your comment because I recently added The Darkest Timeline to my book budget for March. Eek! Glad to hear you’re also a Byung-Chul Han enjoyer since I think he gets too much hate from peeps deeeep into crittheory for some reason — (maybe because of his low-key Catholicism???) (I dunno.)) Since you commented though you can’t escape my cheekiness (hehe) and maybe I was gunna ask you at some point if you knew when Revol Press were going to take on submissions? I HAVE WRITTEN ANOTHER BOOK. You should read it and blurb it for me if you like it. No pressure. (@__@)
Alex that's very exciting... Let me hit you up on email and we can definitely talk about that! I'll DM
*critical theory