{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Chasing Leviathan","title":"Turning Away: The Poetics of an Ancient Gesture | Dr. Benjamin Saltzman","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2948,"description":"What happens when our modern visual culture, which demands we constantly observe global atrocities on our phones, actually leads to apathy instead of a meaningful moral response? \nThe University of Chicago's Associate Professor of English Language and Literature, Dr. Ben Saltzman, joins host PJ Wehry to discuss the overlooked significance of a common, deeply human reaction.\nDr. Saltzman explores the history and meaning of this physical act in his book, Turning Away, The Poetics of an Ancient Gesture. They examine how looking away is frequently not a sign of disengagement, but rather an indication of deep emotional involvement, and how understanding this can help us navigate the horrors of the contemporary world.\nIn this conversation they explore: \nHow the book traces archaic scenes—like the ancient painting of Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia—by treating them as rocks tossed into a pool, following their cultural and artistic ripples across time. \nThe surprising realization that turning away from a distressing event often signifies a deep engagement with the pain of the world, rather than simple indifference. \nWhy our contemporary habit of scrolling through images of suffering on our phones can create a false sense of moral duty while actually fostering an empty act of looking. \nThe concept of the divided soul, exemplified by Plato's tale of Leontius, which demonstrates how humans experience an inner conflict and oscillation between looking and turning away. \nHow ancient rhetoric and art utilized the covered face to convey states of emotional extremity that existed entirely at the limits of representation. \nThe relationship between covering one's eyes and the acquisition of painful knowledge, illustrated by figures ranging from a newly fallen Adam and Eve to a young girl watching a cruel scientific experiment on a bird.\nThis is a conversation for anyone interested in literary studies, art history, and the humanities who wants to understand the historical weight...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/oFG5X3hnTWeg1jpjktisRS_sI049dZZYEQFpaR8md3g/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzIxNDQ2LzE2MzMx/MTQ3MTctYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}