[Apostolides, Jean-Marie] The Situationist International: Syllabus. n.p. [Palo Alto CA, USA]: self-published, n.d. [2001]. 10 p.; 21 x 29.5 cm.; stapled white sheets with text in black
Syllabus of a course on the Situationist International taught by Jean-Marie Apostolides at Stanford University in Winter 2001-2002. “The purpose of this class is to introduce students to the history of the Situationist movement and to permit them to read the major texts…This class will not speak for or against the situationists themselves; it will rather bring to the students an objective knowledge and a clear understanding of their social, political, artistic and philosophical positions” (p.1)
The syllabus is divided into five parts: I) Introduction to the course; II) Reading List (includes texts by Debord, Vaneigem and Greil Marcus); III) Course’s Plan; IV) Evaluation; and V) Selected Bibliography. This last part is sub-divided into three sections: A. Pre, pro, post-SI and Situationist texts; B. Secondary Sources on the Situationists (includes texts by Agamben, Blanchard, Bourseiller, Bracken,Guegan, Jappe, Marcus, Martos, Plant, Voyer…); and C. Around the Situationist Movement (with texts by Bounan, Clark, Moinet, Wolman…)
Currently a Professor at Stanford University, Jean-Marie Apostolides is both a friend of Debord and a scholar of the SI. He is the author of Les Tombeaux de Guy Debord and the play Il faut construire l’hacienda. Apostolides has also undertaken a study of “minor” figures of the Situationist and Lettrist movement. As such, he is the author of the first biography of the Lettrist Ivan Chtcheglov (Ivan Chtcheglov, profil perdu) and edited his texts (Chtcheglovm Ecrits Retrouves). He also edited several books on Patrick Straram (also known as Le Bison Ravi): Les bouteilles se couchent, la veuve blanche et noire un peu détournée; and Lettre à Guy Debord. Several of Apostolides’ self-published writings on the SI have been published under a pseudonym.
You write “Currently a Professor at Stanford University, Jean-Marie Apostolides is both a friend of Debord and a scholar of the SI”.
Not at all “a friend of Debord” : Apostolides NEVER met Debord or any situationist anywhere…
You are correct; Debord and Apostolides never met. However, Apostolides is a friend of Berreby at Allia (where he published books on Chtcheglov, Straram and Debord), and there’s a high likelihood he met some of the former members of the SI that way. I will check with a source that knows Apostolides well. Thanks for the correction, though.
I have now confirmed that JM Apostolides did indeed meet several members of the SI, including Michele Bernstein