Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus. The Text Seminar gives students a chance to do a deep dive into a philosophical text that has had a significant impact on the subsequent history of philosophy and perhaps on the history of other disciplines as well. In this course, we will read a rather recent work that has had and continues to have a remarkable impact in countless different domains, from political theory to virtual reality to queer studies. A Thousand Plateaus, first published in 1980, is so wide-ranging in its subject matter, in its modes of argument, and in the sheer variety of concepts that it introduces that it is a book almost impossible to describe. Although the book is made up of only fifteen chapters (or “plateaus”), every chapter multiplies in such a way that there really may be as many as a thousand plateaus to be found in this single book. A selection of topics discussed would include rhizomes and wolves, geology and morals, the nature of language and modes of deterritorialization, bodies without organs and the character of the face, fascism and totalitarianism, sorcery and vampires, bird song, nomadic war-machines, capitalism and enslavement, textiles and music, and rules and machines. Yet even such a list only scratches the surface of this endlessly fascinating and often hilarious text. In short, no matter what your interests might be, A Thousand Plateaus is guaranteed to engage them.