Architecture educator releases latest book, ‘Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy’
Theodore “Ted” G. Ammon’s recent book, “Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy: Experience Required,” was released in mid-December.
Ammon, an associate professor of philosophy at Millsaps College, also teaches the Philosophy of Architecture course at the Mississippi State University School of Architecture’s Jackson Center. He has also authored “Imagine U” and edited “Conversations with William H. Gass” and “David Bowie and Philosophy: Rebel, Rebel.”
“Our fifth-year students at the School of Architecture Jackson Center in historic downtown Jackson are fortunate to have such an esteemed philosopher and author from Milsaps College teaching our Philosophy of Architecture course,” said Director and F.L. Crane Professor Michael Berk.
Jassen Callender, associate professor and director of the Jackson Center, contributed to the chapter “Facing Up to the Realities.”
About the book, via Amazon.com:
"In 'Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy,' philosophers come to terms with the experience and the phenomenon of Jimi Hendrix, uncovering some surprising implications of Hendrix’s life and work. Much of this book is concerned with the restless polarities and dualities that reveal themselves through Hendrix... What did Hendrix mean when he spoke of 'the realities' of conflict conveyed in 'Machine Gun'? What is a 'Voodoo Chile'? When does noise become music? These and other questions are addressed in 'Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy.'"
Ammon was born in Vicksburg and is a 1976 Mississippi State alumnus. He received his Master of Architecture as well as his Doctor of Philosophy from Washington University. He began teaching at Millsaps College in 1985 and has taught for Mississippi State for over 10 years. In 1992, he received the "Distinguished Professor Award” from Millsaps.
Ammon is proud to drive a 1956 Dodge Coronet with a V8 engine, dual exhausts and pushbutton transmission. He “still plays vinyl proudly” and believes “Jimi Hendrix rules electric guitar.”
Callender, a 1994 School of Architecture alumnus, is an associate professor of architecture and director of Mississippi State University’s Jackson Center, which houses the School of Architecture’s fifth-year program, where he teaches advanced design studios and Theory of Urban Design. He is also an occasional practitioner, painter and writer who is a member of both the Society of Architectural Historians and a regional board member of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Callender’s educational background underscores this range of interests and concerns, from undergraduate training in both architecture and philosophy (1987-1994) to graduate work in painting, sculpture and art history leading to an MFA in 2001. His subsequent research interests at first seem varied in equal measure -- ranging from phenomenological studies of desire, to analyses of the role of perception and meaning in sustainable urbanism, to questioning the impact of shifts from meaning to information paradigms on the evolution of architecture theory and practice. All of this research aims at deepening our understanding of how meaning is constructed and shared in and through the built environment. His first book, “Architecture History and Theory in Reverse,” was published by Routledge in July 2017.
Christie McNeal | College of Architecture, Art and Design
