The crazy wisdom of Philip K. Dick

Starting in mid-September, Erik Davis is teaching an online course via the Maybe Logic Academy. Entitled "The Crazy Wisdom of Philip K. Dick," the course does not look to be your typical dry literary analysis:

Once a purely cult figure, Philip K. Dick ( 1928-1982) is now widely recognized as a pulp visionary of the highest order. This course will approach his work not so much as science fiction but as crazy wisdom. We’ll explore how his texts seem designed to illuminate our posthuman problems and our most ancient philosophical questions — and to then scramble those insights with a cheap ray gun. We will read two of Dick’s major novels, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and VALIS, both chosen for their heavy gnostic themes. We will discuss drugs and archons and machines that break down, including, possibly, yourself. We will also explore the two greatest examples of the many PKD movies to date, the "new" Blade Runner version and A Scanner Darkly — further evidence that Dick’s spirit will only continue to permeate the culture at large.