A Lancaster University academic is set to be the latest trend-setter in the world of diet solutions in the modern world. Professor Wilfred Briscoe of the Lancaster University English Literature department has authored the 500-page Of Dietology: Biopower and Discourse, a dense, difficult text aimed at challenging society’s assumptions of what constitutes a ‘normal’ diet plan.
“I’ve been trying to draw on the great theorists of the 20th Century” says Briscoe “really, I’ve been convinced that our notions of what constitutes ‘slim’ is heavily informed by what we believe ‘nutrition’ to be… I’m arguing that nutrition is inherently unknowable.”
The book dispenses with the usual, easy-to-read, colourful format of picture-friendly diet books, instead opting to challenge readers, relying heavily on jargonistic terms such as ‘interpollation’ and ‘hegemonic’ in order to encourage active reading. One chapter is written backwards and the final chapter of the book, aiming to shatter preconcieved notions of how dieters should approach their fitness regime, dispenses entirely with the word ‘the’.
Reactions have so far been positive, with students at Lancaster University already giving the book resounding endorsements. “By a radical deconstruction of the definition of the word ‘thin'” says 30-stone Lancaster PhD student George Lees “I was able to slim my waistline in seconds. Who is to say what is wide, after all?”
The book is not without its detractors, however. “The whole thing is completely ludicrous” Professor James Brimley of the University of Bristol says “the idea that anybody can get slim by simply applying Derrida’s idea of deconstruction is utterly preposterous.” Professor Brimley added “Everyone knows that it’s impossible to get slim without reading Lacan.”
Of Dietology pre-orders are already being accepted on Amazon and Waterstones and the book looks set to be the book of choice for the perfect summer look, overtaking other trendy fitness books as Star Signs and Powerlifting and Irony Squared: Diet Tips from an Obese Mathematician.
