Alain Badiou
Is the Word “Communism” Forever Doomed?

http://www.lacan.com/essays/?page_id=323

I name ‘event’, a rupture in the normal disposition of bodies and normal ways of a particular situation. Or if you want, I name ‘event’ a rupture of the laws of the situation. So, in its very importance, an event is not the realization/variation of a possibility that resides inside the situation. An event is the creation of a new possibility. An event changes not only the real, but also the possible. An event is at the level not of simple possibility, but at the level of possibility of possibility. […]
I name ‘state’ or ‘state of the situation’ the system of constraints, which precisely limit the possibility. For example today I name the state of our situation, capitalist economy, constitutional form of government, veridical laws about the order of labor, army, police, and so on – all that composes the state of our situation. The state defines what is possible and what isn’t. So an event is always something which happens beyond the state. And therein lies the difference between an event and a simple fact. […]
I name ‘truth procedure’ or ‘truth’ an organization of consequences of an event. The process or the fact of naming the process of what follows an event. […]

STYLE IN THEORY/STYLING THEORY (26-28 November, 2009)
Inaugural Event, International Literary Criticism and Theory Conference Series
University of Malta, Old University Building, Valletta, Malta

Confirmed Speakers:
Catherine Belsey
Simon Critchley
Stefan Herbrechter
Fiona Hughes
Giuseppe Mazzotta
Laurent Milesi
Jean-Michel Rabaté
Stuart Sillars

Organizers: Ivan Callus, James Corby, Gloria Lauri-Lucente

Contact E-Mail: styleintheory2009@um.edu.mt

Website: http://www.um.edu.mt/events/styleintheory2009

CALL FOR PAPERS:

“… one has to be in possession of literature.”
—Jean-Luc Nancy
“…truth demands a laborious science without style.”
—Jean-Luc Nancy
Read the rest of this entry »

John D. Caputo reviews Slavoj Žižek and John Milbank’s The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic?

Materialism just isn’t what it used to be. Nowadays everyone wants to be a materialist, even the theologians, while the materialists want to look like they lead a spiritual life. The battle that is joined today is no longer between materialism and idealism, or hard-nosed Newtonians and far out spirit-seers, but between “materialist materialism” and “theological materialism”, between crude soulless materialism and materialism with spirit, a materialism of the spirit, a religious materialism (93). “Materialist materialism is simply not as materialist as theological materialism”, says John Milbank, the leading Anglo-Catholic theologian of the day, in this published debate with Slavoj Žižek, a Lacanian neo-Marxist writer and something of a Slovenian philosophical sensation in the Anglophone world (206). Theological materialism goes back to Christology, the materialism of the Logos made matter, in which matter really matters. Žižek would agree, but he would stand this statement on its head in a resuscitated and refashioned neo-Hegelian death of God theology. The debate that unfolds is strikingly Christological, in which both parties agree that Christianity is the absolute truth (Hegel), where Milbank takes his Christology straight up (treating Žižek’s as a “counterfeit”) and Žižek takes his on the rocks (treating Milbank’s version as “imaginary” (153, 245). The book is a splendid condensation and cross section of a contemporary debate between writers who seek to position themselves beyond the postmodernism or poststructuralism that dominated the last few decades of European thought. Whatever one thinks of the views of Milbank or Žižek, we may be very grateful to editor Creston Davis for crafting such a first rate exchange.

rest of the review

The Kantian Sublime and the Revelation of Freedom by Robert Clewis:

In this book Robert R. Clewis shows how certain crucial concepts in Kant’s aesthetics and practical philosophy – the sublime, enthusiasm, freedom, empirical and intellectual interests, the idea of a republic – fit together and deepen our understanding of Kant’s philosophy. He examines the ways in which different kinds of sublimity reveal freedom and indirectly contribute to morality, and discusses how Kant’s account of natural sublimity suggests that we have an indirect duty with regard to nature. Unlike many other studies of these themes, this book examines both the pre-Critical Observations and the remarks that Kant wrote in his copy of the Observations. Finally, Clewis takes seriously Kant’s claim that enthusiasm is aesthetically sublime, and shows how this clarifies Kant’s views of the French Revolution. His book will appeal to all who are interested in Kant’s philosophy.

• Appendices summarise and classify Kant’s thoughts on enthusiasm, respect, beauty and sublimity • Clewis’ interpretation of aesthetic enthusiasm clarifies Kant’s views of the French Revolution • Draws upon Continental and analytic scholarship in English, French, Italian and German languages

The Department of Philosophy at DePaul University in Chicago, IL will be hosting the fourth independent conference for the Hannah Arendt Circle April 16-18, 2010.

We invite individual submissions for papers on any aspect of Arendt’s work, including critiques and applications of her thinking.

Please send an abstract of the paper, by e-mail (750 word limit). Abstracts should be formatted for anonymous review and submitted to the program committee chair, Tama Weisman at tweisman@dom.edu on or before November 30th 2009.

Please indicate “Arendt Circle submission” in the subject heading, and include the abstract as a “.doc” attachment to your message. Program decisions will be announced by the beginning of January.

Program Committee:
Tama Weisman, Dominican University
Sarah MacMillen, Duquesne University
Peg Birmingham, DePaul University

Our first three independent meetings were outstanding, and we are looking forward to the same camaraderie and intense discussion of Arendt’s work at this year’s conference. Each speaker will have approximately 35 minutes for paper presentation and discussion combined —papers should be a maximum of 3000 words (15-20 minutes).

DePaul University is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Lodging has been reserved at the Willows Hotel.  The hotel is within walking distance or a short train ride to our meeting site at DePaul University.

Program and other information will be available no later than January 30, 2010 at:
www.thearendtcircle.com

Critical Horizons:A Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory

VOLUME 10 (2009) ISSUE 2

**SPECIAL ISSUE**
Ethics of Commitment and Politics of Resistance:
Simon Critchley’s Neo-Anarchism
Edited by Robert Sinnerbrink and Philip A. Quadrio

Contents

Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance: Simon Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding
Robert Sinnerbrink and Philip A. Quadrio

On Simon Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding: Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance
Alain Badiou
 
Neo-Anarchism or Neo-Liberalism? Yes, Please! A Response to Simon Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding
Robert Sinnerbrink
 
“Critchley is Zizek”: In Defence of Critical Political Philosophy
Matthew Sharpe

The Common Root of Commitment, Resistance and Power
Karin de Boer
 
Speaking to the People: Critchley, Rousseau and the Deficit in Practical Rationality
Philip A. Quadrio
 
Which Anarchism? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Infinity for (Political) Life: A Response to Simon Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding
Nina Power
 
A Plea for Prometheus
Alberto Toscano
 
Humorous Commitments and Non-Violent Politics: A Response to Simon Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding
Fiona Jenkins
 
Mystical Anarchism
Simon Critchley

The Department of Philosophy is searching for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Philosophy with an area of specialization (AOS) in Continental Philosophy (with particular interest in critical theory, post-structuralism, 19^th century philosophy). The area of competence (AOC) is open, but the Department is especially interested in teaching competence in Asian, Feminism, Modern Philosophy, Logic, and Philosophy of Science.  

Expectations of teaching include: introductory, middle level and advanced undergraduate courses, graduate teaching in the area of specialization, mentoring of graduate student research, and directing theses at the undergraduate and graduate level. The University of Oregon is on the academic quarter system and the standard teaching load is presently five courses across three terms each year.   

Undergraduate teaching experience, an appropriate record of research and publication, and a PhD are required. Salary will be competitive depending on qualifications.  

The Department is pluralistic, with an expansive view of the discipline, and provides an intellectual climate conducive to multidisciplinary scholarship. We encourage applications from candidates sharing this perspective. We also seek candidates with a commitment to working effectively with students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds.  

Review of applications will begin November 20 and will continue until the position is filled. Complete applications, including CV, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample should be filed at http://academicjobsonline.org/ajo. For more information, please refer to http://hr.uoregon.edu/jobs/.  EO/AA/ADA institution.

Here are the links for the audio recordings of Daniel Smith’s lectures that he gave as a part of the Collegium Phaenomenologicum 2009, which was directed by Peg Birmingham. Unfortunately we couldn’t record the second half of the second lecture, but all the rest is available in a pretty high-quality format.

Link

AESTHETICS AFTER THE POSTMODERN TURN:

PHILOSOPHY, CRITICISM, AND STUDIO CULTURE

October 17, 2009, CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

—

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9–9:30

Coffee and Continental Breakfast

9:30–10

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Joseph J. Tanke

Mark Breitenberg, Provost

Rachel Schreiber, Director of Humanities and Sciences

10–11

The Identification of Aesthetics and Politics in Rancière

Emiliano Battista, Jan van Eyck Academie

11–12

The Case of the Aesthetic Regime

Joseph J. Tanke, California College of the Arts

12–1

World Modernisms: The Case from Indian Modern Art

Pradeep Dhillon, University of Illinois

1–2

Lunch at the back of the nave

2–3

New Games

Pamela M. Lee, Stanford University

3–4

What Is Art?

Frederick M. Dolan, California College of the Arts

4–5

Aesthetic of the Cool: The Life and Times of an African Artist

Robert Farris Thompson, Yale University

5–5:30

Short Break

5:30–6:30

Keynote Address

Only a Promise of Happiness: The Place of Beauty in a World of Art

Alexander Nehamas, Princeton University

A RECEPTION WILL FOLLOW IMMEDIATELY UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE DAY’S PROCEEDINGS.

Call For Papers – BACPA at the Pacific APA.

The newly founded Bay Area Continental Philosophy Association (BACPA) will meet at the Pacific APA in San Francisco, CA (March 31 – April 4, 2010). Everyone interested in continental thinking is invited to submit a paper related to the following topic: “The Beautiful.”

Please submit a complete paper of no more than 3000 words and prepared for blind review to: moele@usfca.edu.

Attach the paper as a Microsoft Word, RTF, or PDF file.

Include your contact information and institutional affiliation in the email.

The deadline is OCTOBER 1, 2009.

BACPA organizes colloquia in the San Francisco Bay Area in order to stimulate interaction between continental philosophers and to promote continental philosophy. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.usfca.edu/org/bacpa/

“Collectively” — 3rd Annual Philosophy and the Arts Conference at Stony Brook University Manhattan

Call for Papers and Artwork

Keynote Speaker: Simon Critchley (The New School for Social Research)
Date: March 26-27, 2010
Location: 401 Park Avenue South, 2nd Floor, Manhattan

The Masters program in Philosophy and the Arts at Stony Brook University in Manhattan studies the intersections of art and philosophy. In our efforts to further the dialogue between these complexly related fields, we offer this conference as an interdisciplinary event. We welcome participants working in a variety of disciplines and media to respond to this year’s topic:

“Collectively”

During a period marked by globalization, proliferating social networking sites and virtual forums, and a reissued political call for increased civic participation, investigating the nature of ‘the collective’ continues to be a vitally important project. The term ‘collective’ itself is heavily politicized, foregrounding the tension between the individual and the whole. While groups may capitalize upon collective force to secure political visibility and achieve goals, collectivization is often a vehicle of homogenization and silencing. Yet many collectives intentionally jeopardize individual visibility as a form of critique. Artists’ collectives like the Critical Art Ensemble and the Wooster Collective, and philosophical collaboratives such as Deleuze-Guattari, question the value of the singular and identifiable, as well as problematizing the market economy that sustains artistic and academic norms. In any case, the notion of the collective raises questions of authority and agency as they relate to knowledge, ownership, and intersubjectivity. What are the mechanisms through which collectives form, maintain their coherence, and engage with other entities? How do various types of collections—museum holdings, units of information, digital and material objects, or persons—relate to classificatory systems, globalized and virtual commerce, and rapidly evolving technologies?

As collectives arise and disperse, we often find ourselves with a dearth of criteria by which to judge their success and viability. This conference will investigate the forms, motivations, methods, justifications, and consequences of persons and things acting collectively. We encourage submissions from across the artistic and theoretical disciplines that approach these themes from practical and theoretical perspectives. Projects may be collaborative in nature, and may examine the collective as an entity or activity.

SUBMISSIONS:

We welcome the submission both of original academic papers and of artwork for exhibition or performance, relating to the above themes, from graduate students across disciplines. All submissions should be formatted for blind review, and suitable for a 20-minute presentation (approximately 3000 words or 8-11 pages). Please visit the Philosophy and the Arts Conference website at http://www.philosophyartconference.org for complete submission instructions, as well as information on past conferences and regular updates. All submissions must be received by January 13^th, 2010 in order to be considered by the conference review committee. Submitters will be notified of the committee’s decision regarding their work via email no later than February 4^th, 2010.

Feel free to contact the conference coordinator for help with additional questions at philosophyartconference@gmail.com.

It is a peculiar fact that the severe economic turmoil of the past year has for the most part not led people to ask the most fundamental question about the root of all this angst: What is money?

Money is, of course, many things: the coins and notes rattling in our pockets, as well as the piles of real and virtual stuff lying in banks, or the smart money that tends towards disappearance and increasing immateriality, being shuffled electronically along the vectors of the financial networks.

Continue reading