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Castoriadis,Clastres,Abensour,Rancière:ThinkingRadicalDemocracy
AlhelíAlvarado-Dí[email protected]
TahrirSquare,Egypt2011
CourseDescriptionThis seminarwill introduce students to the thoughtof four influential thinkers inthefieldofradicalphilosophyfrom1945tothepresent.BeginningwithCastoriadisand ending with Rancière, the seminar will explore key debates in thereinterpretation of democracy’s revolutionary nature and the necessary steps torestoreitsimplicitradicalism.Theseminarwillofferopportunitiestoreflectontheconnections between democratic politics and revolutionary theory, particularly inconnectionwiththehistoryofradicalsocialmovementsandradical theoryduringandafterthe1960s.Theseminarwilladoptaninterdisciplinaryangle,emphasizingtheinnovativecontributionsfromthepoliticalanthropologicalandpsychoanalyticalfields. Through active seminar discussion and paper writing projects, studentsshouldbeabletoreconstructtheintellectualgenealogyofradicaldemocratictheoryin the context of the four authors under study, aswell as to envision alternativeoptions for the revival of a radical democratic tradition today. The seminarwillpresentthedilemmasandchallengesofconnectingthetheoryofradicaldemocracytoitspracticeineverydaylife.
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RequiredTextsCorneliusCastoriadis,Philosophy,Politics,Autonomy(OxfordUniversityPress,1991)CorneliusCastoriadis,TheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety(TheMITPress,1998)CorneliusCastoriadis,TheCastoriadisReader(Wiley-Blackwell,1997)PierreClastres,SocietyagainsttheState(ZoneBooks,1989)PierreClastres,ArchaeologyofViolence(Semiotext(e),2010)MiguelAbensour,DemocracyagainsttheState(Polity,2011)JacquesRancière,ThePhilosopherandhisPoor(DukeUniversityPress,2004)JacquesRancière,StagingthePeople(Verso,2012)JacquesRancière,HatredofDemocracy(Verso,2011)SessionI:SocialismeouBarbarieandtheOriginsoftheAnti-BureaucraticCritique
ReadingsCastoriadis, “The Greek Polis and the Creation of Democracy”, “Dead End?”,Philosophy,Politics,AutonomyCastoriadis,“RecommencingtheRevolution”,“MarxismandRevolutionaryTheory”,“PresentationofSocialismeouBarbarie”,TheCastoriadisReaderCastoriadis, “Marxism: A Provisional Assessment”, The Imaginary Institution ofSocietySessionII:CorneliusCastoriadis’TheoryofPoliticalAutonomy
ReadingsCastoriadis,“Power,Politics,Autonomy”,“TheSocial-Historical”,Philosophy,Politics,AutonomyCastoriadis,“TheLogicofMagmasandtheQuestionofAutonomy”,“PsychoanalysisandPhilosophy”,TheCastoriadisReader
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Castoriadis,“AutonomyandAlienation”,TheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
SessionIII:TheMakingofTheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
Readings
Castoriadis,“TheoryandRevolutionaryProject”,TheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
Castoriadis,“TheInstitutionandtheImaginary”,TheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
SessionIV:TheReceptionofTheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
ReadingsCastoriadis,“RadicalImaginationandtheSocialInstitutingImaginary”,“DoneandtobeDone”,TheCastoriadisReaderCastoriadis, “Intellectuals and History”, “The End of Philosophy?”, Philosophy,Politics,AutonomySessionV:Castoriadis’SocialCreativityandtheRedefinitionofDemocracyReadingsCastoriadis,“TheSocialHistoricalInstitution”,“SocialImaginarySignifications”,TheImaginaryInstitutionofSociety
SessionVI:PierreClastres’PoliticalAnthropology
ReadingsClastres, “Savage Ethnography”, “Primitive Economy”, “Marxists and theirAnthropology”,ArchaeologyofViolenceSessionVII:TrueDemocracyaccordingtoSocietyagainsttheState
ReadingsClastres,“ThePowertoSpeak”,“SocietyagainsttheState”,SocietyagainsttheState
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SessionVIII:AutogestionandPrimitiveSociety:ClastresonTrueDemocracy
Readings
Clastres,“ExchangeandPower”,“TheLastFrontier”,“TheReturntoEnlightenment”,SocietyagainsttheStateClastres,“PowerinPrimitiveSocieties”,ArchaeologyofViolenceSessionIX:MiguelAbensour’sandtheRevivalofUtopianPolitics
ReadingsAbensour,“TheUtopiaoftheRationalState”,“PoliticalIntelligence”,“Fromthe1843CrisistotheCriticismofPolitics”,DemocracyagainsttheState
SessionX:TheCommuneversustheInstitutional:Abensour’sCritiqueoftheStateReadingsAbensour, “The Four Characteristics of True Democracy”, “True Democracy andModernity”, “SavageDemocracy and the Principle of Anarchy”,DemocracyagainsttheStateSessionXI:Rancière’sVisionofRadicalDemocracy
ReadingsRancière, “Plato’s Lie”, “Marx’s Labor”, “The Philosopher and the Sociologist”,ThePhilosopherandhisPoor
SessionXII:TheFutureoftheProletariataccordingtoRancière
ReadingsRancière, “The Proletarian and his Double”, “Heretical Knowledge and theEmancipationofthePoor”,“TheLinksoftheChain”,StagingthePeople
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SessionXIII:RancièreonRevolutionandthePossibilitiesofResistance
ReadingsRancière,“FromVictoriousDemocracytoCriminalDemocracy”,“Politics,ortheLostShepherd”,“Democracy,Republic,Representation”HatredofDemocracy
SessionXIV:Castoriadis,Clastres,AbensourandRancière:ARadicalPolyphony
Comparative Conclusions: Insights, Hopes and Unresolved Dilemmas in TheImaginary Institution of Society, Society against the State, Democracy against theStateandStagingthePeople