17 June 2013 - Critical Theory Workshop, Bern

Monday, June 17, 2013
10.00-17.00, Progr building, room 163:​
Organized by Wendy M. K. Shaw, University of Bern

Philosophers are people too. I say this because, often when one reads works of critical theory, it seems to emerge as wisdom from on high, as though it claims to be the holy writ of certain brands of academia. This sense of elevation – I would argue created more by the reader than by the writer – often seems to create a very strong resistance to authority. This is odd, since a lot of this theory is about resisting authority – authority which is often invisible to us, and which even emerges through the use of apparently clear language. Critical theory questions authority, while also running the risk of constructing a new kind of authority if it is used as such. Alternatively, it becomes a springboard to recognizing, articulating, and addressing those things that disturb us and which can become central to each of our intellectual practices. This comes through listening and reading copiously and inquisitively rather than fearfully in order to learn to write and speak boldly.

As somebody fascinated by theory, I would argue that those within academia who write it off withoutunderstanding often feel threatened by the power of its critique. Where this is the case, I cannot imagine how the best "defense" comes up in discounting rather than engaging with "the enemy." To me, the resistance to theory is an admission to defeat that relies on the size of the silent masses rather than the power of their thought.

After all, critical theory is largely based on the study of classical philosophy that, until the mid-twentieth century, was the hallmark any strong critical education in the Western world. Seen from this perspective, critical theory attacks the complacency of modern institutional complexes and hegemonic norms not as an outsider, but from within its very foundations.

More practically, there are two great reasons to study critical theory: one practical, and the other intellectual. Terms like deconstruction, gender, and post-coloniality frequently get bandied about derisively as if they had no meaning, but for those who know what they mean, this just sounds stupid. Two four-year-olds at Fastnacht saw a giant balloon penis costume walking around. They didn't know what it was, but they found it hilarious. It was hilarious, but not for the reasons they thought (or didn't think). Laughing and misusing these terms seems as naïve in many academic circles as those kids. Great for kids, less so if you're an adult still not recognizing the meaning of the costume. Secondly, philosophy, and within it critical theory, provides numerous analytical tools through which to investigate the lived world around us. Imagine if you found a nail but had never seen a hammer. You might find the nail interesting, and try all sorts of things to do with it. Having seen a hammer, you know one way in which to use the nail. The next step is, remembering its other uses that you discovered, and then knowing when to use the hammer or not. That is, critical theory provides examples through which to understand phenomena. It provides a vocabulary of analysis. Having collected this vocabulary, the world begins to take shape differently – and you learn to articulate your observations about it with greater precision. The choice of how and when to use these tools remains in your hands – but having more tools, you also have more potential skill.

Studying philosophy and critical theory takes years. Even in a semester-long course, I can only provide a tiny introduction to some basic themes. However, with these themes adding to our existing knowledge and method base, each of us can read, discuss, and thereby re-imagine the world.

I am certain that many members of the group have some familiarity with many or all of the late-twentieth century thinkers grouped broadly as critical theorists. What many of us do not have through reading basic texts is an idea of the context of their work, or of their work as a long practice that evolves over the course of a lifetime.

I have therefore decided not to try to squeeze an overview into one afternoon. Rather, when we meet again for our workshop in June, I will provide a one-hour lecture on the intellectual history of critical theory... it's basic trajectory and issues. Then we will discuss the interviews below in order to think about how these theoretical issues relate to real life situations. I have not chosen interviews with all the famous people in twentieth century critical theory for several reasons: not everybody interviews or interviews well. The most important theorists change according to discipline, and any discussion of 'importance' is debatable. These are thinkers whose work I have found particularly provocative, and sometimes interviews I have found particularly touching. These are people, and their gestures, the framing of the interviews, the costumes... it all says a lot about the relationship between thought, physicality, and memory.

As you read/listen to the interviews, please be sure to:

• Note when/where the thinkers were active (you can use general encyclopedic information)
• Note their political contexts and engagement
• Note their discussion of the 'keywords' associated with them
• Consider the various media at hand: an oral/written interview (sound/text); a filmed interview (voice/vision); a documentary (context and staging). How does this effect the transmission of information?
• Who is conducting the interview? Why might s(he) have engaged in this pursuit or been appropriate for it? (How) does their engagement recontextualize the work of the thinker?
• Which of the concepts discussed here are new to you? How might you be interested in pursuing them in relation to your own interests and projects?

Note: all students have access to journal databases through their university accounts. You can access this from any computer by logging in through a web-vpn server. (search this with the acronym of your university, and then look for databases through the library services). The databases used for many of the articles below are JSTOR and Project Muse.

Workshop Schedule:

10:00 – 12:00 Overview of objectives, key relationships and terminology in critical theory

14:00 – 17:00 PARTICIPATORY discussion of videos and material. All participants should plan suggestions/ questions for focused discussion

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Recommended Interviews

Adorno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd7Fhaji8ow
Gerhard Richter and Theodor W. Adorno , "Who's Afraid of the Ivory Tower? A Conversation with Theodor W. Adorno," Monatshefte, Vol. 94, No. 1, Rereading Adorno (Spring, 2002), pp. 10-23. (JSTOR)

Barthes: (French only, sorry!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8XM2b9048
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUgJd2mS3LY

Bourdieu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH8yT7M8fag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbJFMNmBwro
Pierre Lamaison and Pierre Bourdieu, "From Rules to Strategies: An Interview with Pierre Bourdieu," Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Feb., 1986), pp. 110-120. (JSTOR)

Butler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q50nQUGiI3s (and the next sections)
Pheng Cheah, Elizabeth Grosz, Judith Butler and Drucilla Cornell, "The Future of Sexual Difference: An Interview with Judith Butler and Drucilla Cornell," Diacritics, Vol. 28, No. 1, Irigaray and the Political Future of Sexual Difference (Spring, 1998), pp. 19-42. (JSTOR)
Irene Costera Meijer and Baukje Prins, "How Bodies Come to Matter: An Interview with Judith Butler," Signs, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Winter, 1998), pp. 275-286. (JSTOR)

Cixous and Derrida:
Jacques Derrida, Hélène Cixous, Aliette Armel and Ashley Thompson, "From the Word to Life: A Dialogue between Jacques Derrida and Hélène Cixous," New Literary History, Vol. 37, No. 1, Hélène Cixous: When the Word Is a Stage (Winter, 2006), pp. 1-13. (JSTOR)

de Beauvoir:
Simone de Beauvoir, Margaret A. Simons and Jane Marie Todd, "Two Interviews with Simone de Beauvoir," Hypatia, Vol. 3, No. 3, French Feminist Philosophy (Winter, 1989), pp. 11-27. (JSTOR)

Derrida:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtcpwJCC6Co
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSsDRf2wnOk
Christie V. McDonald and Jacques Derrida, "Choreographies: Jacques Derrida and Christie V. McDonald," Diacritics, Vol. 12, No. 2, Cherchez la Femme Feminist Critique/Feminine Text, (Summer, 1982), pp. 66-76.

Foucault and Deleuze:
"Intellectuals and power: A conversation between Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze," http://libcom.org/library/intellectuals-power-a-conversation-between-michel-foucault-and-gilles-deleuze

Foucault:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFyB09FrtaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAwWwQZ_3FQ (French only)
Truth, Power, Self: An Interview with Michel Foucault - October 25th, 1982.
From: Martin, L.H. et al (1988) Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault. (London: Tavistock) pp.9-15. http://www.naturalthinker.net/trl/texts/Foucault,Michel/Foucault,%20Michel%20-%20Truth,%20Power,%20Self.pdf

Lacan:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdy242_lacan-interview_webcam#.URjo3aHHczE
http://braungardt.trialectics.com/sciences/psychoanalysis/jacques-lacan/interview-with-jacques-lacan/

Lévi-Strauss: (French only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hStPQRsW7Y
Bernadette Bucher and Claude Lévi-Strauss, "An Interview with Claude Lévi-Strauss, 30 June 1982, American Ethnologist, Vol. 12, No. 2 (May, 1985), pp. 360-368. (JSTOR)

Rancière:
Gavin Arnall, Laura Gandolfi, and Enea Zaramella , "Aesthetics and Politics Revisited: An Interview with Jacques Rancière," Critical Inquiry, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Winter 2012), 289-297. (JSTOR)
Jacques Rancière, "Aesthetics against Incarnation: An Interview by Anne Marie Oliver," Critical Inquiry, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Autumn 2008), pp. 172-190. (JSTOR)

Spivak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fHoCiBhZ_0
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Touched by Deconstruction," Grey Room, No. 20 (Summer, 2005), pp. 95-104
Jenny Sharpe and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "A Conversation with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Politics and the Imagination," Signs, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Winter 2003), pp. 609-624. (JSTOR)

Also of interest:

Paul Allen Miller,"The Classical Roots of Poststructuralism: Lacan, Derrida, and Foucault," International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall, 1998), pp. 204-225. (JSTOR)
Arnold, Whitney. "The Secret Subject: Michel Foucault, Death and the Labyrinth, and the Interview as Genre," Criticism Fall 2012, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 567-581. (Project Muse)

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Directions to Progr building:

Turn left out of the Hauptbahnhof onto Bahnhofplatz, take 3rd right onto Speichergasse, Progr building is on left once you reach the square (Waisenhausplatz). We're in room 163.