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Castoriadis,Clastres,Abensour,Rancière:ThinkingRadicalDemocracy

AlhelíAlvarado-Díazada2003@columbia.edu

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