History, Geneology, Archaeology: Alternative Approaches to Political and International Studies
3rd Nov 2017
History, Genealogy, Archaeology
Alternative Approaches to Political and International Studies
Kingston University London, 3 November 2017
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“Only an iconoclastic philosopher could undertake the long and difficult task of detaching all the suffixes from beauty, of searching behind the obvious images for the hidden ones, of seeking the very roots of this image-making power. In the depths of matter there grows an obscure vegetation; black flowers bloom in matter’s darkness. They already possess a velvety touch, a formula for perfume.”
– Gaston Bachelard, Water and Dreams
The notion of ‘archaeology’ has become popular in the humanities and social sciences thanks to the works of Michel Foucault. However, the difficult positioning of his work – fostered by a rigid academic schematism and by the ‘genealogical turn’ undertaken by Foucault in his later writings – has contributed to the lack of clarity surrounding the epistemological status of critical methods. It becomes crucial, therefore, to reflect on the epistemological foundations of these alternative approaches in order to clarify their explanatory power. For, in what sense can one write a ‘genealogy of the political’, of its savoirs and powers? What are the similarities – and differences – between the genealogical and archaeological methods and critical historiography? What might an ‘archaeology of violence and the political’ look like?
This one-day International Workshop is conceived as an advanced postgraduate training in which senior scholars and MA/PhD students will engage in an in-depth discussion on a range of fundamental epistemological and methodological issues in order to assess the contribution of critical theory to the fields of Political and International Studies.
List of Speakers
- Claudia Aradau (King’s College), ‘A Genealogy of Otherness: Security in a Digital Age’
- Antonio Cerella (Kingston University), Towards an Archaeology of Silence: Ontology and History in the Work of Foucault, Schmitt and Heidegger
- Mitchell Dean (Copenhagen Business School), The Archè in Political Archaeology
- Iwona Janicka (Warwick University), Ethics of Generosity, Gift Economy and Alternative Modes of Existence
- Sanja Perovic (King’s College), Mise-en-abîme in Foucault, Schmitt and Live Art: Representing the Recent Past
- Scott Wilson (Kingston University), ‘The Day the Conducator Died’: Towards a De-Ontologisation of Politics
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BURSARY & REGISTRATION
There are a few bursaries available for MA/PhD students, which will be allocated on a competitive basis. If you wish to apply for a bursary, please send an email to Dr Antonio Cerella at: A.Cerella@kingston.ac.uk.
The workshop is free to anyone who wishes to attend but registration is necessary.
To register, please go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-genealogy-archaeology-alternative-approaches-to-political-and-international-studies-tickets-35781618785