Archive for October 2010

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[ecrea] Representing the Event: Power and Newness in Modernity

Tue Oct 12 22:05:34 GMT 2010



Representing the Event: Power and Newness in Modernity
A Joint One Day Conference Sponsored by Swansea University and Cardiff University

Date: November 1st 2010

Location: Swansea University

Time: 9 pm – 5pm

Organisers: Dr. Peter Bloom (Swansea University), Dr. Casper Hoedemakers (Cardiff            University), Dr. Andrea Whittle (Cardiff University)

Confirmed Speakers:
Keynote: Professor Ian Buchanan (Cardiff University)
Dr. Peter Bloom (School of Business and Economics, Swansea University)
Professor Marcus Doel (School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University)
Dr. Heiko Feldner  (Cardiff Centre for Ideology Critique and Zizek Studies, Cardiff University)
Dr. Alan Finlayson (Politics and International Relations, Swansea University)
Dr. Richard G. Smith (School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University)
Dr. Fabio Vighi (Cardiff Centre for Ideology Critique and Zizek Studies, Cardiff University)

“I name ‘event’ a rupture of the laws of the situation...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."
— Alain Badiou

“Try and relax and enjoy the crisis”
Ashleigh Brilliant

In the space of a mere decade the 21st century has witnessed occurrences that few would have thought possible. September 11th and the War on Terror. The election of an African American US President. The Global Financial Collapse.  Indeed this new century is marked both socially and politically by the prospect of crisis and possibility in seemingly equal measure. Such themes of transformation link theoretically to critical theories and philosophies emphasizing the radical possibilities associated with dislocation, ranging from Deleuzian and more recently Badiouian notions of the “event” to Rancier’s idea of “politics” intervening against an existing order to Laclau and Mouffe’s concept of hegemonic dislocation. Each champions in their own way the ability of what Deleuze refers to as an “untimely” event to challenge and transform dominant understandings and social relations. 
Yet whether celebrating or lamenting this apparent head long rush into a new age, there remains a fundamental question which must be asked. Are these crisis and seemingly unprecedented social, political and organisational happenings a true prelude to dramatic ideological and social transformation? In short have they served to redefine the possible in our midst? Or are they by contrast merely another way in which power, through the concrete strategies of politics, seeks to maintain a status quo and its accompanying ideologies. This is especially relevant in the onslaught of a ubiquitous 24/7 communication culture which thrives on ever new crisis while often leaving unquestioned the deeper beliefs and practices shaping our present reality.
A key consideration in this respect is how the popular representation of the “unforeseen” and “unprecedented”, instantiated in ideas of the “event” and “crisis”, acts equally to challenge and paradoxically stabilize dominant socio-political orders. This reflects upon broader issues of the ways the articulation of the “event”, manifested in continuous fears of crisis or more positively that which is construed as “historically unprecedented”, are important, perhaps necessary, components of modern organisations and in turn practices of organising themselves. Increasingly work across the social sciences is recognizing the dynamic rather than simply stable character of order. Within both mainstream and critical studies of politics scholars emphasize the importance concretely of social movements (Oberschall, 1974; Foweraker, 1995) and philosophically values of “agonism” (Mouffe,   2005; Connolly, 2008) for stabilizing social relations.  This perspective echoes organisational studies revealing how forms of resistance and dis-identification reinforce rather than simply challenge power (Fleming and Spicer, 2003; Contu, 2008). Further, institutions themselves are more and more understood as never purely “fixed, but in motion, never resting and constantly trembling” (Linstead and Thanem, 2007). Finally, theorists are illuminating the deeper relation of the social’s fundamental contingency with the phenomena of order and ideological domination (Bloom and Dallyn, 2011).
This conference explores how ideas of the event are portrayed within mass culture for better understanding its function in structuring modern identity construction and social relations. Themes include

Re-thinking the theoretical relationship between order and event, specifically as related to themes of identity and ideology.
Examining the event in terms of popular representation of “crisis” and the “new”
Assessing the role of the “event” symbolically for shaping organisational practices and behaviour
Exploring themes of pluralism as it relates to the possibility and representation of the event
Empirically assessing how idea of the event is deployed tactically within strategies of organisational control and social regulation.
Understanding how public presentations of crisis and event are shaping modern narratives of progress and processes of ideological domination.
Relating these discussions to concrete issues such as the global financial downturn, climate change, and contemporary democratic politics.

To express interest in attending this event as an attendee please contact Peter Bloom (School of Business and Economics, Swansea University) at  HYPERLINK " mailto:(p.n.bloom /at/ swansea.ac.uk)" (p.n.bloom /at/ swansea.ac.uk). Spaces are limited thus first come, first served principles apply.




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