From the turn of the century UK-based human geography in particular has witnessed a rapid upsurge of interest in new conceptualisations of, for example, practice, performance, politics, embodiment and materiality. This reading group regularly meets to read philosophical works and trans-disciplinary materials that can inform the ongoing evolution of 'non-representational geographies'. Readings are rich and varied, for example: significant discussion within the group (and beyond) has been inspired by continental philosophers such as Badiou, Deleuze, Nancy and Ranciere as well as with recent developments in what has come to be known as 'Speculative Materialism/Realism'. Whilst the reading group is formally situated in the School of Geographical Sciences, regular participants come from across the Humanities and Social Sciences and from other institutions. We welcome participation from those with a keen interest in critically engaging with contemporary philosophical debates in the humanities, social sciences and science.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Gilles Deleuze's 'L'Abecedaire'

Hey all,

Thought this DVD might be of interest to the group:



Blurb below:

Although Gilles Deleuze never wanted a film to be made about him, he agreed to Claire Parnet’s proposal to film a series of conversations in which each letter of the alphabet would evoke a word: From A (as in Animal) to Z (as in Zigzag). These DVDs, elegantly transtlated and subtitled in English, make these conversations available for English-speaking audiences for the first time.

In dialogue with Parnet (a journalist and former student of Deleuze), the philosopher exhibited the modest and thrilling transparency that his seminal works (such as Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus) reveal. The sessions were taped when Deleuze was already terminally ill; he and Parnet agreed that the film would not be shown publicly until after his death. The awareness of mortalityfloats through the dialogues, making them not just intellectually stimulating but also emotionally engaging. Because Parnet knew Deleuze so well, she was able to draw him out--as no one else had--to what might be the 1001st plateau: a place of brilliance, rigor, and charm.

In "A as in Animal," for example, Deleuze vents his hatred of pets: "A bark," he declares, "really seems to me the stupidest cry." Instead, he praises the tick: ". . . in a nature teeming with life, [the tick] extracts three things": light, smell, and touch. This, he claims, in a sense is philosophy. "And that is your life’s dream?" Parnet wryly asks. "That's what constitutes a world," he replies.