Commitment and complicity in cultural theory and practice / edited by Beg̈um Özden Firat, Sarah De Mul and Sonja Van Wichelen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Firat, Begüm Özden.

Mul, Sarah de.

Wichelen, Sonja van.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Culture--Philosophy.

Culture.

Physical Description:

ix, 197 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Summary:

While 'freedom', 'equality' and 'humanity' are often considered central concepts to committed scholarship, these same concepts are also being deployed globally in legitimizing contemporary wars. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to reformulate the notion of commitment as inherently intertwined with various forms of complicity. The chapters collected in this volume look at ways in which commitment can be 'saved' as a critical practice and also uncover instances in which commitment fails to operate properly, becoming an ethical rhetoric that serves the reconfirmation of the status quo. How can we distinguish different forms and norms of commitment? What to do when commitment becomes a desirable fetish or a good in itself, when commitment becomes, so to speak, 'commitment-kitsch'? Including contributions from acclaimed young scholars and internationally recognized theorists such as Sara Ahmed, Mieke Bal, Timothy Brennan, Elleke Boehmer and Rey Chow, this volume aims to open up a new realm where such pertinent questions can be discussed.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Commitment and Complicity / Begüm Özden Firat, Sarah De Mul, Sonja van Wichelen 1

Part I Rethinking Commitment

2 Commitment as a Nonperformative / Sara Ahmed 23

3 Commitment or Commitment-Kitsch? Rethinking the 'Woman Question', Agency, and Feminist Politics / Sonja van Wichelen 45

4 'Human' in the Age of Disposable People: The Ambiguous Import of Kinship and Education in Blind Shaft / Rey Chow 64

Part II Commitment and Complicity in the Production of Knowledge

5 The Middle East and the Disciplinary (Re)Production of Knowledge / Andrea Teti 81

6 Empty Versatility and the Art of the Circular Reading / Timothy Brennan 102

7 The Commitment to Face / Mieke Bal 120

Part III Putting Complicity to Work

8 The Necessity of 'Terror' / Elleke Boehmer 139

9 Putting Complicity to Work for Accountability: An Australian Case Study / Fiona Probyn-Rapsey 154

10 Layers of Labor in Cultural Production: Notes on Aesthetics and Commitment from the Transparent Factory / Octavi Comeron 167

11 The Politics of 'Contemporary Islamic Art' / Begüm Özden Firat 182.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230221956

0230221955

OCLC:

318670709