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Sovereignty and Sacrifice: Agamben and His Interlocutors
Sovereignty and Sacrifice: Agamben and His Interlocutors
Taught by Will (Acid Horizon)
In this seminar we will plunge the depths of one of the most consequential major works of philosophy in this century, Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer project. This seminar will find itself at the intersection of theories of sovereignty, sacrifice, and the human being. We will examine what the implications of the notion of the “political animal” from Ancient Greece to our own time. We will walk through Agamben’s investigation of the history of the body politic and the “biopolitical” kernel that rests in its core. At the center of Agamben’s work is the question of the nature of political exception. Who is considered a member of the polis? Is the sovereign a part of this political body?
In order to deepen our engagement with Agamben’s work we will also be tackling the work of his interlocutors – ranging from Aristotle to Hobbes to Foucault. This will enable us to have a broader grasp of the stakes of Agamben’s work and why it must be grappled with.
Homo Sacer is an extremely broad project, which will give an opening to seminar attendees interested in everything from political science to ontology to theology to acquire an historical perspective that is truly distinct. It will also invite attendees to provide their perspective and respective expertise to this seminar. Though we may all come from different corners of the world, for Agamben we all may, at any point, become homo sacer.
The course is taught by Will, co-host of Acid Horizon and author at RevoltingBodies, whose work focuses on the work of Michel Foucault, biopolitics, the philosophy of disability, ontology, and anarchy.
Course Schedule
Session 1: Saturday, September 6 @ 3PM to 6PM EST
Session 2: Saturday, October 4
Session 3: Saturday, November 1
Session 4: Saturday, December 6
All sessions will be held live via Zoom.
Students will receive permanent access to all recorded lectures, one bonus session recording, and supplementary materials.
Sovereignty and Sacrifice: Agamben and His Interlocutors
Taught by Will (Acid Horizon)
In this seminar we will plunge the depths of one of the most consequential major works of philosophy in this century, Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer project. This seminar will find itself at the intersection of theories of sovereignty, sacrifice, and the human being. We will examine what the implications of the notion of the “political animal” from Ancient Greece to our own time. We will walk through Agamben’s investigation of the history of the body politic and the “biopolitical” kernel that rests in its core. At the center of Agamben’s work is the question of the nature of political exception. Who is considered a member of the polis? Is the sovereign a part of this political body?
In order to deepen our engagement with Agamben’s work we will also be tackling the work of his interlocutors – ranging from Aristotle to Hobbes to Foucault. This will enable us to have a broader grasp of the stakes of Agamben’s work and why it must be grappled with.
Homo Sacer is an extremely broad project, which will give an opening to seminar attendees interested in everything from political science to ontology to theology to acquire an historical perspective that is truly distinct. It will also invite attendees to provide their perspective and respective expertise to this seminar. Though we may all come from different corners of the world, for Agamben we all may, at any point, become homo sacer.
The course is taught by Will, co-host of Acid Horizon and author at RevoltingBodies, whose work focuses on the work of Michel Foucault, biopolitics, the philosophy of disability, ontology, and anarchy.
Course Schedule
Session 1: Saturday, September 6 @ 3PM to 6PM EST
Session 2: Saturday, October 4
Session 3: Saturday, November 1
Session 4: Saturday, December 6
All sessions will be held live via Zoom.
Students will receive permanent access to all recorded lectures, one bonus session recording, and supplementary materials.