Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:32:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Brendali Dias.pdf: 767771 bytes, checksum: b622b95065a7a3edb0725ebcd4372952 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-14 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This project aims to criticize the logic of the consumption capitalism in the contemporary society. Our criticism takes as its major premise the harmfulness of the way this logic is kept through the promise of completeness and foreclosure of object a. The research was developed as from the Lacanian psychoanalytic theory based on Slavoj i ek, which makes use of it to propose a critical social and political theory against the dictates of the logic of capital. i ek points out that the logic of capital keeps itself as from a proposal which takes the subject to consider that it is impossible to escape this logic and with that becomes conniving with it to face the consumption as the only way to calm his/her afflictions. As a result of this pursuit to calm his/her afflictions, the subject is seduced by the promise of completeness, facing the offers for objects/goods as a way to feel welcomed by social through them, consuming indiscriminately. Based on i ek s arguments, who uses as a base for his criticism the Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, we discuss the place of the subject in this logic, and his/her alternatives to escape from it. We put in doubt the consumerism in capitalism, raising the inquiry about why the subject places himself/herself in such a complacent way towards this logic. We reflect, yet, on the use made by the capitalist system of the technologies associated to science, which have been presented by the media as capable of generating in subject a completeness state, which is never found, leading the society to severe pathologies. These pathologies, faced as symptom by psychoanalysis, are pointed out as rebellion against this logic. The symptom, therefore, manifests itself as a way for the subject to show his/her dissatisfaction with the logic of capital, being also the chance for the subject to escape from it. Finally, we introduce i ek s proposal to bring a political position of the subject against the impossible of the logic of capital to enable alternatives which turn possible escaping from this logic, placing the need to risk the impossible beyond the imposed by the logic of capital / Este trabalho pretende fazer uma crítica à lógica do capitalismo de consumo da sociedade contemporânea. Nossa crítica toma como premissa principal a nocividade da forma de manutenção desta lógica pela promessa de completude e foraclusão do objeto a. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida a partir da teoria psicanalítica lacaniana à luz de Slavoj i ek, que dela se utiliza para propor uma teoria social e política crítica aos ditames da lógica do capital. i ek aponta que a lógica do capital se mantém a partir de uma proposta que leva o sujeito a considerar que há uma impossibilidade de escapar desta lógica e com isso torna-se conivente com ela ao encarar o consumo como única forma de aplacar suas angústias. Em conseqüência dessa busca de aplacar suas angústias, o sujeito é seduzido pela promessa de completude, encarando as ofertas de objetos/mercadorias como uma maneira de se sentir acolhido pelo social a partir delas, consumindo indiscriminadamente. A partir das colocações de i ek, que usa como base de sua crítica a teoria psicanalítica lacaniana, discutimos o lugar do sujeito nesta lógica, e suas alternativas para escapar dela. Problematizamos o consumismo no capitalismo, levantando um questionamento sobre o por quê de o sujeito se posicionar de maneira tão complacente diante dessa lógica. Refletimos, ainda, sobre o uso que o sistema capitalista faz das tecnologias aliadas à ciência, que têm sido apresentadas pela mídia como capazes de gerar um estado de completude, que nunca é encontrado, conduzindo a sociedade a graves patologias. Essas patologias, encaradas como sintoma pela psicanálise, são apontadas como revolta contra essa lógica. O sintoma, portanto, revelase como forma de o sujeito mostrar seu descontentamento com a lógica do capital, sendo também a chance de o sujeito escapar dela. Finalmente, apresentamos a proposta de i ek em fazer emergir um posicionamento político do sujeito contra o impossível da lógica do capital para possibilitar alternativas que permitam escapar desta lógica colocando a necessidade de se arriscar o impossível para além do imposto pela lógica do capital

Critical theory has historically situated the beginning of the “modern” era of subjectivity near the end of the seventeenth century. Michel Foucault himself once said in an interview that modernity began with the writings of the late seventeenth-century philosopher Benedict Spinoza. But an examination of early modern English utopian literature demonstrates that a modern notion of subjectivity can be found in texts that pre-date Spinoza. In this dissertation, I examine four utopian texts—Thomas More’s Utopia, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis, Margaret Cavendish’s Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World, and Henry Neville’s Isle of Pines—through the paradigm of Jacques Lacan’s tripartite model of subjectivity—the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real. To mediate between Lacan’s psychoanalytic model and the historical aspects of these texts, such as their relationship with print culture and their engagement with political developments in seventeenth-century England, I employ the theories of the Marxist-Lacanian philosopher, Slavoj Žižek, to show that “early modern” subjectivity is in in fact no different from critical theory’s “modern” subject, despite pre-dating the supposed inception of such subjectivity. In addition, I engage with other prominent theorists, including Fredric Jameson, Jacques Derrida, and Donna Haraway, to come to an understanding about the ways in which critical theory can be useful to understand not only early modern literature, but also the contemporary, “real” world and the subjectivity we all seek to attain.

No description available.

The numerous and varied conspiracy theories which circulate in the contemporary discourse are subject to hyperstition, insofar as they are grouped into wider, more elaborate structures. Some of them become hierarchic to such a degree, that they may, in Michael Barkun's typology, be labeled as "superconspiracy" constructs. No author is more prolific and systematic in the crafting of these constructs than the guru of anglophone conspiracy theory belief, David Icke. The work attempts to keep as its object of study the work of David Icke and his "reptoid hypothesis," as it is effectively one of the most elaborate and baroque conspiracy theories which populate contemporary political discourse. It is Icke's oeuvre which this thesis attempts to recontextualize within the confines of critical social theory and Žižekian psychoanalysis. The existence of a "paranoid style" as professed by Richard J. Hofstadter can be noted throughout the history of western culture, from the Homeric gods, scheming behind the scenes, to its modern incarnations culminating in the superconspiracy constructs of David Icke, Alex Jones, and others. The work focuses not on specific conspiracy theories and their claim to facticity, but rather attempts to trace the structural features of Icke's construct and establish their underlying...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:18:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Anderson Schirmer.pdf: 890150 bytes, checksum: 1be1321cd1326f024ac474c371e5d85b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-10 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The São Paulo Gay, Lésbian, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual LGBT Pride Parade, in a little less than 10 years in existence, has shown itself to be the largest expression of the Brazilian Homosexual Movement. The social image of the Gay Parade is expressed through the discourse for demands and the playful model of the celebration, which has divided public opinion and the militants. The demonstration aims to raise the visibility of the sexual identity which each category represents. In 1999 as Association was created to organize the event and to promote other same-sex inclusion policies within the framework of Politics of Identities. This dissertation aimed to characterize the discourse of the APOGLBT, articulating it with the theme of Politics of Identity and in addition, to undertake a critique of the Politics of Identity presenting a counterpoint through psychoanalysis. We will discuss how in the models of particular causes there is the risk to exclude the subject and how the taking of Identity with the political statute often reconstructs stereotypes (and new prejudices) and binds the Movement to the shackles of the agendas of the State and the Market. The theoretical reference used is Fredian-Lancanian, with recourse also to other psychoanalytical authors, mentioning Slavoj i ek in particular / A Parada do Orgulho de Gays, Lésbicas. Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais de São Paulo, em pouco mais de 10 anos de existência, mostra-se ser atualmente a maior expressão do Movimento Homossexual Brasileiro. A imagem social da Parada Gay é expressa entre o discurso reivindicatório e o modelo lúdico da celebração, o que tem dividido a opinião pública e os militantes. A manifestação busca dar visibilidade à identidade sexual que cada categoria representa. Em 1999 foi criada uma Associação para organizar o evento e promover outras políticas de homo-inclusão, dentro do arcabouço das Políticas de Identidades. Esta dissertação buscou caracterizar o discurso da APOGLBT, articulando-o com o tema das Políticas de Identidade e, além disto, fazer uma crítica às Políticas de Identidade apresentando um contraponto pela psicanálise. Discutiremos como nos modelos das causas particulares arrisca-se excluir o sujeito e como a tomada da Identidade com estatuto de política muitas vezes reconstrói estereótipos (e novos preconceitos) e enlaça o Movimento às amarras do agenciamento do Estado e do Mercado. O referencial teórico utilizado é Freudo-Lacaniano, recorrendo também a outros autores psicanalistas, com destaque para Slavoj i e

This study brings the insights of Slavoj Žižek’s Lacan-inspired approach to bear upon a series of influential 20th century plays and their engagement with what Lacan calls the Real. The plays to be explored share a focus on experiences, events or encounters which transcend, exceed, disrupt, and in some cases shatter characters’ normal, familiar realities. Examined through the lens of Žižek, these confrontations with the sublime and the fantastic reveal a crucial relation to the plays’ contemporary contexts, prompting us to “look awry” upon the dynamics of our own symbolically-regulated reality and the ever-changing and precarious nature of our relation to it. Similarly crucial is the relation of the Lacanian Real to our theatrical forms and modes of perception in the theatre. In staging “encounters with the Real,” these plays prompt us simultaneously to explore the ways in which the Real operates —and “appears” — in our own theatrical experience, ensnaring our gaze and the force of our desire. The study offers a Žižekian approach to works including Peter Shaffer’s Equus, John Mighton’s Possible Worlds, S. An-sky’s The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds, Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker, Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Enigma Variations.

Within the science fiction genre, utopian as well as dystopian experiments have found equal representation. This balanced treatment of two diametrically opposed social constructs results from a focus on the future for which this particular genre is well known. Philip K. Dick’s VALIS, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Samuel R. Delany’s Babel-17, and Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby, more aptly characterized as speculative fiction because of its use of magic against scientific social subjugation, each tackle dystopian qualities of contemporary society by analyzing the power that language possesses in the formation of the self and propagation of ideology. The utopian goals of these texts advocate for a return to the modernist metanarrative and a revision of postmodern cynicism because the authors look to the future for hopeful solutions to the social and ideological problems of today. Using Slavoj Žižek’s readings of Jacques Lacan and Theodor Adorno’s readings of Karl Marx for critical insight, I argue these four novels imagine language as the key to personal empowerment and social change. While not all of the novels achieve their utopian goals, they each evince a belief that the attempt belies a return to the modernist metanarrative and a rejection of postmodern helplessness. Thus, each novel imagines the revision of Žižek’s big Other through the remainders of Adorno’s inevitably failed revolutions, injecting hope in a literary period that had long since lost it.

This study brings the insights of Slavoj Žižek’s Lacan-inspired approach to bear upon a series of influential 20th century plays and their engagement with what Lacan calls the Real. The plays to be explored share a focus on experiences, events or encounters which transcend, exceed, disrupt, and in some cases shatter characters’ normal, familiar realities. Examined through the lens of Žižek, these confrontations with the sublime and the fantastic reveal a crucial relation to the plays’ contemporary contexts, prompting us to “look awry” upon the dynamics of our own symbolically-regulated reality and the ever-changing and precarious nature of our relation to it. Similarly crucial is the relation of the Lacanian Real to our theatrical forms and modes of perception in the theatre. In staging “encounters with the Real,” these plays prompt us simultaneously to explore the ways in which the Real operates —and “appears” — in our own theatrical experience, ensnaring our gaze and the force of our desire. The study offers a Žižekian approach to works including Peter Shaffer’s Equus, John Mighton’s Possible Worlds, S. An-sky’s The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds, Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker, Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Enigma Variations.

No description available.

This project is centered on two primary concerns. First, to reformulate Adornos notion of ethical subjectivity in a way that allows for a clearer articulation of his normative position, and second, to make it more relevant to our contemporary social context and advances in social theory. My claim is that we can achieve this by rejecting Adornos philosophical method (negative dialectics and constellations) by reading his ethics through the lens of ieks method which I am calling autoprohibition. As I will show, autoprohibition is ieks strategy for breaking the deadlock of the dialectic of enlightenment and its accompanying defeatist politics by developing a dialectical theory that neither rests on pure negation nor falls into the totalising and reifying trap of orthodox Marxism. It is in the context of autoprohibition that one can rearticulate Adornos normative imperatives (specifically, the imperative to end suffering, and to recognise the truth-content of the body) without these imperatives being negated by the totalising dictates of the dialectic of enlightenment. The best way to redeem the important normative components of Adornos formulation of ethical subjectivity is to reject its underlying philosophical method and resituate it in another. I frame this methodological shift as one from constellations to autoprohibition, which allows for a more positive articulation of Adornos ethics; a plan for actively practising an ethical life vs. one premised on the rejection of participating in an unethical system (which Adornos ethics amounts to on my account).