Events
Christian Klesse (Sociology, MMU)
'Notions of Love in Polyamory'
Tuesday, 29 January, 2-3:30pm
Coupland Building 3, Room LG10
Polyamory stands for a particular relationship philosophy, according to which it is valid and desirable to love more than one person. It thereby attempts to provide an ethical framework for a responsible practice of non-monogamy. Love is central to the discourse of polyamory. Drawing upon qualitative in-depth interviews with (primarily bisexual-identified) polyamorous men and women in the UK I explore aspects of the notion of love evoked in polyamory. Poly-identified people endorse a particular emotionality within the frame of which commitment, intimacy, and friendship appear as important values of erotic or sexual partnership. The emphasis of the element of ‘love’ in polyamory is further one of the major ways by which poly-identified people tend to distinguish their relationship style from other forms of non-monogamy.
Juan Jimenez Anca (Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies)
'Forbidden talk on love: what happened to the other of power?'
Friday, 7 March, 10:30am-12noon
Arthur Lewis Building, Room 2.0.17
As most people would agree power is something which cultural criticism cannot do without. Yet, what happens when power literally monopolises our speech? This paper starts considering the well-known Foucauldian statement that "power is everywhere" in discourse, society and culture; although it will pay attention to some critics' concern about the risk of turning power into a "metaphysical substrate". By reading closely Foucault's "Discipline and Punish", a slip in the text (a kiss) unveils a thread which is worth following. This thread will take us to discover a plausible alternative which resists being captured by the logic of the will to power/knowledge. However, as we will see in the case of Weber and García Lorca, this alternative does not come easily and it can only be acknowledged when we shift towards tragic thinking. By putting together (in this order) Foucault, Weber and García Lorca the thread towards a more promising life is unveiled. Yet it will always unfold as an agonising conflict with the political devices of our time.