In recent years, the work of Gilbert Simondon has received greater attention both in France and internationally following the re-publication of his work over the past decade. The importance of Simondon’s thought to the work of French philosophers including Gilles Deleuze and Bernard Stiegler has become increasingly discussed and analysed both in France and in the English-speaking world. At the same time, Simondon’s work has been taken up on its own terms, recognized for the unique contributions that he made to the philosophy of technology, phenomenology and social philosophy. Forthcoming translations of his major works into English will surely instigate a long-overdue introduction of his work within a much broader international community of scholars.

We are currently accepting submissions that examine how Simondon’s work has intersected with other projects in critical theory, cultural studies, contemporary social theory and beyond. Thus, in keeping with the theme of “transduction, translation and transformation,” we are not looking for papers that merely rehearse the writings of Simondon, but projects that transform and translate his concepts and thoughts into new areas of work and new forms of engagement. We equally invite participation from experts on Simondon’s work, as well as those interested in discovering it for the first time.

Confirmed Keynote: Mark Hansen (Duke University), Jean-Hugues Barthelemy (Brest)

Possible presentations could engage with Simondon’s work connected with various themes including:

- Media, technology and technics;
- Information, its history and futures;
- Theories and practices of individuation and affect;
- Bio-social ontologies;
- Post-representational philosophy;
- Phenomenology and materialism;
- Systems Theory;
- Simondon and other thinkers (Deleuze, Merleau-Ponty, Baudrillard,
Stielger, Stengers…)

The conference format will primarily consist of paper presentations, roundtable discussions and keynotes, but interested participants are welcome to propose alternative forms of involvement. Those interested in participating are asked to submit at 300 word abstract, outlining the subject of their contribution. Please send these abstracts to the
attention of the conference organizers by January 30th, 2010 via email to the address, simondon.conference@gmail.com. Accepted proposals will be considered for inclusion in a future publication drawn from the conference proceedings.

Conference Organizers: Bernard Geoghegan (Northwestern University, USA), Mark Hayward (American University of Paris, France), and Robert Mitchell (Duke University, USA)

http://www.simondonconference.org/

Deleuze without a doubt became a major figure in various regions of contemporary philosophy. Not only continental philosophy, mostly influenced by phenomenological tradition is adopting Deleuze’s work but also disciplines which seem to be out of reach from mainstream academic reception these days.

Speculative Realism, Speculative Materialism or Object-Oriented Philosophy, even though these young ‘disciplines’ are actually loosely connected only by the rejection of what Meillassoux called correlationism are dealing with Deleuze’s ideas – be it in an affirmative or in a negating way. These ways of working with Deleuze seem to offer controverse forms in continuing Deleuze’s ways of thinking or demonstrating sources of friction which enriches the reception one way or the other. Deleuze’s work seems to become a landmark between and in philosohical disciplines once again.

Not only a dedicated and unique reception but to which extent the concepts of Speculative Realism, Speculative Materialism and Object-Oriented Philosophy (re-)thinking deleuzian ideas is very intriguing.

Some questions emerge from the speculative approaches which deal with Deleuze: Is another way of perceiving Deleuze’s work and combining it with more or less unexpected thinkers such as e.g. Alfred North Whitehead and Bruno Latour amongst others appropriate if one keeps the so called ‘traditional’ reception from a phenomenological or poststructuralist point of view in mind? Moreover – do concepts such as the molecular, the fold, multiplicities and difference as such offer junctions for deliberations that were once excluded by default? E.g. can Deleuze really be called a ‘hyper-realist’?

What kind of light is shet on keyfigures such as Tarde, Simondon or Bergson, just to name a few, who are evoked by Deleuze to enhance and develop his own concepts? Do those lines dissipate or do they have to be reconsidered?

Is ‘traditional’ reception when it wants ‘to put Deleuze to work’ responsible for a more popular perception of certain concepts such as the Rhizome which tend to fail? In which respect will deleuzian concepts enrich academia when thought of in a new way, e.g. social-ontological ideas based on assemblage theory, the social machine or the junction to philosophical pragmatism which already reflect how these notions are able to establish themselves in related disciplines?

And finally: Continental philosophy is challenged by speculative realism especially in terms of  being reproached for not having scrutinised the very core of most of its approaches i.e. Meillassoux’s claim of correlationism. Is contemporary continental philosophy or post-continental-philosophy when freed from traditional boundaries, especially in the case of Deleuze, on the verge of creating deviating access to inherited questions such as subjectivation, the underestimated status  of objects since Kant or of course the real itself, without falling back into naive realism?

We would like to encourage all authors who have or want to deal with Deleuze’s philosophy througout those various and diverse regions and perspectives of philosophy as outlined above to submit their concepts in order to create a picture of what recent Deleuze reception does or is able to look like. Especially if it is not entirely focused on the alleged roots from which Deleuze seemed to have ‘grown up’ resp. if we try to sidestep for a moment the perhaps not that solid categories under which his work was subsumed for some time now.

Please submit your papers until April 30^th, 2010 to diel@tausendplateaus.de

Call for Papers DI3 PDF – Feel free to distribute!

The philosopher Michel Serres once described Gilles Deleuze as “an excellent example of the dynamic movement of free and inventive thinking.” Without a doubt, Deleuze was one of the most singular and prolific philosophers of the 20^th century. It is no surprise then, that the impact of Deleuze’s thought continues to reverberate throughout a host of diverse disciplines including Philosophy, Literature, Political Theory, Law, Visual Arts, Film Studies, and Education. With recognition of Deleuze’s influence in these various fields, and in the spirit of Serres’ assessment, this  conference seeks to motivate an exploration of Deleuze’s inventive thinking in the particular areas of politics and ethics.

Thus, this conference will serve as a platform, bringing together graduate students and faculty interested in engaging, developing, or critically examining the political and ethical dimensions of Deleuze’s work. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: immanent vs. transcendent criteria in ethics, political theory, law and jurisprudence; the role of the State in relation to capitalism; the possibility of social forms of organization radically exterior to the State forms; the positive or productive function of desire as a creative force directly invested in the social field; the problem of micro-fascism with respect to individual and collective processes of subjectivation; the forms of resistance enabled by minor literature and other processes of becoming-minor; the conception of cartography as a critical and transformative social analytic of power relations. This two-day conference will consist of four panels, each with three to four accepted graduate students presenting, three keynote addresses, and a wine and cheese reception.

Keynote Speakers

We will host three preeminent Deleuze scholars as keynote speakers: Daniel Smith and Arkady Plotnitsky, from Purdue University, and Eugene Holland, from Ohio State University. Dr. Smith is known for national and international projects including translations of Deleuze and Klossowski and several works on Deleuze leading up to the forthcoming publication of his book on Deleuze’s philosophical system. Dr. Holland specializes in social theory and modern French literature, history, and culture. He has published widely including a 1999 volume on Deleuze and Guattari’s Anti-Oedipus and a forthcoming book on Nomad Citizenship. Dr. Plotnitsky has contributed numerous publications on Deleuze and on the topics of science, literature, and philosophy. He is currently working on a book entitled Space-Time-Matter-Thought: Non-Euclideanism from Riemann and Deleuze, and Beyond.

Conference Eligibility and Submission Process

We welcome submissions from graduate students of any discipline working on the political or ethical facets of Deleuze’s philosophy. Submissions will be accepted via email at phil-lit-conference@purdue.edu. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010. Authors should attach both the paper and an abstract (500 word limit) as a Word document. The author’s name and affiliation should be omitted from the body of the paper. In addition, the author should include the text of the abstract in the body of the message. Be sure to include the following information in the email: full name, departmental affiliation, degree program, and the title of your paper. Accepted authors will receive notification no later than February 15, 2010.

Contact Information

For updates, please visit http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/idis/phil-lit/conference/. All additional questions can be directed to Erin Kealey or Rocky Clancy via email at: phil-lit-conference@purdue.edu.

Centre for the Humanities at Utrecht University

Call for Papers

The third annual International Deleuze Studies Conference will explore how the three creative domains of thought – art, science and philosophy – connect, continue and create together.

The visionary quality of the profoundly generous and complex philosophy of Gilles Deleuze may provide new and productive ways of understanding connections, in a world that is increasingly globally linked and technologically mediated.

Central questions addressed at the conference are: in what ways do disciplines meet and interfere with one another?  What kind of methodological and political implications do their dynamic encounters entail?  What are the limits of transdisciplinary connections, relations and fields?

Possible topics for papers may include:

-          Methodological interfaces between science and the Humanities

-          Art as Philosophical Practice

-          Urban planning and architecture

-          Nomadic politics and Social Sustainability

-          Neuroscience and Culture

-          Aesthetics of Life Sciences

-          The Policy-making implications of eco-philosophy and Triple Ecologies

Length of presentations: max. 20 minutes.  Panel proposals are welcome.

Please send your abstract (max. 200 words) and a short bio to callforpapers@deleuze-amsterdam.nl before the 1^st of March, 2010.  Confirmation of acceptance will be emailed before April 15^th, 2010.  Selections will take place on the basis of the number of panel presentations.

Deleuze Camp 4

Preceding the conference, students can participate in a summer school: Deleuze Camp 4 “Mille Gilles”. The camp will take place from 5-9 July 2010 in Amsterdam. Places are limited.

For conference and/or camp registration and further information, please refer to the conference website: www.deleuze-amsterdam.nl

Download Full PDF: Zagorin – Harman’s Latour (Review)

Inundated by the media spectacle surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, we are reminded that much of this pop star’s power and ubiquity stemmed from his careful use of iconographic images. Take, for instance, his sequined gloved hand. From the white glove of a clown to that of a cop, the Hamburger Helper mascot to Mickey Mouse, an illuminated hand has a certain existential appeal that surpass ordinary significance and reveals the threshold of a more powerful order. As if disembodied from its own flesh, a gloved hand seems to float before the body, drawing the gaze of others and arresting their movements (e.g. the eye of the hamsa; the white glove of a traffic cop). Likewise other parts of the body have been used by artists and statesmen as icons of their various regimes: Dali’s lips-couch, Carroll’s Cheshire grin, the eye of Ra, the boot of Italy, Hitler’s saluting arm, etc. Accordingly, Semiophagy invites articles that explore the existential allure of these incorporeal body parts and their theoretical implications. From Lacan’s phallus to Deleuze and Guattari’s floating eyes of the ‘white wall/black hole’ system, Bataille’s Story of the Eye to Žižiek’s Organs without Bodies, many philosophers and theorists have tried to place these severed parts. Building on their work, what is the power and allure of a disembodied organ?

Possible Themes for Papers:

By what techniques do organs detach themselves from the body?
How are disembodied organs used to organize and territorialize power?
Cloning and the techniques of mass-producing organs.
Amputation, and the semiotics of the body.
Bodily symbols and their uses.
Media images and use of body parts.
Performance art and illuminated organs.
Historical constructions of our body parts.
Feminist and post-structuralist critiques of the organization of the body.
The relation of artificial and virtual limbs and appendages to flesh.

Please forward any materials related to these themes by Oct. 1, 2009 to doctordrohan@gmail.com.

SEMIOPHAGY VOLUME II

In this volume:

ARTICLES

“iThink Therefore Everything Is: A Brief Phenomenology of the Spirit of New Technology”

 – An Excerpt from the Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of the New Medium
 by Christopher M. Drohan
“Of Oxen and Obama” by 
Jeremy Fernando
“A Primer on Oncontology” 
by Kane X. Faucher
“An Emotionalist Manifesto”
 by James Desrosier

VISUAL ART

“Letters from the Communique: The Factory”
 by Kenny Png
“Telegenetic Images”
 by Kenneth Feinstein

REVIEWS

“Trial on T/Error: A Review of Jeremy Fernando’s
Reflections on (T)error”
 by Julia Hölzl

Location: Room 0.31, Humanities Building, Cardiff University

Conference organiser: Aidan Tynan

Some of the most influential theoretical contributions of the last several decades have sought to formulate the relationship between the body and its symbolic environments through the concept of the symptom. Perhaps the most influential of these was Lacan’s conception of speech and desire, in which the symptom, as signifier, discloses a set of meanings which disturb conscious discourse. Deleuze and Guattari’s subsequent insistence that schizophrenia should not be interpreted in negative terms, as the signs of a breakdown, but as the positivity of desire breaking through to a new, possibly revolutionary, plane of existence specifically attacked the psychoanalytic notion of the symptom by tying it to the structures of social repression. Beyond these debates, the symptom has figured in the theory of literature, historical materialism, embodiment and sexuality, and dialectics. This symposium seeks to situate the concept of the symptom in relation to these theoretical and political issues in order to ask what the symptom means for us today. How has the concept of the symptom persisted and how can it help us understand the relationships between pathology and thought, desire and language, praxis and theory, politics and art in our present age? The event will consist of a small number of concurrent panels, plenary panels, and roundtable discussion. Contributions engaging critically and polemically with Deleuze from a range of diverse backgrounds are especially welcome. Submissions will be considered for inclusion in a special issue of Deleuze Studies.

Participants at the event will include Ian Buchanan (Cardiff), James Williams (Dundee), and Christian Kerslake (Middlesex).

Topics may include, but are by no means limited to, the following:

• The post-psychoanalytic critique of Freud
• What kind of sign is the symptom? (the symptom and semiology)
• AIDS and the virus
• Bioethics, biopolitics, and jurisprudence
• Althusser’s symptomatic reading of Marx
• The symptom and structural causality
• Jameson’s conception of the symptom in the dialectical understanding
of literature and history
• The symptom as antinomy
• Nietzschean symptomatology (the philosopher as cultural physician)
• Lacan and hysteria
• Desire in speech and language
• Zizek and the critique of ideology (did Marx really invent the symptom?)
• The symptom as universal exception
• Derrida, the pharmakon, and autoimmunity
• Deleuze and Guattari’s critique of Lacanian psychoanalysis
• Deleuze’s project for an aesthetic clinic (critique et clinique)

Papers should last no longer than 20 minutes. Please send 250-word proposals by 31st July 2009 to symptom@cf.ac.uk

The International Society for the Study of Time (ISST) seeks proposals for presentations at its 2010 conference in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, on the theme of Origins and Futures. The ISST, renowned for its interdisciplinary scope, welcomes contributions from all scholarly, creative, or professional perspectives. Synthetic, foundational work is especially welcome.

All Information here.