Paul Virilio - Lectures / Workshops / Seminars

University of Disaster: (3 Credits)

Paul Virilio

Description: One must go to Paul Virilio these days. Most philosophers find themselves speaking wherever they can find an audience, but not with a philosopher who is tired of the yes-men and yes-women of the screen world. When one’s preoccupation is that of the dromosophere, the acceleration of reality, one needs a distance to re-configure the impossible trajectory of what is taking place. Against the immediacy of transmission, space-time seems to be obliterated by the impact of its own immediacy of transmission. So one finds the philosopher of speed, hunkered down in his own self-made bunker against the world of the sound bite and the increasing demand of the “answer.” It is not that Virilio doesn’t want to spread the word about his “grey ecology”. It’s that he wants the time to plead his case. The cinematic tele-objective space with its ever increasing pull on the sped-up attention span of the dromoscopic citizenry, does not leave much room for distance, that is for reflection. In the world of immediacy, it’s the impact that has a power, and the impact for Virilio is an uninhabitable position. One cannot perceive against the impact, the accident. One must step back from the medusa of progress and stare it down with a mirror. It’s not that Virilio is against technology or speed. (He has a nice Jaguire.) Virilio’s concern is about proportions and freedom.

Objectives: The goal of the Workshop is to bring Virilio together with you and facilitate a productive interaction. Virilio is free to address whatever comes to his mind and he is certainly open to your comments and questions. In the French system the usual approach would be somebody delivers a paper (or statement) and the next speaker does the same (just a bit shorter). Rarely is there a discussion, but this should not stop us to behave like we always do as long as you don't get intimidated by the French Master style - live and let live. This is to say, it will be the questions you have which made this workshop different. Not the scholarly questions or questions demonstrating how smart you are! But rather the existential questions, that what you really want to know and cannot figure out yourself, that what Virilio's work incited in you, the questions crucial to your own work. Certainly it should have some connection to Virilio's thinking - why would he otherwise be intrigued by it. But it can and should be your question.

Readings:

Virilio, Paul, Hubertus von Amelunxen (Editor) and Drew Burk (Translator). Grey Ecology. Atropos Press. April 15, 2009. Hardcover, 218 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0981946275. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Virilio, Paul and Orlan. Transgression Transfiguration. Une & l'autre. 2009. Paperback, 105 pages, Language French, ISBN: 2357290161. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Virilio Paul and Raymond Depardon. Native Lands. Thames & Hudson. May 1, 2009. Paperback, 250 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0500976880. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Virilio, Paul. University of Disaster. Polity. December 21, 2009. Hardcover, 160 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0745645046. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr. Paperback, ISBN: 0745645054. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.