‘Failing ‘Theory’: The neo-Psychology of Cultural Studies’

Is anyone going to this? I wish I could go to ask some pointed questions about Massumi’s work as Bell has this critique. Bell doesn’t seem to understand what Massumi means by ‘incorporeal’, or how when paired with ‘materiality’ we should actually, first, turn to Foucault’s work to understand what is meant, and then to Deleuze’s work on ‘sense’ and the ‘event’. However, Massumi’s book is very difficult forthose without the required reading resources and instead of the ‘incorporeality of the concrete’, Massumi may have better been served by explaining the ‘concrete of incorporeality’ first.

Date: Thursday 3 April

Venue: Seminar Room 2.330, Level 2, Building 10, UTS.
Walking from Central Station along Broadway (heading west), turn right after the UTS Tower on to Jones Street. Building 10 is then on your left.
Entry is free and there is no need to RSVP

TIME: 4.00 – 6.00

Philip Bell (Media and Communications UNSW)
‘Failing ‘Theory’: The neo-Psychology of Cultural Studies’

Abstract: I argue that many of the central postulates and most popular arguments of Anglophone Capital T-Theory fail as realist Psychology and/or as coherent meta-theory. Some are idealist and ontologically fanciful to the point of incoherence. Students of ‘post-disciplinary’ Humanities need to be given conceptual tools with which critically to confront these intimidating modes of analysis.

Bio: Philip Bell is Emeritus Professor of Media and Communications at UNSW. He has published widely (over more years than he cares to remember) on Australian media and on methodological issues in the Social Sciences