We plan to discuss the notion of 'victimhood' - a crucial notion in Law & culture - by reading excerpts from a recent book by the enigmatic octogenarian French philosopher Francois Laruelle, entitled 'A General Theory of Victims' (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0745679609,subjectCd-PL44.html)
We are particularly fascinated by the idea that, according to the blur on the publisher's website, Laruelle sets out to understand the victim as "no longer defined by suffering, but by the capacity to rise up against the world's persecution..." and his program to "... develop a new role for the intellectual in which he does not merely 'represent' the victim, but imitates or 'clones' it..."
On the 6th we will discuss Laruelle's book. On the 27th we will reconvene and discuss the implications of his theory by focusing on specific cultural texts or legal events.
As always, our meetings are non-chaired and open to students, staff, workers and soldiers.
All best,
Yasco, Frans-Willem, Tessa.
