• What we'll do Contemporary Dialogues on the Left – Book Discussion Every Other Monday March 12 through July 16,[masked] pm Harold Washington Library 6th Floor North Study Room Critical Theory Chicago widens the discussion that began with Hegemony and Socialist Strategy to include theorists in discussion with each other. So often, theorists, philosophers, or non-fiction texts are read as stand-alone arguments, but they actually exist as just one part of a larger discourse–a discourse with its own assumptions, definitions, and practices. CTC will discuss the back and forth between well-known theorists Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau, and Slavoj Zizek in Contingency, Hegemony, Universality. Exercise your reading and critical thinking skills and challenge your assumptions about the political left and what kinds of discourses are out there. Discussion Schedule March 12 - Introduction through “Restaging the Universal: Hegemony and the Limits of Formalism” Judith Butler March 26 - “Identity and Hegemony: The Role of Universality in the Constitution of Political Logics” Ernesto Laclau April 9 - “Class Struggle or Postmodernism? Yes, please!” Slavoj Zizek April 23 - “Competing Universalities” Judith Butler May 7 - “Structure, History and the Political” Ernesto Laclau May 21 - “Da Capo senza Fine” Slavoj Zizek June 4 - “Dynamic Conclusion” Judith Butler June 18 - “Constructing Universality” Ernesto Laclau July 16 - “Holding the Place” Slavoj Zizek CTC Link: https://criticaltheorychicago.wordpress.com/?p=1032&preview=true Text is available in book stores, libraries, or purchase online. A PDF is available here: https://monoskop.org/images/5/53/Butler_Judith_Laclau_Ernesto_Zizek_Slavoj_Contingency_Hegemony_Universality_2000.pdf • What to bring • Important to know