Chantal Mouffe: Agonistic Spaces

16 November 2012 / Acting Archives, Conversation

part I

part II

Chantal Mouffe presents a lecture on the basic tenets of her theory of politics and how artistic practices can intervene in political processes. She first lays the philosophical ground for her lecture: the critique of Essentialism and an introduction to a discursive approach, touching on the work of Freud, Lacan, Wittgenstein, and Gadamer. Secondly, she introduces and discusses her theory of an agonistic model of democracy. In this framework, she explores the role of artistic practice within the political process and its ability to intervene and help change established hegemonies through antagonistic positioning.