Bray, Patrick M;
(2024)
‘How to read conspiratorially, or the hatred of theory’.
Modern & Contemporary France
10.1080/09639489.2024.2424821.
(In press).
Preview |
Text
Bray_How to read conspiratorially or the hatred of theory .pdf Download (628kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The Covid pandemic reaction has made manifest a hidden hatred of theory on the part of the consensual elite, specifically the ability of anyone to make a theory that would tie together loose strands of thought and make sense out of an apparently chaotic world. This article examines how the Manifeste exposes how certain concepts dear to the political Left (such as solidarity and mass movements) were complicit in the human rights abuses which began in 2020, while also pointing out the concepts that have endured as powerful tools in the struggle, but which the anonymous author/s of the Manifeste did not assign to any one thinker (biopolitics, deconstruction, the metaphysics of ‘cool’, etc.). The Manifeste conspires with the silent texts of French theory from Foucault, Deleuze and Derrida to Rancière and Agamben, and along the way offers a new hermeneutical practice. This new way of reading seeks a commonality of experience, a privileging of the wink over the ‘nudge’. The Manifeste asks us to find common cause with others who know how to read what is happening, to break with hierarchical institutions and prefabricated identities; in short it asks us to love theory again. // RÉSUMÉ: La réaction au Covid a manifesté une haine cachée envers la « théorie » de la part de l’élite consensuelle, en particulier la capacité de n’importe qui d’élaborer une théorie qui donnerait un sens à un monde apparemment chaotique. Cet article examine comment le Manifeste conspirationniste expose la façon dont certains concepts chers à la gauche politique étaient complices des atteintes aux droits de l’homme qui ont commencé en 2020, tout en soulignant également les concepts qui sont restés des outils puissants dans la lutte, mais que le/les auteurs anonymes du Manifeste n'ont attribué à aucun penseur (biopolitique, déconstruction, métaphysique du « cool », etc.). Le Manifeste conspire avec les textes muets de la théorie française de Foucault, Deleuze et Derrida jusqu'à Ranciére et Agamben, et offre une nouvelle pratique herméneutique. Cette nouvelle façon de la lecture recherche une expérience commune, préférant le clin d’œil au « nudge ». Le Manifeste nous demande de trouver une cause commune avec d'autres qui savent lire ce qui est se passe ; bref, cela nous demande d'aimer à nouveau la théorie.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | ‘How to read conspiratorially, or the hatred of theory’ |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/09639489.2024.2424821 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/09639489.2024.2424821 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > SELCS |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10201366 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
