Opening remarks by Ezgi Canpolat:

Today I would like to open our discussion on Levinas with some remarks on our previous meeting.

In our previous seminar with Prof. Mamdani we discussed the question of how to deal with the cases of excessive violence and establish justice with respect to post apartheid transition in South Africa. Giving a reference to Levinas in his paper, Mamdani was critical about thinking human wrongs in terms of ethics where the responsibility for excessive violence is seen as belonging to individuals, who need to be punished in order to establish justice that is criminal justice. For Mamdani, however, we need to move away from Continue reading…

Discussion of selected readings by Emmanuel Levinas

“Substitution,” “Truth of Disclosure and Truth of Testimony,” “Essence and Disinterestedness,” and “Peace and Proximity” in Basic Philosophical Writings: 79-127, 161-169

Discussant: Ezgi Canpolat, doctoral student, anthropology, CUNY Graduate Center

12 – 2pm, Room 7395 (Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue)

* All seminar readings are available here. If you are not on the seminar mailing list, and do not have the password to this page, please send us an email!

I. Recap of last year, and some notes on the reading

Last year at this time, reading Kant’s Perpetual Peace initiated a yearlong discussion around the tension between international law and sovereignty. Kant’s political theory of constitutional forms entailing overlapping rights and duties was our departure point, in some ways, to a series of subsequent conversations on politics and humanity, but also law and imperialism. Continue reading…

The seminar schedule for 2011-2012 is now available! We have an exciting lineup of speakers and readings, and hope you will join us.

As always, readings will be made available here. Note: because some of our speakers circulate drafts of papers, this page is password protected. If you would like copies of the readings, or to be included on the seminar mailing list, please send us an email.