(Dis)placing the contemporary : violence and noncoincidence in our time

Abstract

This dissertation will deal with the notion of contemporariness as understood by Giorgio Agamben, which acknowledges the necessity of anachrony. Agamben believes that in order for one to engage effectively with one’s present, one simultaneously has to counter it. However, this leads to the aporia of how one can commit to the now if contemporariness entails being outside of one’s time. While Agamben’s attempt at coming to terms with this matter is through an endorsement of violence, Alain Badiou questions the ethics of this, as to him violence is merely a destructive force, an ecstasy of cruelty. Aside from this primary aporia, a second issue also arises: who, if there is such an individual, can be deemed a contemporary in our time? The first chapter to this dissertation will set the context, as well as engage with the shift towards the now in recent theory and philosophy. The second chapter will revolve around the issue of violence in relation to Agamben and Badiou, a discussion which will then progress into the third chapter through Gilles Deleuze’s concept of becoming. The fourth chapter will attempt to identify the figure of the contemporary as portrayed by Agamben, with a special focus on the poet-contemporary. Finally, all the points raised throughout this dissertation will be evaluated in the conclusion, where some options regarding future research will also be mentioned.