Choreographing Agonism : Politics, Strategies and Performances of the Left

In Choreographing Agonism , author Goran Petrović Lotina offers new insight into the connections between politics and performance. Exploring the political and philosophical roots of a number of recent leftist civil movements, Petrović Lotina forcefully argues for a re-imagining of artistic performance as an instrument of democracy capable of contesting a dominant politics. Inspired by post-Marxist theories of discourse theory, hegemony, conflict, and pluralism, and using tension as a guiding philosophical, political, and artistic force, the book expands the politico-philosophical debate on theories of performance. It offers both scholars and practitioners of performance a thought-provoking analysis of the ways in which artistic performance can be viewed politically as ‘agonistic choreo-political practice,’ a powerful strategy for mobilising alternative ways of living together and invigorating democracy. Choreographing Agonism makes a bold and innovative contribution to the discussion of political and philosophical thought in the field of Performance Studies. In Choreographing Agonism, author Goran Petrović Lotina offers new insight into the connections between politics and performance. Exploring the political and philosophical roots of a number of recent leftist civil movements, Petrović Lotina forcefully argues for a re-imagining of artistic performance as an instrument of democracy capable of contesting a dominant politics. Inspired by post-Marxist theories of discourse theory, hegemony, conflict, and pluralism, and using tension as a guiding philosophical, political, and artistic force, the book expands the politico-philosophical debate on theories of performance. It offers both scholars and practitioners of performance a thought-provoking analysis of the ways in which artistic performance can be viewed politically as 'agonistic choreo-political practice,' a powerful strategy for mobilising alternative ways of living together and invigorating democracy. Choreographing Agonism makes a bold and innovative contribution to the discussion of political and philosophical thought in the field of Performance Studies. Born in Yugoslavia, Goran Petrović Lotina is an author, scholar, and curator who has published widely on the interplay between art, politics, and theory. Prior to obtaining his PhD at the University of Ghent, he studied at Sciences Po Paris and at the University of Belgrade. Currently, he is Research Fellow at the University of Warwick and Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris. Petrović Lotina is Founder and Co-curator of Fogo Island Film, an international film program held in Newfoundland, Canada, and is a member of l'Association internationale des critiques d'art. In Choreographing Agonism, author Goran Petrovic Lotina offers new insight into the connections between politics and performance. Exploring the political and philosophical roots of a number of recent leftist civil movements, Petrovic Lotina forcefully argues for a re-imagining of artistic performance as an instrument of democracy capable of contesting a dominant politics. Inspired by post-Marxist theories of discourse theory, hegemony, conflict, and pluralism, and using tension as a guiding philosophical, political, and artistic force, the book expands the politico-philosophical debate on theories of performance. It offers both scholars and practitioners of performance a thought-provoking analysis of the ways in which artistic performance can be viewed politically as agonistic choreo-political practice, a powerful strategy for mobilising alternative ways of living together and invigorating democracy. Choreographing Agonism makes a bold and innovative contribution to the discussion of political and philosophical thought in the field of Performance Studies. Born in Yugoslavia, Goran Petrovic Lotina is an author, scholar, and curator who has published widely on the interplay between art, politics, and theory. Prior to obtaining his PhD at the University of Ghent, he studied at Sciences Po Paris and at the University of Belgrade. Currently, he is Research Fellow at the University of Warwick and Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris. Petrovic Lotina is Founder and Co-curator of Fogo Island Film, an international film program held in Newfoundland, Canada, and is a member of l'Association internationale des critiques d'art Acknowledgements Contents 1 Introduction Contesting Performance Practices 2 Constructing the People The Return of Popular Sovereignty 3 The Choreography of Articulation The Choreography of Articulation 4 Political Strategies and Performance Studies Strategies of Avoidance Strategies of Rupture Strategies of Engagement 5 Discourse Theory and Artistic Performances Agonistic Artistic Practices Choreographing Agonism 6 Tension: A Guiding Force in Performance, Philosophy, and Politics Mette Edvardsen: The Choreography of Play Between Absence and Presence Immanence and Transcendence Abundance and Lack The Multitude and the People Concepts and Discourses Opposition and Paradox 7 Drama: An Encounter Between the Performance and the Audience Phenomenology, Performance, and Individual Corporeality A Collective Perceptual Experience The Body in a Dramatic Encounter with the Audience 8 Affects and Opinion Formation Im/Mediacy of Affects Opinion Formation Performance as Object-Cause of Affects Critical Aspects of Performance 9 Identifications Struggle Against the Techniques of Domination Constructing Alternative Communities Time, Space, and Community Artistic Practices and the Construction of Community Imagining a Popular Form of Collectivity in Rimini Protokoll’s 100% City Bibliography Index