Radical History and the Politics of Art (New Directions in Critical Theory Book 29)

Gabriel Rockhill opens new space for rethinking the relationship between art and politics. Rather than understanding the two spheres as separated by an insurmountable divide or linked by a privileged bridge, Rockhill demonstrates that art and politics are not fixed entities with a singular relation but rather dynamically negotiated, sociohistorical practices with shifting and imprecise borders. Radical History and the Politics of Art proposes a significant departure from extant debates on what is commonly called?art" and?politics," and the result is an impressive foray into the force. Read more... Abstract: Gabriel Rockhill opens new space for rethinking the relationship between art and politics. Rather than understanding the two spheres as separated by an insurmountable divide or linked by a privileged bridge, Rockhill demonstrates that art and politics are not fixed entities with a singular relation but rather dynamically negotiated, sociohistorical practices with shifting and imprecise borders. Radical History and the Politics of Art proposes a significant departure from extant debates on what is commonly called?art" and?politics," and the result is an impressive foray into the force Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Politics Of Culture And The Spirit Of Critique / Gabriel Rockhill, Alfredo Gomez-muller -- Critical Theory And The Question Of Culture -- 1. Critical Theory Today: Politics, Ethics, Culture Opening Dialogue / Alfredo Gomez-muller, Gabriel Rockhill -- 2. Concrete Universality And Critical Social Theory Dialogue With Alfredo Gomez-muller And Gabriel Rockhill / Seyla Benhabib -- 3. Global Justice And The Renewal Of The Critical Theory Tradition Dialogue With Alfredo Gomez-muller And Gabriel Rockhill / Nancy Fraser -- Critical Perspectives On Cultural Politics -- 4. Accounting For A Philosophic Itinerary: Genealogies Of Power And Ethics Of Nonviolence Dialogue With Alfredo Gomez-muller And Gabriel Rockhill / Judith Butler -- 5. The Present In The Light Of The Longue Durée Dialogue / Alfredo Gomez-muller, Gabriel Rockhill, Immanuel Wallerstein -- 6. A Prisoner Of Hope In The Night Of The American Empire Dialogue With Gabriel Rockhill / Cornel West -- Culture As Critique: The Limits Of Liberalism? -- 7. Liberalism: Politics, Ethics, And Markets Dialogue With Alfredo Gomez-muller And Ronan Sharkey / Michael Sandel -- 8. Cultural Rights And Social-democratic Principles Dialogue With Alfredo Gomez-muller And Gabriel Rockhill / Will Kymlicka -- Epilogue: Critical Theory And Recognition -- 9. The Critical Theory Of The Frankfurt School And The Theory Of Recognition Dialogue With Olivier Voirol / Axel Honneth -- Notes -- Contributors. Edited With An Introduction By Gabriel Rockhill, Alfredo Gomez-muller ; Seyla Benhabib ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References. Gabriel Rockhill opens new space for rethinking the relationship between art and politics. Rather than understanding the two spheres as separated by an insurmountable divide or linked by a privileged bridge, Rockhill demonstrates that art and politics are not fixed entities with a singular relation but rather dynamically negotiated, sociohistorical practices with shifting and imprecise borders. Radical History and the Politics of Art proposes a significant departure from extant debates on what is commonly called "art" and "politics," and the result is an impressive foray into the force field of history, in which cultural practices are meticulously analyzed in their social and temporal dynamism without assuming a conceptual unity behind them. Rockhill thereby develops an alternative logic of history and historical change, as well as a novel account of social practices and a multidimensional theory of agency. Engaging with a diverse array of intellectual, artistic, and political constellations, this tour de force diligently maps the various interactions between different dimensions of aesthetic and political practices as they intertwine and sometimes merge in precise fields of struggle. Prefaced by an introduction relating current cultural debates to the critical theory tradition, this book examines the politics of culture and the spirit of critique from three different vantage points. To begin, Gabriel Rockhill and Alfredo Gomez-Muller provide a stage-setting dialogue, followed by discussions with two major representatives of contemporary critical theory: Seyla Benhabib and Nancy Fraser. Working at the horizons of this tradition, Judith Butler, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Cornel West then provide important critical perspectives on cultural politics. The book's concluding section engages with Michael Sandel and Will Kymlicka, who work out of the Rawlsian tradition yet are uniquely concerned with the issue of culture, broadly understood. The epilogue, an interview with Axel Honneth, returns to the core issue of critical theory in cultural politics. Ranging from recent developments and progressive interventions in critical theory to dialogues that incorporate its insights into larger discussions of social and political philosophy, this book sharpens old critical tools while developing new strategies for rethinking the role of أcultureؤ in contemporary society This book opens new space for rethinking the relationship between art and politics. Rather than understanding the two spheres as separated by an insurmountable divide or linked by a privileged bridge, Rockhill demonstrates that art and politics are not fixed entities with a singular relation but rather dynamically negotiated, sociohistorical practices with shifting and imprecise borders. This book proposes a significant departure from extant debates on what is commonly called art and politics, and the result is an impressive foray into the force field of history, in which cultural practices are meticulously analyzed in their social and temporal dynamism without assuming a conceptual unity behind them. Rockhill thereby develops an alternative logic of history and historical change, as well as a novel account of social practices and a multidimensional theory of agency. Engaging with a diverse array of intellectual, artistic, and political constellations, this tour de force diligently maps the various interactions between different dimensions of aesthetic and political practices as they intertwine and sometimes merge in precise fields of struggle "In this study, Rockhill vanquishes the myth that either there is some privileged momentùof form, content, or effectùuniting art and politics or there is none. He demonstrates that the nexus connectingùor separatingùart and politics is always bound to the dense weave of social practices located in specific geographical locales at concrete historical times. Along the way, Rockhill provides a new analysis of the avant-garde and the most acute analysis of RanciFre's aesthetic theory I have come across.-J.M. Bernstein, New School For Social Research This book of tightly woven dialogues engages prominent thinkers in a discussion about the role of culture-broadly construed-in contemporary society and politics. Faced with the conceptual inflation of the notion of أculture,ؤ which now imposes itself as an indispensable issue in contemporary moral and political debates, these dynamic exchanges seek to rethink culture and critique beyond the schematic models that have often predominated, such as the opposition between أmainstream multiculturalismؤ and the أclash of civilizations.ؤ "In this meditation on the politics of art, Gabriel Rockhill argues that neither art nor politics can be founded ontologically. This lack of transcendence brings a saving grace; understood as a historical field of collective negotiations, art recaptures its critical edge, activist agency, and social relevance."-Jean-Michel Rabate, University Of Pennsylvania "In this intervention into twentieth-century controversies surrounding art and politics, Rockhill dissolves a whole series of reifications, essentialisms and other symptoms of magical thinking in a bath of 'radical historicism.ùKristin Ross, New York University "Rockhill opposes isolationist theories and concepts with an energetic interventionist strategy that is particularly welcome in the present field of concept-formation."-Jean-Pierre Cometti, University Of Provence --Book Jacket "Rockhill sets out a political philosophy of aesthetics that is at once sensuous and pragmatic.-Tom Conley, Harvard University