Tarrying with the Negative

Dissolving the Diaspora

“…If so, the journey towards the resolution (the dialogue) is therefore the thing itself. How to make it 'our thing' in the democratic sense, rather than the source of inter-communal envy in Zizek's (1993) conceptualization, is the political problem facing us.…”

Πολυπολιτισμικότητα: Ψυχοκοινωνικές Διεργασίες Και Πολιτικές Ταυτοτήτων

“…Έχουμε φαντασιωτικά κατασκευάσει 'κάτι τι', ένα 'εθνικό κάτι τι' υποστηρίζει ο Zizek (1993), το οποίο παραπέμπει σε κοι νές σχέσεις, σ' έναν τρόπο ζωής, σε 'προσωποποίηση της από λαυσης', σε μια χίμαιρα. Αυτό το 'κάτι τι' είναι αντιφατικό, κα θότι προσιτό μόνο σε εμάς και συνεχώς απειλούμενο από τον 'άλλον'.…”

Fantasy machine: philanthrocapitalism as an ideological formation

“…Commenting on the West's fascination with the democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe that marked the end of communism, Žižek argues that Eastern Europe functioned at that moment as the ego-ideal of the West -the imagined point from which the West could see itself as its ideal-ego: 'The real object of fascination for the West is thus the gaze, namely the supposedly naïve gaze by means of which Eastern Europe stares back at the West, fascinated by its democracy'. 52 In the same way the philanthrocapitalist can only enjoy his idealego to the extent that this identity is reflected in the imagined eagerness of the African Other to emulate his entrepreneurial and community-spirited activities. This gaze stares out of the promotional brochure for Ruhiira discussed above, which is filled with images of aspiring local entrepreneurs smiling enthusiastically at the camera.…”

“…Rather than concluding with the kind of hysterical and impotent call to action that critical scholars often feel compelled to utter in such circumstances, perhaps we should 'tarry with the negative' as Žižek suggests. 88 Perhaps we should force ourselves to remain within the humiliated silence of the peasants watching football in the bar. It is not a comfortable place to be.…”