Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2003 19:38:35 -0800 (PST) From: "J.M. Adams" <ringfingers-AT-yahoo.com> Subject: [postanarchism] May and Schurmann on Praxis Okay here is a little on what has been said about practice by the two first thinkers to really think about anarchism and poststructuralism in depth. Schurmann states in his "On Constituting Oneself an Anarchistic Subject" (1985) that: "as opposed to nineteenth century anarchism, the one that is possible today is poorer, more fragile. It has no linear narrative to justify itself, only the history of truth with its attendant history of the subject. But these are fractured breaks. The transgressive subject still fetishizes the law in daring what is forbidden. The anarchistic subject echoes Nietzsche's Zarathustra: 'Such is *my* way, where is yours?...For *the* way - that does not exist'". Then in May's "Is Poststructuralist Political Theory Anarchist?" (1989) he states that: "it is not in favor of chaos that posstructuralism has abjured the notion of foundations, humanist or otherwise, for its political theorizing. What it offered instead are precise analyses of oppression in its operation on a variety of registers. None of the poststructuralists claim to offer unsurpassable perspectives on oppression...instead they engage in what has often been called 'micropolitics', political theorizing that is specific to regions, types or levels of political activity, but makes no pretensions of offering a general political theory...poststructuralism leaves the decision of how the oppressed are to determine themselves to the oppressed; it merely provides them with intellectual tools that they may find helpful along the way". Finally, from the "Interview With Todd May" (2000) in Perspectives: "I think that change comes not only through the ideas themselves, but, especially in academics, who's spouting them. The real question, it seems to me, is whether people are living these ideas out or whether they are just holding them as ideas". I think these quotes more or less speak for themselves in regard to the question of practice; in other words, you might say, they are arguing that oppressed peoples should speak for themselves. Jason ===="“Marx says, revolutions are the locomotives of world history. But perhaps it is really totally different. Perhaps revolutions are the grasp by the human race traveling in this train for the emergency brake.” - Walter Benjamin __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree
Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005