Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 19:46:00 -0400
From: Sam Durrant <4srd1-AT-qlink.queensu.ca>
Subject: Re: the sublime


Sumathy--
Please explain!
	In particular, please explain what you mean by "apolitical," lest
we fall into that all-too-comfortable opposition between the self-evidently
political nature of postcolonialism and the allegedly apolitical nature of
postmodernism.
	I liked Benjamin's post, and feel that--when time permits--you
should explain why you find his position so untenable.  I would add to his
position that the Lyotardian sublime isn't "only" an aesthetic.  Although I
would hesitate to call it a "politics", it clearly has political--and
philosophical--implications as a critique of our ability to encounter
otherness.  Lyotard himself has used the concept to analyse facism and the
mechanics of anti-semitism.
Sam.

Sam Durrant
PhD candidate,
English Dept.,
Queen's University,
Kingston, Ontario.




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