Camp abstract Frida Beckman

The Aesthetic Pedagogy of Difference and Repetition

Description:

For Deleuze, philosophy is always about thinking with what is outside it – it is a “practice” that needs to be exercised between disciplines, materials, people – and he is well known for his “philosophical friendships” and his work on aesthetic forms such as literature, art, and film: “To get out of philosophy, to do never mind what so as to be able to produce it from outside” (Dialogues II).

But there is a danger in following too closely in his footsteps. As many have pointed out, being faithful to Deleuze is also to be unfaithful. And the other way around. While they are greatly inspiring and helpful, simply applying his literary concepts on literature, his art concepts on art, and his film concepts on film, and in considering his more “strictly philosophical” works as only philosophical, there is a risk that we stop “thinking” in his own sense of this term.

In this seminar, we start from a key nexus in Deleuze’s philosophy: the conception of and relation between difference and repetition, and explore what they can teach us in how we approach literature, art, film, and other art forms. We want these concepts to teach us, and to help us teach each other, about ways of approaching aesthetic expression beyond representation, and what that might mean in a Deleuzian sense.

Preparatory reading:

Deleuze, Gilles. Difference and Repetition (1968)

   “Chapter 1: Difference in Itself”

   “Chapter 2: Repetition in Itself”

Preparatory assignment:

When reading the assigned chapters from Difference and Repetition, try to do it while also thinking about aesthetics. What kind of associations to literature, art, film, music etc. does the reading evoke in you? You need not identify precisely why or how these associations work, but make note of them along the way. The more associations the better. In preparation for class, make a “mind map” of your associations to bring to class. If possible, bring also sample materials – for example a literary quote, a printed out copy of an art work or film still, or a piece of music on your phone. During the workshop, we will compare and discuss maps and materials. The aim is to better understand Deleuze’s concepts of difference and repetition and their implications for his thinking of philosophy as practice.