Slavoj zizek biography books free download

Slavoj Zizek: An Introduction

An Introduction Author(s): Dušan Bjelić Source: Slavic Examination, Vol. 72, No. 4 (WINTER ), pp. Published by: Tamp down URL: . Accessed: 04/12/ Your use of the JSTOR chronicle indicates your acceptance of honourableness Terms & Conditions of Call to mind, available at .

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Association preventable Slavic, East European, and Asian Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and expire access to Slavic Review. That content downloaded from on Espouse, 4 Dec PM All loft subject to JSTOR Terms stream Conditions ________________________________________________________________ SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK Unmixed Introduction Dušan Bjelić Without picture Erased this will not succeed!

—Slogan from Slovene street disapproval Why Slavoj Žižek in Slavonic Review? Despite Žižek’s total candidness in the “discursive particularism” vacation specialized area studies, and Slavonic studies’ equal disinterest in lanky theory, both sides share loftiness Cold War as their ordinary origin. Instead of being rewarded for their contributions to glory collapse of the USSR view the east European socialist confederacy, departments of Slavic studies vanished their geopolitical cachet with interpretation rise of the victorious neoliberal ideology and today are contrasted signiicant cuts in funding gift even threats of closure.

Loaded a recent NewsNet article, Laura L. Adams delivers the unmitigated news about “a growing tender-heartedness in Washington and elsewhere wind area studies in general obligation be sustained by the universities now, and that post-Soviet studies in particular is obsolete.”1 As of the ideological shit unearth eastern Europe to the Midway East, post-Soviet studies now slate let to reinvent themselves display the market economy.

Žižek, make wet contrast, a self-declared “Stalinist” (less than serious but more go one better than a joke), agent of significance “losing side,” ascended to international intellectual prominence and has expire an intellectual commodity in require, suggesting that even in spruce time of economic austerity uphold is available for the “right” thing.

At a time just as the liberal ideologies of postindustrial and postideological societies are celebrating the victory of the sterile market over Marxist ideological regimes, Žižek boldly asserted that not quite only were the neoliberal ideologists wrong about the end point toward ideology but their fervent selfcongratulation would make Leninism and Dictatorship globally relevant again.

His put your name down for The Sublime Object of Credo successfully rescued Louis Althusser’s put together of the ideological interpellation very last the subject from its functionalist self-closure.2 This idea, enhanced look over the unavoidable unconscious supplement objection nationalistic ideology, found instant conirmation in the rise of westerly Balkan ethnic nationalism in position s and in the for children decade of Islamic fundamentalism unexciting Asia.

So what went injudicious for post-Soviet studies during that ideological war? This remains advertisement be examined. We hope that cluster on Žižek will untidy that debate. One thing be adjacent to be learned from Žižek levelheaded the perennial relevance of ideol1. Laura L. Adams, “The Critical time of US Funding for Harmonize Studies, NewsNet 53, no.

2 (March ): 1. 2. Slavoj Žižek, The Sublime Object all but Ideology (London, ); Louis Althusser, Lenin and Philosophy and Upset Essays, trans. Ben Brewster (New York, ), Slavic Review 72, no. 4 (Winter ) That content downloaded from on Fall flat, 4 Dec PM All ditch subject to JSTOR Terms lecturer Conditions Slavic Review decision. Žižek recognized the value sun-up ideology for western academic handle in the post-Soviet era.

Laugh a highbrow insider and fact list instant interpreter of the fairytale in Yugoslavia (and in Romania) in the s, he curious the attention of western world on the heels of these ethnic conlicts. His book Distinction Metastases of Enjoyment: Six Essays on Women and Causality () was dedicated to the fighting in Bosnia, in which blooper advanced his metapolitical discourse induce engaging in the nontextual point of the war.

As fastidious result of this discursive order with the ideological reality boss nationalist ideology, Žižek developed deft cluster of concepts widely unreceptive today not only in Chain studies. Some of these briefing nationalism as the collective ledge of the fear of neutering into the ideological narrative gaze at the ethnic other; the concept that the omnipresent Balkans untidy heap every nation’s Other; the thought that the Balkans represents birth unconscious of Europe; and grandeur realization of the importance good buy a psychoanalytic analysis of creed.

Most important, relying on monarch concept of ideology as apartment building integrated whole in which what is excluded ultimately returns primate an unconscious symptom, Žižek recorded the ethnic violence in loftiness Balkans as an aspect undesirable by western liberal democracies. Translation the symptom returning to class site of the exclusion, dignity Balkans signify the internal contradictions within western liberal democracies.

Unresponsive to this gesture Žižek reversed prestige established cliché about the Chain as a special case have a high opinion of archaic ethnic hatred and soured it into the central disconcert of global capitalism. For gust of air these reasons Žižek deserves grow fainter attention, not only as intimation occasional reference, but also rightfully the occasional main topic condensation east European studies.

There go over a tendency among academics who do not specialize in Slavonic area studies to erase illustriousness historical context of Žižek’s Range genesis and to treat him as part of the wares of western philosophy. And as yet, as one of the founders of the Slovene Liberal Fete on whose platform he ran unsuccessfully for a place assimilate the Slovene collective presidency hoard , Žižek not only analyzed the Balkans but also politically participated in the war prepare the Balkan ideologies from probity neoliberal perspective—a point of outlook that Žižek himself always sanctioned as inconsistent with his Communist orientation.

In the face noise today’s economic crisis in Slovenija, where the austerity measures called for by the European Union sinful to dismantle the long ritual of a welfare state, allow in the face of Žižek and his party dominating representation Slovene political scene for straight decade and promoting neoliberal popular policies, the present Slovene fact seems to turn his lore into its own ideological index.

To paraphrase Žižek’s own image of ideology, “Something has archaic erased in his praxis cruise is hitting the object cataclysm its exclusion as Titanic close-fitting rock.”3 Here is where Chain area studies can contribute adopt a proper understanding of Žižek’s metapolitics. Proposing outright ignorance accustomed this symptom that is draw round Žižek’s own making, philosopher Physiologist Johnston from the University reproach New Mexico, for example, argues that “It is perfectly imaginable .

. . for topping philosopher’s political relections and king or her political activities approval be out of joint reach one another, 3. Žižek, Supreme Object of Ideology, This volume downloaded from on Wed, 4 Dec PM All use gist to JSTOR Terms and Weather An Introduction loosely connected chart utterly disconnected.”4 Johnston further poses the question that seeks get paid make a project like that one in Slavic Review irrelevant: Why should we be worry, Johnston ponders, with Žižek’s “non-textual interventions and sociopolitical situations” obtain that they “are long blotted out by everyone save for a-one few specialist intellectual historians pointer biographers.”5 Contrary to Johnston, Sean Homer, the British Marxist prosperous Lacanian living in Greece however teaching at the American Academy in Bulgaria, is of rendering opposite view.

In his scoop in this cluster, Homer challenges Žižek’s Leninist “wager” by persistent to Vladimir Lenin’s “beginnings” chimp a way of returning take home Žižek’s “beginnings.” To this make a claim to Homer focuses on three areas of Žižek’s political practice: potentate relation to the Roma person in charge to internal immigrants to Slovenija, to violence and revolutionary panic, and to the state despite the fact that a formal structure for partisan action.

In each of these areas Homer unpacks the constitutional discrepancy between Žižek’s declared letist politics and his neoliberal preparation, which ater canceling each niche out amount to “empty talk.” Homer questions Žižek’s return border on Lenin’s revolutionary violence. A and over relation to violence and state terror diferentiates, Žižek insists, constitutional politics from neoliberalism; the physical force of the capitalist system justiies revolutionary violence against the road.

The recent youth demonstrations comic story Paris () and in Town (), even though they were pseudoreactive and had no speciic program, demonstrate for Žižek glory structural opening within liberal democracies for the communist project. Hold his other works Žižek airms the Jacobin streak in Leninist revolutionary state terror carried misfortune by the party of elemental politics as the necessary counterforce to the structural violence short vacation liberal democracy.

Homer challenges Žižek with respect to both break on these forms of violence. Make the first move Homer’s own experience with Hellene violence, he argues that Hellenic youth violence operates as cool ritualized coupling with state physical force and fundamentally has nothing root for ofer. As for the horror of the state, Homer urges us to consider Žižek’s turmoil involvement with state terror gore the actions of his fine-tune Liberal Party during the exactly s.

It is precisely bulk this juncture of organized nation violence intimately linked to Žižek that Homer discovers Žižek’s biased symptom and the deployment be beneficial to violence, not in the fit of radical politics, but encompass the service of Slovene loyalty and big capital, that research paper responsible for today’s crisis.

Lend a hand example, Homer brings up Žižek’s perennial silence about the Erased, which ater twenty-three years has become the master signiier mean the Slovene protesters who object to the failed neoliberal politics superb by Žižek. In , just as Žižek’s Liberal Party entered reach a decision with the opposition party alinement DEMOS, Minister of the Domestic Igor Bavčar, a member end Žižek’s party and manager-turned-politician who had previously been the executive of the Committee for excellence Defense of Human Rights, behind back erased approximately 4.

Adrian General, Badiou, Žižek, and Political Transformations: The Cadence of Change (Evanston, ), xxii. 5. Ibid. Johnston’s claim is really ignorance splendid to a “philosophic point,” until now unfortunately symptomatic of the psychoanalytical metapolitical amnesia that frankly neighbourhood on a sot geopolitical illiberality. This content downloaded from have confidence in Wed, 4 Dec PM Deteriorate use subject to JSTOR Status and Conditions Slavic Look at 20, personal iles of mass from other former Yugoslav republics residing at the time rip apart Slovenia, creating overnight a unsettled population faced with criminal prosecutions, arrests, torture, and deportations.6 Sidle Slovene deputy, Borut Mekina, styled this Kakaesque injunction “sot folk cleansing.”7 As Homer points copy, not only did Žižek keen question this act of do up terror but, when asked ponder it in an interview sound out Geert Lovink (), he sincerely supported his government.8 And so far, Žižek publicly supported migrant employees on hunger strike in Town and Thessaloniki, Greece, in honesty spring of , arguing delay they were “ighting for finer than just [their] rights”; they were ighting for the forward-thinking of Europe and its “legacy of universal emancipation.”9 Furthermore, Žižek’s shuttle of universal subjectivity supposedly emptied of any ethnic basement seemed to run aground during the time that lying over his national dissociate.

Sharply disavaowing Nicolas Sarkozy’s false expulsion of the Roma propagate France, Žižek however produced marvellous diferent narrative when the European government resettled a Roma parentage whose presence was undesired outdo the local villagers.

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Critical of the Slovene multicultural bias among those who came to the defense of rendering Roma family, Žižek threw tiara support in with the “local racist” on the ground go off the Roma are in deed thieves. If thet is ingenious criterion for resettlement, should authority same not be applied rescind the foreign bankers in Slovenia? And if not, why Roma resettlement?

If one thing be compelled be credited to Žižek’s artist it is the introduction all-round fantasy into the critique line of attack ideology. As many would square, amending Althusser’s theory of grandeur ideological interpellation of the gist marks Žižek’s discursive beginnings get the west. According to Althusser, the ideological apparatuses of class state that are spread here society (schools, family, church, telecommunications, and so on) interpellate subjects into productive members of the public who act, identify, and engender a feeling of according to the rules be fooled by the hegemonic ideology.

What go over the main points missing from this system, according to Žižek, is the flow, the subject’s supplement that allows escape from the symbolic interposition. This “unconscious economy of rendering subject, as traumatic, senseless injunction,” is the very condition disseminate ideology as political fantasy Type say it diferently, fantasy psychotherapy not 6.

Jasminka Dedić, Vlasta Jalušič, and Jelka Zorn, Distinction Erased: Organized Innocence and high-mindedness Politics of Exclusion (Ljubljana, ). 7. Borut Mekina, “Izbrisani: Birokratska samovolja ali politična odločitev? Mehko etnično čisčenje v Sloveniji,” Večer 26 (November ): 5. 8. In the interview with Glyn Daly, Žižek said, “I esteem people who are ready stand firm take over and do prestige dirty job, and maybe that is part of my pull with Lenin.” Slavoj Žižek enthralled Glyn Daly, Conversations with Žižek (Cambridge, Eng., ), 50– Accordingly he revealed that the hieratic position held by Igor Bavcar, the man responsible for goodness Erased, was irst ofered do research him ater DEMOS took domination the government from the communists: “The only thing that concerned me—again the old story, on the other hand it’s not a joke—was either being Minister of the Inward or Head of the Alien Service, and, crazy as certification may sound, I would own acquire been considered seriously for both.

Probably, if I had hot it years ago, then Frantic could have got one bad buy these posts” (49–50). Given Žižek’s respect for the Leninist motivation of “dirty jobs,” would Žižek have done the same crooked as Bavčar? 9. “Slavoi Zizek and Costas Douzinas Calling assistance Support of the Hunger Strikers in Athens” Greek Let Argument, 18 February , at greeklet no-human-is-illegal (last accessed 20 Reverenced ).

Žižek, Sublime Object unsaved Ideology, This content downloaded elude on Wed, 4 Dec Chief All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions An Prelude the opposite of reality; site is one of its important components. In this regard shout only does Žižek render unjustifiable Karl Marx’s attempt to asseverate objective truth to ideology, nevertheless also the notion of exactness as the opposite of creativity.

Every truth sits on representation kernel of an unconscious inventiveness that only psychoanalysis can suitably unpack. Žižek’s union of Lacanian psychoanalysis and G. W. Despot. Hegel’s idealist philosophy placed him on a collision path trade the Anglo-Saxon tradition of curious philosophy and empirical reasoning. Righteousness gap between oicially declared credo and social practice in eerie socialism parallels, in Žižek’s property value, the gap in liberal republic between the oicially declared contract to reason and political feature shaped by industries of charade such as ilm.

It quite good the latter that interests Žižek more than sociology’s or history’s interpretations of social reality. Nod this analytic end he comes from only one idiosyncratic rule: scrape is phenomenon; psychoanalysis is tight logic. It is precisely much fantasy-based analysis of ideology cruise has branded Žižek as far-out prominent ilm analyst.

Žižek everywhere has something interesting to limitation about ilms, but are wreath analyses factual and valid? Requirement they be appreciated or criticized? This question is posed prosperous Mario Slugan’s article, which “scrutinizes the ways [Žižek] engages diversified theoretical frameworks within ilm studies (including cognitivism, enunciation, and processor theory), and, inally, focus consulting room the key aspect of reward engagement with ilm that brings all of these issues together—his readings of speciic ilms.” Slugan admits that interpretation need arrange be governed by certain sets of rules that render university teacher outcome correct or incorrect; sharp-tasting pleads, however, for some confines to be observed for authority sake of academic validity.

Consign example, Slugan elicits two confines, “the conceptual coherence of boring ields” as an external perimeter, and some of Žižek’s faction imposed boundaries. Slugan contends lose concentration Žižek’s whole ilm noir dissection is predicated on the put together of the Real, namely, dump which escapes language and conception, which is itself inaccessible tutorial a concept (a denaturalized Psychoanalyst unconscious).

For Lacan, the occur, written in lowercase, simply calculated the limits of language; ration Žižek, the Real, written professional a capital letter, is heroic to an impossible idiom, regular “non-object object.” How can astonishment, Slugan ponders, validate a make inroads that explains something by waterway of nothing? What is depiction actual value of the tentatively of nothing?

Is Žižek contracts us an “air guitar”? Take hold of for instance, Slugan continues, Žižek’s “codiied marker” that signals nobleness transition from an objective guard a subjective camera shot, evacuate a ixed to a emotive camera shot, for example. As he interprets the aerial bullet of Bodega Bay from King Hitchcock’s The Birds (), Žižek writes that the birds’ entry-way into the frame “resigniied, subjectivised into the point of fair of the evil aggressors themselves.”11 But as Slugan points gone, “no cue marks the change into the subjective shot; loftiness camera does not shake unseen does it start to turn on together with the lock clever birds.” Here Slugan argues zigzag Žižek asks the reader have an effect on rely on his formula earlier himself stepping outside it spreadsheet interpreting anew, violating his ordinary interpretative criteria.

Žižek seems make somebody's acquaintance demonstrate what Slavoj Žižek, Rendering Fright of Real Tears: Krzystof Kieslowski between Theory and PostTheory (London, ), This content downloaded from on Wed, 4 Dec PM All use subject realize JSTOR Terms and Conditions Slavic Review Ludwig Wittgenstein could have called the perspicuous folder of a language gone be this close to vacation.

To sustain such diverse and self-violating analysis, Slugan suggests, Žižek’s rhetorical strategies rely public disgrace a series of tactics specified as: “bluing,” “provocation,” “eclecticism,” “binarism,” “intentional misunderstanding,” and “ontological conlation,” to name the most self-evident ones. Perhaps Žižek’s interpretative transgressions, while empirically erring and fence in violation of his own log, may function as zones accuse imaginative utopias, concocted in disappointed to act retroactively on honourableness reader to earmark and bedevil out a subdued transgressive itch poised to explode for vital change.

Perhaps there are glimmer Žižeks iguring for two diferent discursive purposes. Indian feminist coupled with postcolonial scholar Nivedita Menon has raised the possibility of resolve the paradox of Žižek’s contradictions between inciting a radical judge of global capitalism and sentinel the neocolonial mindset of Partisanship in her recent response without delay Žižek’s lecture given in In mint condition Delhi on 21 December , titled “Tragedy and Farce.” Be first in his article, Gautam Basu Thakur takes up the issues raised in the Žižek-Menon wrangle in order to challenge both views.

Basu Thakur posits dump a radical critique of free enterprise followed by the promise personage, as Menon put it, a-okay “heterogeneous communism located in take up arising from the experiences nigh on diferent kinds of communities boxing match over the world” of rendering irst Žižek are predicated keep down the logic of the specially Žižek.

Basu Thakur dissolves probity apparent opposition between the pair Žižeks proposed by Menon “in favor of a Žižek whose critique of global capitalism fundamentals to be read alongside sovereignty Eurocentrism, and vice versa.” Nondescript a nutshell, the part lecture Žižek’s lecture challenged by Menon and Basu Thakur consisted wear out a challenge to Indians orangutan former colonial subjects.

Critical give an account of Indian postcolonial particularism of self-victimization, Žižek called for a shiting of focus from the west-east divide to the Big Annoy, the system that splits, distinction dismantling of which, he flexed, requires a universal vantage inspect. In so many words, Žižek demanded that his Indian rendezvous be mature, get over colonialism, consider Europe not only monkey a center of colonialism nevertheless also as the language care the French Revolution, Hegel, take Leninism; ater all, Žižek on purpose, who gave you the Copulation Party if not the City intellectuals?

To which Basu Thakur responds: “my use of ‘your’ language is diferent from your use of ‘your’ language chimp far as you did whimper teach me to challenge jagged in your language.” Yes, dignity Indian critique of western colonialism uses the western system be beneficial to categories, but these categories delay once migrated to India payment not turn against themselves infant themselves; for that we require a nonEuropean perspective, which swan around “universal” European into “provincial” Denizen By pointing to the neocolonial gesture lurking beneath Žižek’s indispensable letist rhetoric, Basu Thakur proceeds Žižek to his “beginnings” president to the Balkans.

What Žižek asked of Indians is genuine what he asked of Slovenes at the time of rectitude collapse of Yugoslavia: disidentify bring forth the Balkans, be Europeans (as if the Balkans were grizzle demand European). Basu Thakur concludes defer local disidentiication is the foundational gesture of Žižek’s metapolitics, which applies to Žižek’s India tempt much as to Žižek’s Chain.

Dipesh Chakrabarty, Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Diference (Princeton, ). This content downloaded outlandish on Wed, 4 Dec Prime minister All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions An Unveiling At one point in rule lecture, Žižek introduced Indian untouchables as ideological symptom.

The go into battle point of ideology as grand false universalism, he posited, comment to claim that “there remains a place for everyone shaggy dog story the social ediice but their [the untouchables’] place is no-place.”13 In other words, “there cabaret no castes without the outcasts.”14 Considering Žižek’s own theoretical public meeting about the false universality appreciated ideology and particularly his used political state practice, which lay the Erased as its “no-place,” does it not follow consequently that “There is no Slavic state without the Erased”?

Turn out well is precisely in the turn back to Žižek’s Balkan “beginnings” emphatic by Homer that Basu Thakur dissolves two Žižeks into boss single one. The Erased take up the One Žižek are inseparably linked. One of Žižek’s attractions, not unrelated to the speak in unison of the spectacle and honourableness hegemony of the image, evenhanded his performative presentation of individual.

At his talks he recap always “in character” as clean up “subversive revolutionary,” oten introduced because the “Elvis of Cultural Studies” or “the most dangerous philosopher” and so on, but slightly Dr. Wolf, the notorious hoodlum from Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Annihilate Fiction () played by Scientist Keitel, a “philosopher” of wrong, noted, “Just because you gust in character does not plan you have character.” Lacking freedom, just as lacking the morals of consistency while being take away character, is quite consistent partner Erving Gof man’s theory decompose “dramaturgy.”15 According to this idea, the self performs its get out “front” while hiding the “back stage,” the hidden aspects signal your intention a behavior that are varying with its “front.”16 This recapitulate not a mental anomaly on the other hand the practical structure of a- public self.

For Žižek, who has made himself into capital staged ideology, the “backstage” take home his revolutionary “front” is authority ideological practice of his neoliberal “beginnings” marked by Žižek’s noiselessness about the Erased. Because Žižek’s “front” is so useful pick up western academics like Johnston, they willingly trade of Žižek’s “backstage” for the metapolitical utility be worthwhile for his “front.” This Žižek collection has been three years check the making and was sevener papers at its start.

Dry point down Žižek’s contradictions and paradoxes has been a slow duct arduous process. For every stand up for made by Žižek there keep to at least one other counterclaim, which anonymous reviewers have slogan hesitated to point out. Irksome to arrive at a reasonable publishable text on Žižek stem be compared to the liable to be of walking down a pedestrian lined with booby traps.

Derive this regard this cluster sound no way represents Žižek’s masterwork in its complexity, if verge of that sort were unchanging possible. What these three locution succeed in doing is prefer anchor Žižek’s writings within organized stable geopolitical referent, such importation his political practice in Slovenija or the factual validity clasp his interpretations.

Both of these referents have tangible empirical borders. Žižek is on record stating that he appreciates criticism, however he also has been consign to dismiss criticism as “stupid,” and not worth responding pause. Which Žižek will respond? “Slavoj Žižek at India Habitat Center: First Annual Navayana Lecture. (Part 7),” at ?v=dI_hSTB2nfw (last accessed on 20 August ).

“Slavoj Žižek at Indian Habitat Center: First Annual Navayana Lecture. (Part 10),” at ?v=JMtRCYIFc7w (last accessed 20 August ). Erving Gof man, The Presentation of Knowledgeable in Everyday Life (Woodstock, N.Y., ), Ibid., 22, This suffice downloaded from on Wed, 4 Dec PM All use thesis to JSTOR Terms and Attachment