University of Arts in Belgrade
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Political Participation in Southeast Europe: A Scoping Review
No full textThe dual crisis of representative democracy and the authoritarian assault on the liberal dimension have challenged the global democratic order. While these parallel processes have been extensively studied, there remains a gap in understanding their implications for the participatory dimension of democracy. This is especially the case for the region of Southeast Europe (SEE), which has been at the forefront of the crisis for more than a decade. What are the key features of the contemporary research agenda on political participation in SEE? What insights does it provide into the evolving trends and patterns of regional participatory practices? This chapter delves into these questions through a scoping review of 149 academic articles addressing political participation in SEE from 2010 to 2022. The observed period is marked by a gradual uptrend in the number of articles, primarily driven by a scholarly interest in unconventional and innovative modes of participation and an emphasis on youth engagement. The results further delineate the characteristics of this academic output in terms of the production of knowledge, geographical emphasis, methodological approaches, target populations and the antecedents and outcomes associated with different forms of political participation. The chapter concludes by identifying literature gaps and suggesting avenues for future research on political participation in SEE
Adam J. Berinsky, Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2023.
No full textDerrida’s Counter-Institution and Its Ethics of Promise and Responsibility
No full textIn this article, we consider Derrida’s grasp on counter-institution and outline a peculiar modality of ethics that it engenders. After evoking his counter-institutional public engagements in the introduction, we begin an analysis of the word counter-institution. In the first place, the polysemy of its prefix “counter” is exposed, followed by the claim that in Derrida’s philosophy this term denotes proximity and contact, rather than opposition – thus determining the architecture of the counter-institution. Furthermore, we discuss Derrida’s critique of traditional, sovereign institutions that he saw as unjust and violent, relating it to his theory of decision, and making the claim that counter-institutions are inseparable from justice. In the second part, we conceptualize what is named the counter-ethics of promise and responsibility. By juxtaposing Derrida’s unorthodox views on the notions of promise and responsibility, we seek to formulate a counter-ethical thought that animates the relations in and of the counter-institution and challenges the limits of ethics. Finally, we propose that Derrida’s idea of unfaithful fidelity could be understood as the very condition counter-ethics, and by consequence, of deconstruction
Stupidity, Imitation and Becoming
No full textThe paper addresses the relationship between the concepts of becoming and imitation in
Deleuze and Guattari’s thought and how they assist us in understanding their conception
of stupidity. In the first step, the paper argues that, contrary to prevailing views in the
secondary literature, there is a positive relationship between mimesis and becoming in
Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy. Instead of merely serving as a negative idea to be
denounced, it will be argued that the concept of imitation also plays a role in Deleuze and
Guattari’s understanding of becoming. I show that the concept of imitation accomplishes
this in three ways: 1) imitation is a molar relationship which parallels the molecular process
of becoming, 2) imitation may act as a pathway to becoming, and finally, 3) imitation is an
inherent danger in becoming. In the next step, I use this examination of the two concepts
to flesh out Deleuze’s notion of stupidity, demonstrating why it also plays a positive role in
generating thought, acting both as the “greatest weakness of thought”, and as the “source
of its highest power” (Difference and Repetition, p. 275)
Reorientation of desire – social change and resistance to neoliberal “psychopolitics”
No full textIn his renowned study of neoliberalism, Foucault emphasizes that this regime is based on governing individuals through a model of subjectivity called “homo economicus”, which implies directing subjects to relate to themselves as an organized set of capital. This understanding of neoliberal domination aligns with the claims of cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han, who highlights that neoliberalism is based on technologies of “psychopolitics,” i.e., directing individuals to relate to their subjectivity as a project or a set of resources that must be organized productively. Theoreticians of a Lacanian orientation such as Žižek or Daniel Tutt also observe this significance
of subjectivity in neoliberalism and emphasize that the neoliberal form of domination is realized through the creation of an appropriate super-ego that leads subjects to modify their subjectivity in order to achieve ideals of success, happiness, self-realization, etc. Such a focus on subjectivity in neoliberalism leads to individualism and the resposnabilization of individuals, commonly associated with this mode of regulation. This paper will be dedicated to exploring the possibilities for resistance and action aimed at achieving social change in the context of neoliberal domination. By combining Foucault’s understanding of “de-subjectivation” and Žižek’s idea of “subjective destitution”, we will attempt to conceptualize the process of “separating the subject from
itself”, i.e., reorienting their desire from achieving success and personal fulfillment towards collective action for societal change. Our thesis will argue that such reorientation can only be achieved through the formation of a collective fantasy that, by regulating individuals’ libidinal investment, leads to the emergence of what Deleuze calls a “war machine.” We will therefore present the war machine as a collective actor that, in the process of societal change, plays the role of an object of libidinal investment directed towards transgressing the current configuration of social relations
The Meaning-Making of Black Ariel In The Little Mermaid Among Various White Audiences
No full textFilm Mala sirena (The Little Mermaid) i serije Prstenovi moći (Rings of Power) i Kuća zmaja (House of the Dragon) usmerili su pažnju javnosti u 2022. godini na trend povećanja reprezentacije ljudi različitih rasa među glavnim protagonistima serija i filmova koji se odvija tokom poslednje decenije. Zajedničko obema serijama i filmu je što su nove ekranizacije knjiga čije su prethodne ekranizacije doživele svetsku popularnost, kao i što su u sve tri nove ekranizacije među glavnim protagonistima i Crni glumci i glumice, za razliku od prethodnih. Nakon što je publika uočila izmene u glumačkim postavama, u javnoj sferi propagirali su se diskursi kojima se izmene pozdravljaju, ali i oni koji ih smatraju beskrupuloznim revizionizmom knjiga na kojima su bazirani i stoga ih treba bojkotovati. Kako bih doprinela javnoj raspravi na pomenutu temu, u ovom radu ću braniti tezu da diversifikovanu glumačku postavu u odnosu na prvobitne ekranizacije treba pozdraviti zbog toga što ima potencijal da doprinese smanjenju rasnih predrasuda među globalnom Belom publikom. Teza je najpre potkrepljena psihološkim empirijskim istraživanjima hipoteze kontakta i efekta proste izloženosti u kojima se redovno beleži umereno umanjenje predrasuda kod nekih ispitanika/ca u okolnostima koje se mogu uporediti sa gledanjem sadržaja od strane publike. U daljoj argumentaciji teze situirano je razumevanje koja Bela publika i na koji način može koristiti Crnu Arijel kao resurs za smanjenje svojih predrasuda. Zaključeno je da Bela publika kojoj je najdostupniji woke diskurs najpre koristi Crnu Arijel kao resurs za pozicioniranje u borbi za ravnopravnost, dok Bela publika kojoj taj diskurs nije najdostupniji može na više različitih načina iskoristiti Crnu Arijel kao resurs za ostvarivanje dobrih međurasnih kontakata van ekrana.The film The Little Mermaid and the series Rings of Power and House of the Dragon
drew public attention in 2022 to the trend of increasing racial diversity among the
main protagonists in films and TV series over the past decade. What is common to
these productions is that they are all new adaptations of globally popular book-toscreen adaptations, and in all three, the main protagonists were Black compared to
the original adaptations featuring a White cast. After the audience noticed the changes in the cast, various discourses were promoted in the public sphere, some of which
welcomed the changes while others viewed them as unscrupulous revisionism that
should be boycotted.
In order to contribute to the public debate on this topic, this paper will utilise psychological theories and empirical evidence to support the thesis that a diverse cast can
contribute to a moderate reduction in average racial prejudices in a global White audience. According to the vicarious contact hypothesis, the White audience, based on
observing the positive intergroup contacts that Black Ariel makes with White characters, can conceptualize the possibilities of establishing better intergroup contacts in
their own lives. According to the mere exposure effect, it is beneficial for the White
audience to be simply exposed to Black actors, and according to the parasocial contact hypothesis, what’s beneficial is the intense, hours-long relationship with specific
actors or characters mediated through the screen. One obstacle to the claim that the
aformentioned studies support the thesis is that in registered average reductions in
prejudices, there are always participants who show a significantly greater shift than
the average, as well as those for whom there is no change. The thesis is futher supported with situated understanding of narrow White publics that can use the Black
Ariel to meaningfully shape their intergroup experiences beyond the screen.
I have considered two possible audiences. The first audience is immersed in the meanings of woke culture, which offers a certain number of discourses through which they
can position themselves regarding the Black Ariel. I argued that this audience will not
conceptualize a diverse cast as a resource to improve their intergroup contacts, only
to possition themselves in the discourse of structural rasicm. The second audience
will consume these revised contents merely as traditional cultural elements, even as
common-sense elements of natural reality, making it easier for Black Ariel to subsequently become an implicit or explicit symbolic resource for the audience to shape
better intergroup experiences beyond the screen
The Rabble’s Lifecraft: Institutional Tinkering and Popular Illegalisms
No full textOvaj je esej dio tekućeg kulturnog projekta nazvanog „Figure it Out: The Art of Living Through System Failures“ („Skužiti kako: Umijeće preživljavanja zatajenja sustava“). „Skužiti kako“ uključuje kulturne organizacije Drugo more (Rijeka, Hrvatska), Kiosk (Beograd, Srbija), La Labomedia (Orléans, Francuska), Unfinished Fn (Malta), Vektor (Atena, Grčka); umjetničke kolektive ŠKART (Beograd, Srbija), RYBN.org (Pariz, Francuska) i Mediengruppe Bitnik (Berlin, Njemačka), te istraživače Maru Ferreri, Valeriu Graziano, Marcella Marsa, Tomislava Medaka. Partneri će raditi s različitim zajednicama i uključiti ih, šireći njihove priče kroz umjetničke produkcije, izložbe, jedan radijski festival, krijesove i webzine. Projekt su financijski podržali Europska unija, Ministarstvo kulture i medija, te Ured za udruge Republike Hrvatske.This essay is part of the ongoing cultural project “Figure it Out: The Art of Living
Through System Failures”. Figure it Out involves cultural organizations Drugo More
(Rijeka, Croatia); Kiosk (Belgrade, Serbia); La Labomedia (Orléans, France); Unfinished
Foundation (Malta); Vektor (Athens, Greece); artist collectives ŠKART (Belgrade, Serbia); RYBN.org (Paris, France); and !Mediengruppe Bitnik (Berlin, Germany); and researchers Mara Ferreri, Valeria Graziano, Marcell Mars, Tomislav Medak. Partners will
work with and engage different communities sharing their stories through art productions, exhibitions, a radio festival, bonfire events and web-zines. The project is supported with funding from the European Union, the Ministry of Culture and Media and
the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia
Invention, Innovation, Change in Architecture: Arguments from the Escalator of a Fantastic Mall, Conceived as an Apocryphal Illustration to Little Women
No full textThis article explores how invention, innovation and change work in architecture through the description of a project for an imaginary mall, where the four protagonists of Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women are imagined shopping. The four characters are on an escalator, an innovative element of architecture invented to compete with stairs. Malls are also a recent invention, compared to thousands of years of architectural history. The project for this mall, that is titled “Mall of Progress,” offers the opportunity to compare inventions and innovations from other fields with inventions and innovations in architecture, and to discuss how they can prompt change in and outside the discipline. Furthermore, the article discusses if architecture can be considered an agent of progress, as many inside the discipline do claim