In this thesis I defend the claim that globalization, capitalism and consumerism are determining factors in contemporary society and therefore a normative political theory ought to incorporate an...Show moreIn this thesis I defend the claim that globalization, capitalism and consumerism are determining factors in contemporary society and therefore a normative political theory ought to incorporate an answer to how these factors must be dealt with. Agonists must either revise their agonistic democratic theories or oppose globalization, capitalism and consumerism all together. I have chosen the views of William Connolly and James Tully.Show less
The agon is the democratic political arena in which all social groups are meant to participate in. Historically, however, certain social groups have been systematically denied this access to the...Show moreThe agon is the democratic political arena in which all social groups are meant to participate in. Historically, however, certain social groups have been systematically denied this access to the agon. Using Chantal Mouffe's theory of agonism and antaongism I will explore a new term, anti-agonism, to demonstrate how certain groups violently deny other groups this access. The two key periods involved are political protests surrounding Selma (1965) as well as key protests surrounding Ferguson (2014). Anti-agonism is always based on the othering and dehumanization of others, in this case it is othering of African Americans by White Americans, specifically police and state officials. This framing of African Americans as the Other allows for anti-agonism to thrive. This paper aims to reframe the conflict, illustrating that the problem is not whether disenfranchised social groups attempt to access the agon peacefully or through violence, but the response to that is problematic. While disenfranchised groups are othered, it remains difficult for them to partake in the political arena.Show less
Research in the arts is a controversial form of research even in scholar’s circles. Many artists nowadays are following doctoral programmes focusing on arts (a PhD in the Arts), in order to enhance...Show moreResearch in the arts is a controversial form of research even in scholar’s circles. Many artists nowadays are following doctoral programmes focusing on arts (a PhD in the Arts), in order to enhance their artistry through “academisation” but also in order to be capable of finding a job in the highereducation field. There is an ongoing debate about these programmes whether they actually enhance the artists or not and if those programmes are equal to other research programmes that include for example scientific research. Through this thesis many definitions will be given in order to clarify the meanings of artistic research, of artistic practice, and the distinction between art practice-as-research and art practice-as-itself as well, just to name a few. But the central question to be answered through this thesis is going to be, what the relationship between society and academia is, and whether political artistic practices can play the role of intermediary. In order to answer that question besides the analysis of the anatomy of research in the arts, this thesis will focus on the case of how political artistic practices can achieve a symbiosis between academia and society. For that reason, the artistic research of the political artist Jonas Staal, who is currently following a PhD in the Arts, will be the case study of the thesis.Show less
