Cosmopolitical Readings. Olatz González Abrisketa, Susana Carro Ripalda

Bulegoa z/b continues a series of readings coordinated by Olatz González Abrisketa and Susana Carro Ripalda around the theme “Cosmopolitics”, a term proposed by Isabel Stengers in 1996 to suggest a way of doing politics that would disallow the existence of a “common world”, the “common good”, or “good intentions”; and hence the authority of certain voices in representing what was considered a single world.

Sessions will last from two to three hours. An introduction by the coordinators will be followed by a discussion of the session’s proposed text, around a series of questions: To what extent is the idea of cosmopolitics a viable one? How to recognise and include “invisible” collectives or other beings in our decision-making processes? Are other ways of doing politics possible?

Proposed text for 1 June 2017. Mario Blaser (2016). “Is another cosmopolitics possible?” Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 31, Issue 4, pp. 545–570.

To take part and be sent the texts for the sessions, please contact bulegoa@bulegoa.org

Susana Carro Ripalda (Bilbao, 1965) is an anthropologist, and has taught at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Durham Universities. She is currently a researcher with the Bizkaia:talent programme at the Centre for Applied Ethics, Universidad de Deusto. Her work focuses on studies of science and technology, bioethics, interspecific relations, personhood and relationality, all in specific comparative international contexts (Mexico, Brazil, India, Britain and the Basque Country).

Olatz González Abrisketa (Bilbao, 1973) is an anthropologist and professor with the Universidad del Pais Vasco/EHU. As a researcher for the group “Identidad y cambio social”, she mainly focuses on sport and gender. She alternates written and audiovisual production in works such as the book “Pelota Vasca: un ritual, una estética” (2005) and the film “Pelota II” (2015) co-directed with Jørgen Leth. She previously collaborated with Bulegoa z/b in the “Lecturas perspectivistas” seminar in 2013.

Susana Carro Ripalda and Olatz González Abrisketa have organised several reading groups together on current tendencies in anthropology, and have published the article “La apertura ontológica de la antropología contemporánea” (2016).