Reading Group as part of the Praxis-CFUL activities

Working language: English

Organizer: Silvia Locatelli (locatelli.silvia.96 [at] gmail.com)

When: Tuesdays, from 14h00 to 16h00, according to the calendar below

Where: Sala Pedro Hispano (Department of Philosophy)

To participate, please send an e-mail to the convenor expressing your interest in taking part in the RG.

Abstract

Antigone is one of the Greek myths that have most inspired philosophical reflections in thinkers such as Hegel, Kierkegaard, Hölderlin, Heidegger or Lacan. The figure of Antigone has attracted particular attention within the philosophical reflection as a representative of that poignant — and unsolvable — dilemma emerging from the clash between divine laws, requiring proper burial of the dead, and human laws, represented by Creon’s refusal to have her brother Polynices buried. But Antigone is not a random character who imposes her individuality against the laws of the polis: she is a woman, and it is precisely because of this that she can occupy a place of rebellion in Sophocles’ tragedy. For this reason, Antigone has become a prominent figure within feminist thought, giving rise to philosophically and politically provocative interpretations and reflections. In this series of readings, after a presentation of the myth through Sophocles’ original writing and Simone Weil’s rewriting, we will address the feminist analyses of the Antigone myth that have most influenced contemporary thought, namely that of Luce Irigaray, Adriana Cavarero, Julia Kristeva, and Judith Butler.

Program

Session 1 | 15 March 2022

Sophocles, Antigone: Prologue + 1 stasimo [download here]

Simone Weil, Antigone (18-23) [download here]

Session 2 | 29 March 2022

Luce Irigaray, “The Eternal Irony of the Community,” in: Speculum of the Other Woman. Gillian C. Gill (transl.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985, pp. 214-227. [download here]

Session 3 | 19 April 2022

Luce Irigaray, Between Myth and History: the tragedy of Antigone

Session 4 | 10 May 2022

Julia Kristeva, Antigone, Limits and Horizons (215-230)

Session 5 | 24 May 2022

Adriana Cavarero, On the body of Antigone (45-65)

Session 6 | 31 May 2022

Judith Butler, Antigone’s Claim (Introduction)