A constellation of international theorists will converge at Syracuse University to discuss how
love can be redirected as a political concept. The conference, "The Politics of Love," runs
April 16-18 at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center (801
University Ave.). The event, which is free and open to the public, is the third in a series of
biennial SU conferences collectively called "Postmodernism, Religion and Culture." The
conference is sponsored by the Ray Smith Symposium Series, with generous support from
George M. Langford, dean of SU's College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, call
SU's Department of Religion at (315) 443-3863, or visit http://pcr.syr.edu/.
Religion Professor John Caputo, who is organizing the event with Philosophy Professor
Linda Martin Alcoff, says the topic was inspired by the seminal book "Multitude: War and
Democracy in the Age of Empire" (Penguin Press, 2004). In it, co-authors Michael Hardt
and Antonio Negri explore the "post-secular" character of the "post-modern" world. "This
approach is one in which the old dogmas of secularism-the withering away of religion
under the progressive impact of science and the privatization of religion discourse-are
behind us," says Caputo, who is SU's Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and
Humanities. "Hardt, who is one of our guest speakers, explores how a religious concept can
function as a political one by giving critical leverage against a post-modern empire, as
opposed to a centralized imperialism."
Alcoff, who also serves on the faculties of women's and gender studies and political science,
says one of the goals of the conference is to explore love from a multiplicity of angles. "Many
of these angles are religious or political in nature or both," she says. Among the topics for
discussion are the public meanings of love, the ethical and religious implications of love and
the use of religion-historically, a divisive social force-as an instrument of love and
reconciliation. "These are the kinds of discussions that our series wants to promote," she
adds.
Alcoff and Caputo are in good company, as this year's panelists are some of the field's
leading lights. Jessica Benjamin (New York University) is a pre-eminent psychoanalyst, with
an interest in feminism and social structure. Hent de Vries (The Johns Hopkins University)
holds ties to Europe, where he occupies a research position at the University of Amsterdam.
He serves as program director at the International College of Philosophy in Paris, and is co-
founder the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. Hardt and Ebrahim Moosa (both from
Duke University) specialize in globalization and Islamic thought, respectively. Amy
Hollywood (Harvard University) is a renowned expert in Christian mysticism, with interests
in queer theory, psychoanalysis and continental philosophy. Jean-Luc Marion (The
University of Chicago and Paris Sorbonne University) is an internationally acclaimed
Descartes scholar and is one of the world's leading Roman Catholic philosophers. Merold
Westphal (Fordham University), one of the United States' most philosophers of religion, is
known for his work in political theory and Eastern philosophy. Slavoj Zizek (The European
Graduate School, Switzerland) is a premier scholar of politics and popular culture, having
been an activist in Slovenia during the 1980s and a presidential candidate of the Republic of
Slovenia in 1990.
Given the international status of the speakers, Caputo says, the format includes eight
plenary sessions, beginning with an opening address on April 16 and concluding with a
panelist roundtable two days later. "There are no break-out or concurrent sessions and no
commentators. By sticking to plenary sessions, everyone in the audience hears the same
talks," he says.
"The Politics of Love" is open to SU students, faculty and staff, who should e-mail
pcrconf@syr.edu to request a registration form. The general public is invited to attend, and
can register onsite or online at https://secure.syr.edu/conference/reg.aspx. There is no
registration deadline.
The Ray Smith Symposium Series was established in 1989 as the result of a bequest from the
estate of SU alumnus Ray W. Smith '21 to support symposia on topics in the humanities in
SU's College of Arts and Sciences. Travel for international speakers is supported with a
generous grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
More information about The College of Arts and Sciences is available at
http://thecollege.syr.edu.
