Friday lecture by Cecilia Sjöholm: Rethinking aisthesis in public space

Subject of proposal
In what way can we look at the public sphere as a product of "aisthesis", rather than discourse? In what way does intimacy contribute to its constitution, rather than remain in a separate space? In what way can aesthetic sensibility respond to the exploitation and commodification of the public sphere? Discussing the relation between the public sphere as a virtual community and public space as a physical location, between discourse and aesthetic sensibility, between public engagement and intimacy, the paper argues for a conception of public space intertwined with that of a contemporary notion of aesthetics. Sketching a development from the 18th century to the art scene of the 60's, the paper discusses how we can recast, challenge and reformulate the distinction between the public and the intimate.

Bio
Cecilia Sjöholm is Professor of aesthetics at Södertörn University. She has published, among other works, The Antigone Complex; Ethics and the Invention ofFeminine Desire (Stanford UP 2004) and Kristeva and the Political (Routledge 2005). Her latest research is on Hannah Arendt and art.